Feminist Thought as a Perspective for Discussing Social Pedagogy

Feminism as a philosophical concept is a general reflection on gender issues and women’s conditions. Since the 70s of the 20th century feminism has become an alternative way of creating knowledge from women’s perspective. The author notices that in Poland, unlike the West, feminist thought has not been treated with respect. She explains what the feminist theory is and then analyses the connections between feminist thought and social pedagogy; for both of them the essential categories are: engagement and empowerment. Applying the feminist perspective allows to examine the earlier periods of development of social pedagogy, especially its beginnings, and to discover women’s presence in the public sphere and their participating in developing socio-pedagogical thought.