Professor Henn sheds light on the complexity of social relationships in education

Professor Henn sheds light on the complexity of social relationships in education

Prof. Dr. Sarah Henn has been a professor of social pedagogy at the University of Hildesheim since April 2025 and her research focuses on the professionalization of social work. Your focus is on the organizational conditions that support specialists in dealing with complex requirements. Henn emphasizes that social professions require comprehensive training that includes both specialist knowledge and methodical action, but often requires creative solutions in practice. This assessment forms the core of her scientific work.

Henn's academic career began with studying social pedagogy and psychology at the TU Dortmund, which she completed from 2005 to 2011. After completing her studies, she was a member of a doctoral program at the Hans Böckler Foundation from 2011 to 2014. Her dissertation, which was submitted to the University of Duisburg-Essen in 2020, dealt with “professionalism and teamwork in inpatient child and youth welfare”. A central result of this work is the realization that the quality of reflection in the team depends on social dynamics.

Research on relationships in social work

Henn is currently planning an ethnographic research project about educational relationships in child and youth welfare. Here she focuses on the so-called “fitting relationships”. Together with Fabian Kessl, she leads a research project at the University of Wuppertal that deals with managers in the social sector and how they deal with constellations of violence and suspected cases of sexual violence. Henn describes the complexity of social pedagogy, which combines micro- and macro-social dimensions, interactions and social conditions, as particularly fascinating.

A central aspect of professional social work is acting in relationships with those addressed. In the inpatient youth welfare facilities, working relationships arise that require both closeness and distance. This dual relationship is seen as a core competency for social workers as it is crucial in helping young people cope with life problems. The intimacy of these relationships creates a space for personal change and development.

Reflection and power relations

But managing closeness can also be problematic. Burkhard Müller postulates that boundary violations in home education often result from unaddressed closeness. Skilled workers are part of young people's everyday lives and often act as projection surfaces for their desires for relationships. Emotional desires for attention that are brought into educational relationships can lead to destructive distance in conflicts. An example illustrates this: The teacher Tina confronts the boy Patrick directly with his alleged misconduct without giving him any space to explain. Your reaction shows personal frustration and could have negative consequences for the relationship.

Professional closeness therefore requires constant reflection on one's own reactions and inner impulses. The aim is to avoid emotional overreactions and to actively promote the individual development of young people. Means of power used by professionals must be adequately justified and must not be used to discipline without reflection. The balancing act between individual support and institutional processes remains a challenge that requires continuous reflection.