Development of social skills and career competences in child day-care centres: attitude of day-care centre specialists

Abstract

The article analyses the role of day-care centres in developing social skills and career competences of socially disadvantaged children, and includes the results of the theoretical analysis of the relationship between social skills and career competences illustrated by the quality survey data revealing the attitude of day centre specialists toward the development of social skills and career competences. According to the research, children frequently come or are referred to a day-care centre due to a complicated situation in the biological family, including the children who have experienced active and/or passive violence. Due to emotional tension and permanent stressful home situation these children are often reticent and are not equipped with key social skills, namely: good communication and cooperation, compatibility of needs, rights and duties; they are also unable to control stress and lack self-cognition skills etc. Pursuant to the research, child day-care centres perform a compensatory function for the development of social skills and career competences; however, specialists of child day-care centres do not actualise the importance of social skills for a successful career development.