Educational work in institutional conditions is considered one of the most challenging forms of working with children. However, research dealing with the topic of educational institutions most often focuses on the experience and perception of the users of the institutions, while the perspective of the educators remains neglected. So far, it is very well known the great importance that the users attach to the educator's role, but a small number of research conducted so far in the Republic of Croatia has touched upon the educators' perception of their own work role. The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the reflections of educators employed in educational institutions on aspects related to their work role. In the first part of the paper, an overview of the theoretical findings so far is offered, while in the second part, qualitative research conducted with educators employed in educational institutions in the Republic of Croatia is presented. The sample is purposive. Focus group was used to collect data. The following research questions were asked: how educators perceive and describe their work role; how educators perceive and describe their personal characteristics in the context of the role of an educator; which is the participant's experience of competence to perform the work of an educator. The results of the research indicated the multiplicity of the educator's role and the perception of the educator's job as challenging and demanding. The participants attached little importance to personal characteristics such as age or gender in performing work, and the importance of character traits was emphasized. Furthermore, the results showed that the participants felt competent to perform the work of an educator. Numerous challenges that educators face in their daily work have also been identified, as well as suggestions for improving the work of educators. This is the first research in the Republic of Croatia that focuses exclusively on educators' perception of aspects related to their work. The above points to the importance of further dealing with this topic and deeper research into aspects related to the work of educators, especially those on which the educators themselves have emphasized, with the aim of improving them.