Teachers’ and counsellors’ views on school protective factors for children with complex needs

Amon Podobnikar, Nina (author), Rapuš-Pavel, Jana (author)

Primary school is an important environment that can serve as a protective factor in children’s lives, which is especially important for those facing complex and vulnerable circumstances. International and domestic studies highlight the importance of strengthening protective factors in schools, creating a supportive environment, and providing timely and diverse support mechanisms. The objective of the present study was to examine the protective factors identified by teachers and school counsellors to address the complex needs of children in school, as well as the limitations and obstacles to their implementation. A proposal for necessary changes to ensure timely support and reduce risks is also highlighted. Ten semi-structured interviews with teachers and counsellors were conducted, followed by thematic analysis to gather the perspectives of the respondents on supporting children with complex needs. The analysis revealed the important role of establishing trusting relationships with children in complex life situations. At the relational level, the importance of collaborative relationships with parents and external institutions was identified. The necessity of systematically integrated preventive activities within schools to strengthen protective factors was recognised. The question of formal disciplinary warnings and existing support of assistants for children with emotional and behavioural disorders in schools were critically discussed. The analysis revealed recommendations to overcome these obstacles, including appropriate education programmes for teachers and school counsellors, supervision, developing a culture of cooperation with parents, and establishing coordinated and harmonised support networks.

• Language: English
• Keywords: children with complex needs, primary school, protective factors, teachers and school counsellors
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: PEF - Faculty of Education
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: Str. 77–97
• Numbering: Vol. 16, no. 3
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-189659
• UDC: 37.013.42
• ISSN on article: 2232-2647
• DOI: 10.26529/cepsj.2332
• COBISS.SI-ID: 293653251
• Publication date in RUL: 12.10.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: CEPS Journal : Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal = revija Centra za študij edukacijskih strategij
• Publisher: Pedagoška fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 2232-2647
• COBISS.SI-ID: 254029824

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Perspektive učiteljev in šolskih svetovalnih delavcev o varovalnih dejavnikih v šoli pri delu z otroki s kompleksnimi potrebami

Abstract

Osnovna šola predstavlja pomembno okolje, ki lahko deluje kot varovalni dejavnik v življenju otrok, kar je še posebej pomembno za tiste, ki se spoprijemajo s kompleksnimi potrebami in z ranljivimi življenjskimi okoliščinami. Mednarodne in domače raziskave poudarjajo pomen krepitve varovalnih dejavnikov v šolskem okolju, ustvarjanja podpornega in vključujočega okolja ter zagotavljanja pravočasnih in raznolikih oblik podpore. Namen študije je bil preučiti varovalne dejavnike, ki jih učitelji in šolski svetovalni delavci pri svojem delu prepoznavajo kot ključne pri podpori otrokom s kompleksnimi potrebami, ter raziskati omejitve in ovire pri njihovem uresničevanju. Posebna pozornost je bila namenjena tudi predlogom za spremembe, ki bi omogočile pravočasnejšo podporo in učinkovitejše zmanjševanje dejavnikov tveganja. Izvedenih je bilo deset polstrukturiranih intervjujev z učitelji in s šolskimi svetovalnimi delavci, podatki pa so bili analizirani z metodo tematske analize. Rezultati so pokazali, da ima vzpostavljanje zaupanja vrednih odnosov z otroki v kompleksnih življenjskih situacijah osrednjo vlogo pri zagotavljanju učinkovite podpore. Na ravni sodelovanja je bil poudarjen pomen partnerskih odnosov s starši in strokovnjaki iz zunanjih ustanov. Udeleženci so z namenom krepitve varovalnih dejavnikov poudarili tudi potrebo po sistematičnem vključevanju preventivnih dejavnosti v šolsko delo. Kritično so se opredelili do uporabe vzgojnih opominov in do obstoječe oblike podpore spremljevalcev, posebej za učence s čustvenimi in vedenjskimi motnjami. Analiza je oblikovala več priporočil za preseganje ugotovljenih ovir, med katerimi izstopajo: razvoj ustreznih programov strokovnega izpopolnjevanja za učitelje in šolske svetovalne delavce, zagotavljanje supervizije, krepitev kulture sodelovanja s starši ter vzpostavitev bolj usklajenih in povezanih podpornih mrež.

• Keywords: otroci s kompleksnimi potrebami, osnovna šola, varovalni dejavniki, učitelji, šolski svetovalni delavci, socialna pedagogika, svetovanje