La educación popular: campo de acción profesional del trabajador social // Popular Education: A Field of Professional Action for the Social Worker

Popular education is a field of action where the social worker functions, acting in family, institutional, community and popular contexts and in social systems where people live and learn, designing and imparting social and cognitive skills that allow participants to make decisions on behalf of their social welfare. The purpose of this study is to analyze popular education as a field of professional action for the social worker. Its importance will depend on how it contributes to the training of these professionals, imparting theoretical tools so that they will be able to be critical, investigative and innovative in the informal education processes they will have to assume in their roles. The research was documentary. Authors consulted were: Aguayo (1992), Carballeda (2002), Dussel (1998), Freire (1993), Gadotti (1991), Kisnerman (1990), Medina (1995), Puyol and Hernandez (2009), Viscarret(2007) and Habermas (1987), among others. The most striking findings are: popular education processes are not neutral nor is the action of the social worker, and this will depend on the position her or she assumes. From the perspective of technical interest, the role of the popular educator will be mediatic, to maintain and preserve what is given; the participation generated will be uncritical, passive and uncreative. Freire makes a strong critique of this situation. From the viewpoint of practical interest, the action of the social worker would be transforming, since it would promote a kind of critical, reflective and interpretive participation. From the emancipatory viewpoint, the action of this professional would tend to be transformative and revolutionary, achieving committed, conscious, self-reflective and responsible participation. What is stated is not independent from the needs of the participants, and the social worker (popular educator) could hardly impose any of these positions if it is not shared by the attending subjects. Keywords: Popular education, social worker, participation, transformation.