The Role of the School as Protective Factor in Prevention of Behavioral Disorders in Children and Youth

Cilj ovog rada bio je ukratko definirati pojavu poremećaja u ponašanju, pojasniti pojam prevencije u okviru navedene pojave, opisati koncept zaštitnih i rizičnih čimbenika, ukazati na važnost uključivanja škole u razvoj kvalitetnog i zdravog okruženja za odrastanje sve djece te na njezinu ulogu kao zaštitnog faktora u prevenciji razvoja poremećaja u ponašanju i ukratko analizirati postojeće stanje školskih preventivnih programa u Hrvatskoj. Škola je, nakon obitelji i vršnjaka, središnje mjesto socijalizacije djece i mladih te bi kao takva trebala ukloniti rizične čimbenike koji bi nepovoljno mogli djelovati na odrastanje učenika, a povećati zaštitne faktore koji bi uklonili ili smanjili razvoj poremećaja u ponašanju. Pregledom literature, zaključeno je da je najvažnije da se programi prevencije u školama provode pravovremeno, da su jasno koncipirani, da uključuju sve dionike škole i da su umjereni ka stvaranju pozitivne, podržavajuće i sigurne školske klime. Analiza postojećih preventivnih programa u Hrvatskoj pokazala je da su programi osmišljeni nejasno, da su ciljevi nedovoljno operacionalizirani, da se često nameću zahtjevi tijela kojima glavni cilj nije dobrobit djece te da ne postoji stvarna povezanost škole, obitelji, zajednice i stručnih organizacija.The aim of this paper was to define behavior problems, explain the term prevention in relation to the aforementioned phenomenon, describe the concept of risk and protective factors, point to the importance of school interventions in helping to make a healthy and quality environment for children and prevent the development of behavior problems and briefly analyze the current state of school protection programs in Croatia. School holds the central position (after family and peers) in childrens socialization process and its goal should be to remove risk factors that could have negative influence on children and increase protective factors that would eliminate or decrease the development of behavior problems. It is crucial for school protection programs to be conducted in time, to be clearly conceived, to involve all related to school and to be focused on creating a positive, supporting and safe school environment. Analysis of the existing protection programs in Croatia shows that most of the programs are vaguely conceived, its goals are not fully planned, there are often requests from higher bodies whose primary goal is not childrens welfare and that there is no real connection between school, family, local community and administrative services