Perception of the Figure of the Social Educator in Rural Contexts in Spain

Social education is a relatively new and expanding area of knowledge. This means that there are few studies that attempt to analyze its impact on society. This study aims to build knowledge using mixed research methods to analyze the perception held by rural society of the figure of the social educator. A questionnaire was used to research the perception in the rural community and interviews were used to understand the views of social education professionals, as key informants on their role, in the same rural area. The results are surprising as they show a social perception close to the theoretical conception. In addition, factors that affect this perception, such as having had previous experience with a social educator, are analyzed and proposed. The quantitative results seem to be in line with the conclusions drawn when analyzing what was reported by the professionals through the interviews. The study concludes by pointing to the importance of social and institutional support to try to incorporate and make more visible the figure of the social educator as the main agent of social intervention.