Prospective teachers and the socio-pedagogical mission of education: insights from a qualitative inquiry

This article explores prospective teachers’ perceptions regarding the socio-pedagogical role of education, emphasising its potential to address and prevent social inequalities within school environments. Through a qualitative analysis of open-ended responses from 50 final-year education students of the Department of Special Education, University of Thessaly, Greece, the research highlights how future educators envision their role not merely as transmitters of knowledge but as active agents of social support, empowerment and inclusion. The findings reveal a strong recognition of education’s transformative and preventive power, with participants emphasising the importance of fostering empathy, human rights, diversity and active citizenship. However, they also acknowledge barriers such as limited resources, insufficient specialised training and resistance from the broader community. The article underscores the need to strengthen socio-pedagogical dimensions within teacher education programmes to better prepare future educators as facilitators of social inclusion and change. Practical implications for curriculum development and policy reform are discussed.