Social educator, what I am: who I was and what I became, how and with whom...

Abstract

This text results from the analysis of the first data collected in the context of a larger project called “Social educators in Portugal: who are they, where are they and what do they do? Identities and transformations”. Its authors are linked to the development of social education/pedagogy in Portugal and of its professionals, the social educators, who have accompanied them in undergraduate, master's, and doctoral training, in internships in various socio-educational institutions, social reintegration, family care, and in schools, that assume that education begins outside school, passes through it and extends beyond it. The social educator is, therefore, an intercultural mediator, a socio-educational mediator, a bridge-builder between cultures, people, groups, and communities, who has academic training for that purpose, but, as we intend to point out, in the words of the subjects listened to, has remarkable moments that only he can mark, formative moments that he considers significant in his life history to become the professional he is.