The master's thesis analyses the competence of a social pedagogue after graduation and his professional qualifications for practical work. In the theoretical part, I focus on the terminological explanation of competence in connection with the quality of the social pedagogue’s work. In addition to problematizing the terminology, I also deal with different theoretical dimensions and the emphases on the concept of competence and competences, and I propose a synthesis of the presented conceptualisations of these notions, in regard to which I’ve tried to make sense of their similarities and differences. At the heart of the empirical research is the self-assessment of the competence of the social pedagogue at the beginning of the career and after gaining ten years of work experience, especially the scopes that the social pedagogue himself deems to be strong and successful, and the weak scopes of the working practice, for which he considers he hasn’t been sufficiently trained. Based on the data collected on the evaluation of competence of a social pedagogue, I call attention to those fields of work in social pedagogy that should be more emphasized and/or included in professional training and development programmes. The thesis also provides the information on the whereabouts of the social pedagogue’s further education, what were his motives for further education and the basis for his satisfaction at work or the possible professional burnout. In the theoretical part I present also social pedagogical view at psychotherapy and integrative psychotherapy relational modality, which includes a significant content upgrade of professional identity in occupations psychosocial assistance. The empirical part presents the self-reflection of the professional experience and the self-assessment of the competence of the social pedagogues included in the research. It shows that the perception of competence intensifies with years in regard to personal and professional development, and it depends on many factors, the most essential being the relationship with both co-workers and service users. Mutual co-creation and the spontaneous emergence of the process denote an important shift in the doctrine of social services. Life-long learning is an indispensable element of the competence maintenance and the obligatory upgrade of the knowledge one has gained by completing the undergraduate education. The younger social pedagogues wish for educational programmes in the field of individual programme design for people with special needs, while the older generation desires for more knowledge in the different fields of psychotherapy. Supervision presents a valuable support for professional work. The very important parts in the structuring of competence are intensive self-examination, experiential learning and self-reflection.
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