EDUCATION OPERATOR (SOCIAL HEALTH SERVICES)

Description of the occupation

The educational operator for autonomy and communication is a figure functional to the learning processes and the inclusion of the student with disabilities or in disadvantaged conditions, who intervenes to strengthen their skills in areas such as autonomy and management of cognitive and relational aspects, from a non-welfare point of view with respect to the deficit, but aimed at the development of the recipient’s skills and of all the actors in school processes for inclusion. The Operator integrates his own activity with that of other figures (curricular teachers, support teachers and staff), not overlapping tasks and functions, but enhancing the different areas of competence.

Personal traits and competences

The operator has the following competences:

Fundamentals of psycho-pedagogy
Fundamentals of developmental psychology
Fundamentals of learning psychology
Fundamentals of special pedagogy
Elements of sociology
Principles and methods of peer mediated intervention
Types and characteristics of the different pathologies and disabilities: sensory, motor, functional, psychic deficits
Principles and techniques of communication (relationship and interaction communication models..)
Educational planning techniques (special individualized paths)
Institutional and regulatory framework on disability and integration
Regulatory framework on primary and secondary education
Elements of anti-discrimination law and practice
Notions of anatomy
Principles of the clinic of pathologies
Types of life-saving drugs and notions of first aid
Methodologies and techniques of the helping relationship

Technical knowledge and skills

Upon graduating, the EO is able to:

Apply methods for didactic and educational planning and evaluation, with attention to the acquisition of autonomy and socialization in learning contexts
Collaborate in the drafting and updating of the Individualized Education Plan (P.E.I.) and in the Working Group on Disability (G.L.H.), according to the objectives of learning, integration, socialization and rehabilitation
Understand the relevance of the gender factor in learning processes, recognizing, evaluating and preventing situations in which this factor could become an aggravating factor of the subject's conditions of discomfort
Understand, through the relationship with the family, the teaching and non-teaching staff and the resources of the Working Group on Disability (G.L.H.), the life project and the needs of the pupil, in relation to the characteristics of the disability
Identify and apply methods of information and communicative exchange between the school context (teacher, specialists,...) and the family
Design interventions to support learning and inclusion, in an integrated way with the educational and didactic approach of the curricular and support teachers
Detect the resources and potential that can be activated by the student and the class group, in order to translate them into concretely achievable educational goals
Support the definition of school-work alternation projects and bridging projects for leaving school
Develop observational and planning approaches, aimed at promoting inclusion among peers
Adopt methods to convey the educational strategies, training courses and teaching tools proposed by the teaching staff
Adopt techniques to stimulate the student's interests, in order to establish a motivational connection with the activities foreseen in the individualized path
Recognizing and adopting the most appropriate methods of student participation in the various scholastic, recreational and training activities
Recognize and use educational supports suitable for the special needs of the student, soliciting the different learning channels
Support coordinated interventions between school services and health, social welfare, cultural, recreational and sports services
Support the participation of the student with a disability or in a disadvantaged condition, in projects for inclusion based on small groups

Employment prospects

Overall employment the sector is projected to grow 6 percent from 2021 to 2031.

Working conditions

The operator works mainly in schools to strengthen the autonomy of the student with disabilities or at a disadvantage, in daily work, in participation in educational activities within the school and in the enjoyment of the territory. To create excellent working conditions that have positive returns for both the operator and the assisted, it is necessary to know how to create an effective communication channel to the benefit of the disabled student between family, other students, teachers, school staff and school manager. The communication channel must be functional to the strengthening of the autonomy and the learning process of the assisted, but also to the supervision and compliance with health and safety standards for the benefit and protection not only of the student, but also of the operator himself.

PROFESSIONAL LICENCE

It is necessary to follow and complete an ad hoc training course, thanks to which the person concerned to work as an educational operator for autonomy and communication can obtain a certificate of professional qualification, valid throughout the national territory.