The master's thesis explores the views and thoughts of educators working in slovenian residential care centres on the participation of adolescents placed in residential care groups.
In the theoretical part, I define residential care centres, the issues and purpose of the residence of adolescents placed there and present the work and the role of educators. Then I define the principle of participation in the pedagogical profession and present some models that can help us evaluate the conditions and actual involvement of children and adolescents. Next, I focus on participation in the context of residential care centres and provide a brief overview of research on participation within institutional care from the perspectives of both children and adolescents and professionals.
In the empirical part, I used a qualitative research approach. I conducted 10 interviews with educators employed in various residential care centres and explored how they understand the principle of participation in the context of residential care centres and how they assess the application of this principle in practice. Findings obtained through semi-structured interviews indicate that educators in professional centres understand the principle of participation, attach great importance to it, but encounter numerous barriers and challenges in practice.
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