Alice Masarykova, Helena Radlińska, history, social work, social pedagogy

Cross-border cooperation has been considered an essential element in the development of professional social work and its education since its beginnings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many social work pioneers promoted the principles of peace, war relief, human rights and international cooperation in dealing with social problems. In Central Europe, there was on the one hand an acceptance of diversity and different national traditions, and on the other hand a series of integration activities aimed at developing transnational common standards. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Alice Masarykova from Czechoslovakia and Helena Radlińska from Poland had been central figures in the professionalization of social work and social pedagogy in Central Europe. While Alice based social work mainly on sociology, Helena based it on social pedagogy. The aim of this article is to identify and search for the specifics and diversity of historical development and subsequent international dissemination of ideas and practices of professional social work and social pedagogy through the figures of Alice Masarykova and Helena Radlińska.