Whiting & Birch (E-Journals)
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Editorial Special issue ‘Creative arts in the professions: Contributions to learning in practice’
Get PDFPredicting social and personal attraction in task groups
Get PDFEquity and market forces are examined for their influence on the formation of social and personal attraction in groups. It is hypothesized that perceptions of task and maintenance behaviors during group interactions influence individuals’ perceptions of costs and rewards in groups which, in turn, drive assessments of social and personal attraction via either equity or market forces. Results indicate that equity forces are significantly linked with perceptions of social attraction and market forces significantly predict personal attraction. Theoretical implications are discussed regarding equity theory, social exchange theory, and relational framing theory
Using a prisoner advisory group to develop diversity research in a maximum-security prison
No full textThis paper addresses groupwork processes with a group of prisoners advising a research project in a maximum-security prison in England. The research project (Appreciative Inquiry into the Diversity Strategy of HMP Wakefield. RES-000-22-3441) was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and lasted 9 months. The research explored the experiences of prisoners in diverse minority groupings and the strategies of the prison to accommodate the complex needs of these groups. The Prisoner Advisory Group (PAG) was made up of representatives from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) prisoners; older prisoners (over 60s); Disabled prisoners (with physical disabilities, learning difficulties; and mental health problems); Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender prisoners; and prisoners affiliated to Faith groups. It met regularly during the research. The paper considers the forming norming and performing aspects of establishing an effective participant voice in a prison-based project. It considers the contribution of the PAG to developing a research strategy that engaged prisoners in the research. It reflects on the nature of ‘participative research’ in general and whether such research is possible within a high-security prison environment
Where are we now?
Get PDFIn 2008, the UK Economic and Social Research Council called for ‘a fundamental step change’ in breadth, depth and quality of UK social work and social care research. This paper reports some of the findings from the ESRC Strategic Adviser for Social Work and Social Care initiative, focusing on the appraisal of the existing strengths and deficits of the research field. Discussion begins with highlighting some of the challenges of identifying and characterising both social work and social care research, explaining how these were addressed. It then outlines thematically the core substantive and methodological strengths and limitations of the field identified by key informants from social work and cognate disciplines, drawing attention to disciplinary and interdisciplinary distinctiveness and synergies. Discussion concludes with pointers to the way forward for research growth and excellence, with the argument that a commitment to developing social work and social care research is all the more crucial in times of economic austerity and challenges to social welfare and wellbeing
Difficult behaviour in groups
Get PDFThis article is based on work with 24 groupworkers in a Children’s Services agency in the English Midlands. Focus groups to consider the training priorities for groupworkers revealed one of the most pressing issues was difficult behaviours in groups. (This was initially referred to as challenging behaviour, but it was recognised that the word is ambiguous, so it was replaced by ‘difficult’). The groupworkers were asked to present an example of difficult behaviour, some of which are reproduced here, as part of a process to understand the meaning of difficult behaviour and to add context. Nine themes arose from the work with the Children’s Services groupworkers, and the article explores each theme and its implications for groupwork practice. The article relates the topic of difficult behaviour to the wider literature and suggests that the key to understanding and working with these behaviours in groups is the ability of the groupworker to unlock the meaning of the behaviour, and to find a way to articulate this alongside group members. Groupworkers’ honesty with themselves about the feelings aroused by difficult behaviours emerges as a significant factor
‘That was awful! I’m not ready yet, am I?’ Is there such a thing as a Good Fail?
Get PDFFailing students in practice placement is frequently viewed as a negative and emotionally challenging experience for students and practice teachers and, as such, a situation to be avoided. In this article the notion that failing is the ‘right thing to do’ is explored from the perspective of Senior Agency based Practice Educator and a University Course Director for Practice Learning and from their experience of supporting both students and practice educators in the process.Reasons for failure are considered and the concept of ‘reluctance to fail ‘is explored in the context of the expectations of assessment of practice. We argue that there is such a thing as a ‘good fail’ and that Social Work educators need to support the positive challenges of rigorous assessment rather than focus on the uncomfortable ‘feelings’ surrounding the notion of failure.Practice educators have an important gate keeping function which needs recognition in the process of assessing readiness to practise. We suggest that not only do practice educators and tutors need to embrace a fail recommendation as justifiable but also that students themselves are able to recognise a lack of readiness to practise and can acknowledge a sense of’ relief’ in a fail outcome
(Re)presenting the creative potential of learning plans
Get PDFField education is central to social work education as it is here that students bring alive their classroom-based learning through supervised professional practice. An important part of structuring students’ learning on placement is the development of their learning plan. A learning plan links professional activities to be undertaken with learning outcomes to be achieved along with how these are to be assessed within a specific time frame. Whilst the benefits of a well articulated learning plan (sometimes referred to as a learning contract or learning agreement), for structuring teaching and learning on placement (practicum) are generally acknowledged, there is a paucity of research evidence of such benefits in the literature. This article reports on a small qualitative study undertaken with a cohort of fourth year social work students from a Western Australian university, who had completed their final placement. Utilizing a mixed method of textual analysis of student learning plans and focus interviews we sought to understand how students construct and utilise their learning plan in developing their knowledge, skills and values in and for professional practice. Drawing on the findings we conclude with ways to make learning plans a more effective tool for field education placements
Adaptations for teaching social work with groups in the age of technology
Get PDFThis practice-based paper will describe experiences teaching social work with groups using technological enhancements. Examples from undergraduate social work education will be used to describe approaches employed in two courses in social groupwork; one which is conducted fully online and the second which employs a multi-modal format, conducted primarily online but with a required in-class component. Recommendations for teaching groupwork practice using online technology will be presented
Working with dignity
Get PDFThe study presented in this article is based on empirical material from a survey among leaders from 19 of the 20 incest centres in Norway, as well as interviews with 13 workers from one of these centres. The Norwegian incest centre movement started in the mid 1980s and seems to be a Norwegian phenomenon. The research question in this study is: What signifies the work done within Norwegian incest centres? The study reveals that these non-governmental institutions understand child sexual abuse as a violation of dignity and that they place emphasis on working with dignity when they deal with victims of child sexual abuse and their families. They see themselves as a supplement to professional therapeutic institutions. They place emphasis on meeting victims of child sexual abuse and their families with the working principle of help to self-help and by being fellow human beings. All of the centres place emphasis on dealing with a violated dignity with security, intimacy, love, belonging, recognition, and respect. The study also shows that 43 per cent of the workers in these centres have themselves experienced child sexual abuse, and that their acknowledgement of previous indignity has given them a self-knowledge that helps them in their work with dignity in the Norwegian incest centres
