Practice Learning in Social Work

Jennifer Burton

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781137388001
• eBook ISBN: 9781350313248
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Work
• Index: Social Sciences

Learning through practice lies at the heart of social work education, providing the opportunity for students to develop and employ the skills, experience and knowledge they need to become effective social workers. This exciting new addition to Palgrave's Practical Social Work series provides an integrated and user-friendly approach to practice learning by putting placements within a broader learning framework. Rather than treating placements as an isolated aspect of the social work degree, Practice Learning in Social Work shows how they are relevant to all aspects of the social work experience. Divided in to three parts, this book's pragmatic approach mirrors students' own journey as they progress from preparation for practice, through to actual experience, and then beyond this to support personal and professional development right up to qualification as a Newly Qualified Social Worker. With a strong emphasis on service users and carers as central stake holders, Practice Learning in Social Work illustrates the practical nature of the profession with realistic case scenarios based on real life learning experiences, reflective learning exercises and practice led research references throughout. Progress checklists, linked to the Professional Capabilities Framework, also provide readers with the opportunity to assess their own strengths and learning needs.

CHAPTER 1

Key skills for social work practice

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

The first chapter provides information on core social work skills and knowledge needed for social work education and practice and draws on initial topics which are essential for students at the start of the social work degree programme before placement opportunities are provided and as part of the preparation and readiness for practice stages of learning. The following aspects are covered:

• Understanding adult learning

• Introduction to knowledge of self

• Personal and professional use of self

• Ethics and values in practice

• Communication skills

• Working with groups and as part of a team

• Learning professional competence by reflecting on practice

Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) domains covered in Chapter 1:

• Domain 1: Professionalism

• Domain 2: Values and ethics

• Domain 3: Diversity

• Domain 5: Knowledge

• Domain 6: Critical reflection and analysis Domain 7: Intervention and skills

So what exactly are social work skills? As with all professional skill sets, developing sound social work skills is a complex and detailed process which requires the individual student to learn about themselves and their own personal qualities, strengths and weaker areas before going forward to help others who need social work help, advice and support. The initial stages of the social work programme can test students who have a perception about what social work is all about but are not fully aware of the journey they need to take in order to get there. The ‘four stages of competence’ is a generic model which can be applied to a range of skills, where the learner progresses through a staged process of:

• Unconscious incompetence

• Conscious incompetence

• Conscious competence

• Unconscious competence

(Howell and Fleishman, 1982)

The process of taking on board information in a deeper and more ingrained way is captured in this learning matrix, although each person will progress in different ways and at their own pace. It is certainly the case that as we acquire more knowledge and experience about a topic we recognise how much there is still to learn and how our initial level of understanding may be superficial and at a foundation level. Looking at Howell’s model it is also interesting to consider how skills that are repeated over and over can become methodical and carried out almost without thinking; for example, as an experienced car driver it can be risky to be complacent and drive with ‘unconscious competence’ as this is often when accidents occur! In the same way, social work practitioners need to avoid carrying out tasks in a routine and prescriptive way which does not recognise the uniqueness of individuals and the importance of person-centred ways of working.

The importance of a ‘joined up’ or holistic approach to social work practice, integrating knowledge, skills and values, is illustrated wonderfully by Bloom (1956) who captures the image of knowledge as the head, skills as the hands and values as the heart to depict how knowledge is gained through thinking and gathering information, skills carried out through action and values and beliefs as the feelings and connections we have with others which enable us to empathise and respond in an emotionally intelligent way to the needs of others. Learning as adults and reflecting more deeply on what we have experienced in order to hone our skills and continue to develop and improve on them will be an essential part of preparing for social work practice and developing our personal and professional skills.

Although there will be differences across the United Kingdom about when students start their first placements, there is unanimity in the need for a sound foundation of learning before students are assessed as ready to take the important step from academic learning at university into direct practice. An assessment of ‘readiness to practice’ will need to take place before students start their first placement. This may vary across different universities, but this will be a structured process whereby students demonstrate evidence of their social work skills. The decision that students are ready for direct practice will be made by an assessment panel. The panel will need to decide whether the evidence submitted by the student meets the criteria for readiness to practice. Although it is recognised that students will learn through different approaches and contexts depending on their place of study, preparation for practice will focus on fundamental building blocks of knowledge, skills and values and the connection among these three elements. This will be carried out within the spirit of understanding learning as adults.

Understanding adult learning

How we learn as adults offers a good starting point for understanding and appreciating knowledge and learning in deeper and more experiential ways which differs from how we were taught as children. Learning as an adult is a multi-layered process in which each person will learn slightly differently and will be influenced by personal, cultural, developmental factors which combine and impact on how we learn. Our past experiences of learning as a child and an adult and the ideas we gather from current experiences create our personal values and beliefs which, though part of us, may well be challenged by social work values and ethics (Banks, 2012).

We may all recall experiences of learning by rote at school and ‘cramming’ information in readiness for tests and exams. The features of adult learning require different skills which permeate different layers so that information is retained and developed by thinking through our actions and building on our learning in a more progressive and independent way:

• As adults, we prefer to manage and organise our own learning.

• We bring a wealth of knowledge and life experience to new learning situations.

• We undertake learning because we want to change an aspect of our life, and this gives us a higher level of motivation to engage in study.

• We tend to be more drawn to, and engaged in, learning about things that are relevant to our own lives, and our personal goals.

• We are more motivated by factors from within ourselves.

(Knowles et al., 2005)

This depth of understanding requires adult learners to search for meaning and to use natural curiosity about a topic to question and develop a broader understanding of social work theory and ideas, thereby improving our practice. Gardiner (1988) and Parker (2004) both refer to the need for deeper engagement as a social work practitioner rather than the surface learning we tend to associate with childhood didactic methods of teaching, where understanding and retention of knowledge is likely to be short term and driven by short-term targets.

Practice focus

1.1: Jamal doubts his abilities

Jamal is a first-year social work student who has settled well in the preparation for practice course, which is the first module delivered at the university. He is an outgoing and enthusiastic member of the group and often the first to volunteer for presentations, role-play and feedback from small group exercises. However, Jamal begins to doubt his ability when reflective thinking and writing are required following a service user presentation and the request to complete a reflective analysis of the presentation. Rather than being an active and vocal contributor to the group it was now necessary for him to apply different skills of observation and listening to others.

Points for reflection

• Jamal appears to be cautious about reflecting on his own ideas and views following the service user presentation. He may be apprehensive about making the shift from direct interaction with his peers and tutor through his actions and outgoing personality to the more subtle skills of critical analysis and thinking which is required in reflective writing. Reflecting on the presentation requires Jamal to question and examine his own ideas and understanding and to come up with strengths and weaknesses, looking at experiences from different perspectives. This can seem daunting at first, although being critical doesn’t necessarily mean being negative, and Jamal will need to practise these new skills in order to understand fully the importance of deeper reflection on learning experiences.

• Jamal is experiencing a deep learning curve as he tackles new territory and may well see some blocks and barriers to his learning. Emotional blocks may feature here as Jamal may be fearful of taking risks, making mistakes or looking silly. There may also be intellectual barriers as Jamal gets to grips with handling more complex ways of explaining ideas and breaking these down to demonstrate his thinking process. Cultural blocks may also be added to the mix as Jamal may need to alter his ideas about the presenter’s views as being the only view that cannot be challenged or questioned through reflective thinking (Shardlow and Doel, 1996).

• Jamal may find that adult learning theories can assist him to understand how he is absorbing learning from the new experiences at university. One adult learning approach that can provide a starting point for Jamal is Kolb’s experiential cycle of learning. A major model of learning in social work which provides a sound platform for how adults learn is the Kolb learning cycle. Kolb’s (1984) learning cycle includes the four following stages:

Concrete experience: The learners are involved in a physical activity or experience.

Observations and reflections: The learners engage in a period of reflection during which they focus more deeply on the concrete experience.

Abstract concepts and generalisations: The learners start to develop their ideas and approaches in the light of making improvements in their performance for next time.

Active experimentation: The learners test out the implications of their new thoughts and ideas to reflect on how their performance has improved as part of their continual professional development.

Thinking of Jamal’s identified learning block, it may be that Kolb’s learning cycle can pinpoint that he has become stuck in the concrete experience and is unable to progress forward to unpick this and think in more depth beyond actual description of the task to be able to reflect on it. As Jamal becomes more confident and experienced in reflective writing he will be able to move from a concrete descriptive style of thinking and writing to a more fluid and free-thinking style where he is able to delve more deeply into an experience and consider this from different perspectives. Adult learning theories are useful as part of a ‘tool kit’ of knowledge and skills that offer different ways of understanding our own and others’ experiences. Some models will be circular such as Kolb and Gibbs and others will be more free-flowing: Race (2010), for example, likens adult learning to the rippling effect on water, with ideas and experiences moving back and forward as new influences come into play. Race also provides a sequence of underpinning factors which influence successful learning.

Wanting – Needing – Doing – Digesting – Feedback

This model recognises the importance of intrinsic feedback gained from our own assessment of how we have learnt and also extrinsic feedback from significant others who are able to measure our progress and evaluate this.

Bandura (1977) also advocates for the importance of self-efficacy and the need for self-monitoring of learning and achievement through self-organisation, proactivity, self-reflection and self-regulating. As part of the development of adult learning and experiential learning through working with others, Jamal will begin to recognise the need to think critically. This entails not only the skills of logical reasoning but also the ability to recognise and challenge the underlying beliefs and behaviours we may hold. Jamal will need to make some major shifts in how he thinks to be able to question how he perceives and understands things in the light of new ideas, different contexts and the points of view of others (Brookfield, 1987).

Many writers have identified the ‘artistry’ of reflective practice as elevating social work beyond evidence-based practice and technical, scientific analysis. Schon (1983) identified the reflective practitioner as someone who is self-aware and able to prepare for action, reflect in action and then later reflect on the action that was carried out. The emphasis on creative artistry is very relevant in social work because every practice situation is unique and requires the practitioner to continue to hone and develop skills and knowledge to understand their practice and improve on it through self-evaluation and continual professional development.

Self-knowledge in social work

Self-knowledge differs slightly from self-awareness, and this distinction is an important one to acknowledge. Being self-aware is about how we are able to engage effectively with others in practice in anti-oppressive ways which recognise and value individual differences. Self-knowledge comes before this skill set, as we firstly need to understand ourselves and be honest about our own strengths and limitations. Thinking back to Jamal and his struggle to move forward from his focus on physical and concrete learning, referred to by Eicher (1987) as ‘kinaesthetic’ learning, another useful learning model can be found in different learning styles questionnaires which can help students to understand their preferences, styles and habits. Honey and Mumford (1982) devised a learning styles questionnaire which arrives at four different styles:

• Activists who prefer to work in a spontaneous and direct way where their ideas and actions are intuitive and not based on preparation. The tendency is for act...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1. Key skills for social work practice
• 2. Developing social work skills for practice
• 3. Preparing for the first placement
• 4. First days on placement
• 5. Getting established on placement
• 6. Removing blocks and barriers on placement
• 7. The final placement
• 8. Progression to social work employment
• Index