| Abstract [eng] |
The problem and the relevance of the study. The theoretical discourse about leadership theories helps to understand that the idea of leadership is ambiguously treated and appreciated by representatives of different theories and branches of science. To date, there has been a worrying debate on the definition of a concept, it is being raised in new contexts, new approaches that depend on a given period. It discusses who, how and why he becomes a leader, how leadership works (Skarbalienė, 2015). With many concepts of leadership, three fundamental points can be distinguished, which are: group, influence, purpose. The main functions of leadership are directional determination, people aggregation, motivation and inspiration (Northouse, 2014). The modern approach to the management of organisations emphasizes not only the importance of leaders with leadership potential. Emphasis is placed on the need for leadership as a competence at the level of an individual who develops universal competences that do not depend on the field of activity, consistent with his personal career goals. Leadership competence has started to be attributed at the organization level to both the manager and the employee, and at the individual level to any person who pursues his personal life and career goals (Schillingienė, 2011). The intensive development of leadership theories and practices in the last decade has led to leadership in the various areas. Interest in leadership in education related to quality issues of education. In recent years, there has been an increasing examination of the way in which students are trained for leadership in higher education (Skarbalienė, 2015). Meanwhile, leadership in social work is little addressed. The focus here is on analysing leadership as a principle of quality assurance of service. The leadership dimension is also mentioned in the European Quality Assurance Framework for Social Services (hereinafter referred to as 'EQUASS'). The European Quality Assurance System for Social Services EQUASS is a European and sector-specific quality framework for organisations that provide social services and which are committed to the principles of fundamental values and quality in the social sector. EQUASS aims to strengthen the social services sector by obliging service providers to achieve quality and continuous improvement and to ensure the quality of services for users across Europe (EQUASS 2017). One of the principles of this system is leadership, which reveals whether managers ensure good governance, leadership and social responsibility in their activities. Leadership on unambiguous treatment is a relevant subject of modern scientific debate. Scientific theories developed to explain the phenomenon of leadership usually emphasise its essence and importance in the management of organisations, where they play a decisive role in ensuring the effectiveness of individual people, teams and organisations in linking it to high positions or positions (Šilingienė, 2011). Foreign scientists have extensively analyzed aspects of leadership: Shivali (2017) analyzed the emotional profile of the leader, distinguishing ten leadership competencies. Sullivan (2016) explored leadership in social work. Norzailan, Yusof and Othman (2016) analyzed strategic, i.e. the development of higher level of organisation, leadership competences. Andriukaitienė, Voronkova, Kyvliuk, Maksimenyuk, Sakun (2017) emphasized the importance of the expression of leadership competences in the management process. Various research on the leadership phenomenon is also being carried out in Lithuania. As Minelgaitė and Vaičiukynaitė (2017) point out, leadership research has long relied on a leadership-oriented approach that is critical of the role of followers or the unequal succession in the evaluation of the leadership process. In the meantime, the authors conducted a successive leadership survey. Šilingienė (2011) explored the expression of leadership excellence in the context of a personalised career. Skarbalienė, Rupšienė (2011) analysed the development of leadership competencies in teacher training programs. Bujokaitė (2012) focused his study on analysing the leadership of social educators. Liekis, Tolutienė (2018) analyzed the possibilities of andragogue leadership expression, Šilingienė, Stukaitė (2019) – the expression of social and emotional leadership competences that determine communication behaviour, Nedzinskaitė, Barkauskaitė (2017) – the professionalism of employees, which are based on five main components: idealized influence (features), idealized influence (behavior), inspiring motivation, intellectual promotion and individual attention. Gudžinskienė, Gečienė (2018), analyzing the attitude of the heads of institutions providing social care services to the quality of the services provided, revealed the fact that managers are most familiar and implement the criteria of the principle of leadership. In the meantime, Pileckienė, Žadeikaitė (2009) examined the leadership skills development of the head in social services organizations. As there is a noticeable lack of scientific literature and empirical research, the following problematic research issues are raised when examining the expression of leadership competence in the context of the social worker's activities with persons with disabilities: 1. What are the leadership characteristics of social workers working with people with disabilities? 2. In what context does the expression of the leadership competence of social workers working with persons with disabilities can be observed? 3. What is the expediency of the leadership competence of social workers working with disabilities? Subject of the study. The expression of the leadership competence of the social worker. Purpose of the study. Analyse the expression of social worker leadership competence in the context of activities with people with disabilities Tasks: 1. For the purposes of scientific analysis, disclose the definition of leadership, the components of leadership competence, the expression components of leadership competence. 2. Establish the expression of social workers' leadership characteristics in the context of activities with persons with disabilities. 3. Identify the contexts of the leadership expression of social workers when working with people with disabilities. 4. Reveal the expediency of social workers' leadership expression when working with people with disabilities. 5. On the basis of the results of the empirical study, develop recommendations for improving the leadership competence of a social worker in the process of activities with persons with disabilities. Methods of analysis. The following test methods were selected and used in the study: theoretical analysis, questionnaire survey and statistical descriptive analysis. Study participants: 93 social workers working with people with disabilities. . |
