Potrebe otrok in mladostnikov v programu CONA Most

Kaišić, Kristina (author), Rihter, Liljana (mentor)

Od nekdaj me je zanimalo delo z otroki in mladostniki, kar sem potrdila med prakso v dnevnem centru CONA Most. Opazila sem, da ankete, ki se uporabljajo za evalvacije, pogosto ne odražajo dejanskih potreb uporabnikov, saj so odgovori večinoma pozitivno naravnani. Zato sem se v magistrskem delu z naslovom Potrebe otrok in mladostnikov v programu CONA Most odločila raziskati potrebe otrok in mladostnikov v tem dnevnem centru ter ugotoviti, na katerih področjih bi potrebovali večjo podporo za izboljšanje programa in ustvarjanje prijetnejšega okolja za uporabnike. V teoretičnem delu sem najprej predstavila, kaj je mladostništvo in kaj je zanj značilno. Nadalje sem se osredotočila na varovalne dejavnike in dejavnike tveganja, ki so značilni za obdobje otroštva oz. mladostništva. V nadaljevanju sem se dotaknila socialnega varstva in socialne politike, opisala centre za socialno delo ter njihove naloge in vlogo. Kasneje sem opisala tudi socialno delo z mladimi, kjer sem posebej omenila preventivne programe za mlade. V tem poglavju sem opisala tudi sam program CONA. Na koncu pa sem raziskala še človeške potrebe, kjer sem se oprla na teorije več avtorjev: Maslow, Alderfer, Max-Neef in McCelland. Metodologija moje raziskave je bila kvalitativna in empirična, saj je temeljila na besednih opisih neslučajnostnega in priložnostnega vzorca otrok in mladostnikov, ki obiskujejo dnevni center CONA Most. Uporabila sem delno strukturirane intervjuje, ki so mi omogočili prilagajanje vprašanj starosti in jezikovni zmožnosti uporabnikov, kar pa je pripomoglo h globljemu razumevanju njihovih potreb. Podatke sem analizirala s kvalitativno metodo, ki je vključevala kategorizacijo in kodiranje (odprto, osno in odnosno), rezultati pa so bili specifični za program CONA Most in jih ni bilo mogoče posplošiti na širšo populacijo otrok ter mladostnikov. Analiza je pokazala, da so uporabniki za CONO Most največkrat izvedeli od prijateljev ali družinskih članov, program pa so obiskovali različno pogosto. Obiskovanje dnevnega centra je pri večini prispevalo k izboljšanju šolskega uspeha, razvijanju socialnih veščin ter omogočilo prijetnejše preživljanje prostega časa. Uporabniki so bili zadovoljni z zaposlenimi, študenti in prostovoljci ter prostori, a so izpostavili tudi pomanjkljivosti, kot so konflikti in neenakopravna izbira sodelujočih v aktivnostih. Potrebe, ki so bile osrednji predmet obravnave, sem prikazala skozi Maslowo osemstopenjsko hierarhijo potreb, interpretirala pa sem jo skozi povezave po treh starostnih skupinah. Same predloge sem členila v dve skupini. Prva skupina je nagovarjala ugotovitve iz analize, kjer sem izpostavila potrebo po večji vključenosti uporabnikov v načrtovanje aktivnosti, rednih pogovorih o uporabnikovih potrebah, izboljšanju individualnega pristopa pri učni pomoči, pravičnejši izbiri sodelujočih v aktivnostih ter potrebo po ureditvi zunanjega vrta za boljše počutje otrok. Druga skupina pa je izhajala iz lastnih izkušenj opravljanja prostovoljnega dela v dnevnem centru, kjer sem predlagala tesnejše sodelovanje med starši in dnevnim centrom, izboljšanje uporabe spletnih komunikacijskih kanalov ter udeležbo CONE Most na dnevih odprtih vrat za spoznavanje poklicev.

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: mladostništvo, potrebe, socialno delo z mladimi, skupnostni programi za mlade
• Work type: Master's thesis/paper
• Organization: FSD - Faculty of Social Work
• Year: 2024
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-164726
• Publication date in RUL: 08.11.2024

Secondary language

• Language: English
• Title: Needs of Children and Adolescents in the CONA Most Programme

Abstract

I have always had an interest in working with children and adolescents, which was confirmed during my internship at the CONA Most Day Centre. I have noticed that the surveys used for evaluations often do not reflect the actual needs of the users, as the answers are mostly positive. Therefore, in my master’s thesis entitled 'The needs of children and adolescents in the CONA Most programme', I decided to explore the needs of children and adolescents in this day centre and to identify which areas would need more support in order to improve the programme and create a more pleasant environment for the users. In the theoretical part, I first introduced what adolescence is and what characterises it. I then focused on the protective and risk factors that characterise childhood and adolescence. Next, I touched on social protection and social policy, describing social work centres and their tasks and roles. Later, I also describe social work with youth, with a special mention of prevention programmes for youth. In this chapter, I also describe the CONA programme itself. Finally, I have explored human needs, drawing on the theories of Maslow, Alderfer, Max-Neef and McCelland. The methodology of my research was qualitative and empirical, based on verbal descriptions of non-probability convenience sample of children and adolescents attending the CONA Most day centre. I used semi-structured interviews, which allowed me to tailor the questions to the age and language ability of the users, which in turn contributed to a deeper understanding of their needs. I analysed the data using a qualitative method that involved categorisation and coding (open, axial and relational), but the results were specific to the CONA Most programme and could not be generalised to a wider population of children and adolescents. The analysis showed that users mostly found out about CONA Most through friends or family members and attended the programme with varying frequency. For the majority, attendance at the day centre contributed to improving school performance, developing social skills and making leisure time more enjoyable. Users were satisfied with the staff, students and volunteers and the facilities, but also pointed out many shortcomings, such as conflicts and unequal selection of participants in activities. The needs that were the focus of the discussion were illustrated through Maslow's eight-stage hierarchy of needs and interpreted through relational links across the three age groups. I divided the suggestions themselves into two groups. The first group addressed the findings of the analysis, where I highlighted the need for more user involvement in the planning of activities, regular discussions about user needs, improving the individual approach to learning support, fairer selection of participants in activities and the need for an outdoor garden to improve the well-being of the children. The second group was based on my own experience as a volunteer in a day centre, where I suggested closer cooperation between parents and the day centre, improving the use of online communication channels and the participation of CONA Most in open days to learn about professions.

• Keywords: adolescence, needs, social work with youth, community programmes for youth