Undergraduate study of Social Pedagogy

Holder of the undergraduate study of Social Pedagogy:
Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences of the University of Zagreb

Executors of the undergraduate study of Social Pedagogy:

• Department of Behavioural Disorders
• Department of Criminology

Head of the undergraduate study of Social Pedagogy: Assoc. Prof. Dalibor Doležal, PhD; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Duration of the study: three academic years or 6 semesters

ECTS: 180

Professional title: Bachelor in Social Pedagogy (BA)

The undergraduate study of Social Pedagogy has been taught since the academic year of 2005/2006. The Ministry of Science, Education and Sport of the Republic of Croatia issued the accreditation for conducting this programme on June 18, 2004, and the license on June 2, 2005. Since the academic year of 2010/2011 it is taught according to the updated programme.

The holder of this degree is authorized to perform professional work in the area of his/her academic degree.

Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences does not offer full degree study programme of Social pedagogy in English language.

The programme of study is based on the basic knowledge of Social Pedagogy which implies all those processes and functions linked with behavioural disorders of children, youth, and adults. The students acquire necessary knowledge and skills for solving tasks of medium complexity in the work with individuals, groups/communities at the risk or with already manifested difficulties and problems in social integration. Upon completion of this study, the students acquire limited competences which make them eligible for employment on tasks of medium complexity.

The undergraduate study of Social Pedagogy is mostly committed to acquisition of general, generic, knowledge which serves as the basis for specialist knowledge related to the profession and as the basis for lifelong learning.

The Social Pedagogy encompasses knowledge of developmental characteristics of the individual, individual differences which are important in learning, learning environment and social interactions, disorders in behaviour of the individual, bio-psycho-social structure of the individual as the basis for development of behavioural disorders, knowledge of criminal offences, delinquents, victims of delinquent behaviour, criminality as the social phenomenon, and society’s reactions to criminality. The study programme fosters competences in understanding behavioural disorders, stigmatization process, marginalization, personal and social violence, and the ability of evaluating key characteristics of the individual and social environment, and the needs of the individual and social environment.

The study consists of the general fundamental content related to the profession (28% of courses), auxiliary contents from the fields of related professions (33% of courses), the narrow field of the discipline (26% of courses), and the part of programme concerning elective courses which the students elect from other undergraduate academic programmes (13% of courses). During the study, the students acquire interdisciplinary knowledge of the biomedical field and the fields of psychology, sociology, law, pedagogy, criminology, and penology.

The holders of BA degree in Social Pedagogy acquired the following competences:

• Knowledge of - developmental characteristics of the individual, individual differences which are important in learning, learning environment and social interactions, behavioural disorders of the individual, bio-psycho-social structure of the individual as the basis for development of behavioural disorders which includes knowledge of criminal offences, delinquents, victims of delinquent behaviour, criminality as the social phenomenon, and society’s reactions to behavioural disorders;
• Understanding of - behavioural disorders, stigmatization process, marginalization, personal and social violence;
• Evaluation of - individual and social environment, and the needs of the individual and social environment. The study of Social Pedagogy trains experts for scientificresearch and practical work on the prevention, detection, evaluation, early interventions, and treatment, processing and subsequent care for children, youth and adults at risk of disorders or with manifested behavioural disorders, and their social environment, in the function of education, socialization, rehabilitation, and social integration.

This study provides necessary education and prepares the experts for the work in:

• institutions of social welfare (social welfare centres, juvenile correctional institutions, children’s homes, counselling centres)
• institutions of judicial system (state attorney offices, courts, correctional facilities, penitentiaries, prisons)
• institutions of education (preschool institutions, primary and secondary schools, pupils’ dormitories, and various leisure centres)
• organizational units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
• health institutions (outpatient clinics, public medical centres, hospitals, mental health centres, psychiatric clinics, addiction treatment centres)
• institutions in the local community (private practice medicine, family centres, non-governmental organizations, etc.)

The Student is required to pass all compulsory and elected courses.

Curriculum and programme of the undergraduate study of Social Pedagogy (2005.) (.pdf)

ECTS Information Package for the Academic Year 2018/2019 - Undergraduate Study (.pdf)