Utilizing professional relationships with at-risk children

Veronika Štenclová; Bohdana Richterová; Hana Kubíčková

doi:10.7179/PSRI_2024.45.09

Authors

Veronika Štenclová University of Ostrava https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5964-5888
Bohdana Richterová University of Ostrava https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5372-4465
Hana Kubíčková University of Ostrava https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7755-2709

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7179/PSRI_2024.45.09

Keywords:

Educational principles, helping relationship, child at risk, pedagogical intervention, qualitative research

Abstract

A child can be considered at risk if their basic needs or not met or they are in danger of not having these needs met. Highly abnormal living conditions can directly harm personal development, learning, and integration into society. Working with at-risk children requires various educational approaches whose successful implementation depends greatly on the expertise of the personnel involved. This work aims to evaluate the use of relationship and educators’ understanding of it in interventions. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 teaching staff1 who work with children2 in various environments and organizations and subsequently analysed using open coding followed by thematic analysis. Interviews were conducted with eight children’s home educators, eight counsellors and therapists, and ten elementary school teachers. Significant aspects of the understanding and use of relationship-building were identified which, while differing based on the focus of the contributors, demonstrated that relationship-building was the common denominator in all successful interventions in education and re-education.

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Author Biographies

Veronika Štenclová , University of Ostrava

Doctor of pedagogy with a focus on social pedagogy, currently working as an assistant professor at the Department of Social Pedagogy, Faculty of Pedagogy, University of Ostrava. At the same time, she has been working with children in institutional care. The object of her professional interest is work with children at risk, the educational process with people exhibiting risky behavior and also educational work in institutions of institutional. She also participates in a number of research projects, is a lecturer at educational seminars and a participant in the psychotherapy training of Virginie Satirová’s Transformational Systemic Therapy. In the Czech Republic, she advocates the legislative inclusion of the job position of social pedagogue in primary education.

Bohdana Richterová , University of Ostrava

Doctor of pedagogy, the head of the Department of Social Pedagogy, which educates experts in bachelor’s and master’s degree studies. In her research she is focused on two areas; socially vulnerable groups of children and personal development of students and teachers. As part of the design of action research, she worked with groups of educators to improve their professional practice. In the Czech Republic, she advocates the legislative inclusion of the job position of social pedagogue in primary education.

Hana Kubíčková , University of Ostrava

Assistant professors at The Faculty of Education, University of Ostrava. Her research is focussed on issue vulnerable children and their families, youth at risk and foster families. Her other research interests include personality and social development of students and teachers.

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