| Abstract [eng] |
The thesis provides the theoretical analysis of the conception of social educators’ work and functions implemented at child custody home. The hypothesis was brought forward assuming that, while implementing actual functions, social educators working at child custody home do not fulfil several fundamental functions, i.e. individual work with a foster-child and his/her preparation for social integration. The survey approach using questionnaires was applied for the study aimed at the investigation of specifics and priorities of social educators’ work. SPSS – 11.0 software was chosen for statistical processing of social data. Descriptive analysis was applied in accordance with the aim, hypothesis and goals of the study. The survey on social educators’ functions at child custody home was carried out at 85 child custody homes in the Republic of Lithuania. The sample included 66 social educators. Empiric part looks into primary functions of social educators working at child custody home and the period of time needed for their implementation. Exclusively significant functions and the specifics of activities at child custody home were distinguished. The most important conclusions of empiric study: 1. Social educators, while working at child custody home, are confronted with the foster-children having difficulties in their ability to conform to the altered conditions of living because the majority of them have various behavioural, emotional and cognitive problems. The given circumstances have influence on the relationship between a social educator and a foster-child and on the specifics of individual work with a foster-child. Attention is paid to the formation of the system of individual and social values. 2. The survey shows that social educators working at child custody home consider the following functions to be most important and taking most of their time: representation of a child’s interests in courts, preparation of different types of documents and providing various institutions with information related to a foster-child (Service of Child Right Protection, adoption, Statistics Department). 3. The hypothesis proved out that social educators, while working at child custody home, do not thoroughly perform several fundamental functions of their activity, namely, they do not sufficiently secure social education of foster-children, inactively solve individual problems of foster-children and insubstantially execute work with biological families. 4. The specifics of the work of social educators working at child custody home is influenced by ordinary practice of cooperation with social partners as well as obligations to prepare documents of institutional activities concerning a child’s custody. |
