Placing a child in an institutional residential care means a big change for him and his
surroundings. In doing so, his past and future meet. The future will be different from what he
is used to. This also changes the way the child's needs are met. The master's degree thesis
explores the state of how and to what extent the needs of children in educational institutions are
met, and what are the wishes for optimal satisfaction of children's needs. The thesis is divided
into three broad areas: the children's needs, the role of educators and the existing system of
institutionalized out-of-family care (group homes).
The theoretical part of this thesis presents the children's needs through the prism of various
experts, the specifics of the population of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties,
some general information about residential care, the work of educators and the process of
placing a child in a residential care institution. The adaptation period in relation to
environmental change is also presented. Based on theoretical findings, a questionnaire was
designed for children and educators. The results of the questionnaire presented the general
situation as experienced by children and perceived by educators. With the help of three focus
groups of children living in an educational institution and four interviews with educators, we
tried to capture a comprehensive picture of children's needs in the first six months of their stay
in a residential care. We also focused on the systemic arrangements that affect the satisfaction
of how the children's needs are met within the institution. At the same time, it is not surprising
to realize that needs are individual and specific to each individual, even though we all
essentially have the same needs. To optimally meet the needs, educators must rely primarily on
the principles of socio-pedagogical work (individualization, normalization, participation,
innovation etc.).
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