Educational Surrogate Parent

[KaMus]

Does anyone know whether such concept exists in Polish schools and how it would be translated?

In the U.S., "educational surrogate parent" is an individual who has been appointed to represent the educational interests of a child with disabilities, when the parent is unable or unwilling to do so. A education surrogate parent determines matters related to obtaining individualized education and has the same rights as those accorded parents in this regard.

I am translating a form related to conducting disability evaluations for students in school and just can't seem to find any information on this concept in Polish - I imagine that maybe such a role simply does not exist in Polish schools?

I was going to translate this term as "opiekun prawny dziecka w sprawach edukacyjnych" - does anyone think this would be misleading, or maybe there is a better way to describe the concept?

Thank you every much for any input on this subject!

 

[zaffy]

In Poland disabled children have the right to have an extra teacher just for them. It is called a 'nauczyciel wspomagający'. Such a teacher is responsible for a disabled child's individualized education, but has no parental rights. For example, such a teacher sits with a child throughout a given class, while it is being conducted by the main teacher.

 

[KaMus]

Thank you - I looked up the definition of "Nauczyciel wspomagający" and yes, it looks like I could use this term in my translation for "Educational Surrogate Parent." Even though it may not be a 100% equivalent translation - it describes a possibly identical function in respective school systems. In the context of the form, the term is used to describe one of the types of persons authorized to sign the form (next to Parent and Guardian) - so using "nauczyciel wspomagający" seems to be the best option, as it would certainly be one of the people authorized to sign form of this type in a school setting.

Thank you for the information!

 

[jasio]

I'm not sure if "kurator" would not be a better word in Polish Kurator (prawo) – Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia - albeit you would need to dig deeper to make sure.

 

[zaffy]

A 'kurator' won't and can't work with kids at school. Also, they are not entitled to draw up their educational schemes.

 

[jasio]

A 'kurator' won't and can't work with kids at school. Also, they are not entitled to draw up their educational schemes.

Perhaps I'm missing something, but I cannot see anything about "working with the kids at school" in the OP. I focused on the phrase "represent the educational interests of a child (...) when the parent is unable or unwilling to do so", which I find the key information. For me it's not about working with the kids, it's making sure that the child receives proper care and education at school - adapted to the child's mental and physical capabilities, if necessary.

I do not know if there is a position like that in the Polish educational system, but a person representing legal interests of a person who cannot represent oneself (or of a child who's parent's cannot perform this obligation) is called "kurator". Of course, provided that the child does not have a foster family, because in such cases the foster parents should do the job. "Kurator" can also be nominated if there is a conflict of interests between the child and the parents - like in situations when the child already posesses its own assets, separate from the parents' assets.

The name is a bit misleading though, because it's also a name of an official in the educational hierarchy (Kurator oświaty – Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia), but it's something entirely different.