Socialno delo, Vol. 56 (2017), Issue 1
ARTICLES
RESEARCH REPORT
Counselling in kindergarten: (in)visible link connecting children, parents and expert workers - 41, (Abstract)
Art-based support to an individual living with the consequences of a severe head injury - 51, (Abstract)
Abstracts
Srečo Dragoš, Liljana Rihter
Empathy and (education for) social work
Empathy is a concept that is complex both in terms of definition and in terms of reasons for exploring it. In the first part of the article, the social circumstances and the reasons to explore the link between empathy and social work education are presented. The reasons are divided in heuristic, elitist, motivational, educational and stratification-based. We’re interested in the importance of empathy in the context of existing social policy. How will the planned changes in the organization of higher education (increased selection with the introduction of entrance examinations) affect one of the main criteria for selection – empathy? Since the key motivation for studying social work is helping others, high levels of empathy are expected among students. We are also interested in how the curriculum is linked to empathy and if empathy is evenly distributed among the students having diverse socio-economic status. Quantitative survey, which was conducted with a population of students from the 1st and the 4th year at the Faculty of Social Work (University of Ljubljana) in the academic year 2015/16, showed that students have a relatively high degree of empathy in the first year and that the rate does not reflect statistically important change during the years of study. However, the degree of empathy is associated with self-assessment of social status. The high degree of empathy score occurs when a student is from higher social stratum. Social work students have enough empathy but, in connection with empathy, only social inequality is problematic.
Keywords: compassion, social policy, welfare state, inequality, stratification, university.
Srečo Dragoš, PhD, and Liljana Rihter, PhD, are senior lecturers and researchers at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Ljubljana. Contacts: sreco.dragos@fsd.uni-lj.si; liljana.rihter@fsd.uni-lj.si.
Erna Žgur
Reading abilities of children in different primary school programmes
The paper compares the reading abilities of the 2nd grade primary school children and the 5th grade children in adapted education programme with a lower education standard. Four hypotheses were tested: differences according to age, time of reading aloud; number of mistakes during reading aloud; reading comprehension check by using questions. The results showed that the two groups are comparable only to the individual elements of the reading ability. The two groups have different mechanisms of functioning which is reflected in their reading abilities and their reading comprehension. Despite the differences, we determined that the effectiveness of the knowledge acquired in both groups is comparable, the differences having no statistical significance.
Keywords: reading, special needs, mental development, learning assistance, adapted programme, special pedagogics.
Erna Žgur je doktorica znanosti s področja Specialne in rehabilitacijske pedagogike, specialistka nevrofizioterapevtka in profesorica defektologije. Je docentka na Pedagoški fakulteti Univerze v Ljubljani, na Oddelku za specialno in rehabilitacijsko pedagogiko. Pokriva raziskovalno področje učenja oseb z intelektualnimi primanjkljaji. Kontakt: erna.zgur@pef.uni-lj.si.
Mateja Mlinarič
Counselling in kindergarten: (in)visible link connecting children, parents and expert workers
Based on interviews, the author examines the importance of social work in counselling in early childhood education and at the same time looks at connections among social work, consulting work, and the perspectives of employees in the kindergarten on advisory work. As a social worker in the kindergarten context strives to develop creative cooperation of all participants, the quality of the kindergarten increases. Due to her/his »bilingual« skills (ability to use an expert terminology and a simple language of users), a social worker is a great asset for the kindergarten, but may be faced with a particular danger of becoming an overburdened and overstressed jack-of-all-trades for problems of all participants. Namely, she/he has to deal with individual and group work, children with behaviour challenges, administration and relations with employees.
Keywords: social work, expertise, competences, working relationship, co-creation, education.
Mateja Mlinarič is a graduated social worker and a Master student at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Ljubljana, in the programme called Social justice and inclusion in the field of disability, ethnicity and gender. Contact: mateja.mlinarics@gmail.com.
Ines Kokalj
Art-based support to an individual living with the consequences of a severe head injury
The article is based on the personal experience of a volunteer working in Plus5, an association for help with art. The volunteer had been helping an individual who had to live with the consequences of a severe head injury. After the eighteen-month period of intervention, particularly through creative art expression (especially creative individual and group art activities), all the members of a group who had been actively involved in the research, perceived positive effects of the interventions on the pacient: improved concentration (and therefore better left hand control), more efficient expression of feelings and improved self-esteem. The results of the research confirmed the working hypothesis that the use of different methods and techniques of help with creative art expression will have a beneficial impact on the pacient's concentration, emotional expression and self-image.
Keywords: rehabilitation, social work, fine art, emotions, self-esteem.
Ines Kokalj is a social worker, an active volunteer in the association Plus5 and a PhD student in Humanities and Social Sciences at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Ljubljana. Her research interests include different working approaches to people with special needs. Contact: inesko@gmail.com.