This article aims at restoring the steps that have contributed to the emergence of an educational profession dedicated to « difficult children » in the French-speaking Switzerland context, striving to position this new professional career compared to the school educational offer. The first step occurred from the beginning of the 19th century : a private network of correctional institutions then emerged, on the fringes of the public school system, initiating a sharing of the educational field and clienteles to educate. The second stage begun with the introduction of new child protection laws at the end of the century, that allowed state intervention in the face of deficient parenting, without, however, jeopardizing the distribution of educational provision between private educational works and public educational establishments. During the inter-war period, a third stage saw the deployment of a medico-pedagogical approach that postulated the curability of behavioral disorders, and advocated the renovation of educational institutions through the creation of a new profession : that of specialized educator. This sequence helped to articulate this profession to the emancipatory objectives pursued by the school, with the firm goal toto contribute to the social reintegration of young people in residential care; but it also helped to reinforce the segregative process that separated ordinary school-managed populations from youth diverted towards out-of-home placement. After a period of enthusiasm that witnessed the creation of the first training center in French-speaking Switzerland, the young profession of specialized educator underwent a severe crisis of confidence as of the 1960s, fueled by a general questioning about the segregated effects of these policies towards the disadvantaged populations. A crisis that les to the construction of other conceptions of educational action with families and children in difficulty, based on more respectful human rights standards : these should be documented to better understand their extent and actual effects on educational professional practices, both in and out of school.