Social skills in helping profession students for working with groups under risk

Abstract

The lack of comprehensive information concerning the social skills of students in helping professions (psychologists, social workers, pedagogues, and special educators) imposes an important task for educational trainers. Students in training should learn appropriate communion skills for working with diverse vulnerable clients and communities in order to have adequate response to those in need. The data presented in this paper were obtain with use of qualitative and quantitative methods to measure empathy, altruism, and assertiveness in 450 psychology, pedagogue, social work and special education and rehabilitation students (IRI Index of interpersonal reaction, Davis, 1996, Scale of altruism, Raboteg-Šarić, 1993 and Scale of assertiveness, Zdravković, 2004) The results showed that there is a positive relation between the level of empathy and altruism, and a negative relation between the level of empathy and assertiveness in students. In addition, there are significant differences in the birth order, gender, year of study, the quality and the quantity of the education in the field (practical work) that they have participated in during the studies. The obtained results cannot be generalize to all helping professions because of the sample limitation, but they are significant for seeing the current state in regards of the examined characteristics and for building a strategy for their improvement. At the same time, the results present a significant indicator that confirms the idea of redesigning the current study programs that would provide opportunities for the present students to get the needed competencies for providing their professional success.