Assessment of professional career of special education teachers in their late career stage

Hiter znanstveno-tehnološki razvoj in številne družbene spremembe postavljajo pedagoške delavce v šoli, kamor sodijo tudi specialni in rehabilitacijski pedagogi (v nadaljevanju SRP), pred vedno nove izzive in zahteve. Pričakovanja do pedagoških delavcev postajajo vse višja, zato se morajo ves čas izobraževati, slediti novostim na svojem področju ter pridobivati nove kompetence. Profesionalni razvoj je za njih nujno potreben. Kako bo le-ta pri vsakem posamezniku potekal je odvisno od različnih zunanjih in notranjih dejavnikov, med katerimi imajo pomembno vlogo njihova pojmovanja poklica, kariere in profesionalnega razvoja. V teoretičnem delu smo predstavili poklicno vlogo SRP ter njegove ključne kompetence, podrobneje razložili profesionalni razvoj, predstavili različne modele ter dejavnike profesionalnega razvoja in se nazadnje dotaknili še rezilientnosti pedagoških delavcev. Namen raziskave je bil ugotoviti, kako SRP pojmujejo karierne procese, kako opredeljujejo temeljno poslanstvo poklica, kompetence in poklicno pot. Zanimalo nas je tudi njihovo zadovoljstvo v poklicu in dejavniki, ki vplivajo nanj. V nadaljevanju smo se spraševali še o dejavnikih profesionalnega razvoja, stresnosti poklica SRP in varovalnih dejavnikih rezilientnosti. Empirična raziskava je temeljila na kvalitativnem pristopu. Vzorec je bil neslučajnostni priložnosten. Zajemal je 11 SRP, ki zasedajo različna delovna mesta in imajo nad 30 let delovne dobe. Podatki so bili pridobljeni s pomočjo polstrukturiranega intervjuja, obdelani in kategorizirani po načelih kvalitativnega raziskovanja. Rezultati raziskave kažejo, da je razumevanje pojma kariera pri SRP kompleksno. Tipično kariero učitelja v šoli najpogosteje povezujejo z napredovanjem, uspešnost svojega kariernega razvoja pa povezujejo z osebnim zadovoljstvom. Večina SRP meni, da je poslanstvo njihovega poklica v izobraževanju in vzgajanju otrok s posebnimi potrebami, z namenom, da bodo ti samostojni in da se bodo lahko vključili v družbo. Sodelujoči SRP različno navajajo kompetence, ki so potrebne za opravljanje specialno-pedagoškega dela. Vsi pa menijo, da je pomembna formalna izobrazba in pridobljeno znanje. Sodelujoči svojo poklicno pot zaključujejo zadovoljni. Na njihovo poklicno zadovoljstvo najbolj vplivajo avtonomija učitelja, sodelovanje s starši, z vodstvom šole in s sodelavci, stalnost zaposlitve, občutek, da je njihovo delo cenjeno v šoli ter napredek učenca pri učenju. SRP svoj poklic ocenjujejo kot stresen, kot varovalne dejavnike pa najpogosteje navajajo podporo družine in sodelavcev. Med dejavnike, ki najbolj vplivajo na njihov profesionalni razvoj, SRP izpostavljajo nadaljnje izobraževanje, kakovost začetnega izobraževanja, branje strokovne literature, motivacijo za lasten profesionalni razvoj, odločitev za učiteljski poklic, spodbudno in pozitivno klimo ter urejene družinske/osebne razmere. Birokracija in urejanje dokumentacije, neustrezen nabor izobraževanj za področje ter pomanjkanje časa zaradi usklajevanja družinskega/osebnega in službenega življenja pa so dejavniki, ki po oceni udeleženih SRP najbolj ovirajo njihov profesionalni razvoj.Rapid scientific and technological development as well as numerous social changes constantly set new challenges for school pedagogical workers, including special education (SPED) teachers. The expectations towards pedagogical workers are becoming greater and greatertherefore, they constantly need to acquire new knowledge, follow the novelties in their field and gain new competencies. Their professional development is crucial. How the latter proceeds with every individual, depends on different external and internal factors. Among those, conception of their job, career, and professional development carry a great role. The theoretical part exhibits SPED teacher`s occupational role and their key competencies, it enlarges upon their professional development, presents different models and factors of professional development, and it finally touches resilience of pedagogic workers. The purpose of the research was to find out how SPED teacher understand career processes, how they define the occupation`s fundamental purpose, competencies, and career pathways. We wanted to know about their job satisfaction and factors, which influence it. Further on, we investigated the factors of professional development, SPED teacher`s job stressfulness, and resilience safety factors. The empirical research was based on qualitative approach, using non-probability convenience sampling. The sample comprises 11 SPED teachers, who work in different positions and have over 30 years of service. The data were obtained from semi-structured interviews, and analyzed and categorized according to the principles of qualitative research. Study results show that SPED teacher`s understanding of a career concept is complex. Typical teacher`s career is mostly associated with promotion, whereas success of their career development is perceived through their personal satisfaction. Most of them believe that the purpose of their occupation is to educate and raise children with special needs, to enable them independency and social inclusion. As essential competencies for working in special education, the interviewees listed different competencies. However, all of them find formal education and acquired knowledge important. The participants claim that they are ending their career satisfied. Their occupational satisfaction derives mainly from teacher`s autonomy, cooperation with parents, cooperation with the school management and co-workers, job stability, feeling appreciated for their work at school, and pupil`s learning progress. As they find their job stressful, they most commonly stated family and co-worker support as being the most important safety factor. SPED teachers pointed out the factors, which most influence their professional development: ongoing learning, quality academic education, reading scholarly literature, being motivated for own professional development, taking a decision to become a teacher, supportive and positive atmosphere, and good family/personal relationships. On the other hand, bureaucracy and organization of documentation, inadequate assortment of teacher trainings, as well as lack of time for managing family/personal and professional life are factors, which they believe most obstruct their professional development