by Angela Hodgkins, Carla Solvason and Emma Laurence

 

Over the past year, we have been engaged in a collaborative writing project that has grown into something both ambitious and deeply meaningful. Storytelling in Social Pedagogy: Practice, Research and Relational Work across Education, Health and Social Care brings together a wide range of voices to explore a simple but profound idea: that storytelling sits at the heart of social pedagogy.

At its core, social pedagogy is concerned with human connection: how we relate, how we listen and how we understand lived experience. Storytelling is central to this. It enables us to move beyond surface encounters into deeper forms of knowing. Across practice, education and research, storytelling creates spaces where voices can be heard and valued.

The book reflects this in both its content and its structure, organised across four interconnected sections. The opening section explores storytelling as a relational and ethical practice, emphasising shared activity, personal narrative and leadership. Here, storytelling is understood as something co-created through dialogue, encounter and trust.

The second section focuses on education, bringing together creative and practice-based perspectives. Chapters explore visual narratives, financial life stories and work with children, students and trainee teachers, highlighting the role of story in supporting identity, confidence and voice.

In the third section, attention shifts to health and social care. Storytelling emerges as a way of supporting healing, listening and compassionate leadership, enabling practitioners to recognise the whole person and engage meaningfully with lived experience.

The final section considers storytelling in research, including life histories and participatory approaches. Our co-authored chapter explores the role of emotion and relational depth in social research, arguing for approaches that value the heart alongside more traditional academic expectations.

At the time of writing, the book is well advanced. Many chapters are in their final stages, while others continue to be refined. There is a strong sense of momentum, alongside a commitment to preserving each contributor’s voice.

We hope the book will speak to those working across social pedagogy and related fields, offering both conceptual insight and practical inspiration. Ultimately, it is an invitation to listen differently and to recognise storytelling as an ongoing, shared process within everyday practice. We look forward to sharing more soon and continuing the conversation.

If you are curious to find out more, please reach out: info@sppa-uk.org.