Relationship between social education professionals with different levels of education working in institutions for persons with disabilities

Context Over the past 20 years, the Swiss social work education system has undergone profound transformations, including a multiplication of education levels. In the field of social education, there are now three different levels of diplomas: socio-educational assistant with a Federal Diploma of Vocational Education and Training (SEA), social educator with an Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education (SEH) and social educator with a Bachelor’s degree (SEU). This article investigates the relationship between social education professionals with different levels of diplomas working in institutions for persons with disabilities in French-speaking Switzerland. Fourty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted with employers and professionals regarding the recruitment practices, the division of labour and the collaboration among professionals. Findings Our study highlighted a balanced distribution between SEA socio-educational assistants, SEH social educators and SEU social educators within institutions. Two modalities of division of labour were also observed: ‘assimilation’ that makes no differences at a formal level between social education professionals and ‘differentiation’ that involves a distinction between SEA socio-educational assistants and SEH/SEU social educators. Finally, participants underlined a good collaboration between these professionals. Applications Both assimilation and differentiation revealed at first sight a divergence between the introduction of three levels in the Swiss social work education system and the reality of the division of labour and the collaboration between SEA socio-educational assistants, SEH social educators and SEU social educators in institutions for persons with disabilities. Considering the recent reforms of social work education as well as the economic and political uncertainties surrounding social institutions in the field of disability, further research is required to examine how the relationship between the three professional profiles evolves.