Þróun starfa íslenskra þroskaþjálfa í alþjóðlegu ljósi

Sérrit 2015 - Hlutverk og menntun þroskaþjálfaÍ rannsókninni sem hér er greint frá er sjónum beint að fagstétt íslenskra þroskaþjálfa í alþjóðlegu ljósi. Þroskaþjálfar ganga ýmist undir heitinu social educators eða social pedagogues á alþjóðavettvangi en social education er það hugtak sem alþjóðasamtök þroskaþjálfa, International Association of Social Educators (AIEJI), notar yfir faggreinina þroskaþjálfafræði. Flest fagfélög þroskaþjálfa í Evrópu, þar á meðal Þroskaþjálfafélag Íslands, eru aðilar að samtökunum (Þroskaþjálfafélag Íslands, e.d.). Alþjóðasamtökin hafa unnið að því að styrkja stöðu og samstarf þroskaþjálfa milli landa og í þeim tilgangi hafa þau þróað sameiginleg hæfniviðmið, A Common Platform for Social Educators in Europe, á alþjóðavísu (AIEJI, 2009). Rannsóknargögnin sem eru lögð til grundvallar þessari grein eru hluti af langtímarannsókn sem hefur þann tilgang að skoða þýðingu alþjóðlegs samstarfs fyrir framþróun menntunar og starfa íslenskra þroskaþjálfa. Rannsóknarspurningar sem glímt er við í greininni eru tvær: Hvernig sjá íslenskir þroskaþjálfar stöðu sína, starfshlutverk og helstu áskoranir í starfi; og að hvaða marki má finna mun á faglegri þróun fagstéttar þroskaþjálfa á Íslandi og í öðrum löndum Evrópu? Unnið var samkvæmt eigindlegri rannsóknarhefð. Gagnasöfnun er byggð á hálfopnum við- tölum við íslenska þroskaþjálfa og opinni spurningakönnun. Niðurstöður gefa til kynna að störf og starfshlutverk íslenskra þroskaþjálfa falli vel að hæfniviðmiðum alþjóðasamtaka þroskaþjálfa og helstu forsendum þeirra. Ennfremur að fagstéttin sé samstíga milli landa um áherslur í mörgum mikilvægum málum sem varða núverandi stöðu hennar, áskoranir og sóknarfæri. Færa má rök fyrir mikilvægi alþjóðlegs samstarfs fyrir framþróun fagstéttarinnar hér á landi, ekki síst í ljósi þeirra áskorana sem hún stendur frammi fyrir í breyttu starfsumhverfi.The study described here focuses on the profession of social educators in Iceland in an international context. The profession is known internationally either under the name of social educators or social pedagogues. Social education is the concept used for the profession and its underpinning theory by the International Association of Social Educators (AIEJI). Most of the professional associations of social educators in Europe are members of the AIEJI, which has worked to strengthen the co-operation of social educators across countries. For that purpose, they have developed a set of shared competences under the name, A Common Platform for Social Educators in Europe (AIEJI, 2005; 2009). The data presented in this article is part of a long-term study that began in 2013. The main objectives of the study are twofold. On the one hand, the aim is to gain a deeper understanding of Icelandic society’s need for the profession and the knowledge and skills sought in that context, and on the other hand, to get a picture of what social educators in Iceland have in common with those in Europe in terms of learning outcomes and professional competences. The main research question is: To what extent is there harmony between professional development, job roles and key challenges social educators face in Iceland and other countries in Europe? The research is qualitative, and data collection is based on a survey and semi-structured interviews with social educators working in various service fields in Iceland. Twenty social educators in Iceland participated in the study. The Common Platform for Social Educators in Europe (AIEJI) was used as the basis for analysing the results. The data shows that the role and responsibility of the Icelandic social educator coincides with the competences of social educators in Europe developed by the International Association of Social Educators (AIEJI) in areas like ethics, theoretical and idealogical background. The same can be said about the challenges facing the profession in an international context. One can argue that increased international networking can benefit the community of Icelandic social educators in a profound way, such as by widening their perspective and strengthening their identity and sense of belonging to a professional international community. Data also indicates that increased participation of Icelandic social educators would be of value to the international community of social educators in Europe, in particular in the light of their expertise in areas such as human rights based services for disabled people of all ages in different sectors of society