ABSTRACT

Since 1999 the Colleg fiirFamilienPiidagogik (Family Life Education College) has been running an innovative course for training educational staff and carers. The aim of the course is to communicate the knowledge and skills required for working in a complex field of interaction to establish conditions conducive to development in emotionally disturbed children and young adults. This specific model was developed by SOS Children's Villages to provide the training and trigger the learning processes needed by adults working in professional out­ of-home care communities with children and young adults. The relevant core competence constitutes the professional self-image of the family life educator and is the qualification needed for a field of education in which not an external structure but the performance of the tasks involved defines the profession. This article presents the theoretical background and describes a training model that we believe offers the key to effective family development work.