A literature review of the role played by social educators in the Spanish schooling system

Abstract

In Spain social education professionals have been incorporated progressively into the educational system in certain Autonomous Communities. The necessity to integrate these professionals is the object of analysis in this work. For this purpose, a systematic literature review (SLR) of fifty-six articles published in open access from January 2000 to August 2020 has been conducted in the databases Scopus, Dialnet, Web of Science, Redalyc and Scielo. The extended criteria of the University of York were used as a validation tool. The findings reflect that the role of social education professionals is essential from the approach of an inclusive and comprehensive education in the educational system. It is clear that in a changing society the interaction of the school with its social environment is increasingly decisive in the development and training of students. Thus, the conclusions and discussion show that the social educator's role and tasks are fundamental and that it would be necessary to integrate them in all schools. As the law enacted in 2021 -Organic Law for the comprehensive protection of children and adolescents against violence- proposes, it is key to incorporate the figure of a welfare and protection coordinator in all schools.