Co-operation relationship between the parents and specialised staff members in training, occupation and care centres

The aim of this research has been to check the co-operation relationship between the parents of the persons with moderate, severe and profound deficiencies in mental and physical development and specialised staff members in social welfare institutions, particularly in training, occupation and care centres in Slovenia. The co-operation is importantly connected with the interactive style and the relationship competence of the families of these parents and the families of the specialised staff members. We have been interested in the data on what the interactive style and relationship competence in the families with persons with deficiencies who are included in these centres are like, and what the interactive style and relationship competence in the families of specialised staff members who work with these persons in these centres are like. The co-operative relationship which is established plays an important role in planning and co-ordination of the needs of these persons and the interests of everybody involved in the co-operation relationship. Furthermore, we have established the connectedness of the co-operation relationship with the inclusion of the parents into the self-assistance groups for the parents and the staff into groups having to do with supervision, intervision and key persons. Survey questionnaires for parents and specialised staff members have been used for the purpose of the exploratory quantitative research method. The first, translated part of the survey questionnaire checks the co-operation relationship and interactive style of the families of the parents and the families of the specialised staff members. The second part of the survey questionnaire, which checks the co-operation relationship between the parents and specialised staff members, has been formed on the basis of theoretical starting points and professional practice. The research has been the means of ascertaining the structural difference between the group of parents and the group of specialised staff members; on the basis of the results obtained via statistical analyses we have defined the system which best anticipates the degree of mutual co-operation relationship. In order to establish the connectedness of the interactive style and relationship competence with the co-operation relationship, Pearson’s correlation coefficient has been used. The results have shown that the interactive style and relationship competence in the families of the parents as well as in those of specialised staff members critically connected with the degree of the co-operation relationship between the parents and specialised staff members. On the basis of the system of variables we have assumed that there is a structural difference between the parents who are involved in self-assistance groups for parents and those who are not. Individual bi-variant calculations have been applied with categorical variables, to wit, point-biserial correlation coefficient with non-categorical variables in order to establish the differences. It has been established that mothers are substantially more involved in these groups than fathers and unmarried parents are more so than those living in a partnership relation; it has furthermore been established that in the units with around-the-clock-care and training of persons with deficiencies their parents participate in the self-assistance groups for parents significantly less frequently as opposed to the parents with of persons with deficiencies who are involved in the units with day care and training. In addition, on the basis of the system of variables structural differences among specialised staff members who are included in the groups for the staff and those who are not have been assumed. We have come to the conclusion that the groups for the staff are least frequented by the specialised staff members with a pre-university degree of education and most frequented by those with a higher education degree or post-graduate degree; moreover, guardians as compared with pedagogical and health care workers are involved in the groups for the staff in a significantly smaller number. The establishment of the differences in the degree of the co-operation relationship of the parents who are involved in the groups for self-assistance for parents and those who are not, as well as that of the specialised staff members who are involved in the groups for self-assistance for the staff and those who are not, has been checked by means of a one-way analysis of variance. The results have not confirmed differences in parents as opposed to the surprising fact that the specialised staff members who are involved in the groups for the staff have displayed a significantly lower degree of the co-operation relationship with parents. The statistical method of two-way analysis of variance has been applied to establish the differences in the degree of the co-operation relationship given the gender and the age of the parents and the staff. The results have confirmed the differences in the age of the male staff, namely, that with their age the degree of co-operation relationship with parents increases. On the basis of the results of the research we have substantiated and proposed the concepts of a successful co-operation relationship between the parents and specialised staff members which enable the understanding of this relationship and contribute to a more effective realisation of the programme for persons with moderate, severe and profound deficiencies in mental and physical development. The differences which have been demonstrated between the centres indicate the need for a more coordinated operation of the centres knowledge exchange in the area of the attitude in the relations with parents. It is particularly necessary to encourage those parents to co-operate who have persons with deficiencies included in around-the-clock-care and training, primarily fathers. In addition, the method of work in the day care and training practices needs to be brought as close as possible to the work in the around-the-clock-care and training practices; moreover, more recruitment of more male staff members should be attempted. Furthermore, we have proposed a revision and organisation of the groups for the staff such as intervision and particularly supervision which includes specialised staff members with the highest degree of education. All this requires new forms of work and co-operation with parents, new forms of co-operation between centres and, last but not least, training of parents and specialised staff members