engleski

CHALLENGES OF SOCIAL WORK IN INSTITUTIONS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH WITH PROBLEMS IN BEHAVIOUR AND A NEED FOR IMPLEMENTATION MORE COURSES RELATED TO THIS AREA IN SOCIAL WORK CURRICULUM

Behavioural problems of children can make disturbances in their permanent functioning and can be harmful and dangerous both for children and their social environment. These behaviours deviate from norms of common behaviour for a certain age, gender, situation and culture/society/surrounding, and these can be present in personal or social functioning and require professional help. Professionals who work directly with children and youth in educational institutions are educators with the professional backgrounds in social work, social pedagogy and psychology. Educators’ direct work in educational institutions consists of different methods and techniques of work and functions as an indispensable part of educational treatment. For children and youth with behavioural problems approaches in institutional treatments which have been proven as most efficient are behavioural approach, cognitive-behavioural and multimodal approach. These approaches are consisted of different methods of individual and group work which educators perform. In Croatia there is a lack of research about the reality of educators’ professional work and educators’ experience. Since social workers offten work as educators in educational institutions it is neccesary that they get during their education enough knowledge and practical skills to be able with these demanding group of children and youth with behavioural problems. The process of deinstitutionalization of institutional care for children and youth with behavioural problems will be expensive and lengthy in duration. Therefore, professional help for children and youth provided through educational measures in educational institutions needs some improvements. Based on the results of this survey and recommendations by educators, improvements should include changes on three level:  institutional level (minimizing stigmatisation and opening the institution to the local social environment, enhance cooperation with other professionals),  in social care system (enhance early detection and preventive work, to ensure unification of procedures within the social care system, permanent education of and support for educators)  in direct educative work (more educational contents and programmes, more creative work and small rehabilitative programmes, more and higher quality cooperation between different ministries, institutions and professionals).

social work, institutions for children and youth with behavioural problems, social work curriculum

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