From the Mouths of Mothers: Can Drama Facilitate Reflective Learning for Social Workers?

This article explores and evaluates a cross-disciplinary small-scale project using applied theatre in social work education. The aim was to provide an ‘Affective Encounter’ where students could practice empathic engagement, understanding of the needs of children who have been sexually abused and their protective parents/carers and engage in the complexities of working with family members who may be resistant. The workshop took place five times over a period of three years and was attended by children and families social workers on a one year post-qualifying graduate diploma course. While the use of verbatim theatre does not offer a guarantee of factual truth, it provided the students with some performed moments of personal testimony which was taken word-for-word from mothers whose children had been sexually abused. This allowed the social workers to hear the marginalised narratives of the protective mothers and to practice without a negative impact on the service user. The evaluation identified from self-report the development of emotional and practical skills and knowledge of available resources. This paper focuses on the emotional skills reported and two emerging themes are discussed: learning for humane practice, and the use of this pedagogical approach to encourage affective reflection.     

An examination of student and provider perceptions of voluntary sector social work placements in Northern Ireland

Practice based learning in Northern Ireland is a core element of social work education and comprising 50% of the degree programme for undergraduate and postgraduate students. This article presents evidence about the perceptions of practice learning from voluntary sector/non-government organisation (NGO) placement providers and final year social work students on social work degree programmes in Northern Ireland in 2011. It draws on data from 121 respondents from189 final year students and focus group interviews with voluntary sector providers offering 16% (85) of the total placements available to students. The agencies who participated in the research study provide a total of 55 PLOs to social work students, and are therefore fairly representative in terms of voluntary sector (NGO) provision. The article locates these data in the context of practice learning pedagogy and the changes introduced by the Regional Strategy for Practice Learning Provision in Northern Ireland 2010–2015. Several themes emerged including; induction, support and guidance, practice educator/student relationship, professional identity and confidence in risk assessment and decision-making. Social work educators, placement providers and employers must be cognisant of newly qualified social workers’ needs in terms of consolidating knowledge within the formative stages of their professional development.     

Gaining by giving? Peer research into service user and carer perceptions of inclusivity in Higher Education

Abstract

Service users and carers (SUAC) have made significant contributions to professional training in social work courses in Higher Education (HE) over the past decade in the UK. Such participation has been championed by government, academics and SUAC groups from a range of theoretical and political perspectives. Most research into the effectiveness of SUAC involvement at HE has come from the perspectives of academics and very little SUAC-led research exists. This qualitative peer research was led by two members of the University of Worcester’s SUAC group. Findings were that SUAC perceived their involvement brought benefits to students, staff, the University and the local community. Significant personal benefits such as finding a new support network, increased self-development and greater confidence to manage their own care were identified in ways that suggested that the benefits that can flow from SUAC involvement at HE are perhaps more far-reaching than previously recognised. Barriers to inclusion were less than previously reported in the literature and the humanising effects of SUAC involvement are presented as a partial antidote to an increasingly marketised HE culture.     

Comparing Social Work Students’ Perceptions of Risk Using Online Discussion Fora: Lessons Learned from a European Pilot Project

Comparisons of international child welfare systems have identified two basic orientations to practice; a ‘child protection’ orientation and a ‘child welfare’ orientation, which are founded upon fundamentally different values and assumptions regarding the family, the origins of childcare problems, and the proper role of the state in relation to the family. This paper describes a project which sought to compare how undergraduate social work students from three European Universities perceive risk in referrals about the welfare of children and to explore the impact of different cultural, ideological and educational contexts on the way in which risk is constructed by students. Students from Northern Ireland, Germany and Poland examined three vignettes via 10 online discussion fora each of which provided a narrative summary of their discussion. The paper presents some findings from the analysis of the qualitative data emerging from the student discussions and draws out the lessons learned in terms of how the project was designed and implemented using online discussion fora.     

The concept of reflection: is it skill based or values?

Reflection, reflectivity, reflective practice, reflective praxis and critical reflection are all dialogical terms used interchangeably to mean different things. It is timely to take time out and pause on this important concept to consider the wider implications of its use. Whatever reflection is, we know there are difficulties in identifying this complex idea writers, practitioners and scholars constantly engage with reflection in new debates about ‘how to do it better’ assuming the ‘it’ is something assessed and understood. More worryingly a student’s ability to reflect is assessed assuming the idea of reflective practice is a measureable phenomenon. Some have identified problems of assessing reflection. There is limited empirical evidence of what is reflection. In the substantial literature on reflection we have failed to ask the question – ‘What is reflection it if doesn’t exist that I might be able to perform it better and others can measure?’ The problem of reflection is more complicated when presenting reflective performance through language, which will also be explored. This article presents a challenge to contemporary ideas of the way in which reflection is conceptualised and understood. The article concludes with insights and a way forward for a new argument on reflection and how it might be linked to virtue ethics rather than it being viewed as a skill that can be taught.     

‘I walk from trouble’: exploring safeguards with adults with intellectual disabilities – an Australian qualitative study

People living with intellectual disabilities have a right to be safe from abuse and neglect and have a right to be included in the decision-making process determining safeguards that will affect them. However, the research evidence that could underpin good professional practice in terms of co-producing safeguards against abuse and neglect directly involving people with intellectual disabilities is largely missing. This article, based on qualitative research involving semi-structured interviews conducted during the first half of 2014, seeks to strengthen this evidence base. It reports on the prevention strategies identified by 12 adults with intellectual disabilities about how to stay safe and compares these with the findings of similar research. The article suggests that a comprehensive safeguarding approach comprises both life course-focused safety training and access to assisted decision-making. The article argues that given the plethora of risk situations encountered by people living with intellectual disability, assisted decision-making should take the form of a co-creation process that is situation specific and grounded in everyday life.     

From non-cultural to intercultural principles: a proposal for English classes in Brazilian public schools

This article focuses on English language teaching in Brazilian public schools, based on experiences in primary and secondary education, as well as in Teaching Practicum courses at a university. Through these experiences, the article critiques the overemphasis on grammar and the lack of an intercultural approach. The author engages the reader with a theoretical discussion regarding the connection between language and culture and the possibilities for the implementation of intercultural principles. The article closes with some reflections on what intercultural language learning looks like in practice.     

凉山彝族初中生历史学习的障碍探析

彝族地区的初中生在历史学习上存在障碍,具体表现为知识认知障碍、文化情感障碍、学习反应障碍、学习环境障碍。这 些障碍的产生主要是由于该地区的语言文字自成体系、历史发展脉络独特、教师资源有所欠缺、学习环境不够良好。进一步而 言,就是该地区的民族区域性和经济发展滞后性导致了初中生历史学习的障碍。而通过加大汉语教学力度、引进民族文化资 源、健全教师教育体系、转变经济发展方式等措施,可以帮助学生逐步改善并最终克服学习障碍,提高学习效率,促进当地历史 教学的发展。     

创建黑水城出土文献研究新的里程碑

黑水城文书是20世纪继甲骨文、汉晋简牍、敦煌文书以后的又一次重大出土文献发现。对于这批珍贵文献,史金波从文物、文献和史料以及学术等三个方面对其价值进行探讨的同时,指出了在录文、定名和断代过程中需要注意的问题,并对黑水城出土汉文文献的研究情况作了探讨。白滨从文献出土地辨析与文献甄别、文献缀合以及文献残卷的拟题与断代等三个问题入手,以现有的研究成果为个例对黑水城文献整理与研究过程中应该注意的问题作了解析。孙继民对文献的朝代构成和学科定名问题进行探讨后认为,黑水城文献的朝代构成中可确定的是唐、五代、辽、宋、西夏、金、伪齐、元(包括北元)诸朝;目前流行的"西夏学"一语不足以涵盖黑水城文献的性质,围绕黑水城文献而兴起的专门学问用"黑城学"或"黑水城文献学"定名更为恰当;此外,他还对"黑城学"与"西夏学"的关系进行了辨析。杨倩描认为,俄藏黑水城宋代军政文书不仅可以对两宋之际以鄜延路为中心的西北地区史料作一定的补充,而且对一些具有普遍意义的宋代制度、事件、人物的研究也有相当的价值。     

大学文科生数学学习观调查研究

大学文科生对开设数学课的想法、学习数学的目的、数学学习的相关因素、数学学习的关键等存在不同的观点,引导学生树立正确的数学学习观,必须改革数学教学内容和教学方法,改革学生成绩评定办法.