The voice of social education professionals in Spain and France: self-perceived identity

Even though the specialized education model in France is a reference in the definition of the training model of the first social educators in Spain, both training processes are developed in differentiated ways. Social education in Spain develops and acquires recognition in the university academic environment, when it is legally recognized in 1991 after the establishment of the official university degree of Diploma in Social Education. However, the training of the specialized educator in France does not take place in the university sphere but in Schools and Institutes of Social Work and concludes with the Diploma of State of Specialized Educator. Both studies were adapted to the European Higher Education Area, allocating a credit load of 180 ECTS, however, the Specialized Educator does not hold the same professional category as the social educator in Spain. Thus, the objective of this work is to know social education as a profession from the perception of its professionals through a comparative study between France and Spain, focusing attention on the training process. For this purpose, a qualitative study was carried out using the structured interview as an information collection instrument. The results show that the social educator in Spain recognizes himself more empowered by defining himself as a professional; both groups identify with the functions and competencies in which they have been trained; they emphasize formative deficiencies and show similar difficulties in the exercise of the profession. The conclusions show that professional recognition goes beyond professional identity, implying recognition or social prestige, as well as the need to design a permanent training plan that channels the training deficiencies of both professionals.