This study presents professional development models, in the psychosocial area, which analyse the process of competence’s acquisition, the needs of child and youth care workers who share the everyday tasks of institutional routine with persons considered at risk. The authors dispute the linear development model efficiency, which is based just on the length of practice, and stress aspects of professional development in psychosocial intervention showing the link between ongoing education and progression to more efficient developmental stages.
child and youth care workers; professional development; continuum education; practice quality