Educador social : a construção do saber social aplicado às políticas públicas para a infância e adolescência

Abstract

The promulgation of the law nº 8.069/90 (Statute of the Child and Adolescent) is an important milestone in the public policy for children and adolescents welfare, they are recognized as subjects with rights within the Doctrine of Integral Protection. The history of the poor childhood in the country has been rewritten and it has mobilized several researchers. Therefore, the aim of this study is to verify the performance of the social educator in the field of the childhood and adolescent public policy. The research method chosen was a semi-structured interview, once it offered the possibility of a closer contact with the participants who had the opportunity to expose their thoughts, experiences, beliefs, perceptions and attitudes about the activity that they develop. The theoretical-methodological tool used was the Social Representations Theory - SRT. This theory guides us within the theoretical comprehension and the characterization of the social work as a correct method to place the questions and to look for the answers inside of a social thought. In Brazil, the performance of the social educator started in the streets and his performance was the key point in the conception of the child and adolescent as subjects with rights. As time went by, these professionals were introduced in governmental and non-governmental socio-assistencial units. According to the Brazilian context, the new conception of the child and the adolescent brought important changes which asked for distinct education practices in the legal, educational and social field. In this research, it was verified that the function of the social educator is being regulated and, like any professional, the representation of the educators work are influenced in an economical social political and legal way. The challenge is to develop his capacity to establish strategies of interdisciplinary and intersectional performance. With the regulation of the job and the training of the social educator in his several acting fields; it is believed to become possible to use the social education as a tool to guarantee rights and social inclusion and to compromise public policy in order to have them guaranteeing this aim.