TEACHERS AS HELPERS IN A POST-WAR COMMUNITY – EXPERIENCES FROM HRVATSKA KOSTAJNICA AND ĐAKOVICA (KOSOVO)

U radu je, na temelju iskustava iz Hrvatske Kostajnice i Đakovice na Kosovu, naglašen značaj suradnje s učiteljima i osobitost njihove uloge u pomagačkom procesu rada s djecom u poslijeratnim zajednicama. Jedan od ciljeva projekta u Kostajnici bio je osnaživanje učitelja kao pomagača djece s kojom rade. Većina učitelja osnovne škole u Kostajnici bila je uključena u nekoliko obrazovnih programa i višednevnih seminara iz područja stresa i traume, te različitih mogućnosti i specifičnosti u radu s djecom. Neki od njih su voditelji socijalizacijskih grupa i aktivno pomažu djeci s poteškoćama u čitanju. Na temelju iskustava stečenih u Kostajnici osmišljen je projekt u kojem je sudjelovalo 60 učitelja osnovnih škola i gimnazije iz Đakovice na Kosovu. Oni su, nakon edukacije iz područja dječje traume i grupnog rada, vodili socijalizacijske grupe za djecu. Kod jednih i drugih uočene su sličnosti u načinu pomagačkog rada, koje proizlaze iz specifičnosti učiteljske uloge. Prikazan je osvrt na neke važne aspekte kao što su: početni entuzijazam u pomagačkoj ulozi, tko je odgovoran kad dijete iskazuje poremećaje u ponašanju, pitanje novčane naknade kao mogućeg motivacijskog faktora za rad s djecom, te neke moguće suprotnosti učiteljske i pomagačke uloge.This work emphasises the importance of our cooperation with teachers and the specific features of their role as helpers in working with children in post-war communities, based on the experiences gained in Hrvatska Kostajnica and Đakovica in Kosovo. One of the objectives of the Kostajnica project was to bolster and enable teachers to take on the role of helpers in assisting the children with whom they work. Most of the teachers of the primary school in Kostajnica were involved in several training programs and seminars lasting a number of days, dealing with stress and trauma, and with the different possibilities and the specific characteristics of working with children. Some of these teachers currently lead socialisation groups for children and actively assist children with reading disabilities. On the basis of the acquired experience in Kostajnica, another project was developed which included 60 primary and secondary school teachers from Đakovica in Kosovo. Following a training program in the field of children’s trauma and group work, they assumed the role of leaders of socialisation groups for children. In both of the above cases, we observed similarities in the way the teachers carried out their work as helpers which stem from their specific role as teachers. In this paper we consider briefly some significant aspects of this work, for example, the beginner’s enthusiasm in the role of helper, the question of who is responsible when a child shows behavioural problems, the problem of financial compensation as a possible motivating factor in working with children, as well as the potential contradictions of the teacher’s as opposed to the helper’s role