Not only what but also how we speak is crucial in social work. The power of language is not negligible. We emphasized that in the thesis by relying on different authors in the Slovenian environment (Čačinovič Vogrinčič, 2020; Brajša, 1993; Flaker, 2003; Akerman, 2013) and beyond (Harrison, 2007; Hall and Valdiviezo, 2019; Timms, 1968). The role of social workers can be diverse depending on the system and sector in which they work. In our case, we focused on elementary schools. Through the presentation of the history of social work and its entry into education, the influence of concepts on work with users, and the peculiarities of the language of social work, we tried to point out that social work must have a guaranteed place in educational institutions because, with the language it advocates, it destroys the boundaries of hierarchy and strives for empowerment.
Whether this is also the case in practice, we were ascertaining in the empirical work where we interviewed eight social workers employed as school counselors in elementary schools. We ascertained that the interviewees use specific methods of working with students which they adapt according to their age and that in connection with this, they also adapt the language and vocabulary. To the greatest extent, the research participants use colloquial language, including slang or dialect. The interviewees estimate that language has a significant influence on the working relationship and that integrity is what separates the profession of social work from other professions. Five of the eight interviewees who have been employed as school counselors for more than seven years perceive a change in the language of social work – this is manifested mainly in terminology, legislation, and the treatment of children with various deficits. Most of them are in favor of changes but as two of them pointed out, the changes should not represent a fad and should always be thought out and introduced systematically.
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