Learned helplessness is a phenomenon often known in school children. The school, and especially the school counseling service, can play a very important role in dealing with learned helplessness, so I wanted to explore the phenomenon from the perspective of social workers employed in school counseling services. In the theoretical introduction of the thesis I present the development and different definitions of learned helplessness, with emphasis on learned helplessness in students with learning difficulties and the role of social work in preventing and / or reducing learned helplessness. Through a qualitative study in which I used a partially standardized open interview with social workers employed in primary school counseling services, I explored how social workers understand the concept of learned helplessness and how they perceive learned helplessness in students. I was also interested in what skills they use to work with students with learned helplessness and how they see the contribution of social work in dealing with learned helplessness. The analysis of the results showed, that social workers employed in primary school counseling services recognize various signs of learned helplessness, and link the development of learned helplessness with the student's personal characteristics, self-image, explanatory style and learned helplessness of the student's parents. When working with students with learned helplessness, they rely on the concept of a working relationship, and it is also important for them to cooperate with the student's important others.
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