Introduction
In the process of continuous creation of knowledge forming the theoretical basis of educational social counselling, our professional interest focuses on defining the goal, specifying the content, formulating the approach, and constructing methods, i.e., means of transferring knowledge into practical procedures in the prevention and management of social problems by individuals, groups, and communities.
Background
A social problem is determined (caused) by various kinds of factors of its origin and persistence. The nature of the social problem also implies general and specific ways of solving it. For this reason, awareness and identification of the determination of a social problem has considerable practical significance.
Educational social counselling should provide social assistance to social clients and also guide social clients towards self-help in situations of potential social failure, as well as towards the development of their own individual potential through educational social activities.
Space opens up for activities aimed at creating targeted educational social programmes intended for the prevention of social situations, events and problems of target adult groups, in the spectrum of developmental social tasks of individuals and in the context of their life path (i.e., their biodromal development).
This concerns the formulation of a non-traditional use of the contents, forms and methods of adult education (i.e., education, instruction and counselling for adults). Emphasis is placed on the formation of social competence and social maturity of actual and potential clients of social work (individuals from socially disadvantaged groups, as well as other groups of citizens). The impact of educational social counselling can be achieved through non-traditional content and an innovative form of classic methods of adult education — lectures, discussion meetings, interactive talks, panel discussions, interviews across various types of media, visual and print presentations, etc.
Meaning and Focus of Adult Education
Thus another perspective is revealed on the meaning and focus of adult education and also on the significance of using traditional educational methods. This is for the purpose of preventing socially demanding conditions, situations and events that need to be considered not only in terms of their negative impact on people, but also in terms of positively encouraging people towards psychological change and coping with social situations. The novelty of the view of educational activities lies in the intention, that is, in what primarily the goals, content and methods, as well as the manner of implementation and evaluation of the adult education process, are oriented towards, and what they are derived from.
In the reality of practical social work, it is necessary to influence public opinion and foster an understanding of education as an important means by which a change in a person's ingrained and unhelpful experience of reality can be induced, e.g., learned helplessness in people when they have to face their own social disadvantage. The purpose of educational social counselling activities is to support people's own activity in achieving a change in their social situation. The role of educational social counselling activities within social preventive work is made visible, in the form of professional expert support for primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of socio-psychological failure of persons.
Preventive Approaches
Preventive approaches in social work, as a professional activity, are linked to the identification, evaluation and subsequent use of tools for eliminating or mitigating the consequences of social threat posed by a life situation. The consequences may manifest as disorders of social adaptation and impairment of the health of persons (their somatic, psychological and spiritual health). Within the prevention of individual and group social problems, and to mitigate the intensity of their effect on people's social and psychological adaptation, thoughtfully and competently prepared and implemented educational social counselling programmes for adults can be used.
The effectiveness of implementing educational social counselling programmes for adults depends to a large extent on knowledge of environmental influences on people. We have in mind primarily the influence of:
- Social environment of a person, that is, the influence of the social arrangement in which people live. The social environment (in the narrower sense) can be understood as a system and mode of relationships and communication between people — among individuals, between individuals and groups, and among groups.
- Psychological and spiritual environment of a person, that is, the influence of how people subjectively perceive, understand, and experience the environment in which they live from the aspect of their thinking, emotions and feelings, motivations, values, life principles, observance of social norms, rules, customs and habits, both in their own behaviour and actions, as well as in the behaviour and actions of others. The effects of this environment are visible in the manner and level of psychological and social adaptation and integration of people in a given environment — that is, in their spiritual, psychological, social and somatic health, in their behaviour and in their deeds.
- Educational environment, that is, the influence of the environment, which can be viewed as a system of history, culture, traditions, and values of a given society. The educational environment is subject to people's evaluation and manifests itself in public opinion and in the population's attitudes towards instruction and education — as social and individual values and necessary or desirable human activities. The educational environment is also characterized by the societal atmosphere related to the education of people. The educational environment is also assessed according to the material provision of infrastructure needed for carrying out and ensuring educational (instructional and counselling) activities in a particular country.
Justification of the Concept of Educational Social Counselling
Our presented outline of the concept of educational social counselling reflects a view found in the formulation of the strategy of lifelong learning and lifelong education of people. In the mentioned strategy, the guiding idea is that an adult person is capable of fully developing psychologically and socially throughout their entire life. The fact is respected and emphasized that people in every life period, under the influence of various life events and transitions on their life path, possess a unique individual potential (i.e., strength) necessary for permanent lifelong personal and thus also social development.
The idea that led us to work on the concept of educational social counselling for adults arose from our modest conviction that many individuals and social groups currently find themselves, to a certain extent, in a dead-end social and thus also personal situation. They are simply unable to adequately orient themselves in complex and unclear, difficult-to-predict and socially unbearable life situations. The need for a new type of social assistance and service, implemented through educational social counselling, springs from the occurrence of difficult social circumstances and life conditions for entire population groups in areas of life that are very important for many people. We have in mind primarily family life and the professional fulfillment of adults.
In adults, it can be realistically assumed that, in addition to a difficult current situation, they are further drained of energy by stress from the expectation of various kinds of possible adverse life events in the near future. Anticipatory stress often also affects a person's health condition. In contemporary society, labelled with the attribute post-modern society, primarily middle-aged adults and those in late adulthood (senior age) truly find themselves in a disadvantageous social position in the professional and social areas of life.
At the forefront of social events, as sociologists unanimously claim, is the young generation. The real possibility of threat due to social disadvantage, even marginalization, of the mentioned population groups (and likewise other groups in society) leads us to the conviction that it is highly relevant to devote attention to research and preparation of programmes of educational social counselling assistance, within the system of social services for the adult population.
Conclusion
The connection of adult education with social counselling for adults — within social work — appears to us, in the current psychologically and socially demanding conditions of life of social wholes and individuals, as an important type, form and means of prevention of the emergence and persistence of social and psychological imbalance in adult persons. It seems that people in general possess sufficient potential for their psychological and social development. They are capable of expanding and enriching their abilities at any age. If life conditions for an individual and a group are adequate, the human personality is in a state of permanent development, which generally concerns, for most persons, important areas of life: the area of professional self-realization and material security; the social area of relationships, communication, association of people, family, partnership; the area outside professional, or outside work self-realization, hobbies, interests, spending time in a personally preferred manner.
Educational social counselling pursues the main goal, which is to provide social assistance to adults if they are forced by circumstances to solve a social problem and, at the same time, usually an associated personal psychological problem.
Educational social counselling is a form of social assistance that recognizes the legitimacy and importance of initiative, independence, activity, responsibility and participation of adult persons — social clients — in the prevention and management of their state of social threat and social need.
People's awareness and their ability to socially adapt and integrate are strengthened so that their psychological integrity and "functioning" in social groups are not disrupted. With the intention that they maintain, as far as possible, their own social and psychological balance and thus also their health, despite socially unfavourable conditions, burdensome social events and socially demanding situations.
Author: prof. PhDr. Mária Machalová, CSc.
References
MACHALOVÁ,M. 2013. Preventívna sociálna práca - Edukačná paradigma v sociálnej práci. Prešov : Prešovská univerzita. ISBN 978-00-555-0932-7. MACHALOVÁ,M. 2014. Edukačná sociálna práca. Prešov: Prešovská univerzita. ISBN 978-80-555-1118-4. MACHALOVÁ,M.-SENKO,P. 2018. Životný obrat človeka – kontext biodromálnej psychológie a autentické životné príbehy. Bratislava: IVaŠ, 2018. ISBN