Education as an indicator of the quality of social services

The issue of evaluation of social services in Slovakia was opened in 2008. Process of evaluation is associated with a requirement of an adequate education of workers in various positions in social services. The aim of this... [ view full abstract ]

The issue of evaluation of social services in Slovakia was opened in 2008. Process of evaluation is associated with a requirement of an adequate education of workers in various positions in social services.
The aim of this study was to determine the importance of education among direct contact workers in social services settings.
To achieve the objective mixed research design was used. Questionnaire survey was designed to determine client satisfaction with provided services. Through semi-structured interviews, we investigated the relationship between workers and their professional activities (relation to clients, to work). Document analysis was focused on finding examples of good practice.
The research was conducted on a sample of 165 respondents working on 8 social services facilities. The respondents were workers working in direct contact with clients.
From the partial results of the research it is clear that social workers without adequate education do not possess sufficient knowledge of the methods and techniques of social work and part of them expressed negative and even hostile approach to clients and tendencies to eliminate direct contact and work with the client to a minimum. Among professionals, who have sufficient education for the performance of their work, partnership approach with attempts to improve the quality of life for clients prevailed.
Based on our research results, it can be stated that education is an important factor influencing personal relationship to the social workers professional activities, as well as enhances teamwork and understanding of clients with disabilities as equal autonomous beings.
This paper was prepared as a part of the project The Identity of Social Work in the Context of Slovakia [APVV-0524-12] funded by the Slovak Research and Development Agency.