Aim: To share some of the results of a research being carried out in a gypsy neighbourhood in the city of Malaga (extremely marginalised), whose focus is socio‐educational networking. This network combines actions from different departments (education, housing, social services) and is made up of different entities (public, private and NGOs), which work collaboratively with the common objective of fighting against the situation of exclusion experienced by the approximately one thousand people who live there.
Methods: Qualitative methodology. The fieldwork included: 8 focus groups with representatives from all the key groups (Children, Adolescents, Families, Teachers, Social Workers, etc.) and 54 semi‐structured interviews with different actors from these groups, as well as different administration officials and politicians. In addition, 7 socio‐educational actions (ethnographic observations) carried out in the neighbourhood were recorded
audiovisually.
Findings: Each entity had a particular mission, but they came together on their own initiative to create synergies, because they realized that together they had a better chance of advancing singularly and collectively (in pursuit of the common goal). The data show that, in addition to being more effective and sustainable, working from an ecological approach was more efficient and its action had broader scope.
Implications for Practice, Policy or both: Networking is essential when intervening in socially complex cases. For such cases raise needs of a different nature (multidisciplinarity) and few are the results of the juxtaposition of unrelated actions. For this reason, coordination must be sought between the different actions. Establishing a framework with a common goal, in which unique interventions make sense and feed each other.
The socio‐pedagogical programs that are implemented within a joint project of these characteristics gain in coherence and have greater possibilities of achieving the objectives.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech
