Diversity-Responsive Practices in the Field of Social Educational Care Work: Development of a Practice-Oriented Framework and Professionalisation Trajectory

Within the field of Social Educational Care Work, professionals work with diversity in all forms daily. Therefore, diversity-responsive practice is considered an important goal. Unfortunately, it often proves difficult for individual practitioners to achieve, particularly when organizational conditions that support sustainable (workplace) learning are lacking. The absence of a clear framework for Social Educational Care Workers, combined with uncertainty about how to act in diverse situations, contributes to this challenge. Consequently, there is a need for informal workplace learning processes, such as reflecting on concrete practice situations, consulting with colleagues, and collaboratively exploring meaningful courses of action.

This research project aims to strengthen both Social Educational Care Workers and their organizations in diversity-responsive practice. The project will result in the development and validation of an evidence-informed and practice-oriented framework for diversity-responsive support and guidance within contexts of Social Educational Care Work, building on previous research conducted in educational settings. In addition, the project seeks to develop and evaluate a professional development trajectory that supports organizations in strengthening diversity-responsive practice at both the micro level (individual practitioners) and the meso level (teams and organizational policy).

This research aligns with the research line “Professional Development of (Educational) Professionals” within the Research Centre for Learning in Diversity.