The concept of empowerment has become increasingly widespread in recent years. Its use is still, however, somewhat controversial and diverse, particularly when referring to young people. This article presents a systematic analysis of how empowerment has been conceptualized over the past 15 years and has been applied to young people. A systematic search of the major databases filtered by relevance provided 297 bibliographical references. The results confirm the ambiguous nature of the concept and the imprecision with which it is used, although they do link its use to three common concepts: power, participation and education. The concept of youth empowerment needs to be defined in order to highlight any nuances that distinguish it from the generic use of the term. The main dimensions associated with youth empowerment have been identified as: (a) that of growth and well-being; (b) relational; (c) educational; (d) political; (e) transformative; and, finally, (d) emancipative.

Some characterizations describe social pedagogy as a broad, complex, ambiguous and problematic concept that applies to very different things. This is due to the simplicity of the tools used to approach such a complex area. A change of perspective to interpret social pedagogy as a hybrid and complex subject may transform the alleged deficiencies into strengths and promise. This paper provides elements that enable such a change. To this end, some misunderstandings regarding social pedagogy are presented. These misunderstandings are scenarios and factors that have contributed (1) to the generation of inaccuracies and confusions about what social pedagogy is, could, or should do, and (2) to the projection of an inconsistent and poorly defined image of social pedagogy, i.e. a discipline without method and an ineffective and inefficient practice for solving social problems. The social pedagogy that emerges from the six misunderstandings (cognitive, policy-related, scientist, action-related, normative and social) is complex. From the new perspective, it is more of a hybrid subject (a concept, a discipline and a practice) that is complex, open, dynamic and ever changing.

Over recent years, social pedagogy has emerged or undergone transformation processes in many countries, justifying the need to understand how it is being shaped and transformed throughout the world. However, conceptual ambiguity and lack of a homogenous and unified theoretical body accentuate the dilemma of whether social pedagogy is a specific area of knowledge, a professional field, a research field or all of these at once. We have moved into a stage where we do not have an immediate answer as to what social pedagogy is, what kind of knowledge it is or what its specific working methods are. This research aims to provide a comprehensive and rigorous analysis of social pedagogy from an international perspective. The methodology employed herein is the Delphi method, using three questionnaires in three different phases. Based on the individual contributions of a group of renowned experts from different countries, our aim is to build a global, current and integrated view of social pedagogy.

Purpose – The evaluation of training results in large groups with limited resources is one of the challenges of organisations. This paper aims to provide a methodological approach to facilitate evaluation of training among large groups. The paper presents the tools and the results of an evaluation of a whole training plan on the rational use of medicines addressed to 1,550 health professionals in Spain. Design/methodology/approach – Two questionnaires were administered to the trainees in order to evaluate transfer of training: one questionnaire upon finishing the training session and another one two months later. A total sample of 351 subjects was obtained from 53 different training programs linked with the rational use of medicines. Findings – Results show that most of the trainees had improved their professional performance, especially the duties related to the selection and use of medicines. Key factors for transfer, such as motivation and support from the organisation, which are present when the transfer is higher, were also detected. Practical implications – The research offers an easily applicable tool that can be used by organisations with few resources available for evaluation. The tool allows evaluation of the maintenance of the acquired learning, the particular changes in professional performance that prevail in time, and the factors that contribute to such changes. Originality/value – This study provides a model to evaluate transfer of training that can be useful for practitioners and researchers who want to evaluate training effectiveness among large groups. It also contributes relevant information about the health sector and about large organisations with a lot of working offices, which could help advancing towards improving the effectiveness of training.

Empowerment is a concept that has become increasingly used over recent years. However, little research has been undertaken into how empowerment can be evaluated, particularly in the case of young people. The aim of this article is to present an inventory of dimensions and indicators of youth empowerment. The article describes the various phases in the construction and validation of the inventory. These phases were (1) a contrast of the inventory of dimensions and indicators against specialized published writings on youth empowerment; (2) the validation of the resulting inventory by experts; and (3) a contrast with young people through four participatory evaluation processes and six life stories. The tool is scientifically and practically useful and enables the impact of youth empowerment programmes to be evaluated; it also serves to plan and implement socio-educational processes aimed at influencing the empowerment of young people.

We present a study of social pedagogy from a comparative perspective with the aim of offering an international overview of the current status of social pedagogy in the world. The lack of a universal conceptual definition for the term causes epistemological confusion and inaccuracy and has led to the emergence of multiple polarised perspectives on the concept in different contexts. Our study analyses the current situation from the academic, training and professional viewpoints, with the aim of developing a series of indicators to construct an updated, global and integrated view of social pedagogy. Each of these three visions forms a phase of research and uses a specific methodology: the academic perspective (qualitative methodology with the Delphi method), the training perspective (quantitative methodology with a statistical analysis) and the professional perspective (qualitative methodology with semi-structured interviews). Based On the triangulation of all results in different phases, our principal findings define the main dimensions of social pedagogy: contextual, historical, epistemological, functional, professional, methodological, normative and ethical and political. It also confirms that it is possible to define a theoretical, transdisciplinary and international common ground on social pedagogy and describe the specific features characteristic of each context.