The use of play in school counseling environment

Magistrsko delo se ukvarja z razumevanjem pomena in uporabnosti igre in igralnih aktivnosti za šolsko svetovalno delo. V teoretičnem izhodišču se osredotoča na razumevanje igre otrok v povezavi z njihovim razvojem in učenjem. Poleg posameznih značilnosti igre zajema predvsem značilnosti igralne dejavnosti ter povezavo igralno-terapevtskih tehnik s posameznimi svetovalnimi (socialnopedagoškimi) strategijami. Naloga izhaja iz teoretičnih izhodišč psihologije razvoja otrok in otroške igre (razvojno-psihološke teorije), klasifikacije in ovrednotenja igre, (na otroka usmerjene) igralne terapije ter šolskega svetovanja. Glavni poudarek naloge se nanaša na uporabo igre kot komunikacijskega in izraznega sredstva znotraj svetovalno delovnega procesa. Namen empiričnega dela je spoznati vidik in praktične izkušnje svetovalnih delavcev glede uporabnosti in pomena igre v kontekstu šolskega svetovalnega dela. Ugotovitve raziskave, ki zajema kvantitativni in kvalitativni del in je bila izvedena med osnovnošolskimi svetovalnimi delavci, kažejo, da igralna aktivnost predstavlja eno izmed pomembnejših aktivnosti oziroma načinov svetovalnega dela, s pomočjo katerih strokovnjaki skupaj z otroki dosegajo različne (svetovalne) namene v okviru in za razreševanje različnih vrst težav. Pri tem je potrebno posamezne oblike in način igre prilagajati različnim dejavnikom, ki sicer posredno vplivajo tudi na samo izbiro konkretnih aktivnosti in zajemajo tako značilnosti otrok (starost, sposobnosti), značilnosti svetovalnih delavcev (razumevanje, spretnosti, lastnosti) in njihovih odnosov kot tudi značilnosti specifičnih težav in stisk ter drugih dejavnikov, ki vplivajo tako na izbiro vključevanja kot na sam potek igralnih in drugih aktivnosti. Raziskava za stroko pomeni predvsem pregled trenutnih trendov in umeščenosti uporabe igre kot enega izmed možnih načinov svetovalnega dela oziroma predstavitev trenutne prakse vključevanja igralnih aktivnosti v povezavi s tujimi praksami. Poleg tega se osredotoča tudi na pregled morebitnih želenih sprememb na tem področju.The thesis deals with an understanding of the importance and usefulness of play and play activities for school counseling. The theoretical part focuses on understanding of children\u27s play in relation to their development and learning. It contain the presentation of the characteristic of play activities and the connection between play therapy techniques and particular counselling (social pedagogical) strategies. Thesis follows the theoretical basis of child psychology and child\u27s play development (developmental psychological theories), classification and evaluation of the play, (child-centered) play therapy and counseling. The main focus of the thesis is the use of play as means of expression and communication within a school counseling process. The purpose of the empirical part is to obtain the opinion and practical experiences of school counselors about the usefulness and importance of the play in the context of school counseling. The findings of the research (which includes quantitative and qualitative part and was conducted among elementary school counselors) suggest that play activities are one of the most important activities and methods of (counseling) work. The use of play can help professionals to collaborate with children in achieving different (counseling) purposes to solve different types of problems. The play and play activities has to be adapted to various factors, which include boththe characteristics of the child (age, skills), the characteristics of counselors (understanding, skills, attributes) and their relationships as well as the characteristics of the specific difficulties, and other factors that affect play (integration). The study is an overview of current trends and position of play as one of the possible ways of counseling. It contains a representation of current practice in the use of play and its connection with foreign practices. In addition, it focuses on a review of potential changes in the field of integration of play in counselin