Making the Most of Field Placement [5 ed.] 0170457605, 9780170457606

Table of contents :
Cover
Half Title Page
Title Page
Imprint Page
Brief Contents
Contents
Guide to the text
Guide to the online resources
Preface
About the authors
Acknowledgements
Part 1: Pre-Placement Planning
Chapter 1: Preparing for placement – student
What is a field placement?
Goals of a placement
Finding a placement
Are you ready?
Planning for placement
Chapter 2: Preparing for placement – supervisor
Preparing for placement
Learning styles
Meeting the student
Part 2: Beginning Placement
Chapter 3: Getting started – student
The first weeks
Surviving in a human service agency
Working remotely
Teamwork
Chapter 4: Getting started – supervisor
The first weeks
Starting work
Chapter 5: Charting the course for placement – contracts and agreements
The learning agreement
Other types of agreements
Part 3: Teaching and Learning on Placement
Chapter 6: Critical reflection for teaching and learning
Becoming a critical practitioner
A brief review of terms
Developing a critical focus in supervision
Chapter 7: Developing good supervisory practices
The functions of supervision
Expectations of supervision
Developing the supervisory relationship
Supervision sessions
Models of supervision
Chapter 8: Teaching and learning tools
Good teaching
Teaching and learning tools
Discussion and reflective tools
Organisational analysis
Observation tools
Teaching and learning activities
Chapter 9: Linking learning and practice in placement
How to conceptualise our practice framework
What are theories?
Helping to understand theories
Integrating theory and practice
Part 4: Methods and Contexts of Practice
Chapter 10: Community work
Bottom-up and top-down change
The political realities
Knowledge and practice skills
Finishing placement
Chapter 11: Research and policy
What students need to know
Research practice
Policy practice
Chapter 12: Rural and international placements
Rural practice
Starting out
The issues for placement
International placements
Chapter 13: Working with vulnerable adults
Defining vulnerability
Abuse
Supervision in the context of vulnerability – student and field educator
Part 5: Keeping on Course
Chapter 14: Challenging issues in supervision
Identifying student difficulties
Identifying supervisory difficulties
Intervention after problems emerge
Specific issues
Chapter 15: Working with cultural and power differences
Understanding difference
Difference – teaching and learning methods
Chapter 16: Ethical and legal issues
Social work in the context of the law
Ethical practice
Part 6: Evaluating, Assessing and Finishing Placement
Chapter 17: Assessment and evaluation – students and supervisors
Evaluating students’ practice
Evaluating supervisors’ practice
Assessment events
When things go off track
Chapter 18: Finishing well
How to begin the ending
Dealing with feelings around endings
Planning for the future
Chapter 19: Forging your transition from a student to a professional social worker
A ‘portfolio career’
Transition to being a professional
Appendix: Useful Weblinks
References
Index

Citation preview

Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

Making the Most of Field Placement

© 2022 Cengage Learning Australia Pty Limited

5th Edition Helen Cleak

Copyright Notice

Jill Wilson

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BRIEF CONTENTS PART 1 PRE-PLACEMENT PLANNING

1

1. Preparing for placement – student ....................................................... 2 2. Preparing for placement – supervisor................................................ 14

PART 2 BEGINNING PLACEMENT

28

3. Getting started – student .................................................................... 29 4. Getting started – supervisor............................................................... 39 5. Charting the course for placement – contracts and agreements ........ 49

PART 3 TEACHING AND LEARNING ON PLACEMENT

60

6. Critical reflection for teaching and learning ...................................... 61 7. Developing good supervisory practices ............................................ 69 8. Teaching and learning tools............................................................... 89 9. Linking learning and practice in placement..................................... 110

PART 4 METHODS AND CONTEXTS OF PRACTICE

120

10. Community work............................................................................ 121 11. Research and policy ....................................................................... 131 12. Rural and international placements ................................................ 144 13. Working with vulnerable adults ..................................................... 157

PART 5 KEEPING ON COURSE

166

14. Challenging issues in supervision.................................................. 167 15. Working with cultural and power differences ................................ 180 16. Ethical and legal issues .................................................................. 191

PART 6 EVALUATING, ASSESSING AND FINISHING PLACEMENT

201

17. Assessment and evaluation – students and supervisors.................. 202 18. Finishing well ................................................................................. 215 19. Forging your transition from a student to a professional social worker ................................................................................. 223

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v

CONTENTS GUIDE TO THE TEXT GUIDE TO THE ONLINE RESOURCES PREFACE ABOUT THE AUTHORS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PART 1

ix xi xii xv xvi

PRE-PLACEMENT PLANNING

1

Chapter 1: Preparing for placement – student

2

What is a field placement? ............................................................ 3 Goals of a placement .................................................................... 3 Finding a placement ..................................................................... 5 Are you ready? ............................................................................. 5 Planning for placement ................................................................. 6 Chapter 2: Preparing for placement – supervisor

14

Preparing for placement ............................................................. 15 Learning styles............................................................................ 21 Meeting the student .................................................................... 26

PART 2

BEGINNING PLACEMENT Chapter 3: Getting started – student

28 29

The first weeks............................................................................ 29 Surviving in a human service agency ......................................... 31 Working remotely ...................................................................... 33 Teamwork ................................................................................... 34 Chapter 4: Getting started – supervisor 39 The first weeks............................................................................ 39 Starting work .............................................................................. 41 Chapter 5: Charting the course for placement – contracts and agreements

49

The learning agreement ............................................................ 49 Other types of agreements ......................................................... 56

PART 3

TEACHING AND LEARNING ON PLACEMENT Chapter 6: Critical reflection for teaching and learning

60 61

Becoming a critical practitioner .................................................. 61 A brief review of terms ............................................................... 62 Developing a critical focus in supervision .................................. 63

vi

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Contents

Chapter 7: Developing good supervisory practices 69 The functions of supervision ....................................................... 69 Expectations of supervision ........................................................ 70 Developing the supervisory relationship .................................... 72 Supervision sessions ................................................................... 77 Models of supervision................................................................. 81 Chapter 8: Teaching and learning tools

89

Good teaching ............................................................................ 89 Teaching and learning tools........................................................ 90 Discussion and reflective tools.................................................... 92 Organisational analysis ............................................................... 99 Observation tools...................................................................... 101 Teaching and learning activities ............................................... 106 Chapter 9: Linking learning and practice in placement 110 How to conceptualise our practice framework.......................... 110 What are theories? .................................................................... 111 Helping to understand theories ................................................ 113 Integrating theory and practice ................................................ 116

PART 4

METHODS AND CONTEXTS OF PRACTICE

120

Chapter 10: Community work 121 Bottom-up and top-down change .............................................. 121 The political realities ................................................................ 123 Knowledge and practice skills .................................................. 124 Finishing placement.................................................................. 130 Chapter 11: Research and policy 131 What students need to know ..................................................... 131 Research practice ..................................................................... 132 Policy practice .......................................................................... 135 Chapter 12: Rural and international placements

144

Rural practice............................................................................ 145 Starting out................................................................................ 145 The issues for placement .......................................................... 148 International placements........................................................... 153 Chapter 13: Working with vulnerable adults 157 Defining vulnerability ............................................................... 157 Abuse ....................................................................................... 160 Supervision in the context of vulnerability – student and field educator ........................................................................... 164

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vii

Contents

PART 5

KEEPING ON COURSE Chapter 14: Challenging issues in supervision

166 167

Identifying student difficulties................................................... 167 Identifying supervisory difficulties ........................................... 168 Intervention after problems emerge......................................... 169 Specific issues........................................................................... 174 Chapter 15: Working with cultural and power differences

180

Understanding difference ......................................................... 181 Difference – teaching and learning methods ............................ 189 Chapter 16: Ethical and legal issues

191

Social work in the context of the law ......................................... 191 Ethical practice ......................................................................... 197

PART 6

EVALUATING, ASSESSING AND FINISHING PLACEMENT

201

Chapter 17: Assessment and evaluation – students and supervisors 202 Evaluating students’ practice .................................................... 202 Evaluating supervisors’ practice............................................... 205 Assessment events .................................................................... 207 When things go off track ........................................................... 210 Chapter 18: Finishing well

215

How to begin the ending .......................................................... 215 Dealing with feelings around endings ...................................... 217 Planning for the future .............................................................. 220 Chapter 19: Forging your transition from a student to a professional social worker

223

A ‘portfolio career’ ................................................................... 223 Transition to being a professional ............................................. 224

viii

APPENDIX: USEFUL WEBLINKS

229

REFERENCES

231

INDEX

238

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ix

Guide to the text

x

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xi

PREFACE We are very pleased to offer you the 5th edition of this book which continues its focus on providing essential information, strategies and evidence of best practice principles in setting up, learning from, managing and assessing a field placement in social work. It is specifically written for students, field educators, task supervisors and academic staff who coordinate and manage field placements. Field education programs around the world continue to experience an unrelenting growth in student numbers, increasing student diversity and changing industry expectations which provide the ‘perfect storm’ to unsettle and challenge social work education. A response needs to take account of Australia’s professional standards which holds social work programs accountable to ensure that minimum standards in providing and managing placements are maintained. In an attempt to address the fast-moving higher education sector and changes in the human services field, this edition has made a number of refinements and has new features that address these contextual factors, including Covid-19 responses and the new professional guidelines published in 2020. It continues to offer ideas, examples and exercises aimed at fulfilling aspirational learning objectives for students, with the addition of alternative placement models, practices and ideas, underpinned by recent research in Australia, Ireland and the UK. This aspect of the book offers a useful collation of key literature and contemporary empirical evidence which is essential to ensure quality learning and teaching opportunities for our future workforce. Updated references and exercises throughout each chapter are designed to encourage students and supervisors to apply the content to their own experiences through a process of reflection. This book continues its tradition of providing an up-to-date resource with each chapter featuring theory to practice exercises which will assist you with your role and responsibilities. Each chapter and exercise offers a practice-based approach to the teaching and learning curriculum for field placements from the perspective of the student as well as the supervisor. This is designed for transparency across the student and supervisor partnership and encourages collaboration, accountability and mutual understanding. Field placements, or field teaching and learning, are applicable to a range of practitioners including social workers, welfare workers, disability workers, youth workers, community workers and other human service students and their field educators in programs that require a placement experience. A brief summary of the new and updated content of this edition follows. • Chapters 1–4 extend the content to consider the current context of practice and how Covid-19 has required significant adjustment to human service agencies and how classroom education is delivered. Tips for students required to work remotely is included. • Chapter 5 demonstrates how to complete a learning agreement with a detailed example and includes and a new template outlining the differing learning objectives and expectations for first and final year placements. • Chapter 6 extends the complex discussion around the use of reflection, critical reflection and reflexivity within the placement and supervision sessions. A model to apply some of these reflective principles to engage a dialogue between the student and supervisor is a new inclusion. • Student supervision is undoubtedly the cornerstone of a quality placement and Chapter 7 provides an overview of the major models of supervision, with a discussion of some recent research about the positive and potential drawbacks of each. • One of the important roles of the field educator is to facilitate learning and to guide, coach and encourage student learning and to assemble useful evidence of the learning for feedback and assessment purposes. Chapter 8 describes a range of teaching and learning tools and includes a new template to use during a direct observation exercise of the student, which is considered a powerful learning strategy. Chapter 9 provides another opportunity to link classroom knowledge with practice and the importance of theoretical frameworks to make sense and shape practice. • Chapters 10–13 offer some specific methods of practice in human services, which are outlined as required knowledge for the social work profession. Community work, research and policy-oriented

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Preface

placements are examples of macro practice that have become more common learning activities during Covid when direct service placements are unavailable. Chapter 13 is new and focuses on micro practice issues that may arise for students in working with vulnerable adults requiring assistance. • Chapter 14 identifies some of the difficulties that come up in the supervisory relationship with most linked to personal or learning issues linked to students or teaching approaches used by field educators. The results from a recent study of students who failed a placement provides some compelling information. • Chapter 15 contains new content on a culturally responsive model using Yarn Up Time and a supervision model to support the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students on placement. • Australia’s professional association requires students to be familiar with the justice system and major legislation that impacts clients. Chapter 16 includes updated information about the most relevant laws and a new exercise to test students’ knowledge of these. • As students work towards the successful completion of their placement, the next section is concerned with how to assist field educators in their role of being the gatekeepers of the profession by objectively evaluating the student capacity or readiness for practice. Chapter 17 discusses the challenges for supervisors and students to identify and assess what constitutes good, competent or unsatisfactory practice and the role of liaison in contributing to the evaluation, especially when issues arise. Chapter 18 recognises the importance of ‘endings’ to mark the transitions for students and the range of emotions that can arise for supervisors and students. • Chapter 19 is a new addition to the book and offers the student some important issues to consider as they move into their first job as an emerging practitioner. This chapter reviews the literature about the employment landscape in Australia and what new graduates can expect in navigating towards their first social work position. There is no doubt that a field placement is considered the most significant aspect of a social work student’s learning and their sense of competence and identity with the profession. We hope this text will assist you to achieve your learning goals and we wish all students, field educators and educators enjoyment and success in their placements.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK The book follows the various stages of a placement from both the student’s and the field educator’s perspective. We have deliberately included both perspectives – students and supervisors – in the one book as the ideas and concepts should be familiar and useful to both groups. Students need to understand the issues and concerns inherent in their supervision, and supervisors can benefit from insight into the concerns and learning needs of the student. It has a chronological format that tracks the field placement experience from pre-placement to completion and evaluation of the placement and into being a new practising graduate. Guidelines and demonstrations of how to structure different types of reflective texts will be presented drawing on well-known reflective models. This will include worked examples and opportunities for readers to attempt their own writing. The book addresses the range of critical learning issues that may emerge at each stage and suggests various educational strategies to deal with these. A major feature of this book is its practice orientation. Each chapter begins by introducing the main topic and important features of the relevant stage of the placement. A brief chapter outline and discussion of the relevant subtopics follows. The subtopics include a range of exercises, examples, checklists, ideas and other helpful material, and offer the student and supervisor ways to positively engage with each stage of the placement. Throughout the book, responsibility is placed on the student to be a curious and responsible learner and to be proactive in planning and managing his or her placement. Likewise, supervisors are encouraged to explore and demonstrate the values and qualities consistent with the helping

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xiii

Preface

professions, such as empathy, respect and professional integrity, as they assist students to practise and learn on placement. Each higher education provider differs in how it administers its field education programs. This book is designed to accommodate these differences. It presents the core practice issues and ideas that can be adapted to individual course requirements. Students and supervisors can use this book as a guide as the placement progresses, or the exercises may be selected to enhance specific stages of the placement. Overall, Making the Most of Field Placement covers all aspects of the placement journey and into practice as a qualified professional. The authors hope that it will be make a useful and helpful contribution to your efforts.

xiv

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS Dr Helen Cleak is Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Allied Health, Human Service and Sport, La Trobe University, and has been a Visiting Fellow at Trinity College, Republic of Ireland and Queens College, Northern Ireland. She has a strong practice and research background in field education and was the Director of Field Education and International placements for over 20 years. She is on the Editorial Board of Australian Social Work and is a member of the accreditation panel of the AASW and a member of the Expert panel to review the ASWEAS guidelines on field education. She is an active researcher in field education with colleagues in Australia, Ireland and United Kingdom and collaborates with health practitioners to research aspects of domestic and family violence. Professor Jill Wilson is an Emeritus Professor of Social Work in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at the University of Queensland. Her research background is in aged care issues and disability. Currently she is the lead Investigator on an ARC grant exploring hospital social work responses to elder abuse. She has had extensive practical experience as a field educator and in teaching supervision and practice skills to students and field educators.

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xv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Helen Cleak I am grateful to my long-term colleague, Jill, who has been an inspiring co-author since our first edition was published in 2005. I have been fortunate to continue to research field education through the experiences of students and collaboration with academic colleagues in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom. We appreciate the professional team at Cengage, which has also been a long-term supporter of this publication Jill Wilson We wish to thank the team at Cengage who nurtured the book from manuscript to finished product over four iterations. We are indebted to all the students, field educators and social work colleagues who have shared their fieldwork stories and experiences over the decades. Special thanks to colleagues in the field education unit at the School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, later the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at the University of Queensland, whose contributions over many years are reflected in the book. All continue to develop ideas around best practice in fieldwork education. Thanks to family and friends who contributed ideas and who understood that we were not available for other activities during the last hectic months. Your support is invaluable. Our thanks also go to the following reviewers, who provided incisive and helpful feedback: • Dr Joanne Clarke – Queensland University of Technology • Maureen Long – La Trobe University • Dr Margaret Spencer – University of Sydney • Dr Ines Zuchowski – James Cook University Every attempt has been made to trace and acknowledge copyright holders. Where the attempt has been unsuccessful, the publisher welcomes information that would redress the situation.

xvi

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PART 1 PRE-PLACEMENT PLANNING Students identify their field placement as where their most significant learning occurs. Planning and identifying appropriate learning opportunities is important for the student and supervisor, as well as the agency and the Higher Education Provider (HEP). For the student, placements mark particular stages of their studies – points they have reached by successfully completing a range of courses or subjects. Pre-placement planning helps students to decide which placements might be suitable for them, how they can build on previous learning from within and outside of universities, what opportunities and constraints might affect the successful completion of a placement and, perhaps, whether this is the right time to undertake a placement. The current economic and managerial environment means that the agencies that offer field placements are under increasing pressure from funding bodies to improve their efficiency and productivity. Agencies may need to be assured that offering a placement won’t compromise the quality and quantity of their work, and supervisors may need to assess their capacity to provide regular supervision. They may be able to offer appropriate tasks, but not professional supervision, and external arrangements will need to be made. Students might feel that they are embarking on a period of unpaid labour, often at considerable financial cost to themselves, and that they are doing the agency a favour. There are also a greater number of courses requiring work integrated learning, so competition for placements can be fierce. These realities have to be negotiated by all concerned. Taking the time to prepare for field placement will increase the likelihood of its being successful and withdrawing from placement or failing a placement can be stressful and disappointing. The processes outlined in the following two chapters help supervisors and students in this planning process.

CHAPTER 1 Preparing for placement - student .......................2 CHAPTER 2 Preparing for placement - supervisor ................ 14

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1

CHAPTER

1

Preparing for placement – student INTRODUCTION The period of learning during which a student is located in a human service agency is called a placement, a field placement or, in North America, a practicum. A placement is usually highly valued by students as an important learning experience, albeit one that makes large claims on time and finances. Placements can be very influential in developing your identity in the profession (ArcherKuhn et al., 2020) and offering significant models of practice for the future (O’Connor et al., 2008). It is estimated that social work students spend from a third to a half of their academic time in their placements. Therefore, preparing well for placement is important and can be an important step towards a future career in the human services. The success of a placement will be enhanced by spending some time thinking through a number of important steps before the placement begins. This chapter will help you to lay the foundations for a successful placement by identifying your current base for learning, clarifying your preliminary expectations and learning needs, and offering some strategies to negotiate a successful placement. If this is your first placement, you are likely to want to test out whether a career in social work and human services is for you. Questions you might ask yourself include: • Can I do it without too much personal pain? • Does my developing identity as a human service worker ‘fit’ with my view of who I am? • Am I ready for placement? If this is your second or subsequent placement, you will have a good idea of the issues involved in selecting and making the most of a placement. If your previous placement was a great experience, you will be keen to repeat it. If it was less than satisfactory, or if it was a repeat placement, you will have specific agendas for what learning you need to achieve. Whatever the experience in your first placement, try not to let unfinished business from your first placement affect your new one. Talking with your field education coordinator and new supervisor about your gains and losses in previous experiences can help to keep the two placements separate as well as clarify expectations. There are four major areas of responsibility for the professionally qualified person or persons responsible for the student’s placement in an agency setting as outlined following and in Figure 1.1: • providing support to tailor the placement to, as far as possible, meet your needs • • •

allocating and monitoring appropriate practice tasks assisting you to learn from these tasks through formal supervision and constructive feedback evaluating your practice. Traditionally these areas of responsibility were held by one agency-employed person, variously called field educator, field instructor, practice teacher, clinical teacher, teacher or supervisor. These people are recognised as experienced practitioners by their respective professional groups and are employees of the agency. Increasingly, students have two or more people sharing these tasks. All students will have a task supervisor who is employed by the agency and is generally responsible for the allocation and monitoring of your work. They may or may not be recognised as supervisors by the relevant professional body. In these situations, there is also a person allocated who is accredited to provide

2

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CHAPTER 1 Preparing for placement – student

broader professional education and is responsible for evaluating the student’s learning. They may be agency staff, or they may be external to the agency; in both cases, they are called an ‘external supervisor’. In many cases external supervisors are paid by the Higher Education Provider (HEP). We will refer to ‘supervisors’, ‘external supervisors’ and ‘task supervisors’ in this text. It is important that you are clear about their roles and various areas of responsibility and know how to raise any issues that may arise. Figure 1.1 The four major areas of responsibility for the professionally qualified person/s responsible for the student’s agency placement

Support

Task allocation and monitoring

Assisting learning

Evaluation

Providing support to tailor the placement to, as far as possible, meet your needs

Allocating and monitoring appropriate practice tasks

Assisting you to learn from these tasks through formal supervision and constructive feedback

Evaluating your practice

WHAT IS A FIELD PLACEMENT? Placements give you the opportunity to link knowledge, values, skills, critical thinking and use of self in contemporary social work practice (Bogo, 2015). Placement engages you in the process of integrating what you have learned in class, with the more focused knowledge and skills informing agency practice and tests out your interest in and suitability for this career. There are tasks associated with planning the beginning, middle and end of a placement. At each stage, you may capitalise on the opportunities offered and learn from undertaking tasks and receiving feedback. These stages are characterised in Figure 1.2.

GOALS OF A PLACEMENT The field education component of social work courses is highly regulated by the professional association, the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). The association has recently reviewed and updated its guidelines for placement, which are outlined in the ASWEAS Field Education Standards – AASW Board Approved Version, April 2021. This means that students and supervisors are not free to decide what they might like to learn and teach although each HEP interprets and offers some variations to the learning goals for field placement. Some of the essential fieldwork goals, which are guided by the ASWEAS standards, are: • to provide students with exposure to evidence-based knowledge and theories in the various approaches and interventions used in human service programs • to help students extend their understanding of professional roles and sense of professional identity

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3

PART 1 | Pre-placement planning

• • • • •

to broaden students’ cultural understanding and competence to gain confidence and competence in students’ interpersonal, group, community and policy skills to apply critical thinking skills to inform professional judgement to help students extend their self-awareness and skills as reflective practitioners to understand the impact of social structures on disadvantaged groups.

Figure 1.2 Stages of placement Getting started 2

Positivity

Later in placement 4 1

5

Before placement

Finishing up

3 During placement Stage

Stages 1 Exiting from your HEP and anticipating placement a ‘This placement will be great.’ b ‘This placement meets many of my needs, but there are still some niggles.’ c ‘This placement is not great, really, but is the best I could get at the time.’ 2 Getting started a Does your supervisor meet your expectations? b Can you engage with the tasks outlined in the learning agreement? c How have you been received by other staff and clients? 3 During placement You feel disappointed because your placement doesn’t meet all your expectations. a Can you learn to successfully manage frustration and feelings of aloneness? b Can you learn from situations that don’t go well? 4 Later in the placement You develop a more realistic perspective about: a the quality of your relationship with your supervisor b balancing the ‘wins’ and ‘losses’ c placing yourself in the broader context that impacts on your work with clients. 5 Finishing up a You reflect on what has been achieved. b You learn from missed opportunities. c You develop self-awareness and maturity as a human service practitioner. This is a good time to look at Chapter 19 which discusses some of the factors to consider when transitioning into your role as a graduate social worker. Within limits, your own aspirations for your future career may require some negotiations with the HEP and the agency about possible learning opportunities to promote these.

4

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CHAPTER 1 Preparing for placement – student

FINDING A PLACEMENT HEPs have different ways of organising placements for students in their human service programs. In some, students have some choice; in others, placements are organised with very little input from students; in others, students have more license to negotiate their own placement. It is likely that there will be a scarcity of available placements, and this may result in competition between students and between programs to secure placements. Some agencies, by the nature of their service, have very clear requirements that will make some placements unavailable to you (e.g. a male student would not usually be placed in a domestic violence refuge, a family therapy service may not want to take an inexperienced student, and a multicultural agency may require a student to speak a particular language). Most social work and human service programs ask students to submit a CV and a portfolio of work you have undertaken during the course, or as a volunteer etc. Provide an outline of your experiences, interests and practical needs for placement. It is important to be as clear as possible about your abilities, learning style and any areas you want to improve or develop. Increasingly, students have little choice and limited options in declining a placement once it is offered. In the current environment, it is useful to keep an open mind on the field or method of practice you are interested in for placement. Often, an area you had not considered opens up fresh options. This is particularly the case for first placements. After many years of researching student satisfaction, and experience in either supervising students or organising their placements, we conclude that it is the skills and capacity of the supervisor to develop constructive and respectful relationships and an ability to engage and support you while critically reviewing your activities that is key. Supervisors, perhaps more than agencies, are critical to the quality of a placement. If your program offers some choice, you need to prepare for the process of selecting a placement well before you begin the stage of final negotiation. Where you undertake placement will often be a compromise between important considerations, such as: • the availability of placements • the factors that best help you to learn • your expectations for the placement and your ambitions for practice when you graduate • the practical considerations of balancing placement with the rest of your life. A successful placement will have the necessary ingredients to make it workable and meet your personal and educational needs even if it is an area of practice you had not previously considered. Of course, the course coordinator is responsible for helping you with your academic preparation for placement, as well as providing information about the variety of available placements. They will probably give you specific guidelines and expectations for placement, so read this chapter in conjunction with these. If your program allows you some choice, it is helpful to work through a selfassessment process to ensure that you can make an informed choice.

ARE YOU READY? HEPs and human service programs all set requirements around academic performance before placement. Additionally, universities are developing what are termed ‘fitness for practice’ or inherent requirement policies that encompass a broader range of factors. In Australia, the University of Western Sydney, recognised nationally for its leadership in this area (McNaught, 2013), has spelt out requirements for a range of disciplines (https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/ir) including social work. Other universities use a broad outline of areas to be considered, including appropriate conduct and behaviour, compliance with rules or ethical standards set for the discipline, and a disability or health condition that impairs capacity to practise as required by the discipline. These policies may be linked to other agency policies that outline expected behaviours. The introduction of these requirements is designed to assist with early intervention where this might be needed, but, understandably, students can feel threatened, particularly in relation to any history of mental illness (McNaught, 2013). Social workers work with people in complex life situations, and this requires us to be knowledgeable, Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

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PART 1 | Pre-placement planning

ethical, reliable, proficient and accountable. Fitness for practice policies are designed to ‘fill the gaps’ between what is assessed academically and what is required in practice. Although your HEP may have assessed you as academically ready to embark upon a placement, it is common for students to feel ill-prepared and even scared, for a variety of reasons, about undertaking a placement. Social workers, like most other professional groups, can never be truly competent in all situations, and need to engage in lifelong learning, so the question is really ‘Do I know my current limits, can I practise safely, and can my engagement and interventions make a difference in people’s lives?’ For a student, this ability is reflected in a gradual process of mastery. The placement offers a base for this development through exposure to the world of work, and feedback and instruction through supervision, discussion and the use of learning tools. Exercise 1.1 outlines some questions to help you ascertain your readiness to undertake a placement.

Exercise 1.1

THEORY TO PRACTICE

For the student Ask yourself the following questions about your readiness to undertake a placement: • Do you feel able to conduct a basic interview including engaging and gathering basic information in order to make an assessment and intervention plan? • Can you identify core aspects of your practice frameworks, such as theories? • Are you able to identify a number of different practice approaches and to have some ability to use at least one practice approach in an intervention with a client, group or community group? • Do you have an ability to be self-reflective, self-critical and able to receive and use feedback? • Are you able to structure and write a social work report, an assessment, an email or a formal letter? • Do you have some understanding of, and ability to respond sensitively to, diversity and cultural differences? • Are you aware of any domestic or personal concerns that might limit your ability to fully engage with learning on placement? There are practical issues to be considered too. Do you have a current driver’s licence? Have you been able to save some money to make placement less stressful? Recent research on students who failed their social work placement showed that every student reported some personal issues or health or learning issues that adversely affected their capacity to engage with the tasks of placement (Roulston et al., 2021).

Some general principles that distinguish the learning outcomes for a student on their first and final placements are covered in Chapter 5.

PLANNING FOR PLACEMENT The following steps provide you with the basic information you need to consider in planning for your placement. If you have already done a placement, then include that experience in your review.

Step 1: Self-assessment It is important to understand and be able to communicate what you value and know in relation to human service practice, how your ideas may have developed and what you see as goals for this placement.

Conduct an audit The first step is to conduct an audit of the things that you bring to the placement. The audit comprises the skills, knowledge and experience that you have gained throughout your life and includes the following: • Education history – including specialisations such as politics, women’s studies, criminology and mental health. Education provides useful background knowledge in most placements. The learning achievements of a previous placement would also be relevant.

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CHAPTER 1 Preparing for placement – student

• •

Work history – including paid and voluntary work in welfare-oriented or other fields. Previous work experience of any type gives you important knowledge and skills. Personal history – including any significant life events, such as being a parent, suffering the death of a significant person, having a disability, migrating from another country, travelling, or other experiences that have shaped your thinking and maturity.

•

Any particular skills or abilities – such as another language, specific IT skills, research skills etc. All these experiences help in the next stage of identifying your practice framework. In Chapter 2, there is an inventory for assessing your learning style. It may be helpful to do this as part of the planning process to include in your skills and knowledge audit. Learning styles are not fixed and it is important to consider ways in which you can expand your learning approaches on placement to improve your capacity to maximise your learning experience. Your assessment could enable you to identify, at the beginning of the placement, what will help you learn during the placement.

Identifying your framework A combination of knowledge, skills, values and purpose form a framework for understanding the world of practice, and how you use this framework depends, in part, on how you like to think things through. In explaining your framework, perhaps you move from big ideas to particular incidents. For instance, say you believe that the particular issues people face are a result of broader inequalities in society; this overarching idea will affect your understanding of situations (your knowledge), and hence what approach you will adopt (your skills). This knowledge and these skills are supported by a set of values – for example, you believe in empowerment or self-determination. You might like to test out your broad ideas by thinking about particular situations. Consider the following example.

THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES Developing a framework You are discussing with your siblings who should pay for repairs to a house that was bequeathed to your widowed mother. Your mother has an adequate, but not excessive, income. The will states that if your mother dies, the house will become the property, in equal shares, of the surviving siblings. You feel that you should not be trying to maximise any potential gain for yourself in this situation, as, unlike your siblings, you don’t have any dependants. The discussion covers issues about whether your mother should contribute to the cost of repairs, whether all the siblings should contribute, and to whom the house really belongs. Your responses indicate something about what you believe and know in this situation. You think that as it is your mother’s house you should support her to stay there as long as she likes. As she looks after the house, you feel that she should not have to make a further contribution now. Would you feel differently if you had a family of your own for whom you had to provide? Would you think equal shares were fair when the other siblings have spouses who work? The different situations of each of your siblings might highlight different value positions.

Social workers often experience a gap between what they say in principle and what they do in practice – the gap between the real and the ideal. This gap reflects the difference between a broad idea and how you weigh up a particular situation to arrive at a view of what can or should be done. For example, in the situation above you might consider that the broad principle is that you and your siblings should contribute equally to the repairs because you will gain equally, eventually. In reality, you might consider that the capacity to contribute may override this broad principle. Your self-assessment (Exercise 1.2) will help you to explain to your potential supervisor what matters to you about human services, what you know about and what you know how to do. An example of a supervisor’s practice framework is offered in Chapter 2.

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PART 1 | Pre-placement planning

THEORY TO PRACTICE

Exercise 1.2

Fill out this table to identify your knowledge, skills and values in the three key areas of education, work and personal history.

What do you know?

What skills do you have?

What are the main values that you hold?

From your studies From your work experience From your life in general From this review you will be able to identify: • what is of core interest to you at this time • what framework of skills, knowledge and values currently underpin your hopes for achievement in your chosen profession • where your framework needs to be developed further.

Step 2: The placement setting Once you have identified what interests you in relation to your current abilities, the next stage is to make the link between these interests and the type of agency that you consider would help you to capitalise on your assets and meet your goals. Most placements offer the opportunity to explore generic knowledge and skills as well as more specialised approaches. To identify a placement that is likely to suit you, consider the following.

What type of agency would you prefer? Agencies are usually identified according to their auspice and funding. They include government – federal, state and local, non-government organisations (NGOs), which are often run by community organisations or churches and private organisations that may make a profit. Information about the agency could include the focus of the work (for example does it work with voluntary or involuntary clients), its size, the number of staff and how bureaucratic it is; it may also indicate the rules and regulations you will have to follow. Obviously, a large bureaucratic setting will offer a different placement experience from a small voluntary agency. Although choice of a placement may be limited or not possible, it is still useful to consider some general questions: • How comfortable are you working in a small and more intimate setting in contrast to a larger and less personal workplace? • All human service agencies have both strengths and limitations. What could each type of agency

•

•

offer you? A larger organisation may provide more resources and opportunities for observing different styles of practice, such as on-site supervision or access to certain client groups. Some students feel more comfortable or familiar with an agency in which guidelines are clear and lines of authority are explicit. A smaller organisation may offer a more intimate relationship with staff members, and you may be required to cover a greater range of tasks because work roles are less regulated. Consider your previous work experience or perhaps a previous placement. It may be appropriate and important to experience a contrast to this. Do you have any preferences? If so, what are they and why have you reached these conclusions?

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What fields of practice interest you? Human service agencies provide services for people from a wide and diverse range of ages and backgrounds. These groups include: • aged people • children • ethnic communities • • • • • • • •

families low-income earners men offenders people with disabilities people with mental health issues victim/survivors of family violence students

• • • •

unemployed people veterans women young people. Do you have particular life or work experiences that make working with any of these groups more or less useful in terms of your learning? Sometimes it is better to avoid areas in which you already have such experiences. At other times, these experiences have a lot to do with why you are doing the course, and you may prefer to do placements in which you work with people to whom you already have a strong commitment. Some agencies will see this experience as a plus when they are selecting students for placements. You might choose to work with groups where you think you can make a difference, so you may be less interested if you think their issues are ‘permanent’ and practice is not going to make their issues ‘go away’. You may conclude that, in the latter situation, you would become too frustrated. This conclusion may be an assumption and not reflect reality. You need to acknowledge such beliefs because they will have an impact on your practice. You may be attributing to others problems that really belong to you.

What issues interest you? Human services vary in terms of their major goals and purpose. Some agencies offer a generalist service to people with a range of issues, whereas others will specialise in one type of service. The particular field of practice of an agency tells you about the specialised needs of the clients with whom you will be working. Exercise 1.3 will help you identify your interests at present.

Exercise 1.3 Use the following list to determine your level of interest in these different fields of practice. If there are areas you want to avoid at this time why is this?

Field

Level of interest

Addictions (drugs, alcohol, eating disorders) Ageing (including community care and residential care) Child protection Child and family welfare (foster care, parent support, residential care) Corrections Crisis support Disability Education

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PART 1 | Pre-placement planning

Field

Level of interest

Employment assistance Family violence Health (hospital and community) Homelessness (youth, adult and family) Income security Information and referral Legal Mental health Rehabilitation

What skills do you want to gain? It is important to consider what skills you want to gain from your placement. Think about your starting points for each of the following skills (agencies may be reluctant to offer you a placement if you have few starting points): • advocacy • casework • • • • • • • •

case management counselling emergency/trauma informed practice crisis intervention information and referral community development research social policy

• • •

program development group work. What type of agency would best help you to gain the skills you have identified?

Step 3: Personal interests Your motivation for and interest in pursuing this course has to be a major consideration in your choice of a placement, although this may not be fulfilled in all of your placements. Your motivation may be based on your future career aspirations, beliefs and passions, or strong feelings about certain fields or approaches or human service issues.

Practical considerations Your choice of placement may be affected by domestic and personal circumstances such as: • Location: How far are you prepared to travel to the agency? • Transport: Is the agency well serviced by public transport? If you use your car, does the agency provide a parking bay? In many agencies today, it is necessary to have a driver’s licence, if not • •

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a vehicle. Domestic issues: Do you have flexibility in your working hours, or do you have responsibilities to pick up children, attend to a family member, go to work and so on? Financial considerations: You may need to consider a local placement to reduce the cost of public transport or using your car. If the agency expects you to use your car, can you afford this? Will the agency reimburse your costs?

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CHAPTER 1 Preparing for placement – student

•

•

•

•

Police clearance: Most agencies now require students to provide evidence that they don’t have a criminal history of concern to the agency. If in doubt about your own circumstances, it is important to check this out with your educational institution or in the interview when you meet your supervisor. Immunisation: Some agencies now request that students be immunised if they are going to work in settings where they may be exposed to infection. This can be expensive and uncomfortable for some, so it may be important for you to ask. Health conditions: Some placements may require the disclosure of medical conditions as required by legislation. This may include a disability or a mental health condition that may limit a student’s capacity to complete the required learning goals. Time or workload constraints: Do you need a part-time placement? The possibility of this will be determined largely by your HEP as well as the agency. Many agencies want a full-time placement, but some agencies do prefer a part-time student because of staffing or space considerations. You should ask yourself how a part-time placement might help or hinder your learning.

Step 4: The pre-placement interview Generally, students meet with potential supervisors, and this is an opportunity for you to identify what the agency can offer you. Agency staff are also assessing your potential fit with the agency. It is becoming more common for supervisors to want more control over the selection process, and so students may be asked to write a letter of introduction or provide a curriculum vitae (CV) before a placement interview is offered. You may be expected to come well prepared to present yourself and your learning needs and to have an understanding of the agency, its work and why you would like to do your placement there. There may be more than one staff member at the interview, and they may want you to present some examples of your work, an academic transcript or perhaps a previous field placement evaluation. A summary of the self-assessment exercises above could be sent or shared. In other circumstances the meeting is much more informal. At times these may be meetings with a group of students, not necessarily all from your program or at the same stage of their training. It is important to remember that in most cases programs do not ‘own’ placements. They are offered by the practitioners, usually with no payment, they have a range of motivations and are supported by staff from the various social work programs. You will need to be clear about the purpose and functioning of the agency as well as your expectations of placement before you meet with your supervisor. Exercise 1.4 comprises some useful questions to think about.

Exercise 1.4 For the student 1 2 3 4

What can you learn from this placement? Is there sufficient scope for you to experience the aspect of practice in which you are interested? Does the agency offer the opportunity to explore areas that you have not previously considered? What/how can you learn from your supervisor?

What do you need to know about the agency? Supervisors are busy and would appreciate not having to describe the essential activities of their agency if the information is available on the internet or in a pamphlet. But they do need to know that you are interested enough to research the field and that you have a broad understanding of the function of the agency, the client group(s) that it serves and, perhaps, some of the types of services it provides. Write a list of relevant questions about the agency to help you focus your queries in the interview.

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PART 1 | Pre-placement planning

If the agency is nearby, you can get this information by dropping in to look around and obtain an annual report or pamphlets. Don’t expect to chat to your supervisor or other workers at this point. Talk to other students and staff from the educational institution or look up the agency’s website. Academic staff will usually have information and ideas to help you research the agency or the field of practice.

What do you want to find out at the interview? Make a list of the practical considerations you want to discuss at the interview, for example: • What are the likely tasks of the placement? Remember, an agency may work closely with clients, but they may want to offer you a research or project with no client contact. • Will you use an agency car or your own car for work? Does the agency reimburse transport costs? • Do you require a driver’s licence? • Are you likely to be included in agency meetings? • Where will you sit? Do you have a computer and telephone and, if not, how can you access them? What are the requirements regarding starting times, lunch breaks, finishing times, any out-ofhours work? Include any of your own issues that may impact the placement, such as picking up a child from school. •

Step 5: Meeting your supervisor You will often meet your supervisor for the first time at the pre-placement interview. It is clear from a large body of research that a positive supervisory relationship is the most important predictor of student satisfaction with their placement (Bogo, 2015), but it can be very difficult to assess your personal and academic compatibility with a supervisor in one interview. In addition, your institution may not give you much choice about where you do your placement. Your expectations are crucial to the success of your placement. It is best to aim for a ‘good enough’ relationship with your supervisor. Remember that you may have an excellent learning experience with someone who has a very different view of life. The best placements are those in which you have taken some risks and being challenged beyond your comfort zone.

Exercise 1.5 For the student From the list below, select three attributes of an effective supervisor that will be crucial to your learning on placement. Select another two that are desirable but not essential.

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Attributes

During the pre-placement interview

Your supervisor has the time to supervise you.

Your supervisor offers adequate time for the interview, appears prepared and not exhausted, has already thought about some tasks for placement and has prepared information for you.

Your supervisor supervises in a way that is complementary to your style of learning.

Your supervisor discusses the style of supervision, how often it will take place and the expectations for the content of supervision. He or she may use different methods of supervision (e.g. process recordings, observations).

Your supervisor’s personality will not clash too much with your own.

For example, does your supervisor have a sense of humour? Is his or her office too tidy or too messy?

Your supervisor has expertise and ability.

Your supervisor has experience in the field and is able to articulate his or her knowledge and skills.

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CHAPTER 1 Preparing for placement – student

Attributes

During the pre-placement interview

Your supervisor has the ability to share knowledge and skills.

Your supervisor has experience in supervising staff and students and is able to talk about his or her knowledge and skills in an inclusive and accessible way.

Your supervisor is open to your ideas and values difference.

Your supervisor asks questions about your goals and views, does not dominate the discussion, and is respectful of your ability and background.

Your supervisor is willing to allow you to experience a range of practice situations.

Your supervisor is not overprotective of clients, allows you access to staff activities, discusses ways to involve you, and assists you to develop autonomy and self-directed learning as the placement progresses.

Your supervisor has involved the agency and other staff.

The administrative staff respond positively to you. The supervisor involves other staff in the interview or in the placement.

Your supervisor is honest and self-aware.

Your supervisor does not appear defensive about his or her work or knowledge and is able to say what he or she does not know.

Reviewing Exercise 1.4 after the pre-placement interview helps you to decide whether your supervisor can offer you effective supervision. The important items that you should have answers to at the conclusion of this interview include: • your field educator’s own professional background and experience, including his or her placement supervision and other supervision experiences • • • • • •

whether your broad learning goals for the placement can be met whether your potential supervisor is interested in you and what you bring to the placement the frequency and length for formal supervision, and the availability of the supervisor at other times the range of other people who will be involved in supervision whether specific learning and/or practical needs have been discussed and resolved your access to other people in the organisation. Be careful of placements that will only allow you to do administrative tasks that will not extend your skills and knowledge. Most agencies require all staff to undertake some administrative activities, such as answering telephones and photocopying, so students should expect to contribute in this way. However, it is important that you have work that is relevant to your learning goals, and that your tasks include appropriate professional practice with or on behalf of individuals, groups, families and communities.

SUMMARY Taking the time to prepare for placement by thinking about what you want and what you need will help you to negotiate a successful placement and begin it with realistic and positive expectations. Planning will also help you to make the best use of the initial interview with your supervisor and to set some practical objectives, so that your experience on placement will challenge you to learn new skills and methods or practice without overwhelming you.

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CHAPTER

2

Preparing for placement – supervisor INTRODUCTION You are a worker in a busy human service agency. You receive a call from a university, a TAFE or a student to inquire whether you will take a student on placement. Or perhaps your team leader approaches you to supervise a placement, and you have been thinking about supervising a student for some time. A number of factors could be helpful to consider at this point: • • • • • •

Are you ready to have a student on placement? Do you have time to spend with a student? Is your organisation able to support a student placement and, if so, what sort of work would be available for a student in first or second placement? What support will you have in supervising a student? How will you determine the right ‘fit’ between you, the agency and the student? How confident are you about being in a teaching role? Research suggests that the most important ingredient in your readiness to have a student is that

you want to teach! You are more likely to enjoy having a student on placement if your agency supports the idea of making time available for supervision and can identify appropriate practice opportunities for a student. Increasingly, having a student on placement involves sharing supervisory responsibilities with others in your agency or with others paid for by the training institution. Setting up appropriate supervisory resources is a key part of preparing for placement. Why are you considering having a student on placement at this time? Is it one or more of: • an opportunity to reflect on your own clinical practice • to keep you up to date with the latest theories and approaches • • • • •

for the development of other skills, such as teaching and supervising to have the resources to develop agency practice for the satisfaction of seeing the student grow to support your profession to serve as a mentor and role model? What do you know about teaching, managing and supporting a student on placement? Your own experiences of being supervised, either as a student or as a staff member, will play a part in shaping your work as a placement supervisor. Additionally, the form of your practice may impact on how you supervise (Hendricks et al., 2013).

Exercise 2.1 For supervisors Make a note of three characteristics of supervision that you valued when you were a student and three things that concerned you as a student in your placement or within staff supervision. Examine your list. Do you think you will be able to offer the first three characteristics and avoid the second three?

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CHAPTER 2 Preparing for placement – supervisor

• • • •

For example, students may value the following characteristics: They are given the opportunity to get involved in the work fairly quickly. They are given feedback about what they do well, as well as what they do less well. They have time and space to try new things. They may be concerned about the following:

• • •

They are often left to work things out for themselves. They are asked to do repetitive tasks with no clear links to developing their practice They are not given appropriate time and space for thinking things through. As a worker, you are probably more flexible now in how you learn, but you should remember that your student might have a dominant learning style. Most students are interested in getting involved quickly in practice situations. This may be more difficult for a student in your agency – it is important to ensure, however, that your student is given some ‘doing’ things in the early days. You also need to remember that students who seem quite competent should not be taken for granted and asked to do more and more. Managing time so that students have time to reflect on their practice as well as be involved in practice is important.

PREPARING FOR PLACEMENT Is your agency ready? It is difficult to find an agency currently that does not experience uncertainty and crises, and it is useful for students to observe how agencies adapt and change as a response. But students need an environment that is stable and with enough resources so that they are not confronted with chaos on a daily basis. Having a student on placement does make demands on staff time and energy and can interfere with established work patterns, so staff need to be willing to welcome a temporary new member and to spend time with them.

Can your agency offer a good learning experience? Students generally report that they learn a great deal from all agency staff and that this is a valuable aspect of being on placement. As the placement supervisor, you are responsible for ensuring that students are given opportunities to interact with other staff, that staff know what they can ask the student to do, and that the student is clear about lines of accountability. You are generally responsible for the student’s workload, so you need to know what they are already doing and what others are asking them to do. Information and support on placement come from many sources, both from within and outside your agency. Perhaps it helps to consider that being a placement supervisor is like being a conductor in an orchestra – you bring things together, you know what is happening, you help the student to make sense of their part in the whole process and show them how they can fine-tune their performance, but you can’t run around playing all the instruments yourself. Increasingly, agencies rely on sharing supervision between agency staff or with social workers employed as external supervisors when there is no time available for agency social work staff, or where suitably qualified social workers are not available. Students and staff need to be clear about who has what responsibility for the placement and the assessment of performance. Sometimes having more than one student on placement means the students can support each other and solve problems together, instead of relying on the supervisor for ideas and feedback. Group supervision may improve time management, but it can mask individual learning problems, so it should be supplemented by one-to-one supervision (Beddoe & Davys, 2016) (see Chapter 7). If support is available from the student’s training institution, it is generally a good idea to say, as early as possible, if you think that extra input from the institution would be helpful.

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PART 1 | Pre-placement planning

Does your agency have work for a student? Internationally it is noted that: Field education should be sufficient in duration and complexity of tasks and learning opportunities to ensure that students are prepared for professional practice. (IFSW, 2014, p. 5)

The revised standards from the AASW (ASWEAS, 2021) spell this out in more detail: Field education aims to provide students with a robust and fulfilling learning experience from which they gain a strong sense of professional competence and the confidence that they are ready to enter the profession…the focus of activities is on learning outcomes directly linked to AASW practice standards. (ASWEAS, 2021, p. 2)

Students need defined tasks for their placement that enable them to meet defined learning goals. It is not work experience or an observation only experience. A range of issues can arise in allocating work; for example, students may be given the work others don’t want or they may be kept away from clients who are seen as being too vulnerable or from work that is politically sensitive. Certainly, you will want to assess the student’s capacity for such work. Some agencies have ‘student’ cases, those handed from one student to the next. This practice may give clients an opportunity to become skilled in teaching the student, but this often is not explicitly negotiated and is at least to some extent exploitative of both students and clients. With appropriate support, students can do quite complicated and difficult work well, in part because they have more time to work out what they are doing and to follow through on agreed tasks in a timely manner. Agencies tend to aim for starting students with routine initial tasks – but unfortunately, there is no such thing as a simple task and the most routine of tasks can lead to unimagined outcomes. These situations can provide valuable learning if the student gets adequate support. Sometimes the work of the agency, by its nature, is too long-term or complex for placement, or it may involve statutory responsibilities for which workers require professional accreditation; hence, it is not suitable for a student on short-term placement. In these cases, a project or an evaluation of an agency project may be preferable. If the student requires direct practice and this is not an option in your agency, then co-counselling, with responsible oversight by the supervisor, may offer appropriate learning opportunities.

Have you covered workplace issues? One of the first issues of concern to many agencies is the level of insurance cover provided by the training institution to cover public liability for any actions of the student, and personal accident insurance for the student. It is important to understand what these provisions are before any need for them arises. The agency’s insurance policy in relation to students driving its vehicles should also be explored and made clear to all parties. Many organisations will also have procedural manuals and policies that cover promoting the personal safety of students, and it is important to ensure that students are aware of these. Most training bodies and agencies will have policies on security checks that may be required for potential students. Students usually obtain a range of security approvals, for example, to work with children, or a police check prior to the pre-placement interview and could be asked to take the results of such checks to the interview to show their prospective supervisor. Many agencies now have strict policies, and you may need to check if this level of police check meets your agency’s requirements. Finally, your agency may have policies on the level of immunisation (Covid and otherwise) that students need. Students are likely to be required to discuss their experiences on placement in class or in assignments. It is very helpful if you can clarify with students what the agency policy is on ensuring confidentiality in these circumstances. Students may be asked to sign undertakings regarding confidentiality and privacy, both of individual situations and of some events in the agency, and it is

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CHAPTER 2 Preparing for placement – supervisor

important that field educators consider the implications of these with students, given their status as students who are learning from practice.

Why does your agency want a student on placement? There are a range of reasons for offering placements to students. These include a desire to contribute to the profession, a means of expanding the heterogeneity of the work group, a means for getting a particular piece of work done, an opportunity for staff development or a method of recruiting future employees. Some of these reasons may suggest that the agency is keen to take students who are already competent; others may suggest a more philanthropic motivation. Increasingly, agencies are under pressure to meet outcome targets in a timely way, and it is challenging if a student on placement takes up more time than they can contribute towards achieving agency goals. It is important for you and your agency to be clear about your expectations of a student in making decisions about taking particular students.

Off-site and on-site supervision In most instances, external supervision is used when on-site supervision is not available. Cleak and Smith (2012) found that students have a strong preference for on-site supervision where possible. Students with on-site supervision were more likely to feel competent, have a greater range of learning opportunities and develop a social work identity. However, a number of human service agencies in cities as well as in rural, regional and remote areas do not have social workers on staff (Jones-Mutton et al., 2015) and placements may be set up where the supervisor is external to the agency. It is important for the external supervisor to be familiar with agency work, culture and atmosphere, and to understand what they are expecting from a student. This knowledge helps to facilitate student learning (Zuchowski, 2016) and to build effective relationships between supervisors and with students. Zuchowski (2016) found that external supervisors spent more time on preparation for supervision and in discussion with students, than where onsite supervision was available. Overall, external supervisors focused on the students’ frameworks for practice, which linked to their learnings from interactions and growing identity as social workers. Jones-Mutton et al. (2015) summarise the advantages of ‘supervision at a distance’ as reducing the power imbalance between student and supervisor. This increased the level of emotional support, building community capacity, promoting the profile of the host agency and developing the supervisor’s skills and career (p. 86). Clear boundaries need to be drawn around the areas of responsibility of the external supervisor relative to the agency staff, monitoring student performance and taking responsibility for student work. It can be organised so that the external supervisor provides the student with the opportunity to learn from placement experiences without having administrative responsibility for the student’s work. There are challenges with this form of supervision for all players. For the external supervisor these include not being able to easily observe the student’s practice, and limited availability at key times for the student. For the agency, issues may relate to maintaining confidentiality of its activities, or to differences of opinion on work plans and the type of student work allocated. For the student, issues arise around balancing the demands of an external supervisor with those of a task supervisor, concerns about their evaluation by task supervisors and understanding what information will be shared. These potential difficulties make it essential that off-site supervision arrangements are transparent and agreed in advance. A recent study of external supervision in Australia confirmed that students generally described their external supervision as valuable and offered space to reflect critically on practice, but many felt disadvantaged without a social work presence on site and not being observed or observing social work practice (Cleak et al., 2020). Supervisory arrangements and strategies to maximise student learning are discussed further in Chapter 7.

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PART 1 | Pre-placement planning

Exercise 2.2 For an on-site supervisor 1 2 3

Who are the people the student needs to meet early in the placement? Are there any agendas running between your agency and parts of the community that the student should know about? Are there specific projects for the student and how will you share work with them?

For an external supervisor 1 2 3

How will you understand the context for the student’s placement? How will you work together with the on-site supervisor? What are the arrangements for sharing information on the student’s performance?

Choosing a student If your agency has a contractual arrangement with an educational institution, you may have a more limited ability to influence the choice of a student. The agency may have preferences in regard to a student’s age, gender, personality style, year level, and so on. Agencies that take students on a regular basis tend to define a clear role for the student; whether the student fits that role is an important point to consider in making your choice.

Exercise 2.3 For the supervisor Ask your colleagues the following questions: 1 If this agency were to take a student on placement now, what characteristic would you most like the student to have? 2 If this agency were to take a student on placement now, what characteristic would you least like the student to have?

The general robustness of your agency at this particular time will probably have an impact on how much risk it is possible to take in selecting a student. For example, if the team is cohesive, colleagues are likely to enjoy a challenge and will support a placement, even if you feel that a student may struggle to meet the standards set by you, your agency and the training body. Overt and covert intolerance of difference by colleagues in regard to characteristics such as gender, age and culture may be issues to consider. And remember that there is no evidence that an experienced student is a ‘better’ student than a less experienced one, or indeed that a final placement student is more competent than one in their first placement!

Exercise 2.4 For the supervisor Think about the following questions: 1 Are there any issues in your agency at the moment that might impact on a student? 2 If so, what implications will this have for your choice of student? 3 Would it be better for your agency to have more than one student at this time? 4 Are there any risks for you or your team in having a student on placement at this time? 5 If so, what implications will this have for your choice of student?

Are you ready? Most of the responsibility in deciding whether you are ready to take a student rests with you. Most training institutions and professional associations define readiness to take a student in terms of the length of time a person has been a practitioner. The Australian Association of Social Workers defines the mandatory period between qualifying as a social worker and qualifying as a field educator as two

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CHAPTER 2 Preparing for placement – supervisor

years full-time social work practice (ASWEAS, 2021, p. 33). This time is generally accepted as the period it takes for practitioners to develop confidence in what they know, can do and can articulate as social workers. Having the confidence to teach others and to model effective practice is sometimes seen as the end stage of being a ‘new’ social worker when practitioners have enough confidence in their knowledge and skills to be able to teach a student. Fook, Ryan and Hawkins (2000) analysed the responses of social work and community-development students, as well as new and experienced graduates, to practice vignettes and critical incidents. The responses showed how views of practice changed as the students and graduates became more experienced. They also showed that professional practice is not only about the effective application of knowledge but also it is the commitment to and enactment of particular social values and ethical positions. Learning to supervise a student is likely to involve you in going through some, or all, of the developmental stages involved in moving from student to experienced practitioner again. You can reflect on your approach to practice by using Table 2.1, adapted from Fook et al. (2000). Table 2.1 Developmental stage model Learning stage

Characteristics

Individualised approach

The student progresses from looking at social problems in an individualised way to examining the broader context.

Social distancing

The student distances people who are ‘different’ from them, and experience actually strengthens this bias.

The atheoretical ‘agony aunt’ syndrome

The student has a tendency to assess and interpret a problem from a simplistic and informal perspective instead of a more formal theoretical perspective.

Problematising and pathologising

The student attributes causes of problems to simple factors, rather than more complex contextual and structural factors that are less easily worked on.

Use of theory

The student progresses from using less theory to using more theory in practice.

Use of community resources

The student moves from having little reliance on community resources to having a greater awareness and use of community resources.

Development of professional identity

The student begins with little identification with the profession, then, with experience, gains more identification.

Perspective on the profession

The student develops from being disillusioned to having increased confidence and a positive orientation to the profession.

Use of authority and dealing with conflict

The student demonstrates a growing comfort with the use of authority and dealing with conflict. Source: Adapted from Fook et al., 2000.

Thinking about these points could also be helpful in articulating how you have developed your approach to practice. Consider the following scenario in Exercise 2.5, following:

Exercise 2.5

THEORY TO PRACTICE

Notes from the field For the supervisor Read the following scenario and then consider the question following. A student, Anna, who has considerable welfare experience, came to your agency on her first placement. She had a wide knowledge of available resources and was good at identifying when these resources might be useful. This knowledge gave her confidence starting placement. However, it became evident that she had more difficulty in establishing relationships, and in developing links between individual experience and theory that might guide action. The supervisor raised these issues with Anna who had difficulty in recognising that they would limit how effective she could be. This issue simmered through most of the placement. Anna’s approach to learning seems to reflect ‘the atheoretical ‘agony aunt’ syndrome where the student has difficulty in moving from an individual frame of reference to integrating a knowledge base to her interpretations of client situations. What might the supervisor do next?

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PART 1 | Pre-placement planning

Describing your approach to practice One of the key places students learn to link practice and theory is placement. Much of this learning occurs in the context of what is discussed on placement and through supervisors modelling behaviours for their students. As a supervisor, you can best help a student learn if you are able to describe the knowledge, skills and values that underpin your approach to practice. As part of supervision, you will probably ask your student to tell you what happened, why it occurred, how they put ideas into practice, and what matters to them as human service workers. Can you articulate these ideas yourself? Your approach to practice is made up of: • a set of beliefs and assumptions about how and why people encounter challenges in contemporary society • the theories you draw on to explain how to understand and respond to situations • •

the core skills underpinning your practice how you integrate funding body needs, agency mandates and client needs in resolving value dilemmas and articulating your purpose • how people and communities can change or develop, and what workers can do to assist this change or development. Your approach to practice may comprise several approaches, depending on the demands of the situation, or you may be quite specialised and use one particular approach.

Can you teach others? In deciding to become a supervisor, you need to think about how you go about teaching others. While poor practitioners will not make good supervisors, it does not follow that competent practitioners will automatically make skilful teachers. Most professional bodies offer training for new field educators. They provide important information as well as the chance to link with others starting out as field educators. The Australia and New Zealand Social Work and Welfare Education and Research organisation (www.anzswwer.org) hosts a national field education network, another good source of information and networking. If you are less experienced or less confident, co-supervising with a more experienced worker is a good way to ease into supervision as you share the responsibility and can discuss issues. Two main dimensions of helping others to learn are explored here. The first dimension is what motivates you to want to help someone learn about your area of practice and how you conceptualise your practice. The second dimension is your own approach to learning.

Exercise 2.6 For the supervisor As a starting point, think back over your interview for your current job. What did you tell the interviewers about yourself and your work? What did you suggest that employing you would mean for the organisation?

Think about the following questions: 1

2

3

20

What keeps you coming to work? What matters to you in relation to your contact with the people for whom your workplace provides a service? You might, for example, believe that providing more opportunities for people, redressing inequalities, giving people a voice and so on is what matters. How do you understand the issues that you deal with in your work? You might think that these issues are a reflection of a person’s innate capacities and limits, you might think people are simply victims of oppressive societal practices, or you might believe that both are true. Or is there another way of understanding the issues? What knowledge do you use in your practice and how do you develop and evaluate that knowledge? Think here of the strains between the constraints on your agency and what you know about the issues that you deal with. Think about what you know about human beings and the society in which they live. How have you developed and tested this knowledge? What does your chosen approach suggest about what matters to you?

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CHAPTER 2 Preparing for placement – supervisor

4

5

6

What skills do you use in putting this knowledge into practice? How did you develop these skills? Think about the level of skills that you have: some skills are likely to be general and used in a wide range of contexts, others may be very specific. They will relate to work with a wide range of people, including workmates, clients and managers. What ethical positions and values matter to you? One way of thinking about this is to recall situations you found challenging and try to discern what made you feel happy with the outcomes and what made you feel less happy. How do you characterise your skills, knowledge and values? For some people, one word, for example ‘feminist’ or ‘humanist’, may characterise their approach. For others, it is more complex and may involve balancing conflicting approaches. Can you identify your approach for your students and perhaps relate it to the theory they have studied in their course?

Motivation to teach others In Exercises 2.1 and 2.6, you reflected on your experiences of supervision and your current approach to practice. To answer these questions, you needed to think about the things that are important to you, what you enjoy about your work, what you like about yourself and what makes you uncomfortable. These factors help to establish your framework for helping someone else to learn. There is often a close correlation between practice frameworks and approaches to teaching that practice. Supervisors do not have different toolkits labelled ‘work’ and ‘teaching practice’ – what is different, of course, is their purpose: how they make use of these tools. These ideas are developed further in Part 4. However, being an excellent practitioner does not mean that you will be a good teacher! Teaching others requires knowledge about learning processes – a discipline in its own right and grounded in principles derived from educational, social and psychological theories and empirical studies about how people prefer to learn and how the brain works to learn new information (Bogo, 2015, p. 318). From this literature Bogo (2015, pp. 319–20) identifies five critical factors that promote student learning on placement: 7 A strong, constructive learning environment where learning is encouraged 8 Collaborative supportive relationships with field educators who have high expectations and expect students to be very involved in their own learning 9 Opportunities to observe and discuss the work of others 10 Enough opportunities to practise with service users 11

Making use of student experiences to form the basis of field instruction – their reports, observing them in practice and their discussions of work done. It is important to consider these areas when planning a placement with your student. In making the transition from practitioner to teacher, it is important to understand your own learning style and not assume that others will also learn the same way. Different approaches to learning respond to different approaches to teaching. The incorporation of critical theories in teaching and learning encourages the supervisor to value the student’s unique approach to the way that they make sense of the knowledge–practice relationship. This is discussed in more detail in Chapter 6. When teaching methods correspond with a student’s preferred learning strategy, the student’s learning achievements will be enhanced. Of course, as the placement proceeds, students should be encouraged to develop their approaches to learning in the areas in which they have less facility.

LEARNING STYLES In the pre-placement stage, it can be useful to assess your own learning style, using Exercise 2.7. This gives you a way to describe your learning style, and hence your favoured approaches to teaching. Your student may have done this exercise or something similar before placement. When he or she begins placement, it may be helpful to compare your learning profiles and identify any commonalities, and then to explore what this comparison suggests about the teaching and learning methods used on placement. Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

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PART 1 | Pre-placement planning

Exercise 2.7 For supervisors and students Assessing your preferred learning strategies The following statements describe different strategies of learning. You are asked to rate each statement from 0 to 4, with 4 representing the statement most accurate for you. Tick one box only for each statement.

22

No.

Learning strategy

Statement

1

CE

I prefer to discuss my work with colleagues, because it helps me to think about what I am doing.

2

RO

I prefer to accurately recall a situation, such as observing someone else’s work, but keep an open mind about what I heard or saw.

3

AC

I prefer to logically reason out the relationship between events and experiences.

4

AE

I prefer to test out my ideas.

5

AE

I prefer to participate in group discussion, contribute my ideas, hear the group’s reactions, and reach consensus about what to do.

6

CE

I prefer to develop my ideas through interaction in everyday situations with lots of people, such as colleagues, friends and family.

7

AC

I prefer to read textbooks or articles and arrive at the meaning for myself, responding to the intellectual challenge.

8

CE

I prefer to do something concrete, such as conducting an interview, rather than read theory.

9

RO

I prefer to derive ideas through critical reflection on my past experience (e.g. in my career or when I learnt the skills that I now use; or even refer to my past writing).

10

AC

I prefer to derive my ideas and concepts from experts or use resource books prepared by qualified specialists.

11

CE

I prefer to rely on my gut reaction to the overall picture (e.g. a situation in my agency).

12

AE

I prefer to learn by experimenting with new methods or ideas about practice.

13

AC

I prefer to work from a set of principles or recognised theory as guidelines for my own practice and for supervision of students.

14

RO

I prefer to observe impartially what happens in my own agency.

15

RO

I prefer to work in groups in which I am expected to throw in ideas that may be creative or imaginative but may not be strictly logical.

16

AE

I prefer to be challenged to explore new experiences and ideas or take on new roles despite the uncertainties and the possibility of criticism.

0

1

2

3

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CHAPTER 2 Preparing for placement – supervisor

Scoring To identify your preferred learning strategy, add the scores that you assigned to each question in the groupings listed below. For example, if you scored 4, 3, 2 and 3 in questions 1, 6, 8 and 11, your result for CE (concrete experience) would be 12 (out of a total possible score of 16).

Learning strategy

Total score

Add question

(CE) Concrete experience

16

1, 6, 8, 11

(RO) Reflective observation

16

2, 9, 14, 15

(AC) Abstract conceptualisation

16

3, 7, 10, 13

(AE) Active experimentation

16

4, 5, 12, 16

Your results

You may find that you have one or two dominant learning styles – those with the highest scores. This indicates the processes you are practised at using. It may assist your learning and teaching to start with these approaches, then introduce the styles with which you are less familiar: you will be more effective as a teacher and learner if you can confidently use all styles. Basic learning strategies This table gives a description of the characteristics of each learning strategy.

Learning strategy

Emphasis

Characteristics

(CE) Concrete experience

Feeling

• • • • •

(RO) Reflective observation

Watching

• Accurately recalls observations and perceptions about individuals and transactions • Distinguishes between essential and trivial information • Keeps an open mind and maintains impartiality in informationgathering • Withholds judgements until all possible sources of data are accounted for • Emphasises reflection instead of action

(AC) Abstract conceptualisation

Thinking

• • • • •

Identifies relationships between concepts Draws conclusions from the analysis of data Develops tentative explanations Develops generalisations and principles from the information Develops a plan or proposal to address the identified issues

(AE) Active experimentation

Doing

• • • • •

Tests ideas and concepts already developed Attempts new activities in testing the ideas Tests hypotheses by active experimentation Identifies outcomes that have immediate applications Emphasises practical application instead of reflective understanding

Uses the senses to actively participate in a situation Develops emotional rapport with others Uses intuition to explore a situation Explores the here-and-now Is concerned with practical outcomes

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PART 1 | Pre-placement planning

Learning modes, learning environments and educational methods The following table identifies the ideal learning environment and education methods for each mode of learning.

Mode of learning

Learning environment

Educational method

Concrete experience

Emphasises personal Prefers: experiences • individualised feedback • sharing feelings about the subject matter • a collegial relationship • self-direction Potential constraint: • theoretical assignments

Reflective observation

Understands concepts

Prefers: • observation and appreciation • expert interpretations • guiding and limiting discussions with others • performance to be judged by external criteria Potential constraint: • task-oriented assignments

Abstract conceptualisation

Prefers logical thinking

Prefers: • case studies • thinking alone • reading and discussing theory Potential constraint: • group interaction and role simulations

Active experimentation

Applies knowledge and skills

Prefers: • small-group discussions • projects • peer feedback • modelling by others Potential constraint: • didactic presentations Source: Adapted from AASWWE, 1991, p. 62.

Exercise 2.7 is based on the work of Kolb (1984), who developed his model of experimental learning in part from an empirical study of social work competencies. Most people’s learning style is made up of the four main learning styles described in the exercise. Over time in our practice area, we are likely to develop a relatively balanced approach to learning, because different situations call for different learning strategies. However, when you start out as a supervisor, you might find yourself reverting to type as you tackle a new task. This exercise is useful for supervisors to identify themes in their teaching style as well as their learning style. Learning styles can be characterised in a range of ways, but this approach to describing learning is a good starting point and will be referred to throughout the text. What is essential is that you and the student discuss your differing understandings and experiences of learning and use these to promote a framework for learning on placement (Shardlow & Doel, 1996, p. 74). People who are concrete (CE) and active (AE) learners prefer to carry out tasks and work in a team rather than observe others at work. They learn by reviewing what they have done. People who are abstract (AC) and reflective (RO), on the other hand, may prefer to read a rationale for service delivery, to discuss the program with other workers, and to conceptualise tasks before carrying them out.

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CHAPTER 2 Preparing for placement – supervisor

Exercise 2.7 also helps you to identify the range of ways students learn on placement. These can be discussed with students as a way to ensure that there is a reasonable fit between the teaching and learning activities you can provide and those the students desire. There are two other models of learning styles. A simpler version of learning styles, the Learning Styles Questionnaire, was developed in 1986 by Honey and Mumford. This model also built upon the work of Kolb and originally was intended to identify the learning styles of managers, so be cautious about applying this framework to the human services. The four categories defined by Honey and Mumford (1986) are as follows: • Activist (having the experience): Activists are enthusiastic for new experiences and tend to be dominated by their immediate focus of attention. They welcome new challenges but become bored by implementation and consolidation. They may rush hastily into activities and tend to centre everything on themselves and not consider others. • Reflector (reviewing the experience): Reflectors observe and evaluate experiences from several

•

•

different perspectives, collecting as much data as possible and considering many alternatives before deciding on a course of action. They tend to be thoughtful and cautious and may avoid taking action. Theorist (concluding from the experience): Theorists mould their observations into complex and logically sound theories. They think problems through in a systematic and analytical way, and their approach may appear detached. Pragmatist (planning the next steps): Pragmatists enjoy experimentation and applying ideas and theories in practice and engaging in active problem-solving. There is a danger that they may cut

corners, thereby minimising a proper consideration of facts and feelings (Morrison, 2001, p. 93). Usually, one learning style dominates others and predisposes people to learn best from a particular range of activities. Hendricks et al. (2013, pp. 101–102) note that ‘learning style’ is a broad concept that includes cognitive functioning (the influence of thoughts and feelings, the ways new situations are tackled), preferences for different types of learning situations (such as group, selfdirected) and the legacies of sociological factors such as culture, gender and life experiences. Such factors influence not only the teaching but also how the learning is perceived by students. An understanding of preferred leaning styles and what these suggest for teaching should not be adhered to rigorously, however, as people are not stuck with one style, and using different learning methods should be encouraged. Finally, Table 2.2 gives a simple approach to measuring learning styles that shows how students learn. The three concepts also suggest what learning strategies might apply for a student tasked to understand the agency structure and hierarchy. Table 2.2 Alternative model of learning styles Learning style

Features

Teaching tasks

Visual learners

About 65% of the population learn by seeing what they are learning.

• Write down key aspects of the organisation • Draw a diagram of the organisation • Provide notes about the organisation

Auditory learners

About 30% of the population learn by hearing the information presented.

• Brainstorm ideas about the organisation in a group • Listen to an audiotape about the organisation • Give a mini-lecture to students about the organisation

Kinaesthetic learners

About 5% of the population learn by being involved in hands-on activities.

• Students interview members of the organisation • Students walk around the organisation and take notes • Role-play the key roles of the organisation

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PART 1 | Pre-placement planning

MEETING THE STUDENT Ideally, you would meet the student when deciding whether or not to offer them a placement, though it is more common now that this meeting is on their first day. In either case first impressions are very important in your assessment about the potential fit between you, your agency and the student. For this reason, some supervisors prefer not to have a great deal of information about the student before they meet them for the first time. For the same reason, other supervisors prefer to know as much as possible so that they can consider how they may best meet the student’s needs. The meeting is your opportunity to let the student know what he or she can expect in your agency, as well as to get to know the student. If you have a pre-placement meeting, you could choose to run this meeting like a job interview, using criteria against which you measure the student’s responses. Other supervisors find it helpful to invite students to spend some time in the agency, so that they can meet a range of people and get an idea of how well they will fit in. Students usually have a great deal invested in the decisions you both reach at this time and it often pays to take time to set them at their ease to give you the most accurate picture of their strengths and abilities. It helps to give the student a brief profile of the agency and some details about the staff, or your agency may have a website that students could be encouraged to explore before their interview. This is a time-efficient way to provide information, especially if you are expecting to interview more than one student. Useful information could include: • a description of the agency – its mission or goals • a snapshot of the clients • an annual report •

a copy of any significant reports, brochures or other information that describes what the agency does and identifies the tasks and learning opportunities that may be available to the student. • a brief tour of the agency to assess how comfortable students might feel. For example, some students may not accommodate well to a hospital environment You may also want to give the student some information about yourself. The following exercise can help you to identify what information may be useful.

Exercise 2.8 For supervisor Professional profile Prepare a simple profile of your professional background and experience. You probably have a curriculum vitae (CV) that you could adapt to share with a prospective student. You could include relevant answers from Exercise 2.5, in which you outlined your practice frameworks.

Clarifying expectations Exercise 2.9 may help you identify your general expectations about student placements and your specific expectations for this placement, as well as to think about issues you might want to raise with prospective students.

Exercise 2.9 General expectations What would be your responses to the following statements? 1 I like having students on placement because . . . 2 What may be challenging in having a student may be . . . 3 I definitely need a student who is able to . . . 4 The agency could really benefit from a student who can . . . 5 A student can expect to learn about are . . .

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CHAPTER 2 Preparing for placement – supervisor

Specific expectations for this placement 1 2

This student needs to know how to . . . One of my main concerns about having students in this agency is . . .

The student could be invited to answer a similar set of questions when you meet to negotiate a placement. Other useful questions to ask in this initial meeting: you could ask why the student is interested in this area of practice; if the student has had a previous field placement, he or she could comment on this experience, in particular the use made of learning opportunities. You could ask the student to identify one or two significant and/or challenging areas of learning for them.

SUMMARY The supervision experience can be enriching for practitioners and often gives them the opportunity to ‘take stock’ of their practice and consider their values and ideology. It is also a chance to consider the opportunities for learning in the agency and how these opportunities can be developed. For supervisors to be effective teachers, it is important for them to identify their own learning styles, to be aware of these styles and to learn how, in the process of supervision, they can challenge and extend students in a variety of ways.

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PART 2 BEGINNING PLACEMENT Placements are more likely to be successful if time is made to think through how the placement will be managed and being clear about what is to be achieved. The following three chapters offer ideas for both students and supervisors to develop a placement framework. Overall, it is a good model for starting work in any human service agency. The initial stage of placement includes orientation and the recurring learnings typical of placement. As well as exploring the agency and the new environment, students will assess the strengths and limitations of the agency and find out where they can access support and optimum learning. Equally, supervisors will assess the student’s strengths and learning needs to begin shaping appropriate tasks. As a result of Covid-19, more social work staff are working remotely for part of the week, and some are expecting students to spend part of their placement away from the agency. How this may work for students and how supervisors manage this model is covered in Chapter 3. It will be helpful for students and supervisors to read Chapters 3 and 4 – they both cover the same stage of placement and have similar content, but from different perspectives. Both chapters prepare students and supervisors for defining the learning goals, and writing learning agreements and other forms of agreements, as discussed in Chapter 5.

CHAPTER 3 Getting started – student .................................. 29 CHAPTER 4 Getting started – supervisor.............................. 39 CHAPTER 5 Charting the course for placement – contracts and agreements .............................................. 49

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3

INTRODUCTION Field placement looms as an important part of your social work program. Planning for it should start well before you meet with a prospective field educator. Many social work programs incorporate the use of portfolios illustrating your work and academic achievements to this point. It is a good idea to think how you might present parts of this to a prospective field educator. Similarly, you may prepare a CV outlining your activities at school, courses you have done, skills you have, sport, having a licence and car, volunteering etc. If you notice there are gaps (e.g. in volunteering), consider how you might fill them. You have hopefully met your supervisor at least at the initial interview. If you have been placed in a larger agency, you may have been interviewed by one person but assigned to another. It may be apparent from the interview that you and your supervisor have different personality styles, values or interests, but you have agreed that the placement is going to offer you the opportunities you need to meet your important learning goals. You have little control or influence over the supervisor’s personality or teaching style, but you can choose to make the most of the positive learning that is possible in the placement. Usually, a compromise can be found. Working in an organisation, like living in a family, is a process of ongoing modifications and adaptation to change. So, learning how to thrive in organisations needs to be part of your long-term learning. It is easy to be overwhelmed by all the facts, regulations, names, protocols and directions in your first days and weeks. Your supervisor will probably be making adjustments in their schedules as well, to meet the demands of the placement. Placements are relatively short, so it is important not to lose time waiting for things to become clearer. You need to be a self-directed learner and act proactively to ensure that you squeeze every bit of positive learning from this placement.

THE FIRST WEEKS Remember that you are a student and are not supposed to know everything in your first week, if ever! Experience will give you skills and knowledge, and your supervisor will be aware that your ability will likely be more limited in the beginning. Don’t have unrealistic expectations that you will be able to master all the possible human service tasks you might meet with in practice. The following steps will guide you through the first weeks. 1 Ask for help, directions, advice and names: Try to use your own resources first – is the information you need contained in your student manual, or would another student know the answer? Most staff will respond positively to a polite question, but they may be less inclined to help if it is asked repeatedly, at inappropriate times, or if the answer is readily available elsewhere. 2 Observe and remember: Link names to faces and positions, roles and departments. Knowing who to go to for different issues or activities will help you understand each staff member’s role within the agency as well as the personal and political nuances of the system in which you must

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function. These structures help you to recognise early on to whom you can relate, learn from and develop a supportive relationship. You can enhance your experience if you try to become involved in the flow of interactions and activities within the organisation. This may involve sharing lunch with agency workers and attending any scheduled formal or informal meetings. 3 Read: You may have had enough of reading during the classroom component of your course, but selective reading is a quick way to become familiar with the written communication occurring in the agency, and to gain essential knowledge about the agency and information about the client group. 4 Record: You are likely to be overwhelmed with information in the first few weeks. It is very easy to slip into the activities of your agency and quickly forget initial impressions. A diary or a journal can help you to record information and experiences; it can also be used to organise the ‘content’ of your placement into smaller, more manageable parts that make sense to you. A diary is a log of your experiences as they occur. A journal has a number of purposes, including recording important dates and places to be. It can be used to record questions for your supervisor or others; it can contain a list of important information that you need to remember, and it can be a reflective tool to describe your journey through placement – your ideas, issues and concerns as a new professional. It can also contain useful notes for discussion in supervision and for completing mid- and final-placement evaluations. Diaries, journals and other reflective tools are covered in more detail in Chapter 8. 5 Communicate effectively: The impact on communication of the power imbalance between you and your supervisor can be minimised if you set clear agreements about what you can expect from the other. Open communication helps to avoid misunderstandings and creates a positive working relationship. Most problematic situations can be turned around if you can tolerate shortcomings and concentrate on the positive aspects, thinking creatively of ways to overcome obstacles to your learning goals. 6 Time management: Recent research into the reasons why students fail placement point to poor time management as a major issue for many (Roulson et al., 2021). Being on placement requires that you manage your time as effectively to allow you to maximise the learning opportunities and to meet any deadlines which are set. There are many different techniques for managing your time, such as using a personal diary. 7 Here are some of the basic principles of assertive communication to observe during your placement: – Express your fears, needs or concerns as ‘I’ statements, rather than as the supervisor’s or agency’s problems. – Express preferences as possibilities, not as if they are promised tasks. – Explore your reaction to situations and accept responsibility in working through them – share problem-solving possibilities, rather than blame others. Be prepared for the fact that an assertive request does not always result in a change in your favour. 8 Practice: Use your skills of engaging, reflective listening and relationship building with staff, committee members and others you meet in your agency or other agencies you visit as you settle in. Think about what contributed to your success or otherwise in these interactions – name the skills you used and try to identify the processes of the interaction. 9 Learn to live with the limitations: Learning can occur at many different levels – relatively –

insignificant tasks such as answering telephones can offer insight into clients’ problems and the role of the administrative staff. Conflict with a staff member can teach you strategies to survive a stressful situation, even if it is not immediately obvious. Don’t blame or withdraw if you are feeling overwhelmed or left out, but try the communication strategies suggested above. Some agencies may want you to start with service users early in your placement. You may feel very anxious that you don’t feel adequately prepared. Alternatively, your agency might have a set orientation program designed to introduce you to policies, protocols and procedures. You may want

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to get started on ‘real’ tasks during your orientation program. In either case think through how to make the best use of your start. If you do not feel you can manage a task, it is best to say so and perhaps ask for assistance. Make use of any unstructured time to explore, reflect and record thoughts in your journal.

SURVIVING IN A HUMAN SERVICE AGENCY Your understanding of how your agency works becomes the backdrop and basis for your work. One of the first things to do on placement is to map your agency. The questions in Exercise 3.1 may focus your understanding, and there is an alternative approach to mapping agencies in Exercise 4.3. Use the more appropriate format for your agency. Once you have considered the questions, think about the ones that were more difficult to answer. Why is this the case? What does that tell you about the agency, its clients or its workers?

Exercise 3.1 For the student 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Does the agency have a clear statement of its goals and mission? Is there any discrepancy between what these stated goals are and how they operate? Who are the targets of their intervention? What is the legal base of the organisation? How are they funded? Does this funding compromise their service delivery or pose a conflict of interest? How is it held accountable to the public? What is their organisational structure? What are the formal and informal lines of authority? Who decides who does what? How do staff relate to each other? What are some of the rituals or behaviours that you have observed in the organisation that define their culture? Source: Adapted from O’Connor et al., 2003, p. 170.

To build on the map you have outlined in Exercise 3.1, try doing Exercises 3.2 and 3.3, which have different perspectives.

Exercise 3.2 For the student Learn about your agency through the eyes of a client and perhaps through other services that relate to your agency. One way of doing this is, with permission, to ask other students on placement, or perhaps doing other courses, to visit your agency. Having to answer others’ questions can alert you to areas about the agency you need to explore further. Or, if you are permitted, sit in the waiting room of your agency for a period to experience what it is like to be a client. Make sure your impressions and feedback are recorded for supervision. Similarly, visiting other agencies relevant to your placement gives you a chance not only to understand how the activities of the two places do or do not fit together, but also to question the assumptions both agencies make about their client groups. It is useful to develop a list of questions that you can ask on the visit – some pertinent topics are auspice arrangements, funding, the philosophy of the agency, how staff approach service delivery, how the staff respond to current policy issues, and what clients do or don’t appreciate about the agency. Try to remember your first responses to the agency. If you are keeping a journal, read your initial responses. Would clients also respond this way? To what extent does your agency encourage clients to give a broad or narrow view of their situation? How do your answers fit with the map of the agency you outlined in Exercise 3.1?

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Exercise 3.3 For the student Think about a situation in which you interacted with a client or member of the public and were explaining in part how the organisation functions. To what extent were you aware of the impact of your explanation of the agency’s structure, goals, culture and environment on what you or someone else did? Did you leave things out or emphasise some features over others? Why was this the case? Briefly outline what was done in the situation, and then suggest possible reasons for the way you responded. On the basis of this reflection, what have you learnt about your placement agency and yourself?

In Exercise 3.3 we raise the notion of organisational culture which suggests that the culture of an organisation represents certain rituals, norms, systems and values patterns that impact on their operations. Use Exercise 3.4 to consider factors informing the organisational culture in your agency.

Exercise 3.4 For the student Make a note of any competing and/or shared voices or strategies you perceive. How do factors such as gender, age, perceived skill levels, variations in training, the impact of uncertainty or a collective team dynamic impact working relationships? What messages do you get about leadership, the use of rules and regulations, or the lack of emphasis on these factors?

An organisational culture gives the organisation a sense of identity, defines what it means to be a member, and enables us to predict what the organisation is likely to do in certain circumstances. When you arrive at your placement organisation, aspects of the way it presents itself to the rest of the world may strike you as significant, unexpected or even odd. It is important to make notes about your initial experiences, since it is likely that you will quickly become acclimatised and accept what was ‘odd’ as ‘normal’. Some of the factors you might note here include shared meanings such as what the organisation assumes about the world and about those who use its services, how they explain why the world is organised this way, and what is the range of acceptable behaviour and action to each other and to those using services. Shared symbols include the stories told about organisational life – official and unofficial; the language and jargon used; and things such as furniture, letterhead, pictures, and the way the organisation is physically structured. There are inevitable tensions between human service practitioners and the agencies in which they work, for a number of reasons. One of the major tensions relates to the reliance of health and welfare on public funding and hence political uncertainties and cyclical changes. O’Connor et al. (2008, p. 185) outline some of the key tensions: • Organisations control access to social resources – workers and their organisations compete for resources and ration the distribution of these resources. • The knowledge and practice of human service practitioners is often contested by other professional groups, the community and clients. • Organisations are often a target for change by their own workers or workers in other agencies. • Workers are likely to confront issues of autonomy and to experience challenges to their control over their work. Understanding how decisions are made is another useful approach to understanding the way the organisation functions. Hughes and Wearing (2013) suggest that understanding the overt and covert behaviour around decisions helps to identify whose interests are paramount. Think about decisionmaking processes you observe in your placement. What do they tell you about how this organisation functions?

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Whatever the structure of your agency and however it functions, there are likely to be conflicts and conflicting priorities. Human service agencies have multiple ‘masters’ and are accountable to a diverse group of organisational and community stakeholders, as illustrated by Figure 3.1. Figure 3.1 Conflicting priorities for services Community and government needs, wants, rights

Financial budget and resources

Service users needs, wants, rights

Professional assessed needs and duties

Adapted from Morrison, 2001, p. 53.

Agencies are sometimes conflict-ridden. They may have no shared value system, in spite of the mission statement on the wall, or they may have a number of vague goals that are contested by internal as well as external stakeholders. Such pressures may emerge while you are on placement. It may have little effect at all on your placement, or it may mean that your supervisor is distracted and not readily available or that your placement is unable to meet your learning goals. This pressure can also have an impact on the staff, who may react with anger, confusion and lowered morale. It may result in modification of or reduction to service delivery, increased workload or other changes. It is hard not to be overwhelmed by negativity in these circumstances, so it is important to stay focused on your learning, to help out when necessary and to be flexible about changes. There is often room for workers to manoeuvre between these different demands. The nature of human service practice makes it difficult for agencies to prescribe responses to all the issues workers are likely to face, so front-line practitioners often have considerable autonomy. You are likely to see this in your agency (see Exercise 3.5).

Exercise 3.5 For the student Think about a situation in which you have observed or been told about workers exercising their initiative to improve outcomes for clients or communities. How did you know they were taking action based on their own assessment rather than policies? Who do you think is more likely to benefit from this autonomy, and why do you think that is the case?

WORKING REMOTELY The Covid -19 pandemic during 2020–21 changed the way that organisations undertook their business and staff were often required to work remotely from home. This obviously impacted on the usual placement processes and alternative placement arrangements were organised as the only way for students to complete their placement. For many students, this required them to undertake some, or all, of their placement remotely, as long as the normal requirements of supervision and liaison were met. Preliminary research of students’ experiences and informal feedback from supervisors have suggested a number of important factors that need to be built into any placement where the student undertakes part of their placement away from the agency.

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• • • • •

These include: Students were very clear that they needed to be well organised and conscientious about not ‘wasting time’ when not required to be in daily direct contact with the supervisor and staff Many students enjoyed the flexibility and convenience of working remotely but many felt isolated and disconnected from agency and academic staff Students talked about the need for them to be proactive and negotiate useful learning tasks and supervision time with their supervisors Many students expressed concerns about their lack of direct practice with clients, not observing social work practice and being observed undertaking interpersonal skills Privacy and confidentiality become more important when students are working away from the agency. (Zuchowski et al., 2021 https://academic.oup.com/bjsw/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/bjsw/bcab224/6432498)

So, if working remotely is planned to be part of your placement arrangement, these potential issues should be discussed and negotiated with your supervisor to ensure optimal learning.

TEAMWORK Organisational work involves functioning in a team, which may be made up of people with a similar discipline base to yours or may consist of workers from different disciplines. It is important to use the knowledge you have about groups and organisations to understand the opportunities and constraints that working in teams in your placement setting offers. The work environment is a significant factor in whether a team develops, and how it develops. This development of a team group can be charted as a process of moving through stages, such as such as orientation, accommodation, negotiation, operation and then dissolution. Of course, not all teams move along this continuum. The following scenario tracks the development of a team in a hospital.

THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES A children’s hospital hoped to expand its rehabilitation services for children across a wide geographical area by

THEORY TO PRACTICE

developing a ‘team at a distance’. Orientation: The original impetus to develop the new team came from the speech pathologist, who was frustrated by the lack of follow-up when children returned home. She received support from other therapists, all of whom were concerned about the slow rate of progress of the children once they left the hospital. The social worker supported the plan but wanted the group to consider the resources and opportunities that were available at a local level. The idea was supported by the hospital hierarchy, and staff were asked to submit a plan to put it into operation. Staff from each discipline were allocated to the new team, depending on interest and time availability. It was decided that children from areas outside the city would be referred to the team after they had been discharged from inpatient care. Accommodation: The team met to consider how they would work with children at a distance. This involved considerable discussion about their goals, how they would coordinate their work, how they would communicate with any therapists ‘on the ground’, and how they could keep other interested parties informed. For many it was difficult because they had relied on face-to-face contact to do their work. The new service inevitably meant that the team would have to train others in therapy procedures and the question arose as to how much parents could be expected to take on this role. A social work student on placement was asked to record what was happening, and to identify possible options and a way of evaluating the progress of the team towards meeting its goals. The first children were referred, and team members found that the work was more time-consuming than they had thought it would be, and they were continually being pulled away to deal with the immediate demands of children on the wards. Negotiation: It became clear that team members could only find the time for the new service if one therapist had the responsibility for each child, so a procedure was adopted to identify who the key therapist would be, and he or she then negotiated for more specialised input, if necessary. There was tension because not all team members could keep up with the more enthusiastic members. The student highlighted the normality of these tensions from her reading of theory, and this encouraged staff to move from

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personalities to the structural issues that made the work difficult. Setting goals against which the team’s work could be assessed was a long process, but it helped people to become more realistic about what could be achieved. Operation: The first three months, coinciding with the end of the student’s placement, were taken up with getting the team running reasonably efficiently and effectively. Team members were surprised at how much they could cross the boundaries of each discipline and still feel competent. They all acknowledged they had learned a lot from each other. Children seemed to be making more progress with their rehabilitation than had been the case before the team was set up, and parents reported that the extra work for them seemed to be worthwhile. Respecting what each person had to offer was crucial to the program. It was decided to run the program for 12 months and continue to evaluate it.

The conditions under which people work, the leadership effort put into fostering cohesiveness and the personalities involved in a team will all affect the outcomes of teamwork. The development of teams can be interpreted as a product of the forces affecting the team and this developmental approach considers the threats and opportunities the team encounters. Teams need to work through the potential threats and opportunities in how they work together. The team in the previous scenario worked well because the areas of threat were outweighed by the opportunities offered to improve the service. People in this team were prepared to put the children’s needs ahead of their own professional boundaries and come up with an innovative way of delivering a rehabilitation program to children and their families who were at a distance. Exercise 3.6 is a useful exercise for students and supervisors to think about how the team in their workplace functions and what their role and tasks are in the team. You may want to wait until you are established on placement before tackling this exercise.

Exercise 3.6 For the student and supervisor Think about teamwork in your workplace or placement agency and answer the following questions. 1 How do you balance client confidentiality with the need to share information in a team? 2 How can you time your work with clients, so you fit in with the work of the other team members? 3 How do you handle conflict in teams? 4 How can you involve agency clients in decision-making teams? 5 Do you know who decides, who validates and who disperses power in the team?

Types of teams The organisational structure of your team is important. It is often the case that you will be a member of more than one team, and each may be of a different type, each with its own advantages and limitations. Think about the following types of teams in the context of your agency.

Single-discipline team In single-discipline teams, all members are assumed to share a common practice and skill orientation. The advantages of single-discipline teams are that lines of responsibility and accountability are clear, and with a common discipline agenda are more likely to be shared. The disadvantages are that each person in the team is likely to represent a different organisational level (e.g. client, worker, team leader, manager) and those in boundary positions between the organisational levels experience the stress of choosing between competing demands.

Multidisciplinary team A multidisciplinary team refers to a team or collaborative process in which members of different disciplines assess or treat patients independently and then share information with each other. This approach to care occurs when disciplines address different aspects of a problem). Each profession works side by side dealing with different perspectives, and relationships are limited and transitory. Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

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The main advantages of a multidisciplinary team are that it can facilitate and coordinate the most appropriate response to client needs and provides a single access point for clients. The disadvantages are that workers are left to negotiate the boundaries between their discipline team and work team, and that leadership power is often vested in specific professions and not necessarily in the individuals who are most competent or relevant to the work done. Figure 3.2 Model of a multidisciplinary team

Information manager Occupational therapist

Podiatrist

CLIENT Speech pathologist

Physiotherapist

Social worker

Orthoptist

Nurse

Interdisciplinary team Interdisciplinary teamwork involves different professionals collaborating – pooling their knowledge, resources and ideas – to realise a common goal that could not be achieved independently. This can involve some integration of their functions, such as a psychologist taking the decision-making role in a mental health facility. Key activities of interdisciplinary teams include: • sharing information and discussing issues about the client or community • • • • •

summarising health and social data brainstorming approaches for dealing with difficulties revising goals and plans clarifying responsibilities related to implementation of care plans identifying individual and team learning needs. Difficulties with interdisciplinary teams can occur if the team does not share the same professional values or philosophy, there is a lack of trust in other team members or a lack of time to meet.

Inter-agency teams Team members come from different agencies and often from different practice areas (e.g. child protection and juvenile justice) or represent specific clients. Such teams work well when the task is clearly defined, there is energy for the task, and the members trust each other. The advantage of inter-agency teams, if the above conditions are present, is that they develop collaborative work styles, which benefit the practice areas or clients represented by the team. However, there is little recourse if these conditions are not present. This model is threatened by the purchaser/provider funding model for human services, which challenges the traditional cooperative approach between agencies on which these teams rely.

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CHAPTER 3 Getting started – student

Figure 3.3 Model of an interdisciplinary team

General practitioner

Carer Social worker

Occupational therapist

Speech pathologist Podiatrist Nurse Physiotherapist

Prosthetic specialist

PATIENT

Teamwork skills In all teams, regardless of the setting, practitioners have to balance the interests of individual clients, communities and the groups they work with against the interests of individual team members and of employers. This is an important skill to understand and develop. Skills that are essential for good communication and cooperative decision making in groups are active listening, encouraging and balancing participation, clarifying discussion and checking for agreement. • Active listening: Paraphrasing and checking information is an opportunity to reinforce that important information is heard and shared, and to gain agreement among team members: for example, ‘So you are also saying that …’, ‘Is that what we are agreeing to try?’ • Encouraging and balancing participation: Solicit information from all members or ask each member in turn to state his or her opinion. Elicit new opinions with questions such as ‘Does •

•

•

anyone else have anything to contribute?’ Seeking different opinions and encouraging alternative views: Using open questions – such as ‘What are some of the other ways we could assist Mrs B. to stay safe?’ instead of closed questions such as ‘Is there any other way of helping Mrs B., other than move her into a more secure facility?’ – can help the group seek alternatives. Clarifying discussions: Disagreements often arise from misunderstandings or a failure to appreciate another member’s underlying concerns or fears. Use probes such as ‘How did you come to this conclusion?’ or ‘What behaviours of Mrs B. influenced this judgement?’ Checking for agreement and understanding: Check to see if everyone understands a decision and can explain why it is the best. Also ask if everyone is clear about the course of action and the assignment of tasks and roles. Exercise 3.7 requires students to evaluate their use of these skills in team meetings.

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Exercise 3.7 For the student 1 2

Review your behaviour, or the behaviour of others, in a team meeting to understand what made the meeting more or less successful. Focus on the skills outlined above. Prepare for a meeting in which you will lead the team by answering the questions below before the meeting (adapted from Hyer & Howe, 2002). a What decisions need to be made today? b Are you clear about everyone’s perspective on these decisions? c Is there disagreement among group members about any issues? If so, what accounts for this disagreement? d What key questions must be addressed, or points resolved to reach decisions? e Do you or the group need more information? f What are your preferred decisions, and what values, knowledge and attitudes are reflected in your preferences? g Is the decision making based on a client-centred approach or does it reflect other interests?

SUMMARY Placement can be an exciting and, at times, overwhelming experience. It is important to start your placement with realistic expectations of yourself, your supervisor and the agency. This requires that you are aware of the broader environment in which human service agencies operate and the tensions this causes for workers individually and in teams. You will derive maximum benefit from placement if you pay attention to the skills required both to work effectively in organisations and also to work well with individuals, groups and communities.

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4

INTRODUCTION Preparation for a student placement should begin some weeks before they arrive. A number of dimensions can impact the beginning phases and can be dependent on whether you are employed in the agency or are an off-site or external field educator. As an external field educator, you are likely to be in contact with the task supervisor in the agency to identify who is doing what overall, and in particular how you will both manage this introductory period. As a task supervisor, you may need to establish clear lines of communication with the external field educator and remind senior and other staff of the pending placement. You may need to prepare material and check office availability. If the student is moving to your area to do their placement, ensuring that they have accommodation is important, and your preparation includes helping the student orient to the local area. If you are employed in the placement agency, it will generally be more straightforward to manage these tasks than if you are an external supervisor. Organising and executing the orientation program will take time, and the student is likely to want to consult with you regularly. In the current environment, it is most unlikely that you will be able to reduce your workload during the first few weeks of the placement; however, requesting that you are not given extra duties or making arrangements to minimise time out of the agency will be appreciated by the student as well as by other agency staff. Little gestures – having a pigeon-hole ready with the student’s name on it, having some stationery items already in their office drawer, or having times and dates for early supervision sessions – will make the student feel welcome. Students may struggle with the demands of suddenly having professional expectations placed upon them, and with dealing with the feelings that emerge when confronted with people and situations that are difficult, complex and sad. Ensuring that they always have something meaningful and productive to do can help ease the start.

THE FIRST WEEKS Most students will say that their placement was the most enjoyable part of their social work course, but they will come to you with a variety of emotions. Many will arrive with some anxiety and apprehension. Even students who have had considerable working experience can be daunted by the realities of the placement. And a few students will be coming with some negative memories of a failed or inadequate placement. So here are a few ideas to offer some reassurance and comfort to the student arriving in your agency. Firstly, take some time to attend to the following checklist: Welcome • Are there any office traditions to welcome a new face? Morning tea, a welcome from a senior member of staff? • Is there any introductory reading material? How are you going to organise the staff and team introductions? • What are the lunch arrangements?

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Orientation Where can the student go for: • privacy? • a personal phone call? • a cup of tea or coffee? • lunch? • exercise? • Has the student identified any personal or learning difficulties that need to be accommodated? Where is the: • toilet? • photocopier? • student’s workspace? • stationery supply? Necessary items The agency should provide: • a desk and chair • access to a telephone • access to drinks • access to fresh air • access to a computer • stationery, diary, pens, identity cards •

a ‘starter’ pack of relevant policies and procedures.

General issues Building on the checklist, the following issues should be discussed with the student in the early days of placement: • What are the student’s hours of attendance and lunch breaks? • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • •

40

Does the student need to sign in and out? What are the parking or car access arrangements? What are the computer arrangements? How will the student be addressed? (It is generally not advisable to encourage students to hide their student status.) Does the agency have a smoking policy? What is the policy on the use of mobile phones? Who should the student contact if he or she is late, sick or unable to come to work? What are the occupational health and safety policies? Are there any security issues? Does the student need a name tag or keys? How will issues of equal opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice be addressed in placement? (Students should be directed to the policies of the agency that relate to this.) What are the regular meetings or functions that the student must attend, such as staff meetings? Are there any protocols or issues of etiquette that the student may not be aware of, but which are important informal rules (e.g. what parking spots should be avoided, the need for tidiness if the student is sharing office space, whether the student will need to pay for coffee and tea, signing for office property)? What decisions may be taken by the student without confirmation by you or another staff member (e.g. using the photocopier)? Are there any variations to the negotiated placement arrangements? What is the timetable for supervision sessions? Are there any significant changes to the tasks that were agreed on at the pre-placement meeting? (It may no longer be appropriate for the student to work with a particular group or client or on a specific project, so replacement tasks need to be negotiated.)

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CHAPTER 4 Getting started – supervisor

Are there any expected changes, such as the supervisor taking leave, the future of the agency being in doubt because of possible funding cuts? THEORY TO PRACTICE

Exercise 4.1 For the supervisor and the student

Meeting the Challenge: This is another opportunity to ease the student into the agency and to show acceptance and interest in how they learn and a recognition of some of the student’s emotions during these beginning weeks. Some of the exercises in Chapter 3 can assist the student to think about their answers.

New Challenge

How did I meet the challenge?

What did I learn?

Example: I get anxious when I am in unfamiliar situations

I tend to listen carefully and do some research beforehand so that I can feel more confident

Being a good listener and being prepared can be a positive attribute

Example: When I am unsure if I have the right answer, I stay quiet

I sometimes get annoyed that other people give it a go and get good comments from the teacher

Not saying something does not offer me the opportunity to get feedback and learn

Your example:

Your example:

Source: Adapted from Lomax et al., 2010.

STARTING WORK Learning principles Other important considerations for the start of placement relate to how you establish the teaching and learning relationship with the student. An assessment of the student’s knowledge and confidence in completing a task can be obtained from the self-assessment they did in Chapter 1. For example, previous work experience may have given the student confidence in answering the telephones during a busy lunch hour. It is important to design an orientation program that covers a range of learning modes; for example, you give the student a list of staff names, but they may not be able to retain the names until they meet the staff in person (visual), hear them talk (auditory) or perhaps connect the name with some other piece of information about them (see Chapter 2 for more details). Agency information should be presented in stages, starting with simple ideas or instructions and then introducing more complex information, and perhaps reinforcing it with written information. It is acknowledged, of course, that work in the human service industry has a high level of uncertainty and the unexpected often happens. Using different methods to teach the same thing, making use of different learning styles, will enhance student learning. When you ask a student to complete a task, the reason for the task needs to be explicit and they should be able to learn from it, rather than it being a time-filler or something that the supervisor decides is required. The student must see that the task is relevant to their learning. For example, if a student is required to routinely document every intervention undertaken with a client or community group, the purpose this serves should be explained; for example, that such documentation is the main form of communication between team members and is a legal record of the agency’s contact and assessment. With any learning task during the first few weeks of placement, immediate feedback, discussion and positive affirmation will help to reinforce learning. Illustrations from the student’s own experience will also reinforce learning. For example, if a student is anxious about working with Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

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younger clients, ask the student to recall his or her experiences with a younger person, and then to describe his or her responses. This experience can be used to reinforce that the student already has ideas about how to engage a younger person. Good teachers constantly think about their teaching, try new teaching methods and evaluate how effective their teaching is. Finally, it is well documented that students, even if they present as competent and experienced, need direction and structure, so a clear plan for the duration of the placement is always required (Davys & Beddoe, 2010).

The orientation program Orientation may begin before the official start of the placement. The student may be invited to an annual general meeting, a staff-development day or another event, or you may send out some preliminary reading so that the student can ease into the agency at a reasonable pace. As a general rule, the orientation program should take about one-fifth of the total placement time. Two basic models for inducting a student into the placement are outlined below. 1 The planned program approach (or deductive or taught approach): In the first week, most of the time is taken up with a series of sessions in which the emphasis is on giving the student basic knowledge about the agency and its work. 2 The acquire-it-as-you-go-along approach (or inductive approach): The student picks up the information in more informal ways through opportunities to experience his or her new role in the agency (p. 51). Your approach to orientation will depend on the student’s learning style, the length of the placement and the nature of the agency. For example, an anxious or inexperienced student may appreciate a carefully planned and slower introduction to placement tasks. A confident and more experienced student, or an ‘activist’ student may become bored and disillusioned with this approach and would learn from a ‘thrown in the deep end’ approach. The difficulty with this latter approach is that the student may only acquire superficial and fragmented knowledge and their response to situations may consequently be inappropriate. This is a problem, particularly if the student is placed in agencies that require in-depth legislative and/or procedural understanding, such as large hospitals or statutory organisations. More experienced students may be asked to critique the positives as well as negatives of policy and statutes to develop a more nuanced understanding of the limitations and opportunities of the practice environment. Conversely, the agency’s administrative goals of meeting caseload targets may not be in the best interests of the student’s learning goals, which may require a slower pace of working. Whatever approach you decide to use – which may, in fact, be a mixture of the two – a guided beginning should give students a balance of direction and elbow room, so that they can find their own way (Doel et al., 1996, p. 43). Of course, unexpected things can happen, and the best laid plans may need modifying. The following exercise encourages you to be mindful of potential opportunities as situations arise naturally in the agency.

Exercise 4.2

THEORY TO PRACTICE

For the supervisor Consider you have been approached by staff with these requests. What is the potential learning in each and what difficulties might arise? What do you need to do to ensure there are positive outcomes for all? • The X group is without a leader – it would be a good experience for your student. • Could your student help collect people for the older persons’ outreach group? • We’ve got a quality assurance visit next month, could the student help in reviewing policies against the standards? • We are way behind getting the next newsletter out; wouldn’t that be a good activity for the student? Your responses need to take account of agency needs and capacity, how the student might be helped to fit in to the agency, and of course their learning needs and starting points.

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CHAPTER 4 Getting started – supervisor

Understanding the context of practice Students need to understand the ecological environment of which the client group is a part, as well as gain knowledge of the resources in the environment to provide support and referrals. Understanding the history and strength of relationships between agencies in the community will give the student insight into affiliations between services and the constraints on networking and building ties in the community (see Exercise 4.3).

Exercise 4.3

THEORY TO PRACTICE

For the supervisor Students can be asked to complete a number of the following activities to develop their understanding of the physical, socioeconomic and cultural systems surrounding them. 1 Locate your agency’s resource file for information about other agencies in the vicinity. If your agency doesn’t have one, the student could develop a web-based one. Organising the data for services by problem types and/or fields of practice will alert students to the links and overlap in service delivery. 2 The student could start a resource file of information from the internet, local paper, community news, pamphlets, and so on. This may be developed into a community profile with data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, interviews with residents and local leaders, a review of any previous research on community needs and their own overview of community life to inform practice. 3 If appropriate, ask the student to assume the role of a consumer in the placement agency or in another agency. Ask them to wait in a queue for some information or sit in the waiting room for an hour. Get them to keep notes that they can use for reflection later. 4 The student could attend a community meeting about a local social issue or concern. 5 The student could read case notes and community files that offer insights into the profiles of the client group. 6 The student could create an eco-map and include all the organisations with which the placement agency has a relationship. An eco-map is a visual description of the relationships between a person and his or her environment. In this instance, it could be used to show the connection between the agency and the external organisations by using different types of lines (e.g. bold lines to depict strong connections, broken lines to depict tenuous relationships). 7 The student may have selected your agency because of his or her interest and previous study in this field of practice. You could ask the student to find relevant research or to undertake an internet or library search to collect pertinent information about the relevant field.

• • • •

In the initial supervision sessions, you could ask the student the following questions: What have you observed about the agency environment? Is it friendly, alienating, resource-rich? How would you describe the demographics of the area and ethnic make-up of the community? What social resources/problems could exist as a result of this demographic make-up? What resources in the community have you noticed?

You could develop a hypothetical case and ask the student to assess what services your agency or other agencies could offer.

Meeting the staff It is more common for a student to be ‘shared’ by a number of staff within the agency, along with the primary supervisor, so it is important to make more than cursory introductions to staff, to reinforce that there is a team approach to the student’s learning. Staff should be reminded, perhaps by email or at a staff meeting, of the student’s expected date of arrival and what the main focus of placement will be. Enlisting their support is important, as there will be times when they will be asked to back you up or respond to the student’s questions. Some staff may take a formal role, such as taking the student on a home visit or being interviewed by the student, during the orientation period. Others, such as senior administrative staff, may be introduced as protocol or a courtesy. Introduce students gradually to agency staff. Get the student to make appointments with staff members – students will experience the difficulties of trying to fit into other people’s schedules.

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Administrative staff should be included in the introductory sessions as their role and stressors are part of what a student needs to understand. A chart of the organisation can help to orient the student to the positions, roles and names of staff, as well as help them to learn about hierarchical structures and authority.

Understanding the agency’s services The student would have gained a basic picture of the agency from the initial meeting, but now will require a more comprehensive understanding of its activities in order to carry out learning tasks. Ask the student to undertake one or more of the following activities. • The student could sit with an intake worker and observe a telephone or face-to-face assessment. The student can be asked to take notes and to complete a genogram from the information discussed. (A genogram is a visual description of the relationship between different members of a family.) • The student could sit with the receptionist for a few hours to listen to the types of calls that are

• •

•

received, and to observe the clients who come in and the agencies that make contact and for what purpose. The student could go to agency meetings and identify the style of decision making, or the mix of agendas that are evident. The student could read case files selected from the supervisor’s caseload. If need be, the cases can be randomly selected from closed files or from among current cases from other program areas. The student could read studies or reports completed by the agency.

In a supervision session at the end of the orientation period, you could assess the student’s knowledge of the agency’s services by asking the following questions: Which agencies refer clients to this agency? To what agencies does this agency refer clients? Can you see any gaps in meeting the needs of this client group?

Understanding the agency structures Most agencies have developed structures and policies to ensure uniformity and to communicate the lines of accountability. In other agencies, however, it is possible that the lines of authority are ambiguous. Reading legislation, staff manuals and other regulations governing agency functions can be useful but boring. Moving the discussion from just a descriptive examination of the organisation, the supervisor can be enlivened by encouraging the student to think critically about what is going on? Or the discussion can be linked to a problem-solving exercise, giving students a fictitious or real case study in which they devise interventions and determine the relevance of these resources in solving the problem. Students could acquire or create an organisation chart and examine: • • • • • •

the formal hierarchy the formal relationship between positions the informal relationships between positions issues of independence areas of potential conflict communication and workflow. An organisational analysis is more than an organisation chart. Exercise 4.4, adapted from La Trobe University’s School of Social Work and Social Policy (2003b, pp. 27–8), encourages the student to develop a more in-depth understanding of the agency. An alternative format for analysing organisations is outlined in Exercises 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3.

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CHAPTER 4 Getting started – supervisor

Exercise 4.4

THEORY TO PRACTICE

For the student Organisational analysis 1 2 3

4 5

Briefly describe the auspice arrangement of your placement agency or program (e.g. is it government or nongovernment, community-based, voluntary?). Describe the agency’s organisational structure (including its legal basis and decision-making processes), sources of funding, and significant links with other agencies and organisations. Briefly describe the social and community context of your agency or program in terms of where it is located (e.g. is it an urban, rural, regional or suburban area?) and the client group or target population serviced (e.g. age and gender, economic status, ethnicity). Identify the goals towards which the program officially works, and comment on how you see them being translated into action. Think about the agency’s theoretical approaches: a Describe how particular theoretical models or frameworks (e.g. the behaviourist, psychosocial, feminist, radical, problem-solving model) are applied within your agency or program. b Critically evaluate how these approaches match, accommodate or come into conflict with social policy, relevant legislation, and agency or program procedures. c Critically evaluate how these approaches match, accommodate or come into conflict with professional values, ethics and principles of social work. d Think about the agency’s practice. e Describe how particular practice methods are applied within the agency or program (e.g. casework, case management, group work, community work, social and political action, community education, direct-service provision, research, advocacy). f Critically evaluate how these practice methods match, accommodate or come into conflict with social policy, relevant legislation, and agency or program procedures. g Critically evaluate how these practice methods match, accommodate or come into conflict with professional values, ethics and principles of social work.

Understanding the informal structure of the agency and its norms is important, as this is part of the real life of the organisation. The informal structure includes all the policies, rules, relationships and norms that are unspoken and unwritten, yet clearly influence the behaviours of the workers. In fact, it can be considered the ‘grease’ that allows tasks to be completed. The informal communication has been built up from daily interaction over time. A way to help the student, who has to operate and function within these structures, to learn this information is indicated in Exercise 4.5.

Exercise 4.5

THEORY TO PRACTICE

For the supervisor and student Ask the student to observe a typical group activity such as a staff meeting, a planning meeting or even a staff lunch. 1 Which staff members spoke most? 2 Which staff supported or disagreed with each other? 3 Does the organisation chart reflect the decision-making that actually occurred? 4 Which staff member(s) does the student feel more comfortable with? Why?

Table 4.1 gives an example of the difference between explicit and implicit norms and rules, as adapted from Berg-Weger and Birkenmaier (2000).

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Table 4.1 Differences between explicit and implicit norms and rules Explicit norms and rules

Implicit norms and rules

Take all concerns to the team leader.

Take concerns elsewhere because the team leader’s door is always closed.

Everybody’s voice should be heard.

Don’t speak up because dissenting opinions are not appreciated.

Students are welcome in the agency.

Students create more work for the staff.

The receptionist is employed to do photocopying.

Don’t ask the receptionist to do photocopying.

Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Staff don’t leave the office before 5.30 p.m. Source: Adapted from Berg-Weger and Birkenmaier, 2000, p. 101.

Recording requirements Workers in human services are required to record information for a wide range of purposes; therefore, during orientation, students need to be introduced to the particular kinds of reports, case notes, time sheets and other forms of recording the agency uses. Students will probably have a theoretical knowledge of recording requirements but may not have put it into practice.

Reflective time Self-awareness and an ongoing willingness to examine feelings and beliefs lies at the core of successful helping. Supervisors can promote a positive beginning to this lifelong process by creating time and space during the orientation program for the student to reflect. This can be encouraged by the use of the personal journal and other reflective tools described in Chapter 8. Most training institutions suggest that students should only be asked to undertake about 50% of the workload of a full-time worker, on the basis that students need to have the time and ‘headspace’ to reflect on and read about their learning experiences. Some students, especially those who may not feel comfortable with this more ‘abstract conceptualising’ about their practice (see Chapter 2), may want to resist spending time away from the direct learning tasks, so it will be important to reinforce and encourage this important part of their learning through the use of personal journals and other tools described in Chapter 8, as well as including this expectation in the learning agreement.

Understanding broader structures Understanding of the agency’s activities will be enhanced by knowing about the legislative and social policies that, through funding and programs, influence the agency’s functioning. This understanding will also highlight the realities of service delivery and influence the expectations students have of their placement. Students can learn about this background by reading annual reports, budget papers, staff manuals, mission statements, policy and procedural manuals, by-laws and relevant legislation. Students who have studied social policy in their course can be encouraged to read relevant policy to further enhance this knowledge. Encourage the student to browse national and daily papers, cutting out editorials and features in which public debates relevant to the placement setting are discussed. This task reflects how theory can be related to practice and highlights the level of political awareness that human service workers must possess.

Evaluating the orientation program By the end of the orientation program, the student should be able to: • describe the main legislation affecting the agency’s functions • outline the agency’s structure • know where the funding comes from • describe the main roles of staff • describe the client group and the main services offered by the agency

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CHAPTER 4 Getting started – supervisor

• • •

know where to find relevant information, manuals and records identify personnel issues and informal norms and rules comment on the culture, values and politics of the agency. It can be useful to devise a brief feedback sheet, such as Exercise 4.5, to evaluate the usefulness of the orientation program. It marks the end of the first stage of the placement and begins the transition to the next stage.

Exercise 4.6 For the supervisor and student Ask students to think about the orientation program and answer the following questions: 1 Name five important things that you have learnt. 2 Name five things that you want to learn more about. 3 What was the best part of the orientation program? 4 What expectations are there of a student in the agency?

At the end of the orientation stage, you should have developed a stronger sense of the areas of competency of the student, and the student should have a clearer sense of their learning goals and the opportunities that are available in the agency. Some tasks may have already been started. Initial tasks should be selected carefully to ensure that students experience early success and don’t feel overwhelmed, and to ensure that there is adequate time for debriefing afterwards. This supports and encourages students, but also models to them that professionals need to constantly reflect on their work, however routine or simple the task. Just as it is irrational to think that you are entirely responsible for your client’s progress, it is equally irrational to feel totally responsible for the success of the placement. Be clear from the outset about the limits of your responsibilities. The trick is finding the balance between independence and support for students. They should be comfortable and curious about the next step and will demonstrate this by asking to do more complex tasks.

Liaison Once the orientation period is over there are two progress items that need to be attended to. The learning agreement should be taking shape (see Exercise 5.1) and needing to be reviewed by HEP. The second is engaging with the liaison staff member assigned to the student. Although the expectations of the liaison role can vary between training institutions, the liaison person is generally the representative of the school who coordinates and consults with the field educator and student in regard to the needs and expectations of all parties involved in the education of the student in the placement. This person is employed by the training institution and provides personal contact during the placement and generally has responsibility for verifying and recommending the final grade. It is important to build in the role and place of liaison early in the placement. Consistent outcomes from empirical research on the impact of the liaison role on a placement suggest that students perceive little influence from liaison contacts, whereas supervisors found this contact important, especially for problem-solving (Rogers & MacDonald, 1995; Raskin et al., 2008). This seems to indicate that the supervisor and student may only explore the broader role of the liaison person when problems arise, rather than using this resource to maximise learning from placement. Qualitative findings from a recent study (Cleak & Venville, 2018) show that the liaison visits were seen to be most effective when the liaison person challenged and enabled the field educator and the student to think critically about the learning opportunities and learning outcomes of the placement. There are different requirements in different programs and ‘contact’ can vary; contact may include face-to-face visits, group meetings, telephone calls, video conferencing and emails.

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The content of liaison contact may also vary from meetings for a general review of student progress, to formal sessions in which there is a tight agenda, and the student and supervisor are encouraged to demonstrate examples of the student’s learning, such as discussion of a significant critical reflection. The expectations of the liaison person may vary according to the requirements of the different training courses, but the ASWEAS (2021) guidelines require that the role is distinct from the supervisory role, and they must support both the student as well as the task supervisor and/or the field educator.

The responsibilities of the liaison person The general functions of liaison are as follows: • Monitoring and evaluation: The liaison person has an important role in assessing, in conjunction with the students and supervisors, the quality of the student’s placement experience and the extent to which the aims and objectives of the placement have been achieved. •

•

Education: The liaison person is a link between classroom teaching and agency practice. Liaison visits should broaden and enrich the educational experience in order to optimise student learning. Support and problem-solving: At times, the placement experience creates difficulties that require outside intervention. The liaison person should be accessible to both students and supervisors for support and advice. The liaison person can be directive with either students or supervisors to ensure that they undertake the required tasks for the successful completion of the placement.

SUMMARY Students will be on a steep learning curve in the first weeks of placement and how you, as supervisor, construct this experience can influence their confidence and ability to progress to the next stage. Planning your approach to these first weeks will benefit the student and your agency, as everyone will be clear about what to expect and, most importantly, the student will feel welcome. Students need a realistic balance of your expectations of their learning and an empathic understanding of their background, prior knowledge and experience and that the supervisory relationship discussed in Chapter 7 is the major vehicle for this to occur.

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CHAPTER

Charting the course for placement – contracts and agreements

5

INTRODUCTION The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW, 2014) states that ‘Field education should be sufficient in duration and complexity of tasks and learning opportunities to ensure that students are prepared for professional practice’. However, they do not offer specific guidelines about how HEPs should provide field education and each country and individual social work program vary in their expectations of what students should learn on placement. Mapping and structuring the teaching and learning with the student is an essential part of the placement and needs to offer a range of sequenced activities that builds momentum over the life of a placement. Students vary in their starting points, learning styles and needs and personalities, and there are a range of ways of achieving required placement outcomes. These outcomes are incorporated into a negotiated individualised learning and teaching framework that supervisors and students can use to plan, review and analyse the progress of the placement.

THE LEARNING AGREEMENT Although there is no universal model for learning on placement, most human service courses require a learning agreement – also called a learning plan, learning contract, curriculum or educational plan – to be formulated. (The term ‘learning agreement’ is used in this book.) Most training institutions give clear guidelines about what must be covered in such agreements and specifying the learning tasks that should be completed. Most will also outline evaluation criteria or the desired learning outcomes, and these will need to be considered in constructing the learning agreement. The placement report is a combined effort of the student and the supervisor and should be one of the first task to be discussed in supervision. 1 2 3 4 • •

This agreement provides the ‘script’ or map for the placement. It needs to include: what learning is to happen how it is to happen – links to the work available as well as approaches to learning when it is to happen how you know that it has happened. Generally, the learning agreement should reflect the: requirements of the HEP learning opportunities available in the agency

• • • •

interests and abilities of the supervisor accessibility of the field educator and any requirements about preparing for supervision interests and abilities of the student teaching and learning style of the supervisor and the student. Students may well have done workshops that will assist in developing their learning agreement. Now it is time to link the general requirements of HEPs to your needs and the needs and resources of your agency.

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Exercise 5.1 Preparing to write a learning agreement For the student 1 What are the requirements set by your HEP to successfully complete this placement? 2 What opportunities and requirements does your agency have that will assist in meeting these requirements? 3 Does this raise issues in relation to your own goals for placement? 4 How can you link your own approach to learning to this placement? 5 In what sequence do you think it will be helpful to tackle the learning tasks? For the supervisor 1 Do any of the requirements of the HEP present you or your agency with any difficulties, such as the requirements for students to be observed, undertake research, having access to a computer, or having time away from the agency to attend university seminars? 2 Are there agency requirements that could compromise the attainment of the student’s goals, such as, that the supervisor be present for all client interviews, or that students are not invited to staff meetings? 3 Who else within your agency or in other agencies might assist in supporting this student to meet their goals?

The learning agreement can be developed from classroom input, the pre-placement meeting, and the student’s five-step assessment in Chapter 1. The orientation period and initial supervision sessions will then consolidate the original ideas and create new ones for consideration. The learning agreement should structure the learning content so that it is a developmental and incremental process that occurs over time and becomes increasingly complex and autonomous. Students can usually identify what they want to learn but may be less clear about the process or timing. If this is not the first placement, the students’ previous experience will also inform where they want to start. Some goals will be identified by the student, some may be raised by academic staff or by their supervisor, and whether and how they are to be achieved will need to be negotiated between all parties. New goals and ways of learning may emerge during placement and the learning agreement should be modified to reflect this. Supervisors may not find it easy to define the placement’s learning goals. The institution may either ask supervisors to reinforce students’ classroom learning or expect them to introduce the student to new skills and knowledge. Bearing these factors in mind, it is important for the supervisor to be creative in developing and suggesting a realistic range of possible learning options linked to the work available.

The broad content The placement experience in human services is NOT work experience. It emphasises reflection, and understanding and demonstration of practice principles and processes, rather than observation and undertaking routine tasks. Being a professional can be conceptualised as having four elements: being, knowing, doing and thinking, and the current Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS) (AASW,2021) sees these elements as attributes to be fostered within social work students (AASW, 2012). Thus, the learning agreement and the focus of supervision should be directed at balancing these aspects. • Being refers to affective qualities and attributes. It informs how one constructs and makes meaning of their existence in the world, especially through interactions with others (Bell, 2012).

• •

50

This includes the ability to feel, to value and to empathise with the emotions of other people or, indeed, of oneself. Knowing refers to the theories, concepts, constructs and other information that guide competent practice. Doing refers to skills, methods and interventions required for students to demonstrate their ability to act or carry out tasks in a purposeful way.

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CHAPTER 5 Charting the course for placement – contracts and agreements

•

Thinking refers to cognitive ability to remember, analyse, reason and conceptualise in relation to problems and solutions. The ‘thinking’ component of learning needs particular attention as it is often omitted in the development of learning plans (Rogers & Langevin, 2000, p. 218). This model suggests that, whatever the activity, it should be possible to analyse performance using one or more of these four frameworks of understanding. Similarly, if the student has learning difficulties, these will be present in one or more of these areas. For example, a student may be able to articulate what is going on for a client (knowing) but can’t intervene to help the situation (doing); or a student may be able to recognise the impact of an engagement on their feelings (being) but is not sure what theories would be helpful to analyse the situation (knowing).

A useful model to consider Most human service courses will have varying descriptions about the learning that needs to be covered in their agreements but, in reality, there seems to be remarkable consistency in the core learning areas. Most programs highlight any differences in expectations for first and second placement. There may be specific issues raised for a student on final placement that have arisen during first placement, or other matters may be raised by the program based on prior course work. The Victorian Universities Field Education Network (VUFEN), formerly the Combined Schools of Social Work, introduced a standardised learning and evaluation document, using the AASW Practice Standards framework as its basis (Cleak et al., 2015). This common assessment tool is now being used by most agencies supervising social work students across Victoria. The latest version outlines nine learning areas. 1 Values, ethics and professional practice: Awareness of contextually relevant ethics in accordance with the AASW Code of Ethics. For example, maintains an open and respectful perspective towards the values, views and opinions of others, while demonstrating a commitment to enhancing the self-determination of individuals, social units, communities and cultures. 2 Organisational and community context: An understanding of the organisation’s legal and political context within the human services field. For example, demonstrates an appreciation of the connection between legislative frameworks and organisational structure and functioning, and their impact on practice. 3 Policy: An understanding of the legislation and social policies that influence the field of practice. For example, demonstrates an ability to perceive, analyse and communicate in relation to social and political issues and contexts. 4 Use of knowledge in practice: An understanding of theories and methodologies relevant to practice and an ability to reflect critically upon their use and application. For example, has the ability to apply relevant theory to practice settings, including relevant theories of societal functioning and human behaviour. 5 Effective interpersonal and communication skills: Demonstrates skills required to communicate and work effectively with others. Suggested inclusions are: – interpersonal skills – teamwork – report-writing – referral and consultation. 6 Self-learning and critical reflection: The ability to take responsibility for one’s own learning and development, and to perform at a level of competence appropriate to a beginning social work practitioner, including the skills to manage one’s future career and the transition from university to professional practice. For example, the student has the ability to consistently participate proactively in negotiating and developing the supervisory relationship and to critically reflect on practice.

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7 Assessment and intervention skills: Applying knowledge of assessment, intervention and referral skills to practice. For example, the student has the ability to consistently undertake multidimensional assessments in a collaborative manner with individuals, families, groups and communities across a diverse range of circumstances. 8 Research: Recognition of research as an integral part of social work practice; demonstrating knowledge and understanding of different types of social research. For example, a student consistently demonstrates an understanding of how research knowledge informs practice through locating and critically analysing current literature, research and practice knowledge relevant to the placement setting. 9 Culturally sensitive practice: Develop understanding and knowledge of cultural diversity in order to work in a culturally responsive and inclusive way. For example, the student critically reflects on their own subjectivity, personal values, social locations, cultures/racial identifications and beliefs and how these impact on interactions with service users, supervisors, community members and colleagues, and on organisational policies and practices.

Content of learning agreements Most human service courses require learning plans to cover four essential areas: • • • •

the main objectives or goals the content to be learnt and the specific tasks linked to this content the method or type of learning experiences to meet the objectives the standard for evaluating whether the objectives have been achieved. You might also want to include a time frame in the agreement. Think about using these four elements to develop the learning plan. See Table 5.1 for some suggested elements of a learning plan.

Exercise 5.2 For student and supervisor Student should pose some questions that might be answered by the supervisor, the annual report or from the preplacement meeting. These can form the basis of some of your learning tasks. • What methods of intervention are used in this agency? • What are the theories / legislation/ policies / procedures used in this type of work? • What skills, knowledge and values do social workers need to be effective in this type of work? • What might be different in this type of work compared with practice in my previous placement? • Why does this agency only offer a service to . . .?

Table 5.1 Suggested elements of a learning plan Elements

Questions

Examples

Goals

What does the student want to achieve? (General, global terms)

Student goals: • I would like to develop my understanding of . . . • I would like to become familiar with . . . • I would like to identify the range of . . .

The goals should be framed as both short-term and long-term goals. Tasks

What will the student do? (The content)

Action:

The supervisor may start by writing down ideas of tasks and could be guided by what other students did on previous placements. The expectations of the HEP will also need to be considered. Once some tasks have been identified, search for learning themes and group the tasks by category.

• The student will attend a staff/committee meeting. • The student will participate in X group/community activity. • The student will prepare a report on X for a defined purpose. • By mid-placement the student will have completed the literature review for the project

When these tasks be undertaken or completed is also helpful.

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CHAPTER 5 Charting the course for placement – contracts and agreements

Elements

Questions

Examples

Methods

How does the student achieve these objectives?

Action: • The student will be observed by his or her supervisor to consider (specify goals). • The student will write reflective reports on his or her practice.

What methods of learning will be employed in completing the learning tasks? These will become more apparent after considering the student’s preferred learning style, the type of learning opportunities available in the agency, and the student’s level of comfort and competence in using particular learning methods. For example, making a video of an interview conducted by the student may not be a possible method of learning if there is no equipment or if the agency feels that it would be intimidating to the client. Learning methods or tools are discussed in more detail in Chapters 7 and 8. Evaluation

How does the student and supervisor know whether the student has achieved the learning objectives? Choose a range of methods to evaluate the student’s learning, and they should be selected bearing in mind the opportunities and constraints. The learning agreement also may identify who will be involved in the evaluation. How can the learning agreement be modified in light of the progress of the placement?

Action: The student gives a presentation to . . . The student completes a resource file in relation to . . . The student shows confidence . . . The student will be observed and given feedback twice before mid-placement • The intake team leader will provide feedback of the student’s performance . . . • • • •

When will these tasks be undertaken? The student may need to complete particular tasks before starting others which may relate to the complexity of the work, or the need for the student to acquire certain skills or knowledge, or perhaps develop confidence and motivation before proceeding. Other factors, such as the availability of work or timetabling of other activities, may affect the time frame in which tasks will be completed.

Reviewing the agreement The agreement is a dynamic tool and must be reviewed regularly by both student and supervisor. Most programs require a formal assessment of progress midway through the placement, and again at the end, although it may be helpful to build in more regular reviews, perhaps after each month. The purpose of undertaking these reviews is to ensure that the learning agreement is still relevant to the student. For example, if the student develops a skill earlier in the placement than anticipated, this should be acknowledged, and the learning agreement changed so that the student has the opportunity to extend his or her skills. There are generally three components of a learning agreement linked to timelines: 1 The learning plan – It is usual that within the first 2–3 weeks of placement, the plan should be negotiated and signed off by the student and supervisor. 2 The mid-placement report – This is a crucial point in the assessment of the student’s progress and hopefully is held when all parties are satisfied that there has been enough work undertaken and reported on to allow for an interim judgement on the student’s progress of their learning goals. The liaison staff person is usually involved at this point. 3 The final report – At this point, the supervisor and student describe the achievement of the student’s learning goals with examples and evidence of demonstrated performance. An example of a learning plan, the mid-placement report and the final report is given in Chapter 17.

An example of an agreement Table 5.2 shows an example of a learning agreement using the nine learning areas identified in the CSSW VUFEN framework. Table 5.2 shows an example of a learning agreement using the nine learning areas identified in the VUFEN framework.

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PART 2 | Beginning placement

Table 5.2 An example of a learning agreement in child protection Main learning goal

Tasks for goal attainment

Methods to meet the goals

Evidence for attainment of goals

1 Values, ethics and professional practice:

To attend a number of multidisciplinary family meetings to gain an understanding of the role of social work.

To participate in the daily medical/surgical ward meetings and observe the roles of different team members.

Conduct at least two family meetings and demonstrate the role and values of my profession and how social work is different from other helping professions.

Undertake a review of the child protection legislation in the State and how they translate into the procedures and processes of the agency and their impact on practice

In the first five weeks of the placement, the student will spend at least half a day a week reading the agency manual and demonstrate an appreciation of the connection between legislative frameworks and practice by integrating these into her cases.

Supervisor will review the student’s cases and how the legislation informed the assessment and intervention.

3 Policy: Able to analyse the impacts of relevant legislation, policies and regulations on practice.

Assist with the development of a submission from the agency to the Royal Commission looking at protecting out of home care for adolescents

To review the current Commonwealth policy on out of home care and write it up for inclusion in the submission.

Successful completion of my part of the submission paper.

4 Use of knowledge in practice:

To become familiar with the current theories and be able to apply them in practice

To undertake a literature search on human development, life course development, attachment theory and trauma informed with three other students on placement and prepare a presentation for the team To apply one or all of these theories to my case assessments

Become the primary case manager for three cases and use relevant theories to underpin my interventions. Present our combined review of theories to the team and receive their feedback

To gain skills and practice in recording succinct notes in the client contact sheets used by the agency.

Read a number of client files to learn how to complete the client contact sheets, and then to complete at least five sheets after interviewing these clients.

Supervisor to review my client contact sheets throughout the placement and to give feedback.

To plan and co-facilitate a parenting skills group with young mothers.

To work with another worker to plan the group, including collecting literature and useful tasks to use in the group.

During Week 7 of the placement, my supervisor will attend a group session with me and give feedback on my group-work skills. An evaluation form to be completed by community participants, which will include feedback about my role.

To demonstrate sensitivity and acceptance of difference when interviewing clients.

To use a process record to document my response to two client interviews so that I can reflect on the assumptions and biases that I may be using when I interview clients with a serious mental illness.

Supervisor to read my process records and we will both reflect on the statements that indicate an acceptance and understanding of clients with a mental illness.

Demonstrates an understanding of social work as a profession and how it differs from other related professions. 2 Organisational and community context: An understanding of the organisation’s legal and political context within the human services field.

Able to identify a range of social work theories relevant to the practice setting.

5.1 Effective interpersonal and communication skills: Demonstrates skills required to communicate and work effectively with others. 5.2 Understanding of group processes: Demonstrates an understanding of group processes within organisational groups and committees, consumers, consumer groups and authority figures. 6 Self-learning and critical reflection: Demonstrate an awareness of personal feelings and experience and how these affect practice.

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CHAPTER 5 Charting the course for placement – contracts and agreements

Main learning goal

Tasks for goal attainment

Methods to meet the goals

Evidence for attainment of goals

7 Assessment and intervention skills: Applying knowledge of assessment, intervention and referral skills to practice.

8 Research: Able to locate literature relevant to practice area (evidence-informed practice).

9 Culturally sensitive practice: Develop understanding and knowledge of cultural diversity in order to work in a culturally responsive and inclusive way.

To gain skills and practice in recording succinct notes in the client contact sheets used by the agency.

Review case plans written by other team members. In Week 5, after conducting initial interviews with clients, I will develop draft case plans that I will discuss with supervisor as well as the outreach team.

To have demonstrated good skills in planning and implementing effective interventions as indicated by clients continuing cooperation and seeking assistance from the student.

Identify, review and summarise current literature that is related to the increasing prevalence of notifications from the African refugee population.

To develop three potential research questions in relation to this topic and then research the literature.

To present the review at a staff development meeting.

Obtain a better understanding of what the barriers are to Indigenous people accessing our services and how to improve accessibility for this population.

Make contact with the Koori worker at the local community agency and discuss how our service can become a more inclusive service for Indigenous Australians.

Create a report to share these insights and possible strategies with the agency.

The difference between first and final placements Most field education programs follow a two-placement model and each placement should be distinguished by different goals and expectations. Surprisingly, there is scant information available that outlines what these crucial differences are! Of course, our practice wisdom suggests that students would move from simple to complex tasks and from dependent to independent functioning. They would also move from low to high responsibility for their work. The following offers some more ideas that may help the student and supervisor approach the learning, teaching and subsequent evaluation of a first and final placement. The first placement should be a ‘broad strokes’ approach to the introduction of the student to the profession and the skills and knowledge that they are required to acquire. It should not be limited to observation. It should demonstrate a capacity to engage with others around an issue and be goal oriented. • Student’s orientation is generally longer than for a final year student. • Learning tasks are introduced more slowly, are paced and are initially done in conjunction with the supervisor and other staff. • The emphasis of learning is on introducing the diversity of social work practice and to ascertain the student’s understanding and commitment to the values and ethics of practice, such as social justice, autonomy, empowerment etc. • Organisational skills and time management are important aspects to cover. • •

The emphasis should be on the student’s ‘self’ and their capacity to reflect and relate to others. It is an introduction to the realities of the profession to help the student decide if this is the job for them! This includes making sure that there is time to discuss student impressions, doubts, concerns. The second placement should include ‘higher-order’ activities that are more in-depth, and more goal directed with greater thought to future career planning. • Students should have a good base of social work knowledge, skills and values to move into more complex casework and community work with an expectation that they are taking the lead role. • •

An appreciation of research, lifelong learning, macro practice and social policy should be embedded in their work. Students should acquire competence in at least one area, such as group work, action research, crisis intervention or working with a specific client group, including the relevant theoretical knowledge and practice skills. Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

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PART 2 | Beginning placement

Table 5.3 gives some specific examples of the different expectations between first and final learning goals. Table 5.3 Examples of the different expectations between first and final learning goals First year student

Final year student

Use of knowledge Initially, the student shows some ability to identify and discuss relevant theory but may be unclear about linking it to their practice

• Shows ability to underpin work with relevant theory • Demonstrates ability to critically consider theoretical perspectives and link with their intervention plan Policy

The student may start with limited knowledge and understanding of policies and procedures and cannot always see its relevance to practice.

• Shows a more informed understanding of policy and procedures and how they impact on clients and the community • Can highlight potential ethical conflicts Skills

The student shows a limited range of communication skills, such as listening and engagement skills but has more difficulty being able to use higher order skills such as challenging, reframing etc.

• Demonstrates a broad range of skills and able to articulate what ones they are using and their impact on their interventions. • Demonstrates a greater use of self and ability to highlight emotional issues of clients.

Tendency to focus on practical rather than emotional issues of the client.

OTHER TYPES OF AGREEMENTS Some agencies may be interested in negotiating other aspects of how the student and supervisor will work together during placement. These agreements may specify mutual obligations and expectations for the placement and what action will be taken if these obligations and expectations are not met. These contracts are becoming more common and often required by human resources departments in agencies and many Universities have standardised contracts that are used to protect students in many forms of work integrated learning. Figure 5.1 is an example from O’Connor et al. (2003), which could form the basis of such a contract.

Supervision contracts Figure 5.2 is an example of a supervision contract, which is sometimes used between the University, student and supervisor, particularly when a potential problem or concern has been identified. Some examples include a subsequent placement after a failed placement, a new placement that requires monitoring or a sensitive area of practice. It ensures that all parties are equally aware of their responsibilities and roles, it reduces the chances of the misunderstandings that can occur as a result of a lack of clarity, and it describes what is negotiable and non-negotiable. If you are required to work remotely for part of your placement, these responsibilities may vary. What we do know is that students working remotely need more regular contact with their supervisor, even daily check-ins.

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CHAPTER 5 Charting the course for placement – contracts and agreements

Figure 5.1 Placement contract

PLACEMENT CONTRACT The first section contains basic placement information, duration of placement contract, description of placement location, work undertaken, and practical arrangements, such as working hours, administrative support, insurance cover, police checks and travel expenses. Finally, supervision arrangements and accountability requirements and the student’s place in line management structure, types of work for which students will need to be with a trained worker, access to records, etc., are set out.

Roles and responsibilities of parties: Supervisor’s responsibilities 1

To ensure that student has a thorough orientation.

2 3

To provide a range of work experiences appropriate to the agency and to the level of competence of the student. To ensure that the learning agreement is manageable and realistic.

4

To observe the student’s practice and provide feedback.

5 6

To provide structured supervision at least one hour per week. In conjunction with the student, to complete the required assessment documents.

7

To inform the liaison person from the HEP of any circumstances that may affect the quality of placement; for example,

8

unexpected leave, prolonged illness, excessive workloads. To identify occupational health policies in the agency and discuss ways that the student can minimise workplace risk.

More specific responsibilities could include, for example: 9

To provide a back-up supervisor while I am away on a five-day training course.

Student’s responsibilities 1

To discuss with staff from the HEP and the placement supervisor any personal information that may impact on placement (e.g. if the student is taking medication that has adverse effects or has previous or current personal issues that may affect his or her capacity to perform in placement).

2

To develop and review my learning agreement in consultation with the supervisor and liaison person.

3 4

To behave in a professional manner in regard to punctuality, dress, respect for clients and staff. To practise within the guidelines of the profession’s code of ethics and the agency’s processes and protocols, such as privacy laws and confidentiality arrangements.

5 6

To actively engage in self-evaluation and be open to constructive feedback in supervision sessions. To organise the time, venue and agenda for liaison meetings with the training institution and provide preparatory material.

7

To appropriately terminate with clients, supervisor and agency staff.

More specific responsibilities could include, for example: 8 To be available for reception duties during the lunch period. 9

To be involved in after-hours community meetings once a month.

10 To follow the protocol for marking my whereabouts on the whiteboard. 11 To ensure that any external correspondence is countersigned by the supervisor or task supervisor. Agency’s responsibilities 1

To provide access to phones, computers, desk space and appropriate information about policy and protocol.

2

To reimburse the student for completing work-related tasks away from the office, such as home visits and meetings.

3 4

To give access to staff meetings and other relevant agency meetings. To provide some administrative support for the completion of learning tasks.

More specific responsibilities could include, for example: 5 6

To give access to the work car to undertake community consultation. To make sure that student can take time-in-lieu for any out-of-hours work.

Signed ...........................................

Date ...................................

Supervisor Signed ...........................................

Date ....................................

Student Adapted from the School of Social Work and Social Policy, 2003b, p. 3.

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PART 2 | Beginning placement

Figure 5.2 Supervision contract

SUPERVISION CONTRACT This agreement was created on ..................................... and will be reviewed at .............................. monthly intervals. Between Supervisor .................................... (please print) And Student .................................... (please print) A copy of this agreement will be held by both parties. The agreement may change as and when necessary and with prior consultation.

Supervision arrangements Formal supervision sessions will be held at the following time ........................... each week. If meetings are to be rescheduled, an alternative time is ........................... Task supervisor: .............................. Back-up supervisor if necessary: .....................................

Responsibilities for supervision Supervisor (name ..............................) is responsible for (tick) the following: h

Being available at the designated supervision times and providing a safe and private space

h h

Observing the student practice at least three times and providing feedback during supervision Monitoring the student’s performance, including work and attendance

h

Discussing progress of student’s learning with student

h h

Communicating honestly with consideration, empathy and respect Reviewing the contract at regular intervals

h

Other

Student (name ..............................) is responsible for (tick) the following: h h

Providing access to their work with (designated reports, observations) Being prepared for supervision

h

Recording any pertinent decisions and agenda items for subsequent sessions

h

Communicating honestly with consideration, empathy and respect

The method used to set agendas: ................................ Recording arrangements in relation to material discussed in supervision: ............................................................

Decisions about the boundaries about confidentiality of material discussed in supervision: .......................................................

Content of supervision sessions Sessions will include: •

a review of work done through reflection, discussion, observation and reports

• •

a review of (student ...........................)’s development as a practitioner a planning process to meet emerging needs based on an assessment of the work done

•

regular reviews of progress on items outlined in the learning agreement.

Agreement between (supervisor) .........................

and (student) ..........................

Signed and dated: Adapted from O’Connor et al., 2003, p. 225.

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CHAPTER 5 Charting the course for placement – contracts and agreements

SUMMARY A comprehensive and clear learning agreement gives direction to students, supervisors and agencies, and ensures that other requirements – legal, statutory, educational or policy requirements, for example – are clearly spelled out. Ideally, students, supervisors and training institutions should negotiate the learning agreement so that the objectives are relevant and achievable, and students feel a sense of control over their learning. Although there are different types of agreements, which vary in their degree of detail, some common areas that should be covered are aims, tasks, sequence of tasks, methods, evaluation, presentation and review.

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PART 3 TEACHING AND LEARNING ON PLACEMENT Placement offers students a continuous opportunity for formal and informal learning. In the last decade there has been considerable research and focus on investigating what teaching and learning tasks contribute to a student’s satisfaction with their placement and their sense of competence and identity with the profession (Cleak et al., 2016). Contemporary approaches recognise that not all the expertise lies with the supervisor; the student is also a contributor to teaching and learning processes, and the supervisor should also examine how their own cultural experience might influence their interpretation of events. This approach emphasises students’ strengths instead of their shortcomings and involves listening to students’ stories and identifying areas in which they show competency or have had past successes. Meaningful learning occurs in a structured learning environment where the students gradually become more independent, have increased self-awareness and are provided the context and links to practice knowledge and skills, and can critically appraise their work. This is explored in Chapter 7 in relation to different models of supervision. Learning activities that promote and link to broader principles of practice are described in Chapter 8, and Chapter 9 provides a model to encourage the linking of students’ learning from specific situations to broader theories and contexts.

CHAPTER 6 Critical reflection for teaching and learning ....... 61 CHAPTER 7 Developing good supervisory practices............. 69 CHAPTER 8 Teaching and learning tools.............................. 89 CHAPTER 9 Linking learning and practice in placement ...... 110 60

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CHAPTER

Critical reflection for teaching and learning

6

INTRODUCTION This chapter begins by describing and clarifying the meaning of the terms reflection, critical reflection and reflexivity and how they can be used to frame teaching and learning approaches by both supervisors and students. This chapter offers a vital tool in student supervision to explore the complex and multilayered ‘what, why and how’ of the student’s learning experiences as he or she becomes involved in the practice tasks of the agency. This chapter also offers a reflexive model for both student and supervisors use as well as a reflective model for group supervision and other ideas that help to build a critically reflective approach to teaching and learning.

BECOMING A CRITICAL PRACTITIONER Have you ever had feedback on an assignment that says that your work is ‘too descriptive’ or lacks ‘analysis’? One of the key roles of social workers in human service settings is to gather information and then apply a careful analysis, evaluation or judgement to a situation, whether it is with a client, a family, a community or a piece of policy or research. Our ability to apply an appropriate, accurate and ethical analysis is influenced by our own deepseated ideas about gender, age, disability, culture, sexual orientation and class that may limit our ability to do this. Often, we are capable of fooling ourselves into believing that because our stated beliefs are mainstream or acceptable, then our practice must be of quality (Fook & Gardner, 2004). Accepting these prevailing discourses may minimise a student’s opportunity to learn across a range of constructs and contexts, including a structural understanding of social need and combining service delivery with social action. It may encourage practitioners and students to be compliant rather than critical of the existing political and economic order and so may reduce social work to one of service provision rather than achieving social justice. Reflection and reflective practice are now embedded in social work education and practice and offer a powerful potential to delve quite deeply into previously unexamined areas of our thinking and practice and to think about it from a range of perspectives and respond to a number of thoughtful questions. The ‘critical’ element adds an expectation of exploring practice in the context of the social system in which it operates (Gardner, 2006) and hence explores issues of power, the political context, and how to work with, rather than for, others to achieve desired objectives. A critical reflective approach is a way of improving practice by exposing it to ongoing scrutiny and development. While all types of evaluation are necessary, the critical reflection process can successfully bring about different kinds of changes, for two reasons. First, it has the capacity to take us beyond our ‘comfort zones’ and is therefore particularly useful for experienced practitioners who may feel they have little left to learn. Second, it creates the capacity for self-evaluation. People are in some ways more likely to accept and integrate the insights developed through this process precisely because they are not imposed externally.

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A BRIEF REVIEW OF TERMS Reflection and critical reflection suggest that we take a step back from a situation and think about it from a range of perspectives and consider a number of thoughtful questions. However, there is often confusion about what each term means. In reflection and reflective practice, practitioners look back retrospectively on an event or a case in order to consider, analyse and interpret what knowledge, skills and ‘use of self’ are applied in order to derive learning and new understanding (Pawar & Anscombe, 2015). Critical reflection adds another layer to this process. Instead of thinking about past events, this concept encourages practitioners to look critically at a situation, looking at the assumptions that are being drawn upon and offering an alternative way of creating knowledge for practice. The final concept is reflexivity, which is ‘a process involving conscious scrutiny of how our personal, psychosocial characteristics and experience shape the way we view and react to others, given that their experience may be widely different from our own’ (Houston, 2015b, p. 8). Payne (2020) says that it means putting yourself in others’ shoes and seeing how your actions influence them. This definition suggests that critical reflection becomes more action oriented, so that practitioners have a high degree of self-awareness and an ongoing interrogation of the assumptions that inform their practice. Reflection, critical reflection and reflexivity are important and powerful concepts to introduce into student learning in order to challenge and improve ways that students might understand and contribute to change. Attention is paid to the learner’s strengths and engaging with the learner in finding the most appropriate way forward wherever possible. Supervisors can apply this approach to their own learning about supervision, as well as assisting students to learn from their work. Students can apply this approach to their own learning about practice, and how to make the best use of supervision. To illustrate these terms, Figure 6.1 summarises the three main ways that critical reflection may be explained; more importantly, it identifies how each of these reflection processes relates to a different theoretical perspective. Figure 6.1 Three ways to theorise critical reflection

Reflective practice

• Looking retrospectively at practice • Draws on psychodynamic theory

Critical reflection

• Looking at the assumptions made, investigating alternative possibilities • Draws on critical theory

Reflexivity

• Reviewing how our own history shapes the way we view and react to others • Draws on social constructivism

Source: Adapted from Bay, 2014.

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CHAPTER 6 Critical reflection for teaching and learning

DEVELOPING A CRITICAL FOCUS IN SUPERVISION A critically reflective approach in supervision is linked to an emancipatory and empowering process that maximises a working partnership. When applied to a placement context, it provides a framework that helps both the supervisor and the student to learn from each other in a systematic manner. These educational theories link to surface and deep learning, which is discussed in detail in Chapter 8. A critical reflective approach in supervision applies an interactive, rather than problem-focused, approach to learning and incorporates elements of adult learning principles, building students’ confidence and lessening the de-skilling that students often feel when required to demonstrate competence (Bucknell, 2000). In particular, this approach: • recognises the student as the ‘expert’ in his or her own learning • views supervision as a democratic and mutual learning experience • seeks to depersonalise any problems faced by the student and to focus on the capacities of the student is oriented towards exploration of future possibilities rather than past issues. The supervisor must be prepared to model and be open to self-reflection and valuing difference. The style of talk a supervisor may use with this approach (or a student may use in preparing for supervision) is illustrated below and can link into a strengths-based approach: • What works, even for a short time? • What is happening when things seem to be going well? • What are you learning about yourself in relation to this work situation? •

•

Is there anyone who seems to be able to cope with this situation? What are they doing? Table 6.1 summarises the advantages of critical reflection in field supervision.

Table 6.1 Advantages of critical reflection in field supervision Advantages

Examples

Improved supervisory practice

More creative and aware of more options through avoiding routine approaches to problems

Reduction of oppressive practice

Awareness of possible discriminatory and stereotyping behaviour or of inappropriate use of power

Better teamwork

More collegial ways of working and ensuring that practice is not abusive

Increased accountability

Better ability to evaluate and self-evaluate

Capacity for personal growth

Recognising that the personal is connected to wider, structural context

Increased confidence

More open and better learning through a non-judgemental environment

The following example demonstrates reflective notes that a student might make after an interview with a client and how different forms of reflection impact how you perceive a situation.

EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD A 23-year-old female student sat in on an interview conducted by her supervisor. She observed an initial assessment of a 17-year-old girl who had been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. The girl was accompanied by

THEORY TO PRACTICE

her parents. The student observed many behavioural triggers that were elicited during the interview. The mother was articulate and vocal; she was very chatty and often talked over the top of her husband, who became less engaged as the interview progressed. The young woman seemed a little uncomfortable with her mother’s dominance of the discussion, especially when her mother was talking about her eating habits, and she became less attentive and started to turn to her mother to answer questions posed by the supervisor.

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Reflection

Critical reflection

Reflexivity

Observations elicited feelings of annoyance with the mother and I found myself warming to the father who seemed gentle, caring and easy going. It reminded me of my own family background. I tried to reframe the ‘overly chatty’ behaviour as the mother being anxious, caring and possibly overwhelmed rather than controlling and dominant.

My personal reactions were largely in response to the obvious power imbalance between the parents and their daughter. By reason of age, as well as by her diagnosis of anorexia, which seemed to mean that she was ‘disabled’ and that maybe her opinion and voice were not as important as those of the ‘adults’, as well as the worker’s.

I found myself becoming angry with both parents and wishing that the father would take charge ‘like men are supposed to’. This made me question how I was responding to the gender roles and my own assumptions about how I expect men to behave.

It also struck me that my supervisor and I were also in a position of knowledge power that could disempower the young woman. We both held ‘professional’ roles in the agency and also possessed education and training that gave us advantages over the younger client.

I also wondered about how my supervisor was responding to the client in this interview. I would rather have seen the client on her own before the family meeting to ask her about her hopes and thoughts about what was happening to her, so that she felt more empowered and active in the process. However, this agency is family focused and only engages with the family together. This made me question the agency policies, which are tied to the funding model and reflect the inflexible nature of service delivery.

A reflective approach to the course of a placement With these ideas in mind, how can we use this approach in supervision? Educationalists have found that reflection is the most difficult aspect of learning, particularly if student practitioners are not encouraged to develop this skill (Ellis, 2000). There are several models that can guide us through a reflective process and can occur immediately after an event or sometime later. The supervision session is seen as a safe place to reflect more deeply and thoughtfully as the supervisor guides the student through a reflection process and ask more probing questions than we might ask of ourselves. Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle was developed by Graham Gibbs in 1988 and is one of the best known. It gives structure and coherence to learning from experiences and is frequently used in social work contexts. It offers a simple framework for examining experiences, and its cyclic and feedback loop is useful for repeated experiences. It covers six stages: • description of the experience • feelings and thoughts about the experience • evaluation of the experience, both good and bad • analysis to make sense of the situation • conclusion about what you learned and what you could have done differently • action plan for how you would deal with similar situations in the future, or general changes you might find appropriate. This is just one of many models to assist with the reflective process and the following figure illustrates the Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory (1984). Have a go and see how it works for you. Figure 6.2 is a modified version of the Kolb learning cycle outlined in Chapter 2. As you can see, most of these ideas are not new – supervision starts with the identification of the solution, rather than an analysis of the problem, and the student uses supervision to receive feedback and guidance. Critical reflection provides a process by which this approach can be implemented.

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CHAPTER 6 Critical reflection for teaching and learning

Figure 6.2 Modified version of the Kolb learning cycle Taking on the challenge. Formulating the problem.

Utilising resources – own/others. Building on strengths, existing skills and competencies.

Reviewing the action plan.

Reflecting, reviewing progress towards competencies.

Identifying learning objectives (desired outcomes). Developing an action plan.

Taking action, experimenting. Getting feedback. What worked? What didn’t? What do you need to do differently?

Practice teaching: Problem to solution by David Bucknell, Social Work Education,2000, reprinted by permission of the publisher (Taylor & Francis Ltd, http://www.tandfonline.com).

Using a reflexivity model on placement Houston (2015a) offers a process for using the reflexive framework in supervision so that students and supervisors can reflect critically on their role and develop emancipatory forms of practice. The model emphasises that reflexive activities ‘are embroiled in power-saturated discourses’ (Houston, 2015a, p. 246) and is designed to develop insight and inner awareness and reveal blind spots or unintended biases. Houston’s stages in enabling others is presented in figure 6.3 and explained further in the text following. Figure 6.3 Stages in enabling others

Stage one

Reflecting on self

Stage two

Reflecting on the enabling process

Stage three

Reflecting on the service user’s experience

Stage four

Reflecting on social work practice

Stage five

Meta-reflection – bringing it all together

Houston, 2015a, p. 255.

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Stage One – the student and supervisor apply the framework separately to their own life experience The supervisor and their supervisor separately consider their own their lives, outlooks, beliefs, purposes and ambitions over the life course and how these areas have been shaped by powerful discourses such as culture and the politico-economy. Psychological theories, such as life course development and attachment theories could be helpful here.

Questions • • •

Where do these thoughts and feelings stem from? Does any of the client’s story resonate with your own experience of loss? In what contexts do I feel most powerful?

Stage Two – the student and supervisor consider how the domains shape their interaction in supervision In this second stage, the actors explore together how these domains influence their interaction with their client, community and the supervisory relationship. It could be that they contrast markedly in their personal and social attributes and can look at the world through divergent cultural lenses.

Questions • •

How do your beliefs about motherhood align with the client’s? Do you think that the assumptions you hold about mental health could help or hinder your relationship with the team?

Stage three – the student and supervisor apply the framework to listen empathically to the client’s needs and plan the social work process This stage builds on the preceding stages and attempts to understand how the domains, and the power operating within them, have shaped their wellbeing. This involves a process of ‘tuning in’ to the client, family or community in order to deepen accurate empathy and also to gain greater insight into how to sensitively intervene.

Questions • •

What is it like being this person? What might the client be possibly feeling regarding the agency?

Stage four – the student and supervisor apply the framework to reflect on their interaction with the service user Reflective insights gained from the earlier stages are considered here to ascertain how best to work effectively with the client or community and implement the social work process. This stage facilitates anti-oppressive social work and multicultural sensitivity approaches to social work practice

Questions • •

What is the person’s perception of ‘risk’ or harm? How do you think community members will respond to this suggested legislation that might limit their decision making?

Stage five – towards meta-reflexivity This is the collective and final stage in the reflexive process. Here, the understandings gleaned from the preceding stages are brought together including how the domains influence the personal and

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CHAPTER 6 Critical reflection for teaching and learning

professional self and how this can determine the nature of the social work intervention and actions we have chosen. These may include the student and supervisor searching for recurrent themes around the use of power, and the use of self. There are specific teaching and learning tools that are used by students and supervisors to facilitate a critical reflective approach and include journals, the critical incident format, think sheets, narratives and strength cards. These are described in Chapter 8.

A reflective case discussion model Reflective group supervision is an approach that can ‘open the space’ for thinking and reflection rather than the ‘doing’ of coming up with premature solutions; it attends to ‘emotional’ thinking as well as the more prevalent practical thinking that tends to dominate practice. It also enriches the experience for students by expanding their understanding of how personal and professional experiences affect how people create the meaning that guides their practice. This model is adapted from a framework for group supervision for practitioners (Reder & Duncan, 2004) and follows these steps: 1 A small group of students meets with the supervisor, with one student being prepared to present a case, a project or a piece of research. 2 The student takes 10 to 15 minutes to present, and the others in the group are requested not to take notes but simply to listen. 3 Students are then invited to share what struck them about the case and what it raised for them. It is not a prerequisite that the questions are answered by the student. Of more importance is the group’s reflection of what caught their attention and why. The presenter listens but does not participate. The group can be tempted to ask for an answer to their factual gaps, rather than to think about the motivation behind their questions (e.g. what the gaps represent). Equally, the presenter may want to correct what he or she perceives as the group’s misunderstandings. The supervisor’s role is to keep the group ‘wonderings’ among themselves rather than interrogating the presenter and to encourage the presenter to take an observational listening position and not feel responsible for the content. 4 The whole group then engages in a reflective discussion on the aspects of the case that caught their attention. The discussion is not to problem-solve but to hear a diverse range of explanations and interpretations. This reflective process helps to prevent repetitive and unhelpful patterns of responding to situations (Ruch, 2007). Examples of questions to facilitate reflection in direct service placements (Amies & Weir, 2001, pp. 135–142) and equally useful in project work or community development placements are shown in Table 6.2. Table 6.2 Questions for facilitating reflection Direct service placements

Project work or community development placements

Clarifying questions

• Was this your first interaction with the family?

• How did you canvas the needs of the community? • Who defined the scope of the project? • What were the demographics of the community/project?

Inquiring into the skills used by the student

• Were you tempted to do or say something?

• Were you tempted to do or say something?

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Direct service placements

Project work or community development placements

Inquiring into the effects of the situation

• Were you satisfied with how you responded? • Do you recall how you felt at the time?

• Did you feel comfortable with the proposed project? • Were all voices heard in the community or did your project work restrict you? • Were there influences outside the organisation (such as funding bodies) that shaped the project or community development work?

Getting in touch with assumptions and values

• How did you decide? What influenced your assessment? • What were you taking into account?

• How did you undertake a skills/ strengths resource assessment of the community or cohort you were working with? • Were there any community leaders identified to take on key roles?

Questions that locate practice in relation to workplace culture

• Is this standard procedure within the team? • How does this affect your practice?

• Did you feel part of the community/organisation while undertaking this project work? • Is the language used in the organisation when talking about working with communities consistent with community development work?

Questions that locate the issues discussed in a broader theoretical or socio-political context

• Did the case raise issues of social justice or human rights? • How could this issue be tackled on a broader level?

• How did the project or community development work reflect addressing disadvantage in the community? • Did the project or community development work raise issues of social justice or human rights? • As a social worker working alongside a community addressing an identified issue of concern, what power structures were present in this? Source: Cleak, 2011.

SUMMARY Following a brief summary of a range of approaches to learning in supervision, this chapter has outlined a solution-focused approach combined with the use of critical reflection. Stages in the critical reflective approach are outlined and illustrated with a case example, and links are made to teaching and learning tools outlined in Chapter 8.

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CHAPTER

Developing good supervisory practices

7

INTRODUCTION All situations on placement are opportunities for teaching and learning, but the findings from numerous research studies show that the supervisory relationship is the most important vehicle to influence student learning. In this chapter, good supervisory practices are discussed, and include the different functions and expectations of supervision, building the supervisory relationship, structuring and monitoring supervision sessions, keeping records and giving feedback. The context of field education has changed dramatically in the last decade, which has required social work and human service programs to develop a range of supervision models that are structured differently from the ‘traditional’ one-on-one supervisor–student focus. Whatever the context and type of supervision, it should involve two interlocking functions: learning about the tasks and learning about the learning.

THE FUNCTIONS OF SUPERVISION The literature takes a number of approaches to describing what processes are needed for effective supervision and the roles supervisors may choose to play. Different functions and roles may be dominant at different phases of the supervision process over time, and in relation to different issues that the student or the organisation faces. Some student learning styles may also suggest different roles to the supervisor (see Chapter 1). There is broad agreement that the supervisory process in fieldwork commonly has three principal functions – administrative, educational and supportive – with mediation and socialisation sometimes seen as additional features (Morrison, 2001). These functions may complement or be in conflict with each other. For example, if a student’s standard of work is not at a required level, the supervisor can be caught between the requirement to protect a client or community and the need to allow the student the opportunity to work on tasks so that he or she can learn (administrative vs educational). The supervisor may want to reassure the student (supportive), yet also may have to judge the student’s standard of work (administrative and educational). There is support for a fourth role, a mediation role (Morrison, 2001), for the supervisor who serves as a buffer and negotiates on behalf of the student with frontline staff and administration. The three main functions of supervision, and an example of each are summarised in Table 7.1. Table 7.1 Functions of supervision Type of

Description

Example

The focus is on monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the student’s learning tasks.

‘It would be important to record this information in the client’s file and to inform the case manager of your contact.’

supervision

Administrative

The supervisor is also accountable for the student’s work

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Type of

Description

Example

Educational

The focus is on teaching the knowledge, skills and values required for completing the learning tasks and linking them to theoretical or empirical knowledge.

‘What seems to be guiding your thoughts about what might be helpful for this family?’

Supportive

The focus is on recognising and responding to the efforts made by the student and the impact of the work on the student. This includes ensuring that students have the resources and information to complete the learning tasks as well as checking that students are safe, comfortable and enjoying the experience!

‘You handled that difficult case with great sensitivity.’

supervision

How are you feeling about chairing your first community meeting?

Source: Adapted from Kadushin & Harkness, 2014.

All of these approaches are needed. The weight given to each will depend on the particular tasks at hand and perhaps on the stage of placement. The three functions are rarely carried out singularly: for example, debriefing a student after an event is both educational and supportive. A common danger is that supervisors concentrate on ensuring the work is done adequately instead of incorporating a developmental and educational focus. If they focus solely on the support function, supervision may come to resemble therapy. A healthy supervisory relationship comprises these functions and manages the inherent conflict between them. If the relationship is based on sufficient levels of trust and respect, these tensions can be managed to maximise student learning. Within these broad functions, others provide some expansion by combining aspects of these functions. Davys (2000), for example, adds the following: • enabling: a mix of the field educator’s supporting and empowering students, achieved by reliability, encouragement, approachability, respect for difference and intolerance of any marginalisation of the student by others in the organisation •

•

assessing: a mix of the broad education and administrative functions, addresses the issue of evaluating whether or not the student’s work reaches the required standard and, indeed, the extent to which it exceeds this baseline being accountable for student work: an aspect of the administrative and education functions that needs to be clear to all parties and which requires that field educators have access to student work; it also includes accountability to the educational program for the student’s learning and assessment.

EXPECTATIONS OF SUPERVISION As discussed in Chapters 1 and 2, it is essential that there is negotiation early in placement to clarify the parameters and expectations of the supervisory relationship. Drawing up a contract is a useful way to record the specific expectations of supervision as well as the practical requirements of the HEP (see Chapter 5 for more detailed information). Examples of such an approach follow.

EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD Supervisor: I generally take a problem-oriented approach in which I can be fairly directive. I am looking for your ability to explain a situation. Or, perhaps: Supervisor: I generally take a process-oriented approach in which I am more interested in exploring your responses to a situation.

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Student:

I tend to become anxious if I am ‘thrown in the deep end’ in a new learning situation.

Student:

How would you suggest that we prepare for our weekly supervision sessions?

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CHAPTER 7 Developing good supervisory practices

Exercise 7.1, adapted from Morrison (2001, pp. 37–43), helps to clarify the degree to which supervisors and students have shared expectations about supervision and the different functions outlined earlier, and draws attention to any areas that are not being addressed. It is a good idea for students and supervisors to do this exercise at the beginning of placement, perhaps as part of the negotiation for the supervision agreement (see Chapter 5), as well as before the halfway point. THEORY TO PRACTICE

Exercise 7.1 For the student and supervisor

The tasks outlined in the following lists relate to the different functions of supervision. Make a photocopy of these lists so that you both have a copy. Tick the tasks that you feel are appropriate to be supervised. Compare your lists and discuss any items that are not shared. Repeat the exercise before the halfway point of placement, ticking what you still feel are appropriate tasks for supervision. Then tick the tasks in the second column that you feel are being carried out in supervision.

The support function of supervision checklist Tasks

Before placement

During placement

Before placement

During placement

To validate the student both as a developing professional and as a person To create a safe environment for the student to reflect on his or her practice and its impact on him or her as a person To clarify the boundaries between support and counselling and the issue of confidentiality in supervision To debrief the student and give him or her permission to talk about feelings raised by his or her work To help the student explore any emotional blocks to his or her work To explore issues of difference and discrimination that may be experienced by the student To monitor the overall health and emotional functioning of the student To clarify when the student should be advised to seek professional help Other (specify)

The educational function of supervision checklist Tasks To assist the development of the student’s professional competence To appreciate and assess the student’s theoretical base, skills, knowledge and personal abilities To understand the student’s preferred learning style and blocks to learning To discuss the student’s value base and its impact on his or her work To give regular and constructive feedback to the student on his or her work To help the student to be self-reflective about his or her work and interaction with clients and other staff To give the student access to opportunities to develop further knowledge and skills Other (specify)

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The administrative function of supervision checklist Tasks

Before placement

During placement

To ensure that the student understands his or her role and responsibilities To ensure the student’s work is reviewed regularly To ensure that the student has an appropriate workload To ensure that student activities are properly documented and carried out according to agency policies and procedures To ensure that the student knows when the supervisor needs to be consulted Other (specify) Source: Adapted from Morrison, T. (2001). Staff supervision in social care: Making a real difference for staff and service users. Pavilion, pp. 37–43.

DEVELOPING THE SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIP The most exciting tasks and learning environment are no substitute for a good supervisory relationship. As in all human service practice, teamwork is often the way work gets done. In a good relationship, shortcomings on either side are forgiven; in a poor one, very few are forgotten or forgiven. A good supervisory relationship does not occur by chance. A number of factors can be influenced by the development of the supervisory relationship, including the use of power, personal differences, styles of supervision, responses to difficulties, and the balance of the different functions of supervision. You may have an opportunity to have some choice in selecting a student or supervisor, but more often than not the HEP and/or the agency controls the allocation process. But despite any organisational constraints, both student and supervisor can negotiate and develop a professional and respectful working alliance, even if it is characterised by some anxiety and conflict on either side. The relationship can elicit a range of responses from the student. On the more negative side, it might be characterised by dependency, perceived threats to autonomy, failure to engage, and submissiveness; and, on the positive side, by autonomy, success, independence and pleasure. For the supervisor, emotions can include anxiety, competitiveness and the desire to nurture the student.

Use of power Kadushin and Harkness (2014) suggest that authority is a right that legitimises the use of power. In a field placement, power is usually seen to be vested in the supervisor because of their role to oversee the placement and, ultimately, to evaluate the student’s performance. The power inherent in the supervisory role may be amplified or minimised by differences and similarities in age, gender, culture, experience or (dis)ability. Supervisors can feel uncomfortable with the authority and power vested in their role and they may seek to side-step it, because they are worried about upsetting students or fear students will not accept their authority. However, the supervisory relationship also may become dysfunctional if supervisors abuse their authority and are overly critical and judgemental. Research suggests that satisfaction with supervision is enhanced when competence and experience is the source of the power; in other words, students will respect and listen to a supervisor who demonstrates their skills and expertise when providing input (Kadushin & Harkness, 2014, p. 86). In order to develop a positive supervisory relationship, it is suggested that this dynamic be made more transparent by an open discussion in the early stages of the placement, in which students and

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CHAPTER 7 Developing good supervisory practices

supervisors talk about their respective sources of power that derive both from their professional and personal attributes.

Difference The impact of difference is a reality in supervision. When perceived differences are linked to the need to raise issues with the other party, it can make students and supervisors anxious, fearing they will make things worse or perhaps be accused of discrimination. Differences between the student and supervisor need to be openly recognised. If differences are ignored and the supervisor maintains that he or she treats everyone the same, others may be forced to assume the beliefs of the dominant individual or group. If difference is confused with disagreement, it can mean that issues, such as those about performance, are avoided. This is discussed in more detail in Chapter 15. Issues of diversity and difference between student and supervisor need to be addressed in the supervisory relationship. The following examples illustrate this.

THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES Negotiating difference A Greek female worker supervising a Greek female student in Australia may share strong, empowering feelings of mutual identification of gender and culture. However, a collusive alliance may be formed that denies the formal power of the supervisor. If the student fails to complete some tasks satisfactorily, the supervisor may protect her rather than confronting her about her learning difficulty. An Anglo-Saxon female worker supervising an Asian female student may use her membership of the dominant culture to undermine the student’s cultural identity by negating her knowledge of ‘normal’ family values. Conversely, the supervisor may feel uncomfortable about giving critical feedback because she fears it will be perceived as discriminatory or because the student will not respect her authority. A supervisor might negate a male student’s skills in working with oppressed female clients; conversely, the supervisor could defer to the power and status of the student’s gender and feel uncomfortable about being critical of his work. If a supervisor is a feminist, the student may find it difficult to express different values because the student is in a position of less power. If the student is a feminist, the supervisor, if he or she has a different ideology, may try to undermine that of the student; conversely, the supervisor may be anxious not to appear to be anti-feminist and may become defensive about sharing his or her ideological position during supervision.

Styles of supervision Heron (1990) developed a six-category conceptual model that initially aimed to assist in the delivery of interventions within the helping professions. Although this is now an older reference, Heron’s model broadly categorises supervisory styles as authoritative and facilitative. Authoritative styles enable the supervisor to manage the supervisory relationship, whereas facilitative interventions allow the locus of control to remain with the student. Authoritative styles are: • prescriptive: supervisors give advice and explicit direction to the student • informative: supervisors impart knowledge and information to the student • confrontational: supervisors give clear, direct feedback about behaviour and challenge beliefs and attitudes. Facilitative styles are: cathartic: supervisor enables the student to release tensions and emotions reflective: supervisor encourages the student to be reflective and self-directive supportive: supervisor confirms and validates the student’s values and worth. Exercise 7.3 consists of questions to help supervisors and students consider supervisory styles and expectations of supervision.

• • •

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THEORY TO PRACTICE

Exercise 7.2 For the student and supervisor 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

How much will you disclose of yourself in terms of how your life has shaped who you are now? How do you cope with making mistakes? What do you do if you are feeling under pressure? How do you let people know you don’t approve of what they are doing? How do you let people know you like the way you are being treated? How do you cope with being assessed or assessing others? What expectations do you have of a supervisory relationship? What previous experiences have you had that might impact on how a supervisory relationship develops and works?

The style of the supervisory relationship may change over time and they all can have some useful functions but awareness of these and how they impact on students is important. There are different opportunities, tasks and issues, depending on the stage of development of the relationship. Using a journal or diary (as discussed in Chapter 8) may help you to chart any changes in the style of the relationship over time.

Balancing the functions of supervision It is important to review supervision at regular intervals throughout placement in terms of which functions – administrative, educational or supportive – are getting most ‘air play’. If, as a student, you think that the supervisory relationship is not balanced in these functions, it may be for one or more of the following reasons: • •

Your supervisor lacks time to devote to each function. Your supervisor experiences conflict between the need to support you and the requirement to point out inadequate work. • You are not clear about supervisory goals. • Your supervisor lacks confidence in providing skills and knowledge in supervision. • Organisational issues in your agency may limit your opportunities to learn. One way to ensure you are keeping as good a balance as possible is to consider the tasks you are focusing on and the skills you are using. Use the checklists from Exercise 7.1 to help you do this. Once you can categorise the tasks and skills, you are in a stronger position to make conscious decisions about how you will use supervision time.

Techniques and content of sessions Describing what is discussed and how issues are handled will help you to monitor what is happening in supervision sessions more precisely. Of course, much communication is non-verbal, and you will also need to pay attention to this important part of what is transacted in supervision. Supervision that relies heavily on just one style of talk, or ignores students’ learning styles, is unlikely to be responsive to students’ needs. Wilson (2000) offers some other communication techniques to use in supervision (see Table 7.2). Table 7.2 Some suggested communication techniques and examples Technique

Description

Examples

Limitation

Linear questions

Investigative

‘Could you tell me what that was about?’

Students may not feel supported to explore underlying learning issues.

Circular questions

74

Assume that phenomena are connected in a linear way Explore the relationship between different elements

‘What problems are you having with that report?’ ‘What happens when you try to raise that issue with your colleague?’

It can be time-consuming to explore issues.

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CHAPTER 7 Developing good supervisory practices

Technique

Description

Examples

Limitation

Strategic questions

Challenge the student’s view.

‘Do you think that you are ready to take on this type of case?’

Students may feel directed and confronted.

Reflexive questions

Raise specific expectations about future action. Assume circular connections between the issues faced. Look for ways to move forward.

‘How long will it take you to finish that report?’ ‘If you were able to raise these ideas with the manager, how do you think she would react?’

It can be time-consuming to challenge students to problemsolve.

Reflecting

Supervisors paraphrase what students have said to check that they have understood what students wished to convey.

‘When Mr V. kept wandering around the room you got pretty frustrated with him.’

It is more time-consuming than supervisors telling students what they think is happening.

Interpreting

Supervisors suggest ways in which two matters might be linked – this may be expressed as a question or statement.

‘Perhaps Mr V. kept moving around because he did not want to hear what you had to say.’

The supervisor may do the thinking and it may be hard for students to challenge his or her interpretations.

Giving directives

Supervisors provide explicit directions to students.

‘You will need to finish that report by tomorrow.’

The supervisor can do all the thinking about the task.

Giving information

Supervisors pass on knowledge about practice issues – this may be practice wisdom or be from policy documents, theoretical material, etc.

‘Our service is funded by a variety of government sources.’

Supervisors may do all the talking, which can be boring for students.

Encouraging and reassuring

Supervisors are explicit about what has been done well or is to be done in the future.

‘You handled that situation in a courageous manner.’

This feedback may not be useful if it is too general and too repetitive.

Source: Adapted from Wilson, J. (2000). Approaches to supervision in fieldwork. In L. Cooper & L. Briggs (Eds.), Fieldwork in the human services: Theory and practice for field educators, practice teachers and supervisors. Allen & Unwin, p. 36.

These techniques can be used to focus on the student’s thinking, feeling or action. When these means of processing information are balanced, students are most likely to benefit from the learning. This is explored further in Exercise 7.3. You can use the table in this exercise to list what you currently do and identify other things to try in supervision.

Exercise 7.3 For the supervisor If possible, tape your supervision sessions. Count the number of times you use each technique in a half-hour session. Alternatively, you could number the sequence of behaviours you use in covering a particular issue. Start again with a different coloured pen when you move to a new topic. Do you tend to follow the same sequences? Is this a good thing?

Student’s Thinking

Feeling

Action

Questions – linear Questions – circular Questions – strategic Questions – reflexive Reflecting Interpreting Giving directives Giving information Encouraging and reassuring

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Table 7.3 shows the record of the activities of two different supervisors. The first is represented by letters, the second by numbers. The first is a typical pattern for busy supervisors. The style of supervision is administrative – supervisors satisfy themselves that they know enough about the situation, then issue directions about what to do next. The second record using numbers shows a supervisory style that is more focused on facilitating the student’s thinking about the task and assisting the student to come to some conclusions about what to do next. Table 7.3 Recording supervisor’s activities Student’s Thinking

Feeling

Action

1

A, C

Questions – linear Questions – circular

B, D2

3

Questions – strategic

7

Questions – reflexive

4

Reflecting

9

5

E6

Giving information

8

6

Encouraging and reassuring

10

Interpreting Giving directives

The pattern of techniques used by supervisors will vary with the stage of placement and the issue under discussion. Nevertheless, if you find that you consistently are unable to use certain aspects, think about what this means for your supervisory style. In broad terms, the more boxes you use – with the exception of directives about feelings – the more comprehensive the learning opportunity offered to the student. Another method you can use is to measure in minutes the time spent in discussion of particular content in a session using a table such as Table 7.4. Four key areas are divided into specific facts and the broader issues that underpin them. If the discussion in supervision is all above the line (facts), you are unlikely to be generalising the learning. If the discussion is all below the line (issues), individual tasks may not be receiving enough attention. Although the specific task and the stage of placement will have an impact on how time is spent, in general there needs to be a balance across the four areas. Table 7.4 shows how the content areas have been filled out for two interactions, marking the minutes with forward slashes. Interaction A was slightly quicker, but concentrated on the specifics of the situation in the agency context. It would be difficult to discern what the student learnt from interaction, because the supervisor did not check the student’s understanding. In interaction B, there is more linking of the specific issues to the broader issues and there is more chance that the student has been helped to learn in more depth about the specific task. Table 7.4 Tracking the time spent in discussion Task

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Facts

A B

/

Issues

A

/

B

/

Student as learner

//

Agency matters

Human service field

//

/

/

/

/

/

/

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CHAPTER 7 Developing good supervisory practices

SUPERVISION SESSIONS Structuring sessions Although informal contact, feedback and information-sharing are part of the learning process, supervision sessions are planned, regular times in which students and supervisors discuss students’ work and review their progress. As such, supervision is different from consultation or briefing, debriefing and catch-up activities. The recent ASWEAS guidelines has reaffirmed the primacy of supervision within the placement and requires that the ‘Field Educators will provide a minimum of 1.5 hours of formal structured supervision of students during each 35 hours of placement, at least half of which is on a one-to-one basis (AASW, 2021, 3.5.6). A supervision session, like other formal interactions at work, should be planned, purposive and goal-directed. Planned contact ensures that supervision is a priority and doesn’t just occur ‘whenever things slow down’, because most human service agencies almost never slow down (Kiser, 2000, p. 89). The frequency, timing and duration can be negotiated when the supervision contract is set up at the beginning of placement (see Chapter 5). Supervision time is valuable and often difficult to arrange, so you will want to use the time well. Setting an agenda and preparing material to be discussed will help you to focus on the learning objectives and any concerns and questions. The following strategies ensure that both parties can prepare and that issues are not being avoided or not discussed because of lack of time: • Students propose an agenda and give it to their supervisor two days before the session. • Students give their journal, process records and other relevant material to the supervisor two days beforehand, so that key issues and concerns can be highlighted. • Students and supervisors use the last five minutes of each supervision session to set an agenda •

for the next session. The following questions directed to both student and supervisor will help you to set this agenda. 1 What is the purpose of this supervisory session? 2 What would you like to cover? 3 What are your desired outcomes? 4 What questions do you wish to ask? 5 Are the supervision arrangements meeting your learning needs? Supervision sessions should also include planning for future learning activities. The following

strategies will help you plan such activities: • Allow some time before the end of each session to review how the time was spent. • Review the processes as well as the content of the session. Avoid getting into a fixed pattern of structuring the supervisory sessions by using a variety of methods and tools to make the process more interesting. Diverse learning tools to promote learning are covered in more detail in Chapter 8. • Supervision is usually focused entirely on the student, but you can use the sessions to do other things such as reviewing a journal article or preparing a joint piece of work.

Keeping a record of supervision sessions Keeping a record of student activities, including a summary of each supervision session, can be onerous, but clarifying what will be recorded and planning how to use summaries from the outset of placement can make this job easier and makes you both accountable. Recording the sessions has the following advantages: • It means that everyone is clear about feedback, especially if the notes are shared. • • •

It ensures transparency and reduces students’ concerns. It models the process of keeping careful records of contact (as a worker would do with a client or project). It collates examples and concrete evidence that can be used in required evaluation documentation. Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

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A useful format for recording supervision sessions follows in Table 7.5. A record sheet is then filled in for each session, identifying the topics for that session – it is easy to use, and the activities can be changed to reflect the context of your placement. Each session can include an example of activities that will be useful when reviewing the learning agreement. Some details for the first topic in Table 7.5 have been included as an example. Table 7.5 Record of supervision session/meeting Student’s name: .........................

Supervisor’s name: ........................

1 Reviewing student’s learning tasks as well as learning tools such as, diary, process records, journal

7

Supervisor provides educational input

Details: student was given the intake protocol to read

Details: we reviewed the diary and decided that the student was spending too much time on the project and not being available to shadow the intake worker 2 Reflecting about practice (student)

8

Student provides educational input

3 Problem-solving about practice issues

9

Reviewing learning agreement

4 Discussing additional skills or strategies

10 Feedback about student’s progress

5 Demonstrating skill or strategy (supervisor)

11 Discussing evaluation documents

6 Demonstrating skill or strategy (student)

12 Other (specify)

Date of

Time

Material covered (select

meeting

spent

number from list)

Comments

Initials

Initials

(student)

(supervisor)

Here is another format for recording supervision sessions that could be adapted for use in any placement setting.

NOTES ON SUPERVISION SESSION Between

..............................

Date

..............................

and .................................

Topic

Discussion

Agreed action, timeline, who has responsibility

Agenda items for next session:

Preparation required:

.......................................................

..................................................

.......................................................

..................................................

Signed ........................................ Date

........................................

Feedback Historically, the notion of corrective feedback had a strong behavioural emphasis that focused on the supervisor providing information to the student based on observable performance without any necessary mechanism to ensure that the information was utilised. Feedback became synonymous with telling, that is the one-way transmission of information from teacher to student, as if students did not need to be involved and make their own judgements about what they should do. There were

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many ‘recipes’ for good feedback, such as the feedback sandwich in which negative comments are sandwiched between two pieces of positive messages (Boud & Molloy, 2013). It is now acknowledged that feedback or ‘feed-forward’ requires the active positioning of learners as elicitors of knowledge for improvement, not just the recipients of inputs from others. Unless students see themselves as agents of their own change and develop an identity as a productive learner who can drive their own learning, they may be neither receptive to useful information about their work, nor able to use it (Boud & Molloy, 2013). This model identifies four characteristics of sustainable feedback: 1 Involve students in dialogues about learning that are mutually constructed. 2 Facilitate feedback processes through which students are stimulated to develop capacities in monitoring and evaluating their own learning. 3 Support student development of skills for goal setting and planning their learning. 4 Design assessment tasks to facilitate student engagement over time such that feedback is generated from a variety of sources and used to enhance performance. A recent study of the tools that facilitated learning on placement reported that students identified valuable aspects of their supervisors’ feedback, such as advice on ways of working or how to take the next step and they appreciated it when it was encouraging and constructive (Wilson & Flanagan, 2021). Giving and receiving feedback can be difficult for both supervisors and students because it requires resilience to the feelings that can arise. Students are often concerned about their performance and welcome the opportunity to discuss how they are progressing, but feedback doesn’t always occur frequently enough and may be conveyed ineffectively. Either the student or the supervisor could raise the subject using cues such as ‘It would be good to spend some time talking about that last interview’ or ‘Could we talk about the interview I did yesterday?’ There are three types of feedback, and each type would be used at different points during the placement: 1 Brief: Succinct comments are given immediately after observation of student performance. 2 Formal: Longer periods are set aside to deliver feedback. 3 Major: Feedback is given at scheduled sessions at mid- and end-points of the placement (Branch & Paranjape, 2002). Exercise 7.4 is a useful means for students and supervisors to evaluate whether they are giving or receiving adequate feedback.

Exercise 7.4 For the student Think over your supervision sessions: 1 If feedback or constructive comments on your work are not a regular part of supervision sessions, do any of the following reasons explain why? • You are achieving but your supervisor is not aware that positive feedback is required for your confidence. • You are not achieving, and your supervisor does not know how to give you constructive criticism. • You may be giving cues that you are vulnerable, and your supervisor feels uneasy about your reaction. 2 What can you do to change this?

For the supervisor Think about the feedback you have given to the student recently: 1 Is the feedback evaluative as well as descriptive? 2 Is your feedback encouraging as well as honest and direct? 3 Does the student know what you think about his or her progress? 4 Do you find it easier to give feedback to certain people (e.g. people who may be younger, subordinates, women)?

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Students will only act on the basis of trustworthy information. If the student believes that the comments are ill considered, they question the expertise of the supervisor, or think that the source of the evidence is not credible, then they will not take the comments seriously or act on them (Boud & Molloy, 2013). However, a relationship of trust needs to be built. The question to be asked is: Does the supervisor have my interests at heart? There is a role in the establishment of a learning milieu in which feedback shifts from its initial provision to the design of a learning environment and the development of learning tasks. This enables a culture in which a trusting relationship can flourish (Boud & Molloy, 2013). The following guidelines should help you find a helpful balance when giving feedback. Note that the term ‘receiver’ is used instead of ‘student’ or ‘supervisor’, as either one may need to give the feedback. When you give feedback, try to remember the following points. 1 Be concrete: Describe specific behaviours and give reasons or examples; for example, instead of

2

3 4

5 6

7

8

9

saying ‘I thought that the interview went well’, it would be more helpful to say, ‘I really liked the way you started the interview by quickly introducing yourself and putting the client at ease.’ Feedback methods can include verbal, written or, perhaps, information from an audio or videotape. Be timely: Try not to have a delay between the activity and giving the feedback and have sufficient information. Some receivers may require more time and preparation to receive feedback. Be careful about language: Instead of using the term ‘criticism’, use terms such as ‘coaching’, ‘critical appraisal’, ‘critical feedback’. Be consultative: It can be irritating for the receiver to hear something he or she already knows about his or her work. Doel et al. (1996) suggest it is preferable to say, ‘As we agreed, I’m going to give you some feedback about your court report, but I thought it only fair to ask you what you thought about it first’ (p. 76). Be balanced: Recognise both strengths and weaknesses. Doel et al. (1996) recommend giving feedback in terms of ‘what I would keep’ and ‘what I would change’. Be objective: Focus on the behaviour, rather than on personal attributes; for example, ‘It was a good idea to focus on the issue of his gambling, but I don’t know if he appreciated you bringing it up in front of his wife. Perhaps you could have waited to see if his wife brought it up first’, rather than ‘You were too confronting with him’. Be supportive: Focus on sharing ideas and information, rather than on giving advice, and explore alternatives, rather than offering answers and solutions. This leaves receivers free to decide for themselves how to use these ideas (Shardlow & Doel, 1996, p. 111); for example, ‘I was interested in how you decided to handle the disagreement during the committee meeting’ or ‘I would have thought that some of the members would have liked to be given an opportunity to speak’ or ‘What were you thinking could be achieved by choosing to change the agenda?’ Be creative: Most feedback tends to be given verbally and thus is open to misinterpretation or misunderstanding or may not be heard at all. Demonstration, direct observation and process recording will promote understanding and self-evaluation. Written feedback can provide a useful record for students and contribute to the evaluation process. Be informed: Incorporate literature from the classroom and other research to support feedback and to encourage the expectation that critical feedback is part of human service education and is essential for practice development (Abbott & Lyster, 1998, p. 54).

10 Be respectful: Consider the type and intensity of the feedback and how the person may respond. How would you expect or appreciate the feedback if you were the receiver? 11 Be careful about understanding: Always check that the message is understood.

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Receiving feedback It is important to be aware of your own responses when receiving feedback. Do you seek feedback, or do you avoid it? Do different situations or different people make a difference to how you react? Remember that most students rate constructive feedback as a very positive part of their learning experience. Chapter 8 offers some ideas for how this can occur. 1 Ask for feedback: Both students and supervisors need feedback so that they can develop their practice skills. It can be particularly hard for students because supervisors have more power, status and experience. If supervisors show themselves willing to receive feedback, the student can practise giving it and it helps to equalise the relationship. 2 Try not to become defensive: Challenging feedback is often delivered as criticism and can trigger defensiveness. Treating feedback as one source of information about yourself, rather than as personal criticism, is a way of discovering more about yourself. 3 Respond to unfair or unsubstantiated feedback: If feedback is not given appropriately or makes you feel overly vulnerable, it is important not to deny the other person’s perception, but let it be known that you have a different view: for example, ‘I hear that you have not been happy about [X]; however, I see that situation a bit differently.’

MODELS OF SUPERVISION Our search of the Australian literature reveals a dearth of evidence-informed research on the learning merits of different field education supervision models. Traditional, or one-to-one, supervision has been the most common model used and continues to be seen as effective to meet the unique learning needs of individual students (Cooper & Maidment, 2001). The rapid increase in student enrolments and the subsequent shortfall of sufficient social-work-qualified supervisors has put pressure on programs to use other supervisory models to improve an agency’s capacity to take more students. A non-traditional setting can be defined as a placement where the student is assigned to an on-site task supervisor who is usually not a social worker. These settings are often in the non-government sector and can be emerging new services that don’t employ social workers. Irrespective of where students are placed, it is important that placements provide students with the learning they need to become social workers, and it cannot be assumed that particular types of agencies will necessarily provide better quality placements (Bellinger, 2010). The critical factor as to which organisations can host a placement is not the type of organisation they are but their ability to offer students a relevant learning experience. Figure 7.1 summarises the research that documents some of the characteristics of the placement experience that promote the quality of the learning experience. The viability of any placement setting should consider how these elements will be made available to the student. Alternative supervision models are described briefly and include a range of collective supervision arrangements.

External supervision In the external supervision model, students undertake their placement in agencies where their dayto-day supervision is provided by a non-social-work-qualified task supervisor and their professional development is supported by a qualified social work supervisor external to the agency. This person may be a university staff member, or a social worker contracted to provide the required hours of supervision. This external supervisor will usually visit the organisation on a regular basis and concentrate on linking theory and practice and ensuring that professional practice issues are

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Figure 7.1 Placement experiences that promote the quality of the learning experience

A trusting and supportive supervisory relationship (Bogo 2007).

Receiving on-going feedback about performance (Bogo, 2015).

The importance of observing/ shadowing social work practice, critical reflection on practice and constructive feedback (Roulston et al., 2017).

The supervisor’s ability to identify and link theory to practice (Lefevre, 2005). Conceptual linkage activities provide a very important context to social work principles underpinning practice.

Students observing a role model practising social work (Lee & Fortune, 2013).

Giving constructive feedback that promotes social work identity and competence (Fortune et al., 2001).

Supervisor knowledge about practice (Marsh & Triseliotis, 1996).

Student receiving critical feedback about their own practice after being observed (Fortune, 2001).

Teaching students how to survive and negotiate in workplace cultures (Maidment, 2003).

covered. This model is useful when the potential social work tasks are desirable, but the agency does not employ or is unable to offer a social worker to supervise. A survey of external supervisors suggested that some of the benefits include the opportunity for students to reflect more openly and without concern about a potential conflict of interest with the agency supervisor. It can bring a fresh perspective and it ensures that students actually receive structured allocated supervision time (Zuchowski, 2016). It also offers the opportunity to focus on the students’ professional formation and growth. However, to ensure that some of the potential learning issues that can arise from using external supervision are considered, the ability of the agency setting to undertake and provide these activities should be assessed (Table 7.6).

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Table 7.6 Potential issues with external supervision models Potential issue

Strategy for external supervisor

Many studies of student satisfaction with external supervision voiced that the lack of contextual knowledge of the external supervisor was challenging, highlighting the lack of insight into the organisation and the field of practice as impacting on their placement, supervision and assessment (Maidment & Woodwood, 2002).

Contextual influences The influence of the agency setting on student learning is very important. This includes having exposure to different agency staff, observing practice from a range of staff members, and opportunities to learn about and reflect on organisational norms, values and cultures. It would be advantageous for the external supervisor to make at least one preliminary visit to the agency to become familiar with: • agency beliefs and values • the nature of the client group, agency programs etc.

External supervisors have a greater reliance on information provided by third parties and may experience problems in accessing information about students’ performance (Furness & Gilligan, 2004; Zuchowski, 2014). There is also the complexity of a four-way process of assessment and reporting (Plath, 2003).

Assessment Access to students’ demonstration of their learning can be problematic. External supervisors need to: • try to involve the task supervisor in the assessment processes from the beginning • provide extra support, training and recognition for the task supervisor • ensure access to a range of student’s learning tasks to compensate for lack of direct observation and to provide items for assessment.

Student’s development of a social work identity may be compromised when there is not a specific social work role in the agency or if the agency might not have an understanding of the broad base of social work (Zuchowski, 2015; Plath, 2003).

Communication processes The external supervisor needs to communicate with a larger number of stakeholders than in the traditional supervision model, as well as engaging with different levels of agency administration. These include: • role clarification • collaboration and planning between supervisors.

Students sometimes felt caught between differing expectations of supervisors.

Role clarification It is important to establish and agree upon the roles and responsibilities of each of the supervisors at the beginning of the placement. Agreeing upon which supervisor is taking responsibility for which element of the placement will provide a useful tool for the student as situations arise.

Opportunities for students to shadow and observe social work practice is limited (Maidment & Woodwood, 2002).

Planning The external supervisor is greatly reliant on the task supervisor to organise observation opportunities, as well as observations that demonstrate appropriate social work practice. Ideally, external supervisors should: • contract with the agency to have the opportunity to directly observe the student undertake an interview, a presentation, etc. • negotiate these opportunities for the student.

Task supervision Another worker in an agency may contribute to a student’s learning by supervising the student in a specific project, program or task, and by taking responsibility for the educational function of supervision in this context. The task supervisor usually comes from a different occupational background from the student. A student is increasingly likely to be supervised by a task supervisor on a day-to-day basis on placement, and the designated supervisor may be located in a different section or agency. Having a task supervisor can expand the opportunities for the student to undertake different learning tasks and can dilute dependency on a single supervisor and provide a different perspective on the student’s performance. But, it is especially important that lines of accountability are clarified, particularly about feedback and assessment responsibilities, and the role of the primary supervisor

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is clear. A recent Australian study of students’ experience of external supervision showed that there were concerns that task supervisors often offered supervision ‘on the run’ and had limited understanding of social work roles and values. This was often caused by the agency ‘allocating’ a task supervisor often without their knowledge, agreement or opportunities to prepare (Cleak et al., 2020).

Co-supervision Co-supervision is a less well-known model of supervision, but Cleak and Smith (2012) describe it as an ‘emerging’ model in which two or more social workers are involved in the professional supervision of the student. Along with one-to-one supervision, co-supervision reported high levels of satisfaction by students. Co-supervision was used by practitioners working at a community health centre in Sydney, who reported that it provided a broader base of support and accessibility for the student, provided a richness of experience and knowledge, and a diversity of learning opportunities. Benefits for the supervisors included: • support and reduced isolation • sharing the workload of supervising a student • it being a workable model for part-time students and supervisors • prevention of supervisor burnout • shared problem-solving. Coulton and Krimmer (2005) described 10 key factors that contributed to successful cosupervision and, although many of these need to be present in all supervisory models, clear communication channels, trust and commitment between parties and a common approach and philosophy towards the work are particularly important here. The main challenge in this model is ensuring that there is trust and coordination between the supervisors, to minimise misunderstanding and the chance of supervisors becoming competitive with each other or playing power games that impact negatively on the student (Coulton & Krimmer, 2005, p. 165).

Group supervision The traditional structure of face-to-face and one-to-one supervision provides a highly individualised approach to teaching and learning. Group supervision can offer some creative additional learning opportunities for students, as it shares the responsibility for teaching and can avoid some of the potential difficulties of the dyad structure. Group supervision of students is characterised by a regular pattern of focused discussion between supervisor(s) and two or more students. It can be used in any setting (such as communitywork agencies, hospitals or larger statutory organisations) in which a number of students are undertaking their placement at the same time. There are several models of group supervision: • A group of students receive individual supervision, but also meet with one or more supervisors for mainly educational and supportive functions. • A group of students meet with a supervisor, who conducts all aspects of supervision in the group, including individual evaluations. Student units often use this model. • A student has an individual supervisor but co-works with other students or workers on a particular project or program. The potential benefits of group supervision are that it can save time for an agency and allows the agency to support a number of students on placement at the same time. When group supervision is properly structured and planned, it has a number of distinct advantages over individual supervision: • It allows students and supervisors to observe and learn from each other. • It encourages use of different learning methods, such as group discussion, structured exercises, working in pairs or triads. • It provides new insights for students because of the diversity of perspectives of group members. • It exposes students to a range of values and supervision approaches, minimises issues of power, and allows students more freedom to differ with supervisors.

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• •

It encourages students to develop supportive relationships with other students and workers. It gives students the chance to experience group activities and explore their responses to group processes. However, group supervision should not be considered a substitute for, or a cost-saving alternative to, individual supervision. It doesn’t suit all learning situations and placements. The disadvantages of

group supervision are similar to those of any group process: • The group can be derailed by members who are very vocal, needy, vulnerable or disruptive, so that the learning needs of individuals are subjugated. • Scrutiny by peers and assessment by the group may diminish a student’s capacity to share honestly. The student may lack trust or may fear that they will look bad. • An inexperienced or unskilled facilitator may not be able to handle the dynamics of the group. • Students can become frustrated by a group agenda that may not be appropriate for the varying levels of competence and the learning needs of group members. • •

There is too much focus on administrative issues such as scheduling and procedures. Too much time is spent sharing information rather than on reflection and dialogue. Group supervision is an approach with enormous potential and one that is now regularly used in conjunction with the external supervision model. For group supervision to be effective, it needs to be planned and organised in the same way as individual supervision. Group members should develop a contract to decide on aims, tasks, methods, expectations and regular reviews. The list of questions and issues in Table 7.7 will help you to develop a group contract.

Table 7.7 Aspects to consider when developing a group contract Clear structure • How often and for how long do we meet? • Who can join? • Is attendance voluntary or compulsory? • Are sessions only for students or can other people join in? • How will the time be structured?

Lack of structure • The agenda is not made clear at the beginning of sessions and there is no time to discuss the focus of the following week’s session. • The group often runs over time and some members miss out on presenting their work or ideas.

Clear purpose • Is the group aimed at providing support, education or selfdiscovery? • What activities will be undertaken?

Diffuse purpose • Members often introduce irrelevant issues that are not part of the group contract. • Members give long descriptive accounts of a case without any clear purpose for doing so.

Clear rules

Unclear rules

• How does the group handle confidentiality and sensitive issues? • How does the content and outcome of group activities relate to individual supervision? • What are the rules about attendance and participation? • How are decisions recorded?

• Members are unclear about whether they have permission to bring up an organisational issue. • Some members miss sessions and are not required to participate in the exercises, which leaves it to a few ‘regulars’ to contribute.

Clear role for facilitator

Unclear role for facilitator

• Should the supervisor be responsible for guiding and balancing the content and process, or should the group have this control?

• The facilitator is unable to control members who play out their antagonistic relationship within the group. • Presenters often feel that they are being criticised by other members and this is not challenged by the facilitator. • The facilitator does not encourage participation.

Methods are negotiated

Methods are not negotiated

• What can students expect to be involved in (e.g. role plays, case discussions, student presentations, small-group exercises)? • Who decides what the group will do?

• Facilitator plays the expert and does not introduce opportunities for members to share their own views. • Group members take a conservative approach and rely on discussion rather than try out other more creative methods.

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Exercise 7.5 For the student and supervisor In the group, identify someone (the presenter) who is willing to bring a case or issue to share with the group. The presenter gives a brief outline of the case or issue (no more than five minutes). Other members (the interviewers) are allocated one part of the Kolb cycle: one person focuses on ‘experiencing’, one on ‘reflecting’, one on ‘analysing’ and one on ‘action planning’. The task of each interviewer is to explore the case or issue using questions and ideas from their part of the cycle. For example, the reflector will ask ‘feeling’ questions, the experiencer will ask the presenter to describe the event, the analyser will hypothesise about the situation, and the planner might suggest ideas to help. The interviewers should spend five to ten minutes preparing their questions. Use the ideas on questioning suggested in the previous section on techniques and content. Discuss the case or issue for about 30 minutes, starting with the first interviewer in the cycle and going around the group, remembering that you may go around a number of times and not always in order. Try to stay within your designated role. You could coach another interviewer to add something relevant to their role, if appropriate. At the end of 30 minutes, the interviewers should summarise what they have heard; for instance, the reflector summarises what was heard in terms of feelings, the analyser focuses on the explanations, and so on. Finally, the presenter identifies: • what has become clearer • what has become more complex or confusing • the ideas they now have for taking the case or issue forward • what further help may be needed. The task of the facilitator is to ensure that the guidelines for the exercise and the timelines are followed and to identify any follow-up action and support. Source: Morrison, T. (2001), pp. 229–230.

Morrison (2001, pp. 229–230) suggests the following group exercise that is useful in developing the interviewing skills of group members. It is based on Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, described in more detail in Chapter 2.

Rotation model More recently, some social work programs have introduced a rotation placement model that was seen to allow more students to access a placement within a large organisation by rotating a group of students across organisational units. Historically, this model has been used in North America in gerontological social work and some other health-related disciplines; in Australia, it has been introduced within large health networks and child protection services (Vassos & Connelly, 2014). The students in the group rotate sequentially, individually or in pairs, through two or three different service areas and supervisors are assigned at each rotation. At the end of each rotation period, supervisors are required to provide a handover report to the next supervisor, to support the student’s learning progression through the placement. In addition, there is a social work student coordinator, who might be from the university or may be a senior member of agency staff, who provides group supervision and undertakes the mid- and final-placement assessments of each individual student. The advantages of this model include building agency capacity to take larger numbers of students and offer students the opportunity to be exposed to a greater number of learning areas and tasks. The identified challenges of this model include issues of developing the supervisory relationship, insufficient depth and opportunities for mastery of learning tasks. Vassos & Connolly (2014) observed that students who are largely self-directed learners and who are orientated towards action and change are more likely to enjoy the experience, whereas students who are more reflective learners and want to fully engage with the supervisory relationship found the pace of the rotation placement challenging.

Student units An agency or the HEP may provide a placement for a number of students. Hospitals, large government and non-government organisations, such as child protection or disability services or a community centre may provide a student unit model of supervision. The student unit appoints

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a student unit coordinator or supervisor who may be an employee of the agency or an academic staff member or social worker employed by the HEP. It is an efficient way of teaching and learning: placements can still be offered even if there are not enough qualified supervisors, and it can provide a labour force for agencies to carry out an innovative project. Supervision in student units is similar to that experienced in all placements; however, one key difference is that the students are developing relationships with each other, as well as with the supervisor and other workers. It is important that attention is paid to the process of group formation, that group rules are clear and that the supervisor treats all students fairly. A mix of individual and group supervision is appropriate for student units and sometimes a combination of year levels can be useful although there is some research to suggest that students prefer to stay within their own academic level. It is important for the supervisor to monitor the group’s development, to set tasks that encourage cooperation rather than competition, and perhaps to draw students’ attention to how they are functioning as a group. A functional unit can provide students with a great deal of support and peer learning but relies on strong leadership; it may be preferable for students who are independent learners and are prepared to collaborate and be team players (Anand, 2007). Anand (2007) suggests that student units may not be suitable for students with identified learning needs or emotional difficulties because of the potential impact of team dynamics and the learning needs of other students. Another study of a student unit found that peer learning allowed them to have their feelings and opinions validated, broadened their peer relationships and created collaborative pathways of information sharing. Limitations include a lack of organisation and formal structure, which led to feelings of disengagement, especially when power relationships between students, supervisors and the agency existed (Jordan & Townsend, 2010, p. 30).

Interdisciplinary team supervision Interdisciplinary teams within the health and welfare industry are becoming an essential part of service delivery by providing quality of care through better coordination and continuity of care, and improved case finding, consultation and referral (Cleak et al., 2004). In addressing the care needs of this changing work environment, students are required to function effectively within interdisciplinary teams. Sometimes called interprofessional teams, this form of student learning puts students from different disciplines together to undertake a range of interactive tasks. Table 7.8 Types of interprofessional learning activities Types of learning

Examples

Exchange-based

Debates; seminars, workshops; case study sessions

Observation-based

Joint client interviews; joint observational tasks

Action-based

Collaborative inquiry; joint research; community development projects

Simulation-based

Role plays; experiential group work Source: Adapted from Freeth, 2005, p. 91.

Each approach makes different demands on the learning goals and support needs of students and the time and expertise of the supervisor. Freeth (2005) states that student motivation such as the perceived relevance and status of the team supervision, whether participation is voluntary and the teaching methods used, affected the learning gains. The composition of the student group, including a good balance of different disciplines, smaller rather than larger numbers (no more than 10), and a stable group membership are also important features of an effective interdisciplinary supervision team (Freeth, 2005, p. 91).

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SUMMARY The supervision relationship – whether it is individual, group, or in some form of student unit – is the crux of placement for students and can influence how much or how little learning takes place for supervisors and students. A planned approach, in which there is a balance of the three key functions of supervision, will establish a solid basis for a healthy and constructive supervisory relationship.

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CHAPTER

Teaching and learning tools

8

INTRODUCTION You need to grasp the various opportunities for learning that are all around you on placement – some will be incidental and some will be planned. They may include spending time with your supervisor while driving to meetings, having a chat with workers in the tearoom, attending a staff professional development session on trauma, watching other practitioners at work or participating in workplace meetings. Students will find most things on placements to be new and interesting, but are they going to meet your particular learning goals? Students and supervisors should carefully choose, sift and sort the significant learning opportunities that will contribute to and extend the placement goals that have been outlined in the learning agreement. One of the important roles of the field educator is to facilitate learning and to guide, coach and encourage student learning using a variety of activities that are formative and which can also be used to demonstrate their developing skills and knowledge. Consider the findings from the studies outlined at the end of Chapter 7 of which learning activities social work students found most useful in developing practice competence and professional social work identity. Are you able to incorporate these teaching activities into your supervision? To assess your learning opportunities, do Exercise 8.1 part-way through your placement. THEORY TO PRACTICE

Exercise 8.1 For the student and supervisor

Consider a particular time period, say a week, of placement and note all learning opportunities from that week in the following table. Compare notes with each other. You might find that you have different experiences of learning. 1 If there are differences, what does it suggest about your placement? 2 Consider any differences between the rows. What do these suggest about the sources of material for teaching and learning on this placement?

Student’s views of opportunities

Supervisor’s views of opportunities

Opportunities to observe and discuss work issues (include names and positions of those involved) Opportunities to practise Opportunities to reflect

GOOD TEACHING Good teaching is about sharing information with other people, so it involves good communication. If you use a one-way model of teaching (Figure 8.1), you will be hoping that the input of information is as close as possible to the student’s output. This teaching method mainly involves teaching facts and breaking these facts down into small-sized chunks so they can be memorised.

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Figure 8.1 One-way model of communication

Supervisor (trainer)

Receiver (student)

Adapted from Smith and Kempe, 2003, p. 1.

If you use a two-way model (Figure 8.2), students will process the information they receive, link it with what they already know and develop their own ideas and understandings. This model recognises that student learning is influenced by the student’s own life experiences. Figure 8.2 Two-way model of communication Receiver (reconstructs these ideas and understandings) (student)

Supervisor (constructs ideas and understandings) (trainer)

Adapted from Smith and Kempe, 2003, p. 1.

Surface and deep learning Ideas about surface and deep learning are closely related to the models of communication shown in Figures 8.1 and 8.2. The one-way model of communication promotes surface learning, which is mainly the ability to memorise information with very little understanding. The two-way model of communication promotes deep learning, which is the ability to understand and make sense of both the information received and the processes used in learning. Table 8.1 summarises the difference between surface and deep learning. Table 8.1 Concepts of surface and deep learning Surface learning (what and how)

Deep learning (what, how and why)

One-way model of communication

Two-way model of communication

Memorising and recalling information.

Making sense of new information and linking it to what is already known from experience.

Trainee is not actively involved in learning.

Trainee is actively involved in learning.

Learning is about obtaining more and more facts.

Learning is about helping the trainee to see things differently and in a way that is individual and meaningful.

Involves lectures.

Involves interactive lectures, group discussions, simulations, demonstrations and practice.

Chapter 5 suggested that a successful and balanced placement should comprise a balance of knowing, doing and thinking tasks to optimise students’ development of knowledge, skills and values. So instead of commencing a discussion about residential care options with an older client, the supervisor, by using the deep learning model, might ask the student to imagine that he or she is an older person and predict the kinds of information it may be important to know.

TEACHING AND LEARNING TOOLS Unfortunately, findings from the literature suggest that there is an over-reliance upon retrospective student self-reports as a method of demonstrating competence. This method can be highly inaccurate and may not represent the true abilities of the students, who are often over-critical of

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their performances (Shardlow & Doel, 1996). There are several reasons for using different teaching and learning tools. These include: • to ensure that the learning from practice is maximised • to enable the quality of work and learning to be evaluated • to model to students how they can use a variety of interventions in their own practice •

to provide a balanced and fair way to make more aspects of a student’s performance available for evaluation. • to provide written documentation on the student’s progress and a record of any issues • to cover all of the learning areas (see Table 5.1). Are there other factors that might guide your selection of particular teaching and learning tools in your agency? Successful practice does not necessarily indicate that new learning has taken place. Approaching an understanding of practice from a range of perspectives assists all students to continue to learn.

EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD Undergraduate social work students (396) in Northern Ireland universities were surveyed about the learning activities that students found most useful in developing practice competence and professional social work identity (Roulston et al., 2018).

Centrality of the supervisory relationship Findings confirmed that students positively valued ‘regular’ supervision and emphasised the importance of a supportive supervisory environment. Some students recommended improving the structure, consistency and objectives of supervision; avoiding frequent rescheduling and increasing opportunities to link theory to practice.

Importance of observing and critically reflecting on practice Learning activities highly valued were observing/shadowing other social workers, receiving constructive feedback, and thinking critically and reflectively about social work practice. Some indicated that shadowing opportunities were concentrated at induction and recommended extending these throughout placement.

Constructive feedback The most highly rated learning activity for developing both practice competence and professional identity was being given constructive feedback. Given that self-reporting and self-assessment of practice is often distorted, supervisors must observe practice and provide constructive feedback that students value more if they have a trusting and supportive supervisory relationship. In addition, students on their final placement rated the following learning activities as more useful for developing professional identity:

• • • •

learn about role/function of team/organisation learn about socio-demographic/service user learn about resources, systems and networks learn about legislation, policies and procedures

•

link theory and practice.

The teaching and learning approach The following principles can be used to determine the approach most appropriate for teaching and learning in a particular student–supervisor dyad in a particular agency: • • •

The specific learning and administrative goals of students should be linked to a particular method of keeping track of their work and their learning from that work. The progress of learning should be monitored by regularly reviewing the success or outcomes of the learning methods used. Different methods for teaching and learning should be negotiated when the learning agreement is being developed. If the agency or supervisor requires methods to be used without adequate negotiation, it may lead to resentment and non-compliance from the student.

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•

Methods of learning must be efficient. Teaching on placement is frequently one-to-one, which can be time-consuming and a luxury for many agencies. Supervisors should think carefully about how to use the time available for promoting learning. As many techniques require observation of clients or staff, consent must be obtained, usually in writing. Agreement is usually obtained if students explain that, as students in training, such

•

observation helps to improve their practice and will be used by supervisors to guide students. Prepare any equipment beforehand to minimise the intrusion on observation time. Learning can be maximised if students retain control of how the learning method will be used for reflection. For example, students might prepare a summary of learning issues to discuss after taping an interview. Take a constructive approach to reviewing students’ work. Hair-splitting and over-concern with detail is usually best avoided. Supervisors should let students know what they are looking for, so that they can focus their efforts

• •

• •

and not feel overwhelmed by the prospect of being assessed on an unknown range of skills. The main teaching and learning tools can fit into three categories that are outlined in Table 8.2. All examples of teaching methods maximise the use of two-way communication. Students and supervisors should try to include as many as possible over the course of the placement. Table 8.2 Teaching and learning tools Discussion and reflective tools

Observation tools

Teaching and learning activities

• • • • • • • • •

• modelling • skills demonstration • direct observation/ shadowing • videotaping • audio- and videotaping • one-way screens • co-working

• • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • •

process records care plans diaries intake summaries journals think sheets log sheets critical-incident reports agency records: including intake summaries, care plans, and minutes of meetings organisational analyses concept maps internet material articles books policy documents strength cards

Exercise 8.2

discussion of reports verbal presentations of work done role plays simulation games skills training/coaching presentations co-working reading agency, court and tribunal visits consultations committee meetings – observer and active participant • contact with individuals and groups • small group discussion • agency/home visits

THEORY TO PRACTICE

For the student and supervisor 1 2 3

How many of the tools in Table 8.2 have you used in your placement to date? What is the balance between prepared work for supervision and what emerges from student–supervisor discussions? What gaps do you see in the tools you are currently using compared with this list?

DISCUSSION AND REFLECTIVE TOOLS The dominant and most enduring vehicle for teaching is discussion. Through discussion, information is exchanged and there is opportunity for an event or experience to be conveyed in an open and unstructured way. Discussion is both an event and a process. Within the context of a placement, discussion is more than just describing or telling. It involves the process of reflection. Thus, reflective discussion becomes an active and deliberate process and usually results in a greater and deeper understanding of the situation (Morgan et al., 2005). The process of discussion in supervision is covered in more detail in Chapter 7.

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Process records Process recording has been a time-honoured tool for reflection, but it has sometimes been criticised as time consuming and tedious for both student and supervisor. However, process records are also seen as being practical and easily accessible, useful reflective tools for students and tools that allow supervisors to gain insight into the thoughts and feelings of the student without relying on the more common retrospective student self-report. Process records are highly detailed written accounts of practice after it has happened, and include recall, analysis and interpretation of the verbal and emotional content and dynamics that are present. Most process records use direct quotes and include a description of the setting, the participants, what happened (or the intervention) and more importantly, the process record has space for the student’s thoughts and feelings. In reality, the recall may not actually match what occurred as students may improve their process record to reflect some further insight. However, although this may not improve the accuracy of the record, it does indicate that it facilitated learning because students were able to critically reflect on their practice. Process recording implicitly targets students’: • skills of observation • memory for detailed information • openness to feedback • experience of disciplined descriptive writing •

access to reflective supervision (adapted from Olsen, 2014). Generally, individual clients are the subjects of these records, and the records are not as useful for critical thinking about the programmatic, agency, or institutional contexts. Chapter 11 describes the use of a process record in macro practice. The following format aims to increase the student’s self-awareness and differentiate between facts and feelings.

EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD THEORY TO PRACTICE

Name of student ………………………………. Client/clients name/s ………………………..... Date of interview .……………………………… (second interview)

Content dialogue

Student’s feelings

Client’s feelings

Knowledge used/skills demonstrated

Client (C): ‘I think I will be well enough to go home soon.’

I felt guilty because I knew that the client’s family had other plans for her.

The client was making a stand about her wishes – she may have been fearful or angry about what might be planned for her.

I was taken aback by her assertive statement. My question was not a good thing to say as I made the client defensive.

Student (S): ‘Who told you that?’

I was pleased that I resisted the urge to reassure her, as that would have been untruthful.

Comments – student/ supervisor

Using Code of Ethics re client autonomy

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Content dialogue

Student’s feelings

C: ‘I don’t care what they say. I am feeling stronger and know I can manage at home. Don’t you agree?

Client’s feelings

Knowledge used/skills demonstrated

The client was feeling scared and powerless and perhaps wanting support from me.

Comments – student/ supervisor Student: It would have been better to show empathy, such as ‘I’m glad that you feel better’, and then probe to explore her understanding about the practicalities of her going home. Supervisor: That’s a good idea, but you managed to do this with your next response.

I showed empathy here and then asked an open question to gain more information about what the client knows. It also engaged the client to talk more about herself.

S: ‘I’m glad to hear that you are getting better. Can you tell me more about what your family has said about the situation?’

I used Code of Ethics confidentiality by not sharing what I know about the family’s wishes.

Student: I was happy about this response, but it was a bit clumsy. Supervisor: Yes, it was a good response. Perhaps ask a more concrete question that gets to the client’s feelings rather than her experiences, such as ‘How do you feel about what your family is hoping for you?’

Diaries and journals Feelings are facts in both our work and everyday life. Being able to name and evaluate our emotional reactions is a step in becoming more emotionally competent. A diary is an opportunity to record events and personal reactions during the placement. The use of and access to students’ diaries and journals needs to be discussed and agreed to at the outset of placement. Some supervisors encourage students to keep a personal reflective account of the placement experience, which will remain private. But students may choose to share part, or all, of such journals. Other supervisors see the journal as a summary of the progress of the placement that will be shared, so the content needs to be more objective and less emotive. A diary may just be a log of daily events, appointments and important dates to remember. A journal records the content and significance of learning tasks – it is not, therefore, necessary for students to record every activity but only the significant ones that contributed to their learning. Students should be encouraged to be reflective and to express a range of emotions, as this can be a good way for them to own their feelings and be assertive in expressing them. What might you write in a journal? • Free-flow writing (e.g. How do I feel about X or what does X mean?) • Comments on ideas or methods you think useful, would like to try out for yourself, consider irrelevant/impractical • Development of arguments or opinions • • • • •

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Explorations of your changes of opinion Reflections of what you found difficult to understand Glossary of abbreviations, common terms used etc. Poems Stories (your stories) or perhaps how you perceive someone else’s story

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• • • • •

Dialogues with yourself Letters (written but not sent) Analysis of actions (maybe trying to use a particular theory) Metaphors Philosophising about … (e.g. politics, society, ethics)

• •

Brainstorming Structure writing – perhaps writing responses to the questions posed in the ITP LOOP (integration of theory and practice loop) outlined in Chapter 9 • Reflections on critical incidents outlined in this chapter A journal should be organised to detail the information and then to interpret and reflect on it. In the example below, the format of the journal encourages students to record events and reflect on them by focusing on their reactions and how they make sense of the broader issues. Over time, these three aspects may integrate more naturally.

EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD Summary of information (date and event)

Reflection and personal reaction

Broader issues

Interview with Mrs B

I was uncomfortable about Mrs B crying and had trouble focusing on explaining the benefits. I was unable to gather enough information to assess her entitlement.

I realised that I did not cope when the client did not go in the direction that I had planned.

Mrs B is recently separated and unsure of her entitlements. She was very distressed and cried during the interview and wanted to talk about her marriage and why she felt worthless.

Why do women take the blame when marriages fail?

A fourth column called ‘Action’ could be added, in which students record ideas for follow-up action. In the example above, action points in a fourth column might include the following: • Talk about this experience in supervision. • Do a process record on the next interview. • Obtain ideas from the supervisor about handling emotions. •

Read about feminist theory. Bolio, et al. (1985, p. 56) offer practical suggestions to the student on initiating and developing an individual portfolio (their term for a journal). • It is meant to be a personal document; there is no right or wrong way to keep it. Use a method that suits you, as its usefulness will be in proportion to the extent to which it is your own. • Be frank and honest in your entries; write it as it is, not as you would like it to be, nor as you think it should be. • Have a positive approach to the portfolio; treat it as a close friend, not as an enemy. The key is to • •

• • •

write, write, write. The more you plan, the less spontaneous it will be. Feel free to express yourself in diagrams and pictures and with cuttings and cartoons. Sometimes a picture can express what you are trying to say better than you can in writing. The portfolio is meant to be a workbook; therefore, use underlining, circling, different coloured inks, and anything else that will draw out significant elements. It may be a good idea to leave some space after each entry for recording later reflections. Follow up issues that surface when you are working with your portfolio. Don’t let other things take your attention. Be faithful to it; persevere in the face of initial difficulties in keeping the portfolio. Record experiences as soon as possible after they happen, and as fully as possible. Students have found it helpful to carry a little notebook with them, so that they can jot down notes on their feelings, behaviours or thoughts, then write them up in their portfolios.

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• • •

Have a regular time to write in the portfolio, and a fixed time each week to reflect back on it. Although it may be a private portfolio, talking about ideas, thoughts and reflections will bring feedback that can help to deepen them. Be selective. Students have reported that in the beginning they wrote a great deal more than was necessary.

Journaling The guidelines developed by Western (2003, p. 7) for ‘journaling’ with clients can be adapted for use with students: • As a supervisor, it is important to have some idea of what it is like to keep a journal before you ask students to do it. • Consider when and how journaling could be effective. At what stage might you introduce the technique? How can it be used in supervision or to explore particular issues or feelings? • Students should be given time to think about what they have written and to allow their thoughts • •

and ideas to be felt and understood. Unstructured journaling may not be appropriate for students with a history of recent trauma or who are emotionally vulnerable in some way. Different techniques can be used: – Open: Write whatever comes into your mind. – Focused: Write about … – Guided: Write about a particular aspect of … Here are some basic questions that can help students to focus on and extend the content of their

reflection: • Setting: Where was I? What could I see, hear and feel in this setting? • Personnel: Who was I involved with? Who else was in the interaction? • Account of the activity: What did I do/say first? How might this be perceived by others? • Thoughts: What was I thinking at the time? What happened next? Some questions to extend students’ self-awareness are: • How can I focus on what is happening for me? • What am I experiencing in my inner world? • • • • • • •

What feelings and emotions are aroused? If I stay with the dominant feeling, where does it lead me? What other experiences come to mind when I think about what is happening for me? Some questions to extend students’ critique are: What are my assumptions, values and beliefs? Where do these come from? What is it that causes me to maintain these? What view of power do they imply?

• • •

Whose interests are served by my beliefs and corresponding action? What competing views are apparent? What constrains or encourages my view that change might be possible?

Exercise 8.3 For the student This is a focused journaling exercise of ‘what matters here?’: a reflective example of a meso reflection. This would be a useful exercise to orient and engage the student during the first few weeks of placement (see Chapter 4). Students sit in a unique position as outsiders before joining and becoming insiders. This offers a distinctive and valuable point of view. Ask your students to record their impressions of the culture in a community mental health service. 1 What do you notice about the local culture of the agency? Ask the student to observe the carpark, the waiting room, the clients in the agency, the state of the tearoom and who uses it.

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2 3 4 • • • • •

Apart from observations, other sites of ‘culture’ could be listening to staff and clients, reading reports, participating in agency activities. These observations become data for reflective and analytic processing and linking to personal and professional perspectives about what the organisation has been trying to making sense of. Now answer the following question: ‘What matters to people here and how do they go about doing things?’ Prompts could include: What is the history of the community – old, new, strong sense of belonging (rental vs home ownership)? What of the diversity of the community, ethic mix, younger members, ageing? Does the streetscape reflect prosperity (type of cars, lack of pride, graffiti etc.)? What about community resources, such as public transport, parks? What about the quality of relationships between the staff in the agency – are they friendly, do they exchange personal and family information, are they respectful? Source: Adapted from Olsen, 2014.

Think sheets Think sheets were developed by Regan in 1977 and continue to be a useful way to discuss and conceptualise interactions on placement in a structured way. Completing a think sheet is a more structured exercise than writing in a journal and encourages students to reflect on both the behaviour and the emotional responses to a learning task. Figure 8.3 Think sheets

Identifying data (with whom, where, significant issues, events) Practical assistance (to distinguish between concrete and other kinds of help) Feeling component (to look at own feelings and the different levels of emotions of others) Student Client/other Feeling level What student learned (the content of what has been learnt) How student learned (focus on the process of learning and strengthening the learning) Learning blocks (identifying any issues that have an impact on learning in this situation)

Reflection on critical incidents You will be aware of those specific points in interactions in which your choice of action has a greater than normal impact on the way the interaction proceeds. You may be able to use this awareness at the time to process what is happening, and to consider the available choices and the consequences of each choice. However, it is usually after the event that this awareness develops. The questions in Exercise 8.4 explore, in some depth, what a critical incident meant to you, what contributed to your action or inaction at the time, and what this might mean for future work. Exercise 8.5 provides you with an opportunity to reflect on your answers and strengths and weakness from Exercise 8.4. Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

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Exercise 8.4 For the student Consider a critical incident that occurred on placement and reflect on why it happened and why it was critical. 1 What images do you recall? 2 What sounds, smells and tactile sensations do you recall? 3 Which people, comments or actions stand out in your mind? Next consider the affective domain – reflect on how you felt: 4 What was the high or low spot of the incident? 5 Were you surprised, angered, elated, curious, confused or depressed by anything in the experience? Describe your mood and feelings. 6 What do you think others were feeling? Now interpret the events. 7 What have you learnt from this incident? 8 From this experience, what can you conclude about your understanding of and skills in assessment or analysis? 9 What was your key insight or learning? 10 How does this relate to your framework for practice? Finally, consider your decisions. 11 What skills and areas of understanding do you need to develop further as a result of your reflection? 12 What would this require? 13 What methods does this experience reinforce as valuable for future practice?

Exercise 8.5 For the supervisor and student 1 2 3

What will be easier and what will be harder for you in using/responding to the questions in Exercise 8.4? How comfortable are you in describing and discussing how you feel? What impact does this have for supervision?

Agency records It is important that students are competent in all forms of organisation reporting relevant to the tasks they do, and that they understand the principles of good report writing and the role of report writing in organisational life. These records vary significantly between organisations: in some they reflect what has been done; in others reporting requirements play a significant role in determining both what work is done and how it is done (e.g. in child protection or corrections). In most contexts, records are centralised and managed electronically, although some agencies may keep certain files for workers use, although in law they are the property of the employer and, in many settings, clients have access to them. It is important that students and field educators understand the complexity of the use of agency records when reading and using them, as well as when writing them. In some contexts, field educators will need to countersign reports – a recognition that they, not the student, are ultimately responsible for what is written. It is a good principle to write only what you would be prepared for the person(s) written about to read. Agency staff write reports for many reasons, and hence they take many forms: letters, emails, minutes of meetings, reports, file notes, submissions, diaries. It is an important skill to learn how to write competent, clear and informative reports of work done, and to write them efficiently. Some of the skills developed at HEPs may be helpful here, particularly: • how to present a logical argument in a critical essay •

the use of topic and concluding sentences for paragraphs. The use of the literature to highlight the areas that need to be explored (but these are generally not referenced in the same way) will all help here.

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Some forms of reports require a particular approach; Bateman (1995) presents a helpful framework for writing for advocacy purposes; Cleak (2009) offers a range of ways to write assessments for different fields of practice, such as child protection, mental health and corrections; and Healy and Mulholland (2007) give a useful framework for writing letters, emails and funding submissions. Supervisors can assist students to develop these skills by working with students to identify the principles behind good report writing in the context of their organisation and giving students a range of report-writing tasks to enable them to see points of similarity and difference in good reports for a range of purposes.

Strength cards Strength cards have become an invaluable tool for many human service workers. They offer the opportunity to combine the simple power of conversation building with the potential to inspire and encourage the deeper personal exploration of people’s strengths and resilience and potential solutions to problems. Traditionally, strength cards have been used for therapeutic intervention in one-to-one counselling, group work and team-building activities, but they can also be used for education, training and supervision. Although it has to be clear that therapy is never a goal of a placement, strength cards can be a fun and creative teaching and learning tool to share with students. They can be particularly useful for: • problem solving • solution finding • self-esteem building • risk taking • values exploration • uncovering blocks to progress. There is a range of ways in which strength cards could be introduced into the supervision sessions. A few suggested methods are briefly described below and are adapted from St Luke’s Innovative Resources: • Spread, scan and select: Spread the cards on the floor or table and ask the student to select those he or she considers the most relevant to answer questions posed by the supervisor. These questions may be asked to encourage the student to take a risk or perhaps to be more accepting of their skills level: – ‘Pick a card that describes one of your strengths.’

•

– ‘Select a card that describes strengths you would like to have.’ – ‘Take a card that reflects what other people see you are having as a strength.’ – ‘Which strength do you think you might need if you are to …?’ Serendipity: This activity asks the student to select a random card from the pack and then to comment on how it may be relevant to them and their learning. These questions may be asked to build trust in the supervisory relationship or to identify hidden strengths: – ‘Are you surprised by this strength? Do you think it reflects what you know about yourself?’ – ‘What sense can you make out of this card?’

ORGANISATIONAL ANALYSIS Conducting an organisational analysis is an essential part of a student’s learning experience and a supervisor’s teaching experience. There is a range of useful models of analysis, and the student’s training institution may have requirements about which model is chosen. Refer to Exercise 3.1 and Exercise 4.3 for two models for mapping organisations.

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Concept maps Concept maps are a useful technique for brainstorming ideas and organising what you know about a particular topic. Concept maps comprise a selection of concepts or topics (usually nouns), connected by words (usually verbs) that say how these concepts are related. They help you to identify links between particular topics or tasks and can suggest links you may not have imagined or that you make but have trouble naming. Some topics that might be relevant for concept mapping in your placement are gender, human behaviour, age, change, disability, control and conflict. One suggestion for early in the placement is to make a concept map of your framework for practice. This helps you to organise what you currently know, and to examine how this knowledge is useful to you in a specific agency. You could use ‘post-it’ notes or small pieces of paper you can move around to explore the links between the concepts. It can take quite a while to develop a map that is both succinct and thorough enough to be useful. Figure 8.4 uses a simple flowchart to outline a practice framework. Figure 8.4 A concept map of a practice framework

SOCIAL JUSTICE means valuing Equity

Access

Participation

Rights

are represented in

Humanist and feminist knowledge and values that emphasise

the impact social structures have on people’s choice and opportunities require the use of

that are put into practice by

Practice values including:

Practice skills including:

valuing the whole person valuing difference encouraging self-determination valuing the process and product respect

building relationships active listening sharing of self advocacy affirmation represent

My practice framework

A concept map can be a useful tool in supervision. By asking the student to identify the main concepts underpinning his or her thoughts about a particular task, the student and the supervisor can see what the student is emphasising, and perhaps what is being ignored. To check that your concept map is complete, consider the following issues: • Does your map have linking words? Omitting words on a line linking two concepts can occur quite often. Does your map use linking sentences instead of linking words? Try to isolate the concepts in the sentence and only include these concepts in the map. • Does your map only have straight lines? (That is, there are no cross-links between concepts.) Think about how concepts on the two side edges and the top and bottom of the page may be related. Draw in possible links and perhaps identify other concepts that link these ideas. Western (2003) also suggests the use of mind mapping as part of a journaling technique to generate a lot of information that can suggest themes and patterns that reflect what might be going •

on in your life. Start with a single word at the centre of a page; it could be an emotion, an event, a

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person or place. Then think of whatever word comes into your mind and connect the two. Continue this process until it comes to a natural conclusion. Your map can assist you to identify misconceptions and misunderstandings. Not being able to fit a concept meaningfully on the map may indicate a lack of understanding of the concept. It is a good idea to list the concepts you think might be important, but are currently unable to place, for future consideration. Where appropriate, include feelings and value beliefs to add meaning to your map and give it more depth.

OBSERVATION TOOLS There are two common methods of observation on placement: the supervisor models practice for the student, and the supervisor observes the student completing a practice task through direct observation, tapes and videos, and co-working.

Modelling/shadowing Modelling has its origins in traditional apprenticeships in which supervisors demonstrated skills for students to observe and then try for themselves. Apart from observing the supervisor’s professional work, students will often learn from supervisors’ ideas and values, and from the way in which these are manifested in their behaviour, even in the tearoom! As a student, you are not there to assess your colleague’s practice, but to observe and learn from this experience. Some supervisors are reluctant to use modelling as it ‘focuses on behaviours and strategies but omits reflective and conceptual activities’ (Shardlow & Doel, 1996, p. 41). However, it is a powerful method for instructing about and demystifying an aspect of professional practice in a way that cannot easily be done by reading or listening. It is preferable to introduce the method as one way, rather than the only way, to learn. What is the process for helping the student to learn from this method? The traditional method for direct observation is for the student to sit quietly in the room in which an interview or meeting is taking place and observe the interaction and the supervisor’s practice. However, other methods include the student observing from behind a one-way screen, the interaction being audiotaped or videotaped, or the student co-working with the supervisor. If the student is observing a meeting or an interview, it is essential that he or she has a task to complete or a theme to observe and analyse, rather than just being asked to respond to general questions, such as ‘What did you think of that?’ To give the student confidence and security about the process, discuss the student’s role, as well as any sensitive issues that may arise before the session. Have a contingency plan if problems do arise. Shardlow and Doel (1996) also suggest that the student and supervisor should discuss and agree on criteria for good practice so that the student can use these criteria to make judgements about the quality of practice observed (p. 120). Students could be asked to observe and record the practice on a summary form. Exercise 8.6 comprises questions that will get students to focus on the process, content and skills, and related theories of interaction.

Exercise 8.6

THEORY TO PRACTICE

For the student Questions about process 1 Who was present? 2 Who took charge (e.g. client, family member or workers)? 3 How did you know who took charge? 4 What roles did you see being played out?

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5 6

If you were in the service user’s shoes, what would you have felt? What did you observe about their body language and affective behaviour?

Questions about content 1 2 3

What are the facts and important details of the case? What information do you think is important to know but was not discussed? What information appeared to be most relevant to the purpose of the meeting or interview?

Questions about skills or theory 1 2 3

What skills were observed (e.g. open questions, reflections, use of empathy)? Did you pick up any conflict, disagreements or tensions? How were they enacted? What kinds of knowledge did the colleague have? What knowledge was needed in this situation?

When students are observing other practitioners’ work, they should be respectful of their practice – an approach that focuses on strengths makes this easier. For instance, a student may criticise a worker who takes notes during an interview with a client. The student could be encouraged to think about why the worker did this. It may have been important to record accurate information to ensure that the client was advised correctly. The worker may have showed other attending skills to ensure that the client felt heard. What other strategies can the student suggest? Did the worker inform the client that he or she would take notes, and, if so, how did he or she do this? What did you think this shadowing visit said about the role of social work or this agency?

Observing students’ work Direct observation This is a planned activity in which the supervisor observes the student, sitting in the same room or behind a one-way screen. This method is a requirement for all placements and recently reinforced by the new ASWEAS guidelines (AASW, 2021). Unfortunately, it is not unusual for students to miss out on valuable learning because the following steps to make direct observation ‘memorable’ are not followed: •

Introduce direct observation when the student is feeling comfortable in his or her role and trusting of the supervisor, otherwise it may make the student feel exposed or threatened. • Establish the criteria for which skills and processes are to be demonstrated. The supervisor should record these on an observation checklist that will be used as the basis of discussion afterwards. • Debrief immediately after observation, even if the content cannot be discussed, as this will help the student deal with any anxiety. Direct observation is an excellent opportunity for learning and teaching by both parties. The supervisor is able to view the student’s work directly and to compare this with what they believe the student is learning from other methods, and so can increase his or her confidence in the student’s abilities. However, it is difficult to coordinate times and appropriate situations for observation. Also, it can confront supervisors with aspects of their own practice – do you say one thing, but do another? For students, it can be an anxiety-provoking exercise that may misrepresent their real abilities. Figure 8.5 shows a template designed for field educators that provides some guidance as to what to ‘look for’ during any direct observation.

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Figure 8.5 Observation template for field educator

OBSERVATION TEMPLATE FOR FIELD EDUCATOR This template is designed for field educators who may appreciate some guidance as to what to ’look for’ during any direct observation. Not all the prompts will apply (adapted from the Northern Ireland Social Work Degree Partnership (2020). It is designed to be completed by the supervisor, but it could also be useful to be completed by the student after the session. Date and Time of Observation: .......................................................................It may also be useful to note the duration of the session. Live/Screen/Video: ..................................................................................................................................................................................... STUDENT: ................................................................................................................................................................................................... SETTING AND CONTEXT (Practice setting, week of placement and nature of practice observation/service-user circumstances). .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................

PREPARATION FOR OBSERVATION Supervisor: •

Did you meet with the student before the observation and inform the student what skills, knowledge and values you would be

•

looking for during the direct observation? It is also useful to try and link what you are looking ‘for’ to the student’s individual learning plan. For example, if one of their learning needs is to use a variety of questioning skills, then comment here that you were prepared to specifically observe whether the student used a variety of questioning skills in the observation. Having specific goals can help you comment on the student’s progress.

Student: • •

Did you talk to the supervisor about this direct observation? Did you link what they wanted to achieve in the observation to their individual learning goals?

Service User(s): • •

Did the student seek consent from the service user for this session to be a direct observation? Did the student explain the parameters of confidentiality and their right to withdraw if they wished to do so?

GENERAL SUMMARY OF OBSERVATION AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE: • •

Is the student identifying and addressing issues presented by the Service User/Family/Carer(s)/group? Is the student responding to the dynamics occurring within the interaction?

•

Make sure you identify strengths and any developmental issues.

•

Ensure feedback is constructive and avoid, where possible, statements such as ‘should have’, ‘shouldn’t have’, instead, it could be useful to suggest what the student could do differently next time: e.g.‘The student would benefit from considering how s/he could …’ or ‘in the next direct observation, I would like to see how X manages to keep the session focused on the agenda’. The latter is more developmental.

SKILLS: • •

Did the student offer words, feelings or gestures which would have been helpful? Did the student stick to the agenda or deviate? If the service user deviated, how did the student refocus them?

•

Did the student use a variety of questions and was the choice of questions appropriate to the situation? (E.g. did they use open

•

questions to encourage detail, closed questions to clarify information etc., paraphrases, challenging, reframing?) Give examples. Was the language age and culturally appropriate?

•

Did the student use a tone, rate of speech and volume that was appropriate and effective? (E.g. if the service user was anxious and spoke fast, did the student slow down their own speech so as to not mirror anxiety? If the service user raised their voice due to anger, did the student ensure they did not raise theirs?)

•

Consider the student’s body language: sitting at a comfortable angle and distance; open posture – arms and legs uncrossed;

•

leaning forward, looking Interested, listening attentively; effective eye contact without staring. Did the student demonstrate their ability to introduce themselves, explain their role, mandate, purpose for the visit and, if this

• •

Did the student balance the need to take notes with ensuring they actively listened to the service user? Did the student display an awareness of how to assess thoroughly or did they jump to ‘solutions’ before gathering all the information?

was the first visit, explain consent, confidentiality, their student status, complaints etc.?

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•

If self-disclosure was used, was this appropriate and meaningful? If it was not used, were there any opportunities that arose

• •

Did the student validate the service user’s feelings? Was there a distinct beginning, (contracting) middle and end (summarise, future planning) to the session?

•

Was the student explicit about what was going to happen next and offer a strengths-based approach?

•

Did the student agree an agenda with the service user (did they explain what they wanted to discuss and ask if the service user had issues they wished to discuss)?

•

Did the student agree a time limit with the service user? If so, was this honoured? If not, how long did the session last; was this

•

too long, too brief or appropriate to the context? If relevant, how did the student deal with distractions (e.g. TV or background noise, neighbours/friends/family visiting during

• •

Did the student deal appropriately with risk if this arose? Was the student able to sit with ambivalence or feelings or did they try and look at solutions or try to ‘fix’ if the service user was

•

Did the student use silence effectively? If silence was not used, were there opportunities to use silence and/or where silence was used, was this appropriate and effective (e.g. did it help the service user to tell their story or gather their thoughts)?

which may have allowed self-disclosure to be used in a meaningful way?

the session, mobile phones etc) was this respected or ignored)?

upset?

KNOWLEDGE BASE – use of knowledge and theory informing practice and/or aspects that need to be developed (legislation; policy and procedures; role and responsibilities; service user issues; social work methods and process): •

If this is the first visit, did the student demonstrate a level of understanding of the issues faced by the service user as noted in the referral, and apply appropriate procedural knowledge (e.g. how the agency could help and support including limits to its responsibility)?

•

Did the student demonstrate an awareness of their role and its limitations – did they suggest other services that could be

•

referred to or did they try and meet all the requests made by the service user? If relevant, did the student give the service user information about other services, information, resources etc. that would help them address their particular needs?

•

Did the student demonstrate the use of a variety of theoretical frameworks (e.g. using systems theory to enquire about the service user’s resources, supports etc.)? Did they use psychodynamic frameworks to explore history of loss, trauma, attachment, etc.?

ETHICAL PRACTICE – demonstration of the value base in practice, including acknowledgement of AASW Standards and anti-oppressive perspectives: •

Did the student refrain from making value judgements in the session, including refraining from giving their personal opinion?

•

Did the student demonstrate respect for the service user – for example, did they wait to be invited into the home, ask permission as to where to sit, arrive on time, provide choice, etc?

•

Did the student explicitly and genuinely focus on the service user’s strengths as well as any issues regarding risk?

• •

Did the student ‘start where the service user was at’ or did they begin with their own agenda? Did the student acknowledge the service user’s feelings, (regardless of how challenging these may have been)?

•

If this is a final visit, did the student thank the service user for working with them and helping them to develop as a student

•

social worker? Did the student ensure confidentiality was explained (or re-visited) and ensure the session was held in a private space?

•

Did the student demonstrate partnership (help the service user to help themselves) or paternalism (do ‘for’ the service user,

•

assuming the service user is unable to do for themselves)? Did the student demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the socio economic, cultural and diversity aspects of the service user’s life and experience?

FUTURE LEARNING NEEDS AND ACTION REQUIRED: •

This is where the supervisor can summarise the strengths and positive behaviours that were observed. It’s always good for the

• •

Areas that need further growth can be discussed together, areas clarified and agreed to. An action plan can be developed together with a time frame.

student to summarise how they thought the session went. They could use this template to analyse their intervention.

Signed ................................................................................................

Field Educator ..................................................................

Discussed With Student .....................................................................

Date ..................................................................................

Signed ................................................................................................

Student .............................................................................

Greaves, D. (2011) ‘Direct observation Prompt Sheet for Practice Teachers’, in Practice Teacher and Student Toolkit, Belfast, NIDSWP pp 58–63.

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Audio- and video-recording Audio- and video-recording, although widely recognised for their value in teaching, are not frequently used during placements (Maidment, 2000, p. 209). Recording is hard to organise and may not be available or appropriate in a setting where interpersonal practice and development is not a primary learning goal. It is more commonly used in traditional casework and counselling agencies but could also be useful for students working in teams and running committees and meetings. Also, it appears that there is considerable resistance by students and supervisors to this method of observation; however, if used appropriately, it has some clear advantages. It is useful to video-record an interaction and then view, freeze and review segments to observe in detail aspects of the student’s work, especially the non-verbal aspects, such as body language, voice intonation and facial expressions. Cournoyer (2000, p. 117) suggests that it can be enlightening to view the videotape with the sound turned off to evaluate the non-verbal dimension of a student’s communication (try Exercise 8.7).

Exercise 8.7

THEORY TO PRACTICE

For the student Watch a videotape of your chosen interaction and respond to the following questions: 1 How confident and comfortable do you appear? 2 What gestures (such as hand movements) convey how you may be feeling and what you are thinking? 3 Could these be interpreted positively or negatively by other people? The video also offers the opportunity for observation of the other parties in the interaction: 1 What is your impression of how they may be feeling? 2 What verbal and non-verbal cues inform your impression?

Like direct observation, the advantage of this method is that it gives detailed and accurate feedback on the student’s performance, but it has added value as it is a record that can be used again for review and comparison at a later date or as evidence for evaluation. It can be difficult, however, to obtain and use the equipment, and for supervisors and students to find the time to watch and discuss it. Recording may engender ‘performance anxiety’, but most human service courses now include video-recording, so students should feel reasonably comfortable about using this method. Be mindful that video-recording tends to flatten out the emotions and the subtleties of communication, and it may constrain spontaneity because of the technical procedures that need to be followed. Audiotape recording provides an honest account of a student task and enables the student and supervisor to hear their practice and to note the patterns of interaction (AASWWE, 1991). It may make it difficult for students to concentrate on what the client is saying because they are so concerned with what they themselves are saying. As a method of observation, audiotaping has the same advantages as video-recording, but tape recorders are usually easier to access and use and to take to other locations. The main disadvantage is that non-verbal aspects of the interaction are lost, although students can relay who was present, the seating arrangements, and body language etc.

Co-working Co-working involves the supervisor and student intentionally working together on a case or project. Sometimes it is necessary to work together for clinical, safety or legal reasons, such as in residential settings, in group work, or in child protection and mental health teams. In other agencies it may not be the norm, but it can be negotiated if it will benefit the student and does not compromise clients. It has the advantages and disadvantages of direct observation, but it can be a time-efficient means for supervisors to gain direct access to students’ work. Co-working is discussed in more detail in Chapter 10.

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TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES Role plays and simulations Role-playing is a simulated interaction in which students assume – and to the best of their abilities, embody – specific roles in an imaginary situation in order to fulfil a set of learning objectives – just like a flight simulator. Role-playing and simulations allow students to experience feelings, practice skills and gain insight within the safety of a controlled environment. It is different from acting because students or supervisors attempt to replicate reality, using their own frame of reference to convey the behaviour, rather than following a set script. In particular, role-playing enables the student to: • prepare for unfamiliar situations that may generate anxiety • identify with how the other person may be feeling about a situation • recognise and try out different responses to difficult situations that involve high emotion, conflict and aggression. In addition, supervisors can demonstrate different strategies and it is an opportunity for them to assess students’ readiness to undertake a task. As with any method that involves direct observation of students, strategies that will defuse some of the anxiety about this method include: • clear briefing to clarify the logistics and the purposes of the role-play • coaching without suggesting solutions and allowing for students’ input to the exercise. Typically, the situations to be role-played are those that arouse powerful emotions in students, so: • ‘de-roling’ and debriefing afterwards for all involved is crucial in order to deal with any feelings that arise •

feedback should be supportive and specific, using precise wording and making references to specific examples. Role-playing and simulations are often resisted by students who find it anxiety-provoking, but it allows them to gain confidence to practise in a safe environment. It can happen spontaneously and doesn’t require equipment. But it can be threatening initially and will be unhelpful if a student identifies too strongly with the material. In the example that follows, the student anticipates a tricky situation.

EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD Student:

I am concerned about presenting my findings at the committee meeting tomorrow. I know that the ‘Y faction’ has opposed the study from the beginning and they are going to give me a hard time.

Supervisor: Yes, that could occur. How about we do a role play together about what might happen tomorrow at the meeting? Student:

Okay, but what do I do?

Supervisor: First, we need to decide what role might be most helpful for you. Would you rather be yourself and I will be a member of the ‘Y faction’, or should I be you and you act how you think a member of the ‘Y faction’ will behave? Student:

I think I would like to see how you handle potential conflict and I will try to imagine the sort of objections that the ‘Y faction’ will have.

Supervisor: All right. Now, we first need to discuss the details of the role play a little more, such as the setting, who is likely to be there and what your role is supposed to be. Student:

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Well, I know some of that information, but it’s a good idea to know who else will be there, as they might give me some support.

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Supervisor: Yes, you could ring a few of the committee members before the meeting tomorrow to find out. The next thing is for you to prepare me a little about the kinds of objections that you expect there will be. I expect we should role play for about 15 to 20 minutes. We may not have time now, as we will need to have time to prepare as well as debrief afterwards. I will reschedule one of my meetings so we can do it before the meeting tomorrow.

Skills training or coaching Skills training focuses on specific behaviours or issues that have emerged from practice. Sessions are structured so that there is time for discussion of skills, modelling by the supervisor, rehearsal by the student (often in role play), reflection and feedback, perhaps further practice, and discussion about how the skills will be used before the next supervision session. Let’s assume that, in the previous example, it becomes clear that the student is not confident about handling conflict and that she finds it difficult to identify the issues underpinning the conflict and gets caught up in the personal nature of the discussion. The skill that needs developing in this context is the student’s ability to reflect on content. The following example shows one way of running a skills-training session.

EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD Supervisor: Well, it seems that one of the factors making it more difficult for you to cope with the conflict at the committee meeting is that you are finding it difficult to stick to the issues and not feel personally attacked. This is very natural, and it is hurtful. Have you had previous situations where this has happened? Student:

Well, yes, I guess in my family we were always hassled about being polite and people avoided getting into conflict. I suppose I am trying to avoid conflict, but I can see it won’t work.

Supervisor: No, but it is a strategy like many others, and maybe if we see it in those terms, you will be able to put more of an emotional distance between you and those you feel are attacking you personally. Student:

I guess so. I know what reflection is – I just don’t seem to be able to use it when I feel stressed.

Supervisor: In this situation I think you should try hurling some abuse at me, and I’ll try to model some strategies that are designed to get the discussion back to the issues at hand, then you can have a go. Is that okay? Student:

We’ll give it a go – no hard feelings! Now, let’s see, I think Mr X might say something like ‘I’m sick of sitting here listening to you going on and on about the fairest way to deal with this issue – there’s nothing fair in this world, and the sooner you jumped-up idiots from uni get that, the better!’

Supervisor: You’re frustrated with how long it is taking to get a decision. Student:

Too right I am. And I’m tired of you trying to run the show.

Supervisor: You have put a lot of effort into this project, and it would be good to see it finished. Student:

Of course, I want to see it finished!

Supervisor: That’s what everyone wants. What needs to be done to get to that point? Student:

Well, it was certainly hard to keep my anger at you on the boil. Maybe I should have a go.

After the role play, the student and supervisor discuss how it felt and what pressures they experienced. The student may, for example, conclude that the situation was challenging because when he or she felt under attack it was hard to listen, which made it difficult to use reflection appropriately.

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Having identified the necessary skills and potential barriers to using them, then practising them and discussing situations in which the student might use these skills, the groundwork is laid for evaluating the effectiveness of this teaching in later sessions.

Student presentations Students need to know how to advocate for their clients and agencies in public settings, facilitate group and family meetings, contribute to team discussions and training sessions, and run community meetings. These tasks all require sound presentation skills (Maidment, 2000, p. 212). Most placement settings provide opportunities for students to gain confidence speaking at public forums and can be planned to match individual levels of confidence and ability.

Reading Reading to inform practice takes on a new dimension for students on placement as they begin to see the relevance of literature to their practice. Textbooks, agency manuals, case files and legal documents are all useful. However, the materials don’t have to be factual; novels and poetry also can be useful to aid learning (Shardlow & Doel, 1996, p. 133). Supervisors can guide students about what reading is most helpful and can reinforce its importance by building reading time into the placement. However, unstructured reading time without an apparent purpose will remind students of class time and may be resisted.

Visits to agencies An important part of learning about the placement agency and the work that it does is to compare it with agencies that offer similar services. Agency visits can also give students the opportunity to look at other workplaces in which they may wish to undertake subsequent placements or work after graduation. Discuss the options with your supervisor and coordinate visits with other interested staff or students to minimise the workload for these agencies. Always prepare a list of questions to ask, perhaps using the outline offered in the section on orientation in Chapter 4 or use some of the questions from the formats for organisational analysis in Chapters 3 and 4. Agency visits conducted by students can be a useful way for agency staff to update their resources and information about new services or changes to existing services. Students should inform staff about any planned visits so that staff can ask for any specific information that may be useful to them.

Exercise 8.8

THEORY TO PRACTICE

For the supervisor and student This exercise is intended to provide structure to a learner’s visits to other agencies and it can then be used by the supervisor and student as a focus for supervision. 1 What values are reflected or absent in the presentation of the building or the staff? 2 What would be the service users’ impression of the agency? 3 What are the issues for anti-discriminatory practice in terms of race, gender, disability, sexuality etc.? 4 What are the key pieces of legislation or local/national policy used by the agency? 5 Does the agency use any particular aspects of theory, models of practice or research? 6 Any other observations? Source: Adapted from Ward, 2008.

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SUMMARY Using a variety of teaching methods and learning opportunities will reinforce students’ existing knowledge and stimulate them to try new things with confidence and openness. Planned learning experiences such as modelling, direct observation, agency visits, writing and reading will be more successful if they are structured so that both students and supervisors have input and time to reflect on the experience. The informal and spontaneous learning opportunities that placement presents to students are equally valuable – sometimes the chat in the tearoom can help another piece of the puzzle to fall into place.

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9

Linking learning and practice in placement INTRODUCTION One of the main goals of a placement is to help students to integrate theory and practice; that is, to apply general principles to real life situations. In all aspects of our lives, our actions reflect our framework of personal theories – the way we make sense of particular situations. Quite often we are not conscious of these frameworks, yet they can filter out or highlight the knowledge we need to be competent human service practitioners. Giles et al. (2010) suggest that placement offers transformational learning experiences, by which they mean ‘shifts in our basic premises of thought, feelings and actions’ (p. 31). However, when field educators and students are asked about their practice frameworks, they often find it difficult to explain or articulate them. Students have probably had the advantage of more recent classroom input, but they are often unable to remember what they had learnt. The key question is what knowledge or theory do I need to know about in order to intervene and be helpful to this person or family or community? In this chapter, different ways of conceptualising and integrating theories and some models for teaching and learning are explored. Each model can be applied to understanding a range of practice experiences.

HOW TO CONCEPTUALISE OUR PRACTICE FRAMEWORK A key element of capitalising on the learning opportunities on placement is to develop a consciousness of how knowledge, skills and values influence our practice. The three-dimensional model in Figure 9.1 illustrates how professional practitioners explicitly connect these and the Figure 9.1 Linking skills, values, phases of intervention and theories and knowledge

THEORIES AND KNOWLEDGE • psychological • organisational • sociological • practice theories

PH A O SE F S H EL • PIN en G • gag as e m s • ess en in m t t • erv ent ev en • alua tion te ti rm on in at io n

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SKILLS • open and closed questions • reflection of feelings and content • challenging discrepancies

VALUES • Professional values • Personal values • Ethics • Social justice

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processes of helping in a range of methods such as community, group or individual work. This chapter is interested in exploring one of these dimensions, knowledge and theories; most of it will not be new but can now make more sense in the placement context. Being an effective professional requires students to have a broad knowledge base to inform their decision making and being able to describe that base is a critical aspect of professional practice as well as the skills to implement this knowledge. The role of the supervisor is to assist students to grapple with the intersection of their knowledge and direct practice. Knowledge for practice derives from research findings, from the policies and procedures of organisations and legal frameworks, and from published theories and the theories developed from our own experiences.

WHAT ARE THEORIES? Theories attempt to bring together a range of explanations that may have a bearing on the strategies or interventions that are chosen (Trevithick, 2000, p. 10). Howe (1987) suggests that theory helps us to understand people and their circumstances in five key areas (p. 171): 1 Observation: Theory tells us what we see and what to look out for. 2 Description: Theory provides a conceptual vocabulary and framework within which observations can be arranged and organised. 3 Explanation: Theory suggests how different observations may be linked; it offers possible causal relationships between one event and another. 4 Prediction: Theory indicates what happens next. 5 Intervention: Theory suggests what might be done to bring about change. Different approaches to understanding how knowledge is constructed will suggest different approaches to seeking and using knowledge. For example, postmodernists repudiate grand theories and, instead, prefer small-scale theorising, building upon the unique experiences of individuals to incorporate different realities (Trevithick, 2000, p. 32).

You have to start somewhere! Reducing practice to one set of ideas doesn’t reflect the reality of practice and the complexities of social issues. It could be said that adopting practice prescriptions accepts a neoliberal interpretation of social work and doesn’t explore the impact of inequality, oppression, poverty and power differentials for marginalised groups that social workers mainly work with (Payne, 2020). However, knowing where ideas come from helps us be able to identify and fit together the ideas that underpin how we understand and make sense of a situation and how we describe what may be helpful in responding.

Understanding the terms The integration of theory and practice is made more difficult because of the way terms are used in the human service field. Trevithick (2000, p. 15) offers the following definitions of these terms: • Theory: Every attempt to try to make sense of the world constitutes a theory. A characteristic of informal theory is that it goes beyond description to include explanation about why things happen. Formal theories tend to be based on scientific criteria that can be empirically tested. Finally, grand theories, such as those of psychoanalysis or Marxism, attempt to explain large-scale phenomena. • Hypothesis: A hypothesis attempts to define, explain and predict certain events to increase our •

•

understanding. The hypothesis is tested against evidence that either confirms or refutes it. Method: This term can refer to general forms of practice, such as group work, family work or community work, or to specific types of interventions, such as crisis intervention, task-centred approaches. Model: A model offers a description rather than an explanation and is generally a lower-order attempt to describe phenomena. Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

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•

Approach: An approach is a way of ordering our minds about particular issues or problems. Approaches are less precisely conceptualised than theories. Trevithick (2000) uses the term ‘practice approach’ to describe a systematic approach to practice that draws on theory (p. 18). This could include some practices that are described as methods, such as crisis intervention or cognitive therapy.

•

Perspective: A perspective is a partial, but important, way of thinking about, observing and ordering phenomena. It generally reflects a person’s value framework, such as anti-discriminatory, anti-oppressive, feminist or radical perspectives. Some agencies, for example, describe their workplaces as feminist because they have minimal hierarchy and open decision-making processes, and their documentation is written in a gender-neutral way.

Types of knowledge Drury Hudson (1997) argues that the professional knowledge of human service practitioners has been largely influenced by the social sciences – psychology, sociology, social policy and organisational theory – as well as being influenced by historical trends. Social sciences, in turn, have been influenced by empirical and scientific measurements that account for human behaviour. Postmodernism, however, has challenged the notion that reality is independent of the thoughts, beliefs and values of the practitioner and considers all experience to be subjective and socially constructed (p. 36). Figure 9.2, a model of professional knowledge adapted from Drury Hudson (1997, pp. 35–44), identifies five principal forms of knowledge – each overlapping the other areas. Figure 9.2 Model of professional knowledge

Theoretical (schemes and frames of reference that organise phenomena)

Personal (cultural, intuition, common sense)

Model of professional knowledge

Practice wisdom (gained from experience)

Empirical (gained from research)

Procedural (legislative, policy, organisational)

Adapted from Drury Hudson, 1997, p. 43.

Theoretical knowledge is expressed as concepts, schemes or frames of reference that present an organised view of phenomena and enable the profession to explain, describe, predict and control the world. It should not be confused with facts or truth and remain essentially guesses or hypotheses. As such, professionals should continue to reflect on and be aware of the assumptions underlying

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their choice of theory for practice. Psychology’s three main theories – humanism, behaviourism and psychoanalysis – are examples of well-known theoretical knowledge. Empirical knowledge is derived from research involving the systematic gathering and interpreting of data in order to document and describe experiences, explain events, predict future states or evaluate outcomes. Professional practice based on intuition or common sense can easily be coloured by an individual’s perception. Incorporating empirical knowledge into practice helps to reduce the possibility of bias, enables workers to examine alternative explanations and makes them more accountable in their practice. For example, many agencies undertake research by collecting data about who uses their services and the types of problems that are dealt with, as a way to ensure that their service is relevant. Personal knowledge is developed through an inherent or spontaneous process outside a person’s immediate consciousness and is largely based on instinct or feeling. Such knowledge includes intuition, cultural knowledge and common sense. Because this knowledge is developed as a product of socially accepted order and reason, it can be problematic in that what makes sense to one person may not necessarily make sense to another. Agencies working with diverse ethnic groups usually employ workers from these groups because their personal knowledge of the culture is very valuable to developing appropriate services. Practice wisdom is knowledge gained from the conduct of professional practice by working on different problems and issues. It is sometimes called informal theoretical knowledge and draws from the understandings you derive from reflecting on life and work experiences as well as drawing on the experiences of service users. Often practice wisdom is not formalised and recorded in writing. It may be largely inaccessible to many who could benefit from it. Practitioners who rely heavily on practice wisdom may not easily be able to explain why they intervened in a certain way. Many human service workers have specific knowledge in particular fields of practice (e.g. child protection or homelessness), because of their accumulated experience in their area. Procedural wisdom is reflected in the policy, legislation and organisational rules or guidelines within which a profession must function. Practitioners who rely too heavily on this form of knowledge may have a rigid and insensitive adherence to policy and regulations at the expense of a soundly based professional assessment of the issues. Understanding the different kinds of knowledge can be helpful in identifying and explaining the basis of your judgements and decision-making. Drury Hudson (1997) found that social workers are inclined to rely largely on practice wisdom and personal and procedural knowledge and are less likely to consciously apply theoretical and empirical knowledge.

HELPING TO UNDERSTAND THEORIES Table 9.1 contains a summary of the major theories that social workers would generally use in their work. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but it can be used when thinking about your own practice frameworks and which theories might be most useful in your current setting and/or represent your ‘own’ theoretical perspectives and orientation. Theories can broadly be categorised into two groups on the basis of the type of question they try to answer. Explanatory theories represent a way of understanding the human experience and answering the ‘Why’ questions such as ‘Why does this situation or problem exist?’. They derive from a variety of disciplines such as sociology, politics, law and psychology, and often represent large scale, overarching theories such as feminism and power relations. Practice theories apply knowledge to help intervene and answer ‘What’ questions such as ‘What would be helpful to bring about change in this situation?’ They are often very specific and used to guide the intervention, and some agencies may be quite explicit about using just one approach. Examples would be crisis intervention, solution-focused or task-centred. Other practice theories, like person-centred, can offer some more general guiding principles without being too prescriptive.

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Table 9.1 Explanatory and practice theories Explanatory theories: Theories to inform

Practice theories: Theories to intervene

Psychological Attachment Person-centred or humanist Psychodynamic Life course development Mindfulness

Strengths Narrative Solution focused Anti-oppressive Feminist Cognitive behavioural

Systems Ecological theories Family systems theory Role theory

Task-centred Crisis intervention

Critical Marxism Constructivism Postmodernism Ecological-green

Critical Race Anti-oppressive Labelling theory

THEORY TO PRACTICE

Exercise 9.1 For the student Why could this be happening?

Use the table following to make notes about what theories could help explain the situation presented. Remember that these only relate to theories and there will be other knowledges to consider, such as legal knowledge relating to how you might intervene with Stefano (is he a minor?) and procedural knowledge related to the agency practices (can you offer a service to the family or only Stefano?).

Situation

Possible explanations: Why could this be happening?

Theories to provide evidence for possible explanations

You are the student social worker at a child and adolescent service. A 13-year-old boy of Italian origin (Stefano) is referred by the school counsellor who is concerned about his recent antisocial behaviour and nonattendance at school. His mother confirms that he spends long periods in his room but sometimes stays at his paternal grandparents’ house overnight. Stefano’s father left the family home 2 years ago and is now living with a woman and she is now pregnant.

# Stefano is reacting as an adolescent and pushing back at discipline and parents.

Theories of human development and life course

# He could be a victim of bullying.

Theories of role theory and gender studies

# He could be missing his father. # His mother may not be coping with being a single mother. # His behaviour and mood swings could be related to drug or alcohol use. # He might be feeling alienated because of his cultural background.

Theories of grief and loss

Specific knowledge about addiction Critical theories related to discrimination and power Attachment theory Family systems theory Critical theory and stigma/labelling

# He might feel angry that his father is further rejecting and abandoning him because he is making a new family. # His enjoyment going to his grandparents may be because he feels closer to his father, or some other reason related to a positive relationship with them. # He might be having a negative relationship with his mother as she struggles with loneliness and maybe depression.

The various hypotheses suggested, and the selection of a theory is based on whether the theory is relevant and helps to understand and explain Stefano’s behaviour and what intervention/s may be helpful.

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Exercise 9.2 For the supervisor and student Students could be asked to look at the list of different types of theories and research the following aspects: • A brief explanation of their purpose • How it is relevant in the social work context They should provide some references to where they could read about them more. An example is shown below. Attachment theory A brief explanation of its purpose: The last decade has seen an intense expansion of the original foundations of attachment theory developed by Bowlby in the 1960s and the period of behaviourism to a dominance of understanding scientific cognition that ensures that brain structures are appropriately organised and prepared to equip the individual for the collaborative existence. In essence, attachment theory is concerned with how security and patterns of attachment develop in infancy and change across time. This behaviourally based concept was shown to promote security in infancy and persisted into adulthood. How it is relevant in the social work context: There are serious and diverse consequences of problematic attachment behaviour because of how it affects what children need in order to grow and develop to their potential. Hence, attachment theory is widely used in child protection services because of the significant physical, developmental, emotional, behavioural and social consequences for children. Consequences of a lack of healthy attachment can continue into adulthood, such as reported health problems, alcohol and other drug use, and stress-related symptoms. Some references to read more about them: Cassidy, J. & Shaver, P.R. 2016, Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications, 3rd edition. Guildford Press, New York. Goldberg, S., Muir, R. & Kerr, J. 2013, (eds.), Attachment Theory: Social, Developmental and Clinical Perspectives. Routledge, New York. Howe, D. 1995, Attachment theory for social work practice. Macmillan, Basingstoke. Payne, M. 2015, Modern social work theory, 4th edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Exercise 9.3 For the supervisor and student The following ideas are some fun ways in which you can help support students with theory and practice. It is based on developing social work theory cards, similar to strengths cards. You can develop the content of these cards yourself, and it would include the major explanatory and practice theories most commonly associated with social work. The fun begins when you use these ‘theory cards’ to play games that open up theory discussions. The games are designed to be used as: • one-to-one exercises in supervision • group exercises in group supervision • individual reflection • team ‘theory of the week’ slots. Some of the games can include: • developing or constructing groups or themes within theories • matching explanatory theories and practice models and approaches. For example, Cognitive Behaviour Theory is a practice theory that draws some of its assumptions from psychological theories. Brainstorm the names of new approaches that might be discussed in the literature, such as mindfulness, and match them with the best explanation or theoretical origins; add them to the set of cards • reality TV games: ‘I’ve used that theory get me out of here!’, ‘Australia’s next top theory’, ‘Come theorise with me’, ‘The great social work bake-off!’ • theory charades or Pictionary – play out or draw the elements of a theory. Source: Some of these exercises are adapted from a presentation by Siobhan Maclean (2015).

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Exercise 9.4

THEORY TO PRACTICE

For the student Work together with a group of other students. Take it in turns to choose a theory that most interests you, and which you think might be linked to your approach to practice. Research the theory and report back to the group. How could you apply it in your approach to practice? What are its strengths and weaknesses? What questions do you have that it did not answer? How does it compare to theories presented in previous weeks?

INTEGRATING THEORY AND PRACTICE Praxis – the integration of theory and practice – does not result from the simple addition of theory to practice, or vice versa. Rather, integration is experienced as a conceptual leap. Integration results when you can make new sense of what were previously seen as unrelated events (O’Connor et al., 2003, p. 217). Scho¨n (1995) noted that the practitioner has to transform theory in the light of learning from practice (reflection-on-action) and through improvisation during the course of tackling a task (reflection-in-action). It is clear that the reflective process is an integral part of learning how broad ideas and specific issues might be connected; that is, learning how to learn. This process requires two elements: being involved in an experience and reflecting on that experience. It is the confluence of these two forms of learning that makes placement such a memorable and powerful experience. Reflection during an interaction or in hindsight gives students an opportunity to articulate the theories that applied to a particular situation. Deductive learning (reasoning) requires students to master the theories that underpin complex social situations. Supervisors and HEPs often assume that students will bring this type of knowledge to placement. Students may find that on placement, theoretical knowledge from their course or subjects comes together at last with practice. The theories finally make sense. Students may also panic as they realise that the effort put into studying to get through an assessment has not left them with confidence in their ability to use theory. Inductive (inferential) learning comes from practising and drawing ideas from one experience to apply to other situations. For some, the shift between inductive and deductive reasoning is natural, but for others it requires a conscious effort of will. This will reflect students’ personal learning style, as well as how far they are along the track of understanding theory. Their learning style is likely to determine at which end of the specific–general continuum they prefer to start. As was noted in Chapter 3, students need to concentrate on developing flexibility in their approaches to learning. To maximise learning, strategies should be used that extend the student’s capacity to generalise from specific situations and to develop a specific approach from broad principles. Through reflection, students will often make links between the ideal they planned or hoped for and the reality of what occurred. The successful integration of theory and practice depends on being able to put words around their real world and their ideal world and be able to describe what the gap is between the real and the ideal and why this gap occurred. Through this process, relevant knowledge, values and skills for understanding a situation and what it is possible to achieve in their agency context are identified. This is likely to be expressed in cause-and-effect statements such as: ‘When I rush ahead of where people are at, they eventually ignore me.’ Over time, students will become more aware of such statements and then can look for patterns in what they know and how they use that knowledge.

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Exercise 9.5 For the student 1 2 3 4 5 6

Think of two practice experiences in which you were happy with the outcome. State the outcomes as cause-andeffect statements. Think of two practice experiences in which you were not happy with the outcome. State the outcomes as cause-andeffect statements. Is there any overlap in these statements (e.g. is one the opposite of the other)? What underlying theoretical, value and skill assumptions are important in your statements? How else might this situation be understood? How will what you have learnt impact on your practice?

It is suggested that the supervisor, or the student in preparation for supervision, follows these cycles in general terms. It is possible to identify in the cycles the different functions of supervision – administration, education and support – outlined in Chapter 7. For instance, if the supervisor discusses a particular practice situation and then directly develops a plan of action, the administrative function is dominant. If the supervisor focuses on the impact of the work on the student, rather than on the outcomes of the work, the supportive function is dominant. It is not necessary or desirable in all situations to follow through the whole cycle, but if this form of reflection is not used in some of the work on a regular basis by both students and supervisors, the learning may not be maximised. Educationalists suggest that reflection and linking theory to practice is often the most neglected part of the learning process, even though it is recognised as critical for the professional development of human service practitioners. Students and supervisors will gain more from supervision if they can endeavour to include a discussion of this model. Questions and activities can be selected by supervisors from the following list to facilitate the reflective learning of students. The questions have been adapted from Morrison (2001, pp. 143–148) and Davys and Beddoe (2010, p. 151). It is not suggested that these questions be used all of the time, or that there are no other useful questions for each stage of the cycle. Supervisors could consider which of the questions they currently use, whether the questions vary with different students and, if so, why they vary. They could expand the range of questions they use to suit themselves and the students.

THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES Experiencing skills (listening, open questions, minimal information sharing) 1

What was your role in the situation?

2

What was your aim? What planning did you do?

3 4

What did you expect to happen? What happened? Identify the different perceptions of other parties.

5

What did you do or say?

6 7

What reactions did you notice to what you said and did? What surprised or puzzled you?

8

What did you notice about yourself/the client/your co-worker/a community member?

9 What went according to plan? What didn’t? These questions can be enhanced by using methods such as process records, think sheets, journals, video-recording, co-working and direct observation.

Reflecting skills (listening, feedback, reframing, challenging) 1

What did you feel at the start of the situation? What feelings did you bring to the situation?

2 3

What did the situation or your feelings remind you of? Describe a time when you last experienced those feelings.

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4

What do you think the client/group member/worker was feeling? How do you know this?

5

Where and when did you feel most or least comfortable?

6 7

What ideas came to you during the situation? What feelings were you left with? Does this always happen after seeing this kind of case/meeting/event?

It can be difficult to bring emotions to the surface so using methods such as role play, journals, think sheets and critical incident reports can be helpful. (See Chapter 8).

Analysing skills (listening, feedback, confirmatory and corrective feedback, directives) 1

List three assumptions that you/the client/group member/other worker brought to the situation.

2

How would you explain or interpret what happened in that situation?

3

How would the situation be different if … (e.g. if the client had been a female, or you were older than the board member, or this was not your first situation)?

4

How else can you explain what happened?

5 6

How might the other party explain what happened? Did the power relations shift during the situation? If so, why?

7

How else might you have managed the situation?

8 What is not known? These questions can be enhanced by using methods such as reading articles and case presentations, training, doing literature searches.

Action planning skills (reflection, open questions, listening) 1

In the light of the reflection and analysis we have done, what is your overall summary of where things are at and what needs to

2

be done next? What information, ideas and/or support do you need before proceeding?

3

What is urgent and essential?

4 5

From your perspective, what would be a successful outcome for the next situation? What would be a successful outcome for the next situation for the client/group member/community?

6

What might be your strategy for the next situation?

7 8

Who else needs to be involved? What can I do as a supervisor that would be helpful at this stage?

These questions can be enhanced by using methods such as role play, developing a case plan, and referring to other practitioners for advice and information.

Kolb’s experiential learning cycle has been adapted by many authors to describe supervision as a cycle of experience, reflection, conceptualisation and, finally, active experimentation (Davys, 2000, p. 90). The processes students might engage in at different stages of the learning cycle are shown in Figure 9.4. The essence of the reflective learning model is that students make sense of problematic situations in different ways, depending on influences such as education, life history, cultural heritage, and political and economic perspectives. Formal or theoretical knowledge can be inadequate for some situations, and there is not always one right answer for every situation. Students’ participation in this active reflection process reshapes their understanding of events and helps them to question personal assumptions, which can result in a shift of attitude and values (Maidment, 2000, p. 214). Supervisors need to be supportive rather than confrontational when you use this method, encouraging the student to take risks and explore concepts and issues for themselves. A student’s capacity to make the best use of the opportunities for learning on placement will be affected by an understanding of themselves as human beings and as emerging practitioners, their capacity to self-regulate their behaviour, their motivation, their capacity to be empathic and the level of their social skills. These attributes are sometimes called emotional intelligence (Howe, 2008) and are linked with what Giles et al. (2010, p. 40) call social intelligence, which encompasses a critical consciousness of the social, political and economic environment.

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Figure 9.3 The supervision cycle

EXPERIENCING • Supervisors invite you to give detailed observations of people you are working with (context, environment, feelings, views, interactions, words and actions) to understand how these people experience a situation (or intervention, service, and so on). • Students consciously notice their own responses (feelings, attitudes, words, behaviours) and try to develop an awareness of things they have missed to this point.

ACTION PLANNING • Students test options to identify the possible pros and cons of different actions for the needs of people they work with and those of stakeholders. • Plans are generated based on analysis. • Students’ needs for resources and support are identified. • Risks and innovations are explored, limitations are acknowledged and contingencies considered.

REFLECTING • Students explore their feelings and use this to deepen observations of practice. • Students are able to acknowledge the source of their own feelings and separate what belongs to them and what belongs to others. • Students seek to link the current situation with previous experience and knowledge. • Students are willing to address what they find challenging.

ANALYSING AND UNDERSTANDING • The students’ work is analysed, in conjunction with supervisors, with reference to values, research, policy and role requirements. • Issues of power, difference and perception are explored by students and supervisors. • Students are willing to consider alternative explanations or hypotheses.

Adapted from Bogo & Vadya, 1998, p. 4.

SUMMARY Knowledge provides social work with an important tool in the helping process and distinguishes our profession from other disciplines. Together with skills and values, they are the cornerstone of social work practice. Using theories should be embedded in the student’s learning agreement and regularly discussed and explored in supervision.

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PART 4 METHODS AND CONTEXTS OF PRACTICE Examples of the different methods of practice in human services include interpersonal work or casework, family work, group work, community work, policy practice, research and administration. The new ASWEAS (2021), in Practice Standard 5, requires an ability ‘to select interventions most likely to address clients’ and service users’ needs and circumstances’ (p. 21). The Australian Qualifications framework (AQF; 2013) requires courses to teach ‘a broad and coherent body of knowledge, with depth in the underlying principles and concepts in one or more disciplines as a basis for life-long learning.’ The generic academic Graduate Attributes are specified at AQF Level 7 – BSW; Level 8 – BSW (Hons) and Level 9 – MSW (Q). The different levels specify different standards for education and assessment, but all of the graduate attributes identified in ASWEAS relate to entry-level fitness for practice. Each method is underpinned by a range of theoretical frameworks, and is concerned to promote social justice, address disadvantage and encourage wellbeing across the life cycle. Each approach will offer specific learning challenges and opportunities for students on placement. In Part 4, the particular teaching and learning encounters focus on student placement in agencies that provide a generic approach to practice and undertake community work and group work in community settings, policy, project and research work. Some of the specific implications of rural and overseas placements are also discussed. The importance of difference and the inherent power differential in these settings is recognised. It will be interesting for students and supervisors to note whether their approach to teaching and learning is changed by the demands and opportunities inherent in these methods of practice.

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CHAPTER 10 Community work ........................................... 121 CHAPTER 11 Research and policy ...................................... 131 CHAPTER 12 Rural and international placements .................. 144 CHAPTER 13 Working with vulnerable adults ...................... 157

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CHAPTER

Community work

10

INTRODUCTION The term ‘community work’ can be understood to mean various forms of practice, such as a method of practice with a body of knowledge and set of values (Kenny, 2011). Community-work method of practice is described as work with a community of place or of interest through a range of collaborative processes to achieve a desired outcome. 1 Processes initiated, often by external parties, to build community capacity or increase community participation. 2 Initiatives communities take themselves in response to identified needs or opportunities. Community work is a form of relationship-based practice in which people are brought together or come together to determine a direction for change and to mobilise the necessary resources to achieve that change. It is linked to all the other practice methods, and in this chapter, we pay particular attention to applying group-work skills, an inherent part of any community-work activity.

Exercise 10.1 For the student In preparation for this chapter, take some time to answer the following questions: 1 What are your personal experiences of community, both personally and in your social work course? 2 What motivates you to undertake a community-work placement or include community work in your placement? 3 What connections might there be between work with individuals and community work?

The following brief overview illustrates the link between community work and learning about it on placement.

BOTTOM-UP AND TOP-DOWN CHANGE Many social problems, such as poverty, discrimination, mental illness and violence, have a structural basis. When people are disadvantaged, they are often living at the limits of their capacity and feel caught or stuck. Community work aims to enhance people’s ability to move past this ‘stuck-ness’. Core values in community work reflect a preference for a society based on cooperation and solidarity, rather than on individualism and competition. Often the work begins in a one-dimensional way, in that it focuses specifically on a defined need and tries to reinforce people’s ability to cope with that need. There is a strong emphasis on ensuring that the processes are democratic, that strong relationships are developed between the participants, and that people develop confidence in their ability to take charge and develop and use their skills. Community workers may focus on an analysis of injustice and inequality in society, or they may take a less politically motivated view of why the community functions the way it does. Either way, workers need to look for links between individuals and social issues.

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Bottom-up practice aims to enable people who are experiencing some form of exploitation to take more control. The practitioner does this by facilitating links between people who share common issues and increasing their influence by developing their skills to work together to change the situation. Working together to build community is not easy. Community building relationships require a degree of trust, the development of shared objectives, time and patience. Top-down practice – often called social planning or inter-agency work – establishes links between different services or policymakers and the people using these services, with the aim of informing the services or policymakers about the needs of specific communities. It does this by working with those involved to alter policies or improve services (O’Connor et al., 2008, pp. 161–162).

Exercise 10.2 For the student To define your approach, think about the extent to which your approach to change is ‘top down’ or ‘bottom up’. 1 Who do you consult about what approach might be most effective? 2 What approach do you think your organisation uses in the main? 3 Do you prefer to take or give direction? 4 When do you think each approach is most effective?

Exercise 10.3 For the student Consider your response to the following scene. A growing community-based organisation has pursued a policy of ‘taking over’ a range of community services that are struggling in the current funding environment or have lost well-established leaders. This organisation has provided support to services and has been able to improve its own financial position by renting out properties acquired in the mergers. One local service has withstood a number of attempts by this organisation to take it over, but it is vulnerable because of the ageing leadership on the committee of management. You are on placement with another organisation that is approached by this service for assistance at this time. 1 What issues does this raise? 2 What would you do? 3 With whom would you discuss this?

Exercise 10.4 For the student Think about three things that make you feel threatened about working with community groups. How do you react if threatened? Think about three things that make you feel empowered.

In the following scenario, the decision-making processes used by a community centre are complicated by tensions between members in different program areas and competing needs and interests. The student is aware of the limitations of his role and is assisted by his supervisor to complete the process of working with the committee as a group. In many instances, community work involves working with and being responsible to management committees or to line management.

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CHAPTER 10 Community work

EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD Ben was on placement in a community agency that was hoping to set up services for older people. Some health funding was potentially available to help the centre acquire more suitable premises. However, there was also tension about this, as the staff in the community centre that provided childcare felt that there would be competition with older people for the current space and for the space in a new community centre. Sara, Ben’s supervisor, had a long-term commitment to the needs of older people. She was concerned about the impact the gentrification process was having on older residents, the lack of a meaningful role for this group as the suburb changed, and the lack of appropriate services to enable them to stay in their homes in the inner-city community. Sara was well established at the centre and had a successful track record in bottom-up work with a number of community groups. She had managed to avoid outright conflict over the proposal to apply for funds for the aged-care program, but she recognised that there would be difficulties. When Ben started placement, he knew that this work would be a core part of his practice, but he was quickly overwhelmed by the resistance from other influential members of the community centre. The notes below reflect his experiences in a planning meeting, for which he had been asked to prepare a brief for the group on the prospective funding body’s expectations of the centre. ‘I presented my report, which had been cleared with Sara. It almost sounded too good to be true at first, because the health funding seemed so much more generous than the welfare funding, they were all used to dealing with. The health department wanted clear links between the funds spent and the outcomes for older people, which was an issue for a number of reasons. Some members thought this would stifle innovation and would not assist older people to determine what they wanted, since the auspicing agency predetermined ‘‘good’’ outcomes. Others wondered how the centre’s current accounting measures would cope. I think it was generally threatening in a culture in which people were used to working quite autonomously. The chair of the meeting, the centre president, was obviously keen to go ahead because it solved the problem of future space but not because she was committed to aged care. ‘As we had discussed, Sara took over at this point to try to get some of the issues out in the open. It would not have been appropriate for me to challenge staff. I thought Sara did a good job of naming the agendas people had, finding some common ground and encouraging people to work together to find a solution. It was difficult, though, to really process members’ concerns in the available time. It seemed that if the group managed to identify some issues they could make a decision about, someone would feel put on the spot and would hold things up so they could go back to other workers in their areas to get direction. I learnt that you just can’t hurry some things and, if you do, it is likely there will be more problems down the road.’

Exercise 10.5 For the student Think about the committee of management in your agency. What do you think the committee expects you to achieve? Does this raise issues for you?

For the supervisor 1 2

What issues are likely to be seen as critical in relation to having a student in your organisation? What level of commitment to providing student placements does the management committee, or other hierarchies in your organisation, have?

Students need to learn to make connections between broader social issues and individual experiences, to build understanding of the issues, to identify the opportunities to act and to match the pace of change of the needs of others. Supervisors need to find a balance between their attention to day-to-day practice and finding time to consider and describe what community work is in their agency and, as appropriate, share that work with students. They may also need to consider what social policies, legislation or set of beliefs they are either challenging or supporting by their actions and understand how this is viewed by others.

THE POLITICAL REALITIES A number of the agencies that employ community workers are stand-alone community-based organisations. In some, people who live in the community form part of the committee that employs the worker. Other community workers may be employed by governments – a complex situation Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

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because governments also represent the community, but often are perceived to be removed from the day-to-day realities of its life. However, community work often takes place in an organisational structure that gives the people who use the services fairly direct control of the work. This is also quite a complex situation. To work in an empowering way, the worker transfers decision-making, knowledge and skills to the people who use the service as much as possible. Yet these same people may also be the worker’s employers. Community workers must be able to empower others, including their committees of management, so that the committee has an informed say in determining the priority areas for the worker’s practice. Community work is a very public activity and if a student upsets community members the supervisor will hear about it quickly. In some cases, the supervisor may have to choose the needs of the community or committee over the needs of the student. Students or supervisors may have other connections in the community, and this is another political dimension of practice. They may be community members, and hence have an additional set of rights and responsibilities. This issue is discussed further in relation to rural practice. As a student, if you are an ‘insider’ in the community in which you do your placement, it is important to be clear about the impact this may have. In this context, it is particularly important that you consider using some form of agreement for placement, as discussed in Chapter 5. If you are an ‘outsider’, you will have to negotiate entry to the community. As an outsider, you normally won’t have established relationships with the people in the community and you won’t know their situations. If you can develop a genuine understanding of people’s situations – by being with people, listening to them, hearing and responding to what they are saying about their situation – you can move closer to gaining the status of ‘insider’.

KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE SKILLS One way of identifying the knowledge and skills needed by community workers and the assumptions they make about society is to examine what they are trying to do. Imagine you begin work in a suburb, town or rural area. You know none of the people with whom you will work. You then meet a potential client who talks about their child’s involvement in ‘chroming’. This is one relationship – a private matter between you and this parent. You meet a second parent with the same issue. This is also one relationship – again, a private matter between you and this parent. You might try to link the two parents and then link other people in the community who have an interest in this issue, making private issues public and moving from individual to collective response. This ability to make links is a core community-work skill Other skills are involved in forming these relationships. The worker must hear the person’s story, which involves observation, listening, using different forms of questioning and research into the issue, being prepared to alter your views. Picking the commonalities and bringing individual parties together to make a group are yet other necessary skills. The worker may have a commitment to a particular group and will locate themselves alongside members of the group so they can hear their stories. These stories may not be expressed as requests for help; rather, they may be observations or emotional reactions. This is a ‘going out’ process, different from many other forms of human service practice in which people, voluntarily or otherwise, ‘bring in’ their issues to a worker. A community-based organisation may focus on change at different levels of the social system. Issues raised by individuals are shared by others, or people working collectively on an issue may feel comfortable about raising other issues with workers. The worker needs to be aware of the potentials for change at all levels and be prepared to work at different levels of the system. In this context, the supervisor may assume that change occurs when people are given the opportunity to try new things, that people can be more in charge of their own destinies when they have choices, and that everyone is a learner. Their practice base is usually generic and is strongly underpinned by a structural analysis of society, rather than by any one approach to practice or a theoretical approach.

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CHAPTER 10 Community work

If the organisation is involved in work that is politically sensitive, or the work depends on existing relationships, the student may observe what is happening but not be given any responsibility in these areas. The agency may wish to limit the student somewhat if he or she wants to set up programs that require resources the agency won’t have once the placement finishes. You can see from a consideration of such issues that the methods adopted, the style of the work and the politics of practice interact to determine the opportunities and limitations for the student on placement.

Exercise 10.6 For the student Think about individuals you have met on placement or issues you have some experience of, then answer these questions: 1 What do you know about these people or these issues? 2 What themes, stories and issues are you hearing from individuals that might reflect a common issue? 3 How would you move from focusing on the individual issue to the common problem? 4 Who do you need to talk to? 5 How do you achieve this move? Now think about a particular group you have been involved with on placement: 6 How can I best locate myself to hear the stories of this group (e.g. am I an expert, a facilitator, an explorer or something else)? 7 Why am I committed to hearing their story?

For the supervisor Think about community-work practice in your agency: 1 Is it easier for you to talk about this practice or to demonstrate it? Why? 2 What makes it more or less difficult in your agency to ensure students learn the skills of how to connect people? 3 How would you know that a student was competent at doing this?

Using knowledge and skills in a community-based placement There is no easy way to learn the skills of community-work practice. The work often appears disjointed, and outcomes are usually long-term and hard to measure. It can be a challenge to set up appropriate boundaries for the roles of student and supervisor in community-based organisations, for reasons already outlined. To build students’ capacities in community work, supervisors, as far as possible, must transfer decision-making, in defined areas, to students, and support their knowledge and skill development. However, this must be done in the context of an inherently unequal relationship between student and supervisor, mirroring, to some extent, the tension experienced by the community worker in practice. Supervisors in community-work practice frequently adopt a ‘working with’ approach, taking the student with them to meetings. It is important to balance the need to be with the student in some contexts, with the need to give the student space to try things for themselves. Students need to be acquainted with a range of roles, skills and techniques that are outlined below.

Working with groups in community settings Community workers spend a great deal of time in groups. These may be action groups, steering or management groups, self-help or locally based groups; however, they all require good facilitation, and workers need to be knowledgeable and skilled in supporting groups to develop appropriate decision-making structures and processes. There are many forms of group structures; for example, they may be informal, auspiced, constituted associations, companies (profit and non-profit), cooperatives and trusts. The decisionmaking processes used in groups may include chairing meetings, setting agendas, establishing consensus or majority rule, minute-taking, conflict resolution and exploring conflicting interests. Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

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As in other forms of practice, it is important to be purposive, to be able to analyse what is happening, to identify the skills that are used, and to suggest why things are or are not going well. Benjamin, Bessant and Watts (1997) suggest that the analytical skills required in group work centre on: • checking communication patterns • checking that the group is moving towards its purpose • • •

reflecting on the appropriateness of leadership style for the purpose and the group members assessing the climate of the group checking for understanding of group goals. Berg-Weger and Birkenmaier (2000) suggest that there are six models for understanding group work as an intervention method, as outlined below. The models are distinguished by their goals and the roles of workers (Table 10.1). You may like to consider the goals and roles of Ben and Sarah noted (in ‘Experience from the field’) earlier in the chapter in relation to these models. Table 10.1 Models of group work Goals

Examples

Role of workers

Social

Resident associations

To facilitate and resource the group

Problem-focused

A range of committees

To advocate on behalf of the group

Reciprocal

Caregiver support groups

To mediate the group

Mutual aid and self-help

Alcoholics Anonymous

To educate and support group members

Remedial

Groups for survivors of trauma

To carry out therapy

People working together to achieve change

Groups for perpetrators of abuse

To educate group members and mediate the group

To organise and convene the group

Source: Adapted from Berg-Weger and Birkenmaier, 2000, pp. 142–143.

Each model places different requirements on the worker and offers particular challenges and opportunities for teaching and learning. In chairing a committee meeting, the group may use established rules for electing office bearers, setting agendas, reaching decisions and taking responsibility for outcomes. If this is the case, students will need to understand both the rules and the reasoning behind the rules, and to develop the skills associated with their role. In some community contexts, students may work with groups to assist them to make their own decisions about these rules. Regardless of the model of group work, as students and supervisors you have the chance to apply group theory to practice, to understand and apply group-facilitation skills and to record group processes and outcomes. Issues faced by either students or supervisors may relate to setting up groups, becoming members of established groups, confidentiality, self-determination and documentation.

Confidentiality Group confidentiality always needs to be considered. You may be familiar with confidentiality as it relates to one-on-one practice, but group work requires maintaining the confidences of a whole group. How is this different? How might you discuss this in the group? It is best to establish the rules surrounding group confidentiality in advance and these will be influenced by a number of different factors, including existing agency policy, legal mandates and the rules established by the group. As students, your supervisors are responsible for your work, so it follows that they need to know what you are doing. You may need to disclose more of what is discussed than if you were a staff member. However, it may be necessary to discuss this with group members.

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Co-working Community workers rarely work on their own, as the nature of their collaborative and collective approach necessitates a community development perspective in their work. Likewise, the supervisor can use this model of co-working with students as a basis for teaching and evaluating practice. Ideally, the learning experience in a co-working situation has three stages. 1 Planning: It is useful to develop some learning objectives before sessions. The planning phase could follow a period in which students reflect on the tensions between the real and the ideal in practice and focus on the abilities that will help them to build new skills. In this session, it helps to: – suggest and perhaps practise new skills first – identify desired outcomes – agree on a method for collecting information during the co-working session. 2 Observation: Both parties should have agreed on what specifically will be observed in both the student’s and the supervisor’s practice. For example, one may observe how the other introduces a new idea to a community meeting. If the student usually works alongside the supervisor, this process of observation should not be intrusive for either the community members or the student. In other contexts, the supervisor’s or student’s presence may mark the occasion as quite different. The wishes of community members will need to be considered and the issue to be raised will need to be agreed with community members. As far as possible, the normal protocols for co-working need to be observed. Deciding what to observe – and therefore to focus on – in supervision is important. Limit the number of issues for discussion; time and energy may be limited, and it is important to focus on understanding reasons for practice and developing strategies and techniques to work on issues that are considered significant. Some general principles are important here. – Any issues must have been clearly observed in the co-working session. – Focus feedback on specific elements of behaviour. – The emotional significance of the issue to the student will have an impact on the number of issues that can be effectively raised. As far as possible, the student should be involved in making any decisions that arise from supervision sessions. 3 Feedback: Information collected by both parties needs to be reviewed and evaluated. Successful patterns of working should be identified and reinforced as a way of attending to perceived gaps.

Training and educational roles in community settings Community work is an activity that requires students and practitioners to work with, not for others and this needs to be modelled in supervision. It can be challenging for the field educator to ‘teach’ in a way that opens up opportunities rather than reinforcing existing structures that may be one appropriate way of responding or may have overtones of control or discrimination. Inviting alternative views might make students feel more vulnerable; however, it will also assist them in their role as beginning community workers. Supervisors in community work, like most practitioners, also tend to tell stories about their own or others’ practice in order to understand a situation and explore what is effective practice in a particular context – a more top-down approach. In this sense, community workers tend to rely on an oral rather than a written tradition. It will be helpful for supervisors to check how well their natural styles of instruction and approach to the work fit an individual student’s learning styles and approaches to practice. Some of the skills associated with educational roles include: • consciousness raising: raising people’s understanding of oppressive structures and discourses so that they may feel empowered to act • •

informing: providing relevant information, such as demographic materials, facts and funding opportunities, that can be used to empower themselves and their community activities training: offering training or sourcing training opportunities to give people skills that they can use to meet their needs.

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Other communication and technical skills in community settings Community-work skills include advocacy, networking and using the media. A community worker will also do a lot of writing and recording in a variety of forms but, unlike other forms of human service practice, community work does not usually require workers to maintain case files. Written documentation includes research proposals, community profiles and funding submissions, as well as more daily writing activities, such as minutes of meetings, letters, reports and strategic plans.

Exercise 10.7 For the student and supervisor 1 2 3

What is your agency’s policy about keeping records on work done with community groups? How did this policy develop? What are the advantages and limitations of this policy?

Work diaries Community workers are likely to rely on a work diary, both to jog their memory about what has happened and to ensure that their time is used constructively. Details of the day’s achievements, who was contacted, what still needs to happen, high points, and issues where further work is needed can be recorded in a diary. Students can use their diaries to record issues for discussion in supervision.

Process reports and log sheets It is helpful to use devices such as process reports and log sheets to record specific interactions. These have been detailed more fully in Chapter 8. They give students the opportunity to learn from what has happened, and they provide supervisors with information on events that they may not have witnessed. In community work, a process report need not be confined to one-to-one interactions. It may be useful to record meetings and group discussions. Log sheets can be useful in processing specific incidents. Skills in documenting what happens in a group need to be developed, and a framework to record the information, such as the following one, will be helpful. 1 Outline the purpose of the meeting and the student’s role. 2 Organise the ‘content’ of the group meetings. – Describe how the meeting started: – Note any decisions reached, the reasons for these decisions and the responses of group members to these decisions. – Describe the dominant feelings within the group and how these might have changed over time. – As the recorder, be aware of your own feelings and try to make links between what you feel and what was happening in the group. – Note how the meeting ended, paying attention to whether this will have any implications for future work with the group. 3 Summarise your roles (or those of your supervisor) in the interactions and suggest what the impact of these roles or behaviours may be on the eventual outcomes. Compare what actually happened with your ideal of what might have happened and think of ways in which you could practise in the future to move closer to the ideal.

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An example of a student’s assessment of a critical incident, and of what might have been done, follows.

EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD I realised that through the process of discussing what might be done to improve the facilities for the play group, Anne was feeling more and more excluded and almost victimised. She is the one who puts a lot of energy into the group, but her efforts to take on leadership roles are not always appreciated. Steph, who generally has the ideas that the rest of the group accept but is not available to do much of the work, was directing the agenda. I felt bad for not having seen this happening earlier and realised that Anne also makes me feel inadequate at times and I also want to push her to one side … I had to quickly try to make sense of these jumbled feelings and to try to avoid fuelling the group processes that were excluding Anne. I decided that the best thing I could do was to be honest about what I saw happening and try to get the group to discuss their issues more openly.

The student’s role in this group was to facilitate discussion and resource the group, which was deciding how to operate in the current situation. This record was about the second meeting of the group, following a supervision session in which it had been suggested that the student was being too task-focused and needed to pay more attention to how the group operated. Her notes reflect her awareness of the gap between what she saw happening and what she felt were good processes. Her feelings as well as her cognitive capacities helped her make sense of what happened, and she reverted to the basic principle of honesty as a way of moving forward. Diaries and process records are useful to organise time, review the use of time and learn for the future. However, diaries tend to be private documents, not readily available to those who are discussed in them. Sometimes, then, it is necessary to have records that relate to specific projects. They might offer a broad outline of the issues the project is to address, the agreed aims of the project and the approach that will be taken. Do you see examples of these records in your agency?

Community profiles Community profiles are a way of summarising the history, resources and challenges facing a community about a particular issue. Students are often asked to prepare community profiles. Such documents should be accessible to any interested party, so students need to be as objective as possible in the information that is presented. Students can find a range of outlines for community profiles in the literature (e.g. see the section on community profiles in O’Connor et al., 2008, pp. 132–138). Profiles may be focused on a particular issue, or they may pull together a wide range of information that will help decide future strategies. Students may need to make use of official statistics and other studies, or they may include a survey as part of their information-gathering activities. Additional notes on community assessment are given in Chapter 12. Completing a profile relies on observation – students could walk or drive around slowly, sit and watch people as they go about their business or chat to people. In addition, it is always a good idea for the student to check the assumptions they have made from their observations against any available data or with other workers and community members. It is very easy to see only what confirms our first impressions. Berg-Weger and Birkenmaier (2000, pp. 197–198) have suggested a structure for analysing a community (see Table 10.2).

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Table 10.2 A suggested structure for analysing a community 1

Outline the geographical features of the community and what physically defines the boundaries of the community. Pay attention to issues of access between this community and others.

2

Identify the economic characteristics suggested by patterns of employment or unemployment, the job opportunities that exist within the community and the distances people travel out of the community. Estimate income levels and the range of income levels and describe the availability of transport and who uses it.

3

Note the social characteristics (e.g. age, gender, class, ethnicity, family types, sexual orientation) of the people who live in the community. Who is left in the community during the day? What sub-communities exist in the larger community? (To help students identify sub-communities, they could look at differences in housing stock; any boundaries, such as main roads, railway lines, rivers, valleys and hills, within the community; and the people they see out and about.) What facilities are in the community (e.g. places of worship, halls, shopping centres, clubs, libraries and societies, parks and recreational areas or buildings) that enable people to meet together? What type of housing is available? (Is housing owned or rented? What is the general age and condition of the housing? Is housing oriented to families, single people or couples? Is there much stock for sale or rent, and is this housing clustered in some areas or is it dispersed?) Finally, how do community members react to students and perhaps to other strangers?

4

Examine the political characteristics of the community. At election times, these may be quite overt, and the party politics of residents may be evident. More covert evidence of the political clout of the community can be gathered from the overall state of roads, footpaths and parks, street lighting and traffic flows. Political offices for elected representatives and who uses them may also indicate something about the political activity of residents. Source: Adapted from Berg-Weger and Birkenmaier, 2000, pp. 197–198.

FINISHING PLACEMENT At the beginning of placement, it is important for the student and the supervisor to think about how the student will finish the placement, particularly in the context of the student’s work with community members. As a student, you have to consider what, if any, commitment you will maintain with the community once placement is over. It is important not to promise what you cannot deliver. It can be easier at the time to say that you will still be around, rather than deal with your own feelings and the feelings of others if you are leaving the community as well as finishing placement. If you are doing placement in your own community, finishing placement may simply mean that you will have less time and therefore a different level of involvement with the issues. Chapter 18 contains general information about finishing placement.

SUMMARY Community-work practice is an integral part of the delivery of human services, and students will benefit from learning the skills associated with working as part of a team, group or community. Although many community-work skills and methods are used in other types of human services, particular challenges and concerns for students and supervisors are inherent in organisations in which the person that uses the service may also be the boss!

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CHAPTER

Research and policy

11

INTRODUCTION Micro-level interventions such as case work and counselling with individuals, couples and families are common learning tasks on placement, but macro practice often presents conceptual challenges to students both within the classroom and field placements. The reality is that more and more placements will involve aspects of research and policy practice, but the implications of this for teaching and learning on placement are rarely explored in the literature. Macro practice incorporates non-clinical social work tasks, and the focus of change are organisations, institutions, communities, regions and even societies. Policy practice and research practice are interrelated – it is difficult to develop policy without doing research, and most research in human service agencies has policy implications. Examples of policy and research practice include: • researching social policy (e.g. the impact on family members of legislation that relates to decision-making for people with impaired capacity) • • • •

finding evidence to support a particular approach to practice or the evaluation of a program doing action research with a group of residents to decide on the most effective way to resolve a local issue implementing policy that has been formulated as part of a change-management process writing a submission to apply for funding to establish a new service for homeless persons.

WHAT STUDENTS NEED TO KNOW Like other areas of social work practice, policy and research practice focuses on groups of people who share characteristics or space, but it also introduces a whole range of theories and skills about the methods of research and policy. It may also require new skills in writing, analysis and communication. Macro-practice tasks can be relevant to social work student learning on placement but require a balance of the following elements (Fox & Higgins, 2018): • They are developed in relation to an immediate and identifiable client group or target audience • They have a basis in theory, both in relation to the understandings of the population and the justification for the particular activities undertaken • They sit within a legislative, policy and procedural framework • They draw upon and, in some cases extend, agency networks • They refine and demand particular social work skills in order to be completed •

They are under-pinned by appropriate ethics and values. A worker in any human service agency will interact with people who may wear one of many labels, including fellow worker or student, community member, citizen, politician, director, constituent, consumer and client. One of the key learning tasks in relation to project work is to learn about both the range of ways in which we can interact with others and the common base that helps to establish our identity as human services workers.

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If you are a student planning to undertake a placement to develop your research and policy skills, or you are an agency that conducts policy and research work, entirely or in part, the questions in Exercise 11.1 are a useful starting point.

Exercise 11.1 For the supervisor 1 2 3

What is the mix of work usually given to students on placement? Does this represent the full range of work done in the agency? Did you propose that a student on placement would be undertaking a particular policy or research project?

For the student 1 2 3 4

Did you specifically ask for a placement with a policy or research component? Why? What starting points do you have from your studies or other life experiences for this task? How do you expect research to complement your day-to-day activity in the placement? What questions do you have about the agency that might be addressed by research or a policy analysis?

Although policy and research practice share many similarities, there are also important differences, which will be explored in this chapter.

RESEARCH PRACTICE The new ASWEAS practice standards note that new graduates need to ‘understand the role of research and evaluation in assessing and generating new knowledge for practice’ (ASWEAS, 2021). A central requirement for ethical, accountable and competent practice is recognising and demonstrating what knowledge has informed practice decisions. Identifying and evaluating this knowledge should be an important focus of supervision. There are two broad approaches to knowledge used in practice: evidence-based or research minded practice, drawn from empirical studies, and critical reflexive practice, (Chapter 6). In the first the focus is on applying knowledge to practice situations, and in the second the emphasis is on building knowledge and theory from practice experiences. Often both processes interact in tandem, suggesting areas of agreement as well as of contradiction and gaps. A number of factors will influence the nature of research for both the student and field educator. These include: • • •

the agency context and perhaps its funding body its willingness to support the research and any change suggested by the research the socio-political context of current issues and how advantage and disadvantage is shaped and by who • the professional context of not doing harm to the most vulnerable. Practical issues also need to be considered, such as ensuring that the project is manageable in the time available, is properly costed and backed by a clearly written proposal. Recent histories with natural disasters such as floods and bushfires and pandemics such as Covid-19 have highlighted a number of opportunities and challenges for research. Research placements can offer valuable opportunities for learning and research for students and organisations and offer a response to tertiary educators challenged by widespread placement shortages. In particular, the Covid-19 pandemic drastically reduced the number of available placements.

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THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES A recent systematic review investigated the available literature about the outcomes and outputs that are achieved through research placements in order to understand the required processes and assess the viability of research placements (Zuchowski et al., 2020). Students were involved in a range of research activities including: •

research planning activities such as the development of project proposals and research plans, an ethics application; the

•

development and management of a database, a literature review, research implementation through needs assessments and data collection; interview transcription, data entry and analysis and

•

the development, implementation, and evaluation of interventions or programs and

•

participation in policy development. There was a great variety in how research placements were supported and organised. Student supervision was usually provided by

university and organisation staff, or senior students, or by a combination of faculty, field supervisors, and professional service staff. What do you think may have been some of the challenges and opportunities for knowledge development in this mixed agenda?

Research and evaluation Research uses a systematic process to describe, explore or explain social phenomena (Alston & Bowles, 2018). Exploratory research is used when little is known about an issue, descriptive research can be a next step when you seek more detail about what is happening when and to who. Explanatory research investigates the why of the social phenomena you are interested in. Research with descriptive, exploratory or explanative purposes can use quantitative, qualitative methods, or a mixture of both. Evaluative research can use similar methods to research but is mainly concerned with the effectiveness of the program or the intervention in meeting agreed goals. At a micro level of practice, the most common form of evaluation is single-subject design with a single client or group. Data is collected in an agreed format, analysed, and progress noted over time. This may well be completed during a placement. Larger pieces of evaluation focus on the effectiveness of programs, and contributing to this work may be a part of placement

Research to direct practice Most agencies have a considerable amount of data sitting in files that can be used to investigate the dynamics of practice on a case-by-case basis. For example, the agency might be interested in finding out how work is prioritised, and how effective that prioritising is in helping to meet agency objectives. Research might focus on determining the effectiveness of existing programs or collating evidence to guide the development of new programs. Rather than the collection of new data, this may take the form of data mining, or an analysis of existing data to answer research. Auslander and Rosenne (2016) identify a number of types of secondary analysis, including an analysis of public and administrative records, an analysis of case files and the linking of data sets. Increasingly agencies are required to describe outcomes, and data mining is one way of doing this. Research may involve getting information together for a community profile (Chapter 10) or for policy material; or it may describe a practice model or outline the work needed to support a funding submission. Research might focus on determining the effectiveness of existing programs or collating evidence to guide the development of new programs. Rather than the collection of new data, this may take the form of data mining, or an analysis of existing data to answer research. Auslander and Rosenne (2016) identify a number of types of secondary analysis, including an analysis of public and administrative records, an analysis of case files and the linking of data sets. Increasingly agencies are required to describe outcomes, and data mining is one way of doing this.

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The following extract is an example of data mining undertaken in a hospital setting which highlighted the prevalence and characteristics of elder abuse. Full write up can be found in Collins et al. (2020). Social workers at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne used a clinical data mining approach to retrospectively audit electronic medical records containing 466 episodes of care over a five-year period where elder abuse was identified based on a system of alerts. The findings highlight key characteristics of the vulnerable older persons, the perpetrators, their social contexts and interventions undertaken clarifying a range of vulnerability and risk factors in the sample. Audit findings strengthened knowledge and led to improvements in elder abuse responses by social workers which included policy development, training, risk management and safety planning processes, resourcing and research initiatives. This paper describes how social workers engaged in data collection

THEORY TO PRACTICE

and analysis to inform their practice within a health care setting and contributed to service evaluation and improvements. Collins et al. (2020).

The process of doing a secondary analysis is similar to the steps in research outlined below. The main advantage of a secondary analysis is that it is less intrusive in terms of the client group; they are generally of low cost and may yield quite a large number of points of interest. However, missing data can be a significant challenge; there may be data missing from the files reviewed, particularly around the procedures used, and so the interpretation of the information may be unreliable. There may be ethical concerns about using data in this way if using the file information for research was not initially agreed with the client. Nevertheless, a focused secondary analysis can assist students to understand the importance of good records and enhance their evidence base for practice. An agency may believe that a secondary analysis of data or original research will be useful in discerning future directions or providing evidence to support ideas that have emerged from practice. In these situations, research is an adjunct to the core business – delivering a range of services to achieve core outcomes. The need for such research may motivate an agency to request a student on placement, and students will be aware that, in taking this placement, they will conduct at least some research. Alternatively, students may wish to follow up on work done on placement with a piece of research. In any case, the initial step in any research is defining its purpose and the questions you seek to answer – easy to say and generally difficult to do! The type of questions will determine the type of research: are you interested in understanding the experiences of a group (qualitative research), or do you want to predict the outcome of interventions (quantitative research)? The resources available, the audience, the need for ethical approval and the time frame for the work also need to be considered. In the following example, these points had been addressed before the placement began, but issues can still arise!

EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD Students were on placement in an aged-care facility in which the work focused on enhancing the participation

THEORY TO PRACTICE

of residents in the life of the facility. The students were asked to work with a research team to design survey instruments, administer questionnaires, and work on interventions designed to enhance participation. In some ways the work

was no different from that of a typical placement in a residential facility, in terms of working with a group of residents interested in developing relationships with each other, but in other ways it was quite different. The research team was interested in measuring a range of variables before and after intervention, and the measured differences were to be shared publicly. The team had no ongoing commitment to the facility once the research program was concluded. The work was similar to a time-limited intervention; but, because it was conducted within a research rather than a practice paradigm, it seemed to the students to be more public and political. For example, a majority of older people wanted to take more control of who was a member and what activities they would do.

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CHAPTER 11 Research and policy

How would you attempt to resolve this issue? Research work on placement raises particular issues for the placement agency and students and needs to be carefully thought through before students begin the work. Exercise 11.2 identifies some ethical considerations for supervisors and students.

Exercise 11.2 For the supervisor Consider the following questions: 1 What outcomes does the agency want from the research? 2 What issues in terms of ethics, knowledge and skills are inherent in the research and how will these be dealt with? 3 Does the agency need to get additional assistance to carry out the research? 4 Is this research likely to raise expectations that won’t be able to be met in the future?

For the student 1 2 3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

What do you already know about doing research? What, if any, are the gaps in your research knowledge? Are there people at your training institution with whom it would be helpful to consult?

In any research work, it is common for the following steps to be taken: Identify the issue. Identify what is already known about the issue from literature and in practice. Decide what question(s) will be answered. Identify an appropriate way to go about answering the question(s), given what is known about this issue. Identify the resources that will be needed to carry out the research. Apply for ethical clearance if there is any intention to share the findings outside the agency. Gather the information. Analyse the information and share it with the stakeholders. Arrive at a set of conclusions. Publish the results. Many of the issues associated with research on placement overlap those outlined in Chapter 10

about community work placements and those explored in the following discussion of policy practice. The main differences lie in the approach to change in these three areas. Research is used to find out information that will be used in other contexts; the worker is not intervening in the lives of the people they are working with, and the information is added to the broad knowledge base of the issue. In policy practice, the focus is on understanding the issues to determine a way forward with a range of stakeholders.

POLICY PRACTICE The revised ASWEAS (2021) standards outline the following social work graduate attributes: • uphold the rights, dignity and autonomy of all those with whom they work and advocate for and engage in practices to further human rights and social justice understand the higher-level systemic influences on people with respect to areas of practice (pp. 20–21) Social work is concerned not only with individuals but also with their environments. The work we do is fundamentally political. We cannot pursue social justice without recognising the ways in which policies at an organisational, state and federal levels can disenfranchise and marginalise individual and groups (Poulin et al., 2019, p. 205). Policy practice occurs at micro, mezzo and macro levels (Ritter 2013).

•

You are surrounded by the results of policy making in almost all areas of your life – from informal policies in your families or living groups, to formal social policies, such as those that determine your

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access to income support. Your placement agency will have policies on a range of matters, from the legislation or constitution that establishes it as a legal entity to how staff access the photocopier.

Exercise 11.3 For the student In preparation for this section, think about the following questions: 1 What policies are important in defining the terms of your placement? 2 How were these policies, both in the agency and the training institution, developed? 3 What principles would you take into account in evaluating these policies? 4 Do your responses to the previous three questions suggest any changes that need to take place?

For the supervisor 1 2 3

What role will the student take in the policy task (e.g. resource person, document drafter) and what authority will they have? Who else should the student work with? What proportion of the student’s workload will the task be?

The core skills of policy development are similar to those of the broader area of human service practice, but generally involve a wider group of people. Policy work is sometimes more visible and open to scrutiny than interpersonal work, and you might feel that you are less in charge of the process. These core skills are: • the ability to think clearly and to critically analyse information • • • •

the ability to use empirical and demographic information (including literature reviews), as well as subjective knowledge, to clarify issues and assess alternatives the ability to use rational arguments to develop a case and to engage in rational decision-making the ability to communicate and negotiate with people from different backgrounds and with different views the ability to reflect on how personal values affect how a problem or issue is understood. These skills are applied within an understanding of how change occurs. In policy, structural solutions to difficulties that clients or organisations have in common can be

identified. It is one form of a planned approach to change and involves understanding: • the interrelationships between political and economic processes within and outside your agency • the processes by which power is distributed within organisations • the existing constraints and control mechanisms • the worker’s experience of these issues in his or her everyday working life (Rees, 1991, p. 104). The development of policy involves recognising the political dimensions of the issues individuals or organisations face and thinking strategically about the solution to these issues. This analysis may be carried out by a combination of workers, other experts and those who experience the issues. A decision about who should be involved in this stage of policy development is often based on an assessment of what strategies are likely to be effective. Some strategies that can be used are: • policy analysis that includes ‘clarifying the policy, understanding its context and impact and identifying and analysing different options’ (McClelland & Marston, 2014, p. 46) • policy development and implementation, including timelines and evaluation • legislative advocacy • reform through litigation • social action. What strategies for change should be used? What course of action is most likely to achieve the stated objectives?

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CHAPTER 11 Research and policy

The strategies adopted are linked to a range of ways of achieving change. The preconditions for selecting an approach can be described as follows: • Cooperation: There is substantial agreement about outcomes and what is the best way forward. Strategies include rational planning, research, consensus decision-making, using group dynamics, and undertaking community work and community and organisational research. •

•

Campaign: There is no consensus, but it is believed that agreement could be achieved by some form of persuasion. Strategies include advocacy, research, education, consciousness-raising, rational persuasion and lobbying. Contest: There is basic disagreement over outcomes. Strategies include research, organising groups committed to change, building a base in terms of resources and influence, appealing to third parties, and disruption to established patterns of doing business.

Exercise 11.4 For the student 1 2 3

Which of these strategies are you most comfortable with and why? What previous experiences do you have that could be identified with one of these approaches? What is going to be the biggest challenge for you in policy work?

Political realities Policy formulation is always a matter of compromise between opposing views and hence is a fundamentally political process. Supervisors, and therefore students, are constrained by the need to avoid unnecessary conflict and to ensure that a range of needs are met so that the policy has a reasonable chance of being accepted and implemented. In the non-government sector, there may be more freedom to negotiate policy that represents a range of views. Whatever the outward appearance, policy is always a compromise at best and an exercise in power at worst. For students on placements with a policy focus, it can be difficult to come to terms with the necessary compromises. The impact of differences in power is a feature of all forms of human service practice and, in the context of policy work, students are forced to confront this reality directly. Supervisors and students have to confront the power that others wield. This can have an impact on how learning is constructed on placement or on the opportunities that are available to learn in this context. It may be the case that writing policy encourages a close exploration of the nature of conflict. It may encourage a study of the nature of compromise, or it may encourage a deep understanding of the benefits of cooperation.

Teaching and learning policy skills Policy work is different in a number of ways from other forms of human service practice; however, the basic principles that underpin assessment and intervention and the need for critical reflection also apply to policy work. What is different is the technical nature of the task, particularly the writing skills needed, the need to deal with issues at a macro- rather than micro-level and, perhaps, the nature of relationships that workers form to get the job done. As in other practice, policy work provides opportunities to reflect on the relationship between processes and outcomes, the way workers make use of themselves, and the way they see the connection between individuals and their social environment. Jansson (2008) identifies six policy practice stages of planning in which students and staff sequentially engage: agenda building, analysing problems, writing proposals, enacting policy, implementing policy and policy assessment. Medina (2010) advocates the use of a form of process recording to record and evaluate the development of policy skills. The process is first introduced with a recording of: • the purpose of the interaction being reported • the goals and objectives of the meeting • a description of the environment/context/stage of policy planning. Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

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She then uses a form of reporting similar to that proposed in Think Sheets or Log Sheets (see Chapter 8). Table 11.1 demonstrates an analysis of a small part of the process using the headings suggested by Medina (2010, p. 36). Table 11.1 Using a form to structure reflection Dialogue

Cognitive analysis

Affective analysis

Reflective skills

Supervisor’s comments

The chair is trying to tighten control over the agenda. This seemed to cut off discussion about what we should focus on and highlighted a Member 1: Maybe we potential power need more time, I don’t struggle between the think we have covered Chair and Member 2. all the options. Chair: We really have to stop raising new issues and make a commitment to a way forward.

Member 2: I think we should frame the issue in terms of reducing violence in families – that will make our focus clearer – we cannot deal with all the options.

The challenge from Member 2 changed the tone of the meeting. I was concerned they might pull me into it, because we had been talking about DV just before the meeting. I thought Member 2’s focus was appropriate but seemed to disrespect the views of others.

This is the third meeting of the group and we still do not have a clear focus. Being so undecided is difficult for me, but at the same time my position as a student makes me reluctant to jump in with my ideas. I felt pretty stuck, not knowing what to do.

These are reasonable comments, but you could focus more on what was happening in the group as a whole. To what extent does this reflect the process of the group’s development or is it something else? How powerful do you think Member 2 is in the group and why? How sure are people of their various roles in the group?

Source: Adapted from Medina (2010), p. 36

The following example is of a more freestyle analysis of an interaction related to negotiating a policy task within a large organisation. It shows how personalities and structures interconnect.

THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES The interaction took place at a meeting following a workshop that I had organised to consult with staff who

THEORY TO PRACTICE

had practical experience in (the issue under consideration). These staff members, who came from city, rural and remote offices for the day, had shown an interest in being involved in the development of relevant resources. All the staff were very interested. However, before I could even finish, Paul interrupted, stating that there was no need for a manual and that it would never be read anyway, as the staff did not have time to read more information. He knew how to run a program to respond to the issue for his region. And he hated manuals! I felt very uncomfortable; I felt that his comments were directed to me, although in reality I knew better. However, I did feel annoyed that I was put in this position early in my placement and was therefore perhaps unaware of some underlying historical issues. I felt that it was possibly due to my student status and that I was seen to be coming from an academic position without experience in an area in which he was confident. Also, it seemed as though he thought that I was trying to impose my ideas and more work on already overworked staff when I was only doing what I had been asked to do. Thinking things through in this way helped me to see that there were many factors at work in Paul’s response, and the next interaction was easier. Paul, at a meeting in his office, showed me the resource he had already developed. This was enormously helpful to me as I could now clearly envisage the flow of systems that were required. Paul, I think, now saw the value of his knowledge and how it would be beneficial to staff in other regions. I was also able to explain how we envisaged the format of the guidelines, and Paul realised that it was going to be divided into smaller units for ease of use and not the large manual that he had envisaged.

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From listening to Paul, it became apparent to me that his own work role was incredibly busy, and I was able to gain some understanding about other issues impacting on his daily work. He said that he had been frustrated at having to spend time at the workshop the previous week, as he essentially saw it as going over issues that he had sorted out within his region. The meeting ended with the relationship intact, and we now understood each other’s position.

In addition to requiring the analytical skills mentioned earlier, policy practice requires good interpersonal skills, which are used to achieve shared tasks. It is important to identify processes and skills used in the interpersonal aspect of policy practice, just as you would if you were thinking about interpersonal work. The political nature of policy work – in terms of who has power, and how power is exercised – impacts on identifying what is possible and will influence what supervisors will be prepared to let students do. The process of teaching in policy practice is likely to have a strong didactic element, in which students are given specific directions about sensitive issues, rather than being left to explore for themselves. Supervisors are likely to have a clear idea about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ in terms of practice, and agencies will have a valued way of doing things, which will influence the learning process. That is, students learn to do what is required, as well as learn about developing policy. In policy practice, students need to learn to interact with others, identify options from which choices can be made, and analyse why certain outcomes were achieved. Supervisors can use reflective techniques to encourage this learning. Practitioners’ networks are often central to the effectiveness of policy practice, and supervisors may encourage students to be active in developing their own networks, as well as introducing students to their own contacts. Developing networks requires specific skills, and students are more likely to learn these skills if they are explicitly discussed. Students can watch their supervisor in action in meetings or on the phone. Learning from these observations can be maximised if there is a clear agenda about what skills students should observe. In some agencies, students may be asked to operate more independently, perhaps working directly with the management committee. In this case, it is essential that students are given very clear guidelines and have access to regular and timely supervision from the person who takes ultimate responsibility for the work.

Exercise 11.5

THEORY TO PRACTICE

For the student 1 2 3

Which of your identified learning styles will best fit with your understanding of policy work? What areas of policy work are likely to be challenging? How will you deal with this?

As with community work, it is important for students to have a defined policy task that might be part of a larger project. As far as possible, students should be involved in the initial conceptualisation of the project; however, if the project has already started when students begin placement, they will need to be filled in about what has happened to this point. The type of placement agency will determine the range of approaches students can take to policy practice. In government departments, students are most unlikely to be involved in social action, and the change strategies used will be mainly cooperation, or perhaps coercion. In an advocacy organisation, the whole range of strategies may be available.

Writing policy Students may need to become skilled at writing policy. Policy writing typically has a number of phases: first, proposing that the work should be done; second, preparing working documents for consultation; finally, presenting the finished policy. Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

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Agencies usually have pro forma documents for presenting policies. Such documents are brief statements of who has responsibility to ensure particular outcomes are achieved or of the circumstances that must be satisfied before particular actions can be taken. They may have longer appendices that outline the ways in which the policy can be put into practice. Once approval has been given to proceed, the next task is to work with stakeholders to develop the policy. In your agency, how possible is it to involve the people who will be affected by the policy in the task of setting the policy? If it is difficult, what steps can you take to try to ensure that the policy will be acceptable to them? The information about recording methods in Chapters 8 and 10 is relevant here, as it is important to record the processes of consultation and the decisions that are reached. The form of reporting will be decided in part by the committee or authority responsible for the worker. In a typical human service agency, workers mostly will be required to write reports on current programs and proposals for new programs. The proposal format might be similar to one used to propose a project to a management group in an organisation. The areas that need to be covered may be presented in a variety of ways. The following format, similar to that used in government departments, includes a section in which the results of consultation with others are outlined, and identifies further consultation that needs to occur after the proposal is put. Figure 11.1 Format for a policy proposal Executive management – XX department Authority to commence with [title of major project or policy initiative] Agenda item no.:

Meeting date:

Background 1 2 Assumptions 3 4 Results of consultation and advice including implications (Results of consultation with internal and external stakeholders) 5 6 7 Further consultation to occur 8 9 Risk management 10 Risks that have been identified as requiring specific management and how they will be managed are as follows: 11 This risk will be managed by: Approvals 12 Action officer

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Name

(Telephone number)

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Figure 11.2 Standard proposal headings Proposal 1

Objectives of the proposal

2 3

Summary of events that have led to this proposal Advancement of the organisation’s mission and values

4

Time frame

5 6

Human resource requirements Extra costs and source of funds

7

Interest groups affected and their views

8 9

Accordance with government policy, legislation and funding conditions Compliance with current strategic plan

10 Impact of the proposal on the service and its clients 11 Date of commencement 12 Proposed publicity 13 Recommendations (in the form of a motion for the meeting).

Not all proposals would use all of these headings. Here is a more detailed format. Figure 11.3 Expanded proposal headings Proposal 1 2

Project name Project scope (define project parameters)

3

Project outcomes

4 5

Project outputs Links to strategic plan

6

Project methodology:

7

– –

milestones time frame including end date

–

communications strategy

– –

ethical considerations evaluation and review

Project management structure A project sponsor must be identified and any structures for project management, steering or reference groups must be described, including the following information:

8

–

role

– –

responsibilities membership

–

meeting schedule

– authorisation and reporting Project time frame

Phase

9

Name

Time frame

Name

Time frame

Resourcing

Phase

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Whatever format is used, the hallmarks of successful project or policy writing are brevity, clear expression and coherence, and it should be written in the third person (e.g., It was decided that …). The aim is to ensure that readers are clear enough about the issues to make an informed decision. Exercise 11.6 offers an effective way to summarise learning from policy work on placement.

Exercise 11.6

THEORY TO PRACTICE

Policy ‘hot topic’ For the student This exercise can be an enjoyable and interesting one, best done once you have been on placement for at least 40 days or so. This is useful to do individually or in groups of students. In a group, you can challenge one another to think more deeply, and consolidate your confidence and sense of self-efficacy. The exercise aims to enable you to: • build understanding of the policy context in which your agency sits • give a space to articulate and examine your views and identify how these are consistent with or contradict the knowledge and values of the agency and the wider community • consider the ‘bigger picture’ outside of your own team or project • develop some professional ‘detective’ work, such as learning how to tactfully ask skilful questions and look behind the scenes at different viewpoints • gain experience in leveraging the knowledge you developed in this exercise to work more effectively for the remainder of the placement. This exercise is in two parts: Part 1 1 2 3 4

5 6

In supervision, brainstorm the legislation, procedural and policy knowledge you are drawing on in placement. Describe the main parts of the laws, procedures and policies, off the top of your head. It is OK to make mistakes and be unsure about how pieces of the picture fit together at this stage. Imagine that a media contact has contacted you to discuss a ‘hot topic’ in your agency. Brainstorm a suitable topic or issue and where to get current information. Reflect on aspects of the topic you need to find out more about. In preparation for the next supervision, read relevant information to develop your knowledge about this hot topic. This might include: a informative newspaper or journal articles b any other pieces of information you can access (e.g. AASW code of ethics, agency manuals, annual reports etc.). If possible, arrange brief meetings with key colleagues about this hot topic before the next supervision, seeking both professional and personal views on the topic. Bring this together for the next supervision session to present a five-minute synthesis of your learning for your supervisor. You could also present this synthesis to a group of students.

Part 2 1

2

One to two weeks later, present on this hot topic for five minutes. In doing so: a briefly describe the issue b summarise what you now know about the issue c outline your personal and professional views on this hot topic. Ask your audience to play a role, such as ‘average joe’ or ‘media rep’. If working as part of a group, allocate the listeners to several different roles so your supervisor can provide summative feedback at the end.

For the supervisor As you listen to the presentation, consider and be ready to talk about your reaction to it. In particular, as ‘average joe’ or ‘media rep’: 1 how convincing do you find the student’s presentation? 2 are there gaps in the way they have addressed the topic? 3 what would you like to know more about?

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SUMMARY It is often the case that a placement has some component of policy and research work. The skills in communication, writing, reflection, research and social action that students develop from being involved in policy writing or research projects are invaluable in all human service work. It is important not to lose sight of the broader policy, organisational and community issues that set the parameters for work with individuals or constrict or enhance the capacity of individuals to live as fully participating members of society. Placement is a good place to start tackling the social face of individual issues.

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12

Rural and international placements INTRODUCTION This chapter is divided into two sections: rural and overseas placements. Rural practice in human services usually takes place in the context of geographic communities at a distance from major urban areas. In Australia, one of the most urbanised countries, only a third of the population lives outside the three main coastal strip areas. Indigenous people comprise one per cent of the population in major cities but three per cent in regional areas, six per cent in outer regional areas, 15 per cent in remote areas and 49 per cent in very remote areas (Baxter et al., 2011, p. 2). A significant minority of students come from rural areas and may seek local or urban placements. Moving for placement provides significant social, emotional and economic challenges as well opportunities. Both sites can provide opportunities for innovative service development (Gartshore et al., 2018) and the rural and remote placements frequently require the development of off-site supervision (Jones-Mutton et al., 2015). Rural areas traditionally have been defined by a mix of spatial and cultural criteria and by the relative inaccessibility to services. It is generally agreed that rurality is associated with distance and low population density, which means that there is a relatively small number of people with whom you repeatedly come in contact. What may start as weak relationships or ties by individual choice, can become stronger because of the circumstances in which people live in rural settings. This affects how human service workers are expected to treat community members – to maintain confidences, to relate to community members in a friendly way and to join in the social and economic life of the community. Pugh and Cheers (2010) summarise research on the common dynamics of rural communities and suggest there are significant forces that ‘discourage divisive or unmanageable conflict’ (p. 27). ‘Rurality’ offers different opportunities and limits for human service practice in rural communities. Rural areas, of course, are not all the same; however, overall, they tend to have lower standards of health and education, lower income levels and higher rates of suicide than urban areas. Some rural areas are further disadvantaged by rural restructuring, recession and cutbacks to service provision (Green, 2003, p. 209). Other areas are doing well, growing in population and economic activity, and expanding their social infrastructure. In recent years, an increasing number of students have been requesting overseas placements. Students are more aware of the international environment and the burgeoning need for social development workers; others wish to expand their global understanding. Many others wish to respond to urgent humanitarian crises following wars and natural disasters. In addition, large numbers of international students and others with travel and life experience have requested opportunities to explore the application of skills and knowledge gained from an international placement. The advantages of a global environment, and the technological capacity to communicate easily, have also made the overseas placement a more viable option for students. However, Covid has limited the availability of overseas placements since 2020. Students are not able to travel overseas for placement and most international placements are of international students in their home countries. The new ASWEAS (2021) guidelines reiterate that students may only do one international placement.

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CHAPTER 12 Rural and international placements

RURAL PRACTICE A rural placement generally requires careful planning by both supervisors and students. The questions in Exercise 12.1 are useful starting points.

Exercise 12.1 For the student 1 2 3 4

What is the make-up of the population in your rural area or placement location? What cultural criteria define your placement community? What do you see as the major challenges and strengths for practice in your area? Averett, Carawan & Burroughs (2012) suggest that from their research students need to be ‘open flexible, self-directed and maverick in personality’ (p. 75). Is this you?

For the supervisor 1 2 3

What are your motivations for offering a placement – what do you expect to achieve by doing this? What level of support is there for you and your student – practically and professionally? What arrangements are possible for links with the training body or with colleagues during the placement?

It has been argued that human services practice in rural areas has developed as a distinctive form of practice because of the demands it makes on workers, such as the development of a generalist practice framework and skills (Bay, 2012), and the lifestyle and challenges provided by work in small rural communities (e.g. Pugh & Cheers, 2010). Howard et al. (2016) note from their research that human service work in rural, regional and remote contexts ‘calls for a certain type of integrated, hands-on, independent, self-aware, reflective practitioner’ (p. 103). Writers suggest that rural practitioners are expected to work across a wide range of fields and methods, in a broad context of human services, rather than becoming more specialised and focused. It is a form of practice that is community oriented – the practitioner is a part of a community and the work done is shared with the community. This work focuses on horizontal linkages that encourage social cohesion and resource development and provide an essential resource base for practice. However, it is also important to understand and work with vertical linkages between the community and a range of government, non-government and economic activities. In rural practice, boundaries between practitioners and clients can be blurred (e.g. a worker may discuss with a family their struggles with their child with a disability while at work, and then later call on one of the family to fix their plumbing). The community-oriented nature of practice can also be challenging when working with statutory clients or perpetrators of violence. In this context, the worker is clearly an agent of social control as well as someone who is facilitative and empowering. It is challenging for workers to take an empowering approach while in a position of social control. Our behaviour as practitioners and as community members always occurs in a political context. The practitioner is trying to be proactive and preventative, to keep abreast of emerging issues, to work with others to identify strategies, and to help build the social infrastructure that enables communities to respond effectively to threats and opportunities. It follows that rural practice requires multiskilled generalist practitioners who are politically astute and able to work with a wide range of life situations and to use methods that range from counselling to social planning and research.

STARTING OUT The points raised in Chapter 4 about starting placement are, of course, relevant. There are also some factors for both the supervisor and student in rural placements to consider, including a consideration of how supervision is to be provided and working at a distance from other workers or from clients. Starting placement is often a stressful time. When you are living in a new community as well as working in a new setting, the process of adaptation, both personally and professionally, is often more difficult. Try not to feel overwhelmed when everyone except you seems to know everyone else Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

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and knows what to do. Normal social skills – demonstrating interest in others, being a good listener, sharing something of yourself, being prepared to ask for advice – will stand you in good stead as you begin a rural placement. Take time to settle into your life in the town, as well as into placement. It is often helpful to join groups in town that match your interests, as well as seeking out others in a similar position to yourself. For students from rural areas, the process of adaptation may not be so great; however, if you are a member of the placement community, it may be difficult to change your identity to that of human services student. You bring your history and knowledge of the area and its people. Your level of comfort is probably partly what enabled you to ask for a placement in the town in the first place; nevertheless, you may find it more difficult than you thought to relate to people in your hometown as a student on placement. For example, people you went to school with may be clients of your agency, or you may have to exercise authority over those you have seen as authority figures in the past. All students benefit from some support at this time. It is a good idea to identify people in your network, inside and outside the community, with whom you can discuss issues, let off steam, or talk about something else entirely!

Off-site and on-site supervision A number of human service agencies in rural, regional and remote areas do not have social workers on staff (Jones-Mutton et al., 2015) and placements may be set up where the supervisor is external to the agency and often the town. It is important for the external supervisor to know the agency work, culture and atmosphere to help facilitate student learning (Zuchowski, 2016) and to build effective relationships between supervisors and with students. In Zuchowski’s study, external supervisors spent more time on preparation for supervision and in discussion with students than was reported for internal supervision. Overall, external supervisors focused on the students’ frameworks for practice that linked to their learnings from interactions and growing identity as social workers. ASWEAS (2021) standards note that students should only have one placement that is externally supervised. Jones-Mutton et al. (2015) summarise the advantages of ‘supervision at a distance’ as reducing the power imbalance between student and supervisor and hence increasing the level of emotional support, building community capacity, promoting the profile of the host agency and developing the supervisor’s skills and career (p. 86). As in any off-site supervision arrangement, clear boundaries need to be drawn around the areas of responsibility of the external supervisor relative to the agency staff, and in relation to monitoring student performance and taking responsibility for student work. It may be organised so that the external supervisor provides the student with the opportunity to learn from placement experiences and does not have administrative responsibility for the student’s work. In most instances, external supervision is used when internal supervision is not available. Studies (e.g. Cleak & Smith, 2012) show that students have a strong preference for on-site supervision where possible. These authors found that students with on-site supervision were more likely to feel competent, have a greater range of learning opportunities and developed a social work identity. There are challenges with external supervision for all players. For the external supervisor, these include not being able to easily observe the student’s practice and not being available at key times for the student. For the agency, issues may relate to maintaining confidentiality of their activities, or to differences of opinion around work plans or the type of student work. For the student, issues include balancing the demands of an external supervisor with those of a task supervisor, concerns about their evaluation by task supervisors, and understanding what information will be shared. These issues make it essential that off-site supervision arrangements are transparent and agreed. Some rural placements may offer this resource, particularly in health services. You will find there are particular protocols to follow to promote a safe and confidential environment for those you work with.

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CHAPTER 12 Rural and international placements

Exercise 12.2 For the student 1 2 3

What resources do you bring to this rural placement? What do you think might be the biggest challenge for you on placement? Are there any issues you should share with your supervisor(s) to assist them in helping you make the most of placement?

For an on-site supervisor 1 2 3

Who are the people the student needs to meet early in placement? Are there any agendas running between your agency and parts of the community that the student should know about? Are there specific projects for the student and how will you share work with them?

For an external supervisor 1 2 3

How will you understand the context for the student’s placement? How will you work together with the on-site supervisor? What are the arrangements for sharing information on the student’s performance?

Working at a distance from clients and other workers Rural areas generally do not have access to the same range of service resources as are found in urban areas. Consequently, services have developed with virtual teams of professionals built around specific individuals to provide advice on future action (Beddoe & Burley, 2012). These authors point out that rural practice offers excellent opportunities for inter-professional collaboration and practice and innovative solutions. Alternatively, services such as telehealth are provided directly via the internet (Bryant et al., 2015). Social work has been relatively slow to adopt the possibilities of digital communication, perhaps because of concerns regarding informed consent, client confidentiality and a perceived downplaying of the importance of the client–worker relationship in practice (Bryant et al., 2015, p. 5). In contrast, the use of technology has been argued to help some people feel emotionally safer (Callahan & Inckle, 2012).

Getting to know your community If you are entering the community for the first time, this process is likely to be different than if you already have established links. If you are new in town, you will need to get advice from your supervisor about who to talk to and where information about the town is kept. Exercise 12.3 focuses on the features of the community that will be important to understand. It will be helpful also to read about ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’ in the section of Chapter 10 titled ‘The political realities’.

Exercise 12.3 For the student To start to understand your community, think about the following questions: 1 Is your community growing, staying the same or shrinking? 2 How heterogeneous or homogeneous is your community? 3 Are some groups in your community worse off than others? 4 What impact does this have for them and for your agency? 5 What is the basis for the networks of relationships in your community (e.g. religion, length of time in the area, business links and school)? 6 How do you know the answer to question 5? 7 Are others likely to have a different view to you on issues?

To answer these questions, you need to make an assessment of your community, paying attention to geographical, economic, social and political characteristics. It would be a good idea to

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refer to the section ‘Community profiles’ in Chapter 10. In your assessment, you are trying to identify who lives in the community, who has power and what are the networks. As with any assessment, you need to decide the reason for doing it. For example, you may want to determine the needs or issues of a particular group. You then assess the community from the perspective of this group, paying attention to the impact this group has on others. In this process, remember to take account of where you fit in the community, to explore whether you have particular agendas or biases. For instance, you might be hoping to solve a particular community problem, such as getting a refuge for women escaping from domestic violence, and this agenda will filter the information you see as relevant.

Exercise 12.4 For the student 1 2 3 4 5 6

How do you think others in the community see you? What sorts of issues are community members likely to tell you? What sort of information may they withhold, intentionally or not? What biases do you have that will filter out some information but perhaps magnify other information? What knowledge and skills do you have, and how will these impact on your assessment of the community? What evidence do you have to support your assessment? What makes you confident that your assessment will be a suitable basis for ongoing work?

It is important to help students discover their own perspective and find the information necessary for their assessment. Students should ensure that they have evidence to support their assessment – their initial ideas should be checked with others who have alternative views.

THE ISSUES FOR PLACEMENT Two broad aspects of rural practice affect rural placements, and both relate to ethics. It is sometimes suggested that professional codes of ethics are not always useful in rural practice because of the blurring of workers’ roles. The 2020 review of the Australian Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics does not address rurality in particular, but the preamble acknowledging Indigenous Australians as the first Australians, sections 5.5.4 on remote service delivery (via telephone, email, etc.), and 5.1.6 on professional boundaries and dual relationships are helpful in this context. It is important for supervisors on rural placements to articulate the ethical standards that are expected of students, since it cannot be assumed that those covered in the course will be entirely appropriate. First, as stated previously, rural workers belong to a community in which they both live and work. They have to manage their work in complex networks of relationships, which provide opportunities to develop relationships that are reciprocal and mutual. They have less privacy than may be the case in urban environments, and this also may be true for clients of the service. Students have to be prepared to use, and work with, the community’s wisdom, experience and values. Second, there are often too few services in general and specialised services in particular. This means workers need to be more generalist and have a broader range of skills and knowledge than their city counterparts, who can more easily refer to more specialised colleagues or other occupational groups. Rural practice students might struggle to meet the needs and demands of individuals yet find it hard to refuse service even when they are very busy, because there may be nowhere else for people to go. There are also practical matters to consider. It is less likely that qualified staff will be available to supervise, and they are more likely to have limited time to devote to supervision. Student placements will often be in a setting with limited resources, and therefore the supervisor and student will need to be innovative in creating student projects and establishing creative ways to problemsolve and learn. Both aspects of rural practice have positive as well as challenging sides for supervisors and students, as highlighted in Exercise 12.5.

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THEORY TO PRACTICE

Exercise 12.5 For the student and supervisor

It would be a good idea to do a ‘strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT)’ analysis of your situation in relation to a particular issue. At each end of one axis write strengths and weaknesses (in the person, situation or relationship), and on the intersecting axis, write opportunities and threats (in terms of progress, learning and change).

strengths

S

W

weaknesses

SWOT Analysis

opportunities

O

T

threats

Once you have written your responses in each of the quadrants, think about how you might minimise the threats and maximise the opportunities, by working with the strengths to limit the impact of the weaknesses.

The following ‘Thinking about the issues’ feature shows how an agency uses a SWOT analysis in developing its response to issues of flexible childcare in the local area.

THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES •

Strengths: People know each other; women need childcare to take advantage of work opportunities; the local

THEORY TO PRACTICE

church is interested in auspicing a child-care service. •

Weaknesses: People might learn too much about private family business; parents may not be willing or able to pay for childcare; it is not easy to get trained staff.

•

Opportunities: There is funding available; the service will support stressed families as well as working parents; childcare can provide children with a wider range of role models and some protection if abuse is suspected; it will be an opportunity for local people to develop the service they want.

•

Threats: It challenges the role of women and their extended families in the town; the funding guidelines may not suit local needs; the demands of running the program might exceed the capacity of the auspicing church body.

Exercise 12.6 For the students and supervisor How could you use the strengths in this situation to counteract the weaknesses, and use the opportunities provided to respond to the threats?

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Other issues Some of the issues that commonly arise in rural placements are outlined below. These include the maintenance of professional and personal boundaries, confidentiality and anonymity, and things to be considered in joining in community activities. The political dimensions of placement, generalist or multi-skilled practice, and personal safety are also important. Consider whether these issues relate to your placement and think about other issues as they arise.

Professional and personal boundaries Rural practice raises issues about what are appropriate boundaries between workers and clients. People who are clients of a service may also be committee members or fellow parents at school. Workers and clients may have multiple roles as citizens in the community, and the boundaries between these roles may be blurred. Workers and clients will get to know much more about each other than may be the case in larger communities with looser networks. Learning to deal with this blurring of roles is an important task for rural placements. In taking students on placement, supervisors are overseeing the introduction of a new, temporary worker into the agency, and they need to consider how able the agency is to incorporate the student into the agency and the community. Supervisors may need to specify particular tasks and identify particular people with whom students can work to assist them to integrate. Exercise 12.7 helps students and supervisors to think about the key issues and some strategies.

Exercise 12.7 For the student 1 2

Would it make a difference if clients were primarily known to you or primarily known to your extended family? Why? What general strategies will help you to deal with this blurring of roles?

For the supervisor 1 2

What are the boundaries for the student in terms of your relationship with them, the student’s relationship with clients, and the student’s role in the broader community? What strategies can you offer to the student that will help him or her to deal with the blurring of roles?

It is important for students and supervisors to be very clear about the ways in which roles and boundaries are blurred and to be able to raise the matter when either feels that the boundaries need to be strengthened. A supervisor is likely to get feedback from others in the town about how the student is going, particularly if the student is a stranger in town and is not cushioned by his or her own networks. How are you, as student or supervisor, going to cope with this feedback? Is it different from the feedback supervisors in another setting would receive from other workers in the agency?

Confidentiality In rural practice, confidentiality is particularly crucial. If you undertake to maintain a client’s confidentiality, you must do so; don’t make promises in this regard if they are not within your power to keep. In promising to maintain confidentiality, you also need to take account of your responsibility to community members. For example, a teacher who refers a child to your agency might want to know if the child turned up. What are the implications of telling them or not? Agencies must ensure that private information is not accessible to staff who have no need to know that information. In your work you are likely to make use of formal and informal resources in the community, and you will need to be accountable for their use to relevant individuals and groups in the community. This will need to be taken into account when entering into agreements about the confidentiality of all client information. For example, what information should an agency give to the local council that provides the agency with a house for use as a refuge for women?

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CHAPTER 12 Rural and international placements

Exercise 12.8 For the student and supervisor Think about how your agency deals with confidentiality. 1 What are the guidelines about confidentiality in your agency? 2 How does the rural context influence the guidelines? 3 How do these guidelines relate to student placements? 4 Do the guidelines cover situations that might arise in rural settings when public information about a client is incorrect and is potentially damaging to them? 5 If your placement agency is a government service, do the guidelines vary for rural practice?

Anonymity and joining the community In rural settings, it can be difficult to be anonymous when you are not at work but are out alone or with others doing the shopping or perhaps having one too many drinks at the club. This means that, as a human service worker or student, you probably will have less freedom to do as you like and maintain your professional identity. Students and supervisors should consider the extent to which students’ behaviour outside placement is raised for discussion in supervision. On the positive side, joining with the community, rather than being isolated, offers the potential to work more effectively with community members, including clients. You are trying to cross the boundary between ‘us’ and ‘them’. If you are new to town, some of the ways to settle in on placement include: • demonstrating interest in issues that unite people in the town and trying to avoid those that are divisive – certainly at the start • complying with group norms as far as is possible within the context of your own standards • highlighting the aspects of your personality, skills and lifestyle that are similar to those of the community you are seeking to join.

Exercise 12.9 For the student 1 2

Can you think of particular situations in which you have been, or could be, proactive about joining with the community? What constrains you from joining the community, and what encourages you?

The political dimensions of practice Human service workers are concerned with issues of social justice, which may bring them into conflict with vested interests in the community. For example, if you support a wife to leave her abusive husband and he is a prominent leader in the community, you may find your organisation comes under fire from a powerful group in the community. Similarly, if you don’t support a disempowered group to tackle an important but potentially divisive issue, your ability to attract support for future projects may be jeopardised. The literature suggests that workers adopt a community perspective and a strategic approach to all their work which requires you to understand the power structures in the community, how and where decisions are made, who has influence in relation to particular issues, and what issues divide or unite the community. As a student you are usually relatively powerless in the placement agency, and you may not believe you are able to influence decisions. Exercise 12.10 helps students and supervisors to explore the issue of power further. These issues can be tricky for supervisors because they want to ensure that students have the authority to manage tasks, although the students do not have the final responsibility.

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Exercise 12.10 For the student 1 2 3

How much power do you think you have to influence decisions in your agency and in the community? In your SWOT analysis in Exercise 12.5, did you identify any ways in which you might be a threat to your organisation or the community? How do you plan to minimise any such threats?

For the supervisor Your agency may have a protocol for dealing with people with positional power in the community. 1 How will you convey this protocol to the student? 2 What should a student do if he or she is approached by a community member with positional power? 3 How will you take responsibility for the student’s work in this context?

Generalist and multiskilled practice Green (2003, p. 210) suggests that workers in rural practice need a wide knowledge base that includes economics and politics, rural sociology and geography, as well as knowing about a range of intervention strategies. Other ideas include: • Do you feel you have sufficient knowledge in these areas? • Where do you need to develop your knowledge? •

How will you gather this material in your placement? Consider the following example of practice to develop a remote-area dementia service in one Australian state. The area covers 414 162 square kilometres, has 30 local government authorities and a population of about 234 000 people, with half living in a large regional town. The author worked for a large state-wide non-government provider of residential and community-based aged care.

EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD The need for some form of respite service emerged from work with individuals. Once this need was identified, the agency decided on an appropriate model. It evaluated this model in terms of its ability to support existing care networks and to fit a range of lifestyles of clients. The agency also evaluated whether the model would be acceptable to carers, older people and service providers. They chose the primary health care approach, which emphasises client choice and self-management, and works with a wide variety of existing ‘service providers’ (including the school bus, the mental health team and local hotels). The way forward was to build on local resources; hence, close working relationships were established with existing services to avoid duplication and to access local knowledge. The agency used an advocacy approach with funding bodies to persuade them to fund a program that was somewhat outside the standard guidelines. The funding application was based on research about what had and had not worked previously in local communities and consultation with a range of local people. An advisory committee was set up to give people from different communities a forum for participating in the planning for the program. A satellite model for outreach services as outlined by Humphreys, Mathews-Cowey and Rolley (1996) was selected, funding for four years was obtained, and the service was established. Its worker is located in a small town with back-up from the regional centre, resourced with appropriate transport, communication technology and flexible funding, so, for example, local part-time carers can be paid for when needed. There is ongoing critical evaluation of the service, which involves keeping good data and regularly analysing it. It means that when the service cannot meet needs, it can advocate for change at the political level and modify the service model (Miller, 1999).

Consider the questions in Exercise 12.11, which are based on the ‘Experience from the field’ example.

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CHAPTER 12 Rural and international placements

Exercise 12.11 For the student 1 2 3 4 5

What knowledge did the agency need to develop the model for practice? What skills did the agency require? If you were in the agency’s position, what would you have found the most difficult thing to do? Why? What would have been the easiest? Why? What do your answers suggest about your current knowledge of and skills for rural practice?

Individual members of the community may bring issues to rural workers that stretch their professional skills. In the city, workers can refer clients to a range of specialised services to support their own work and rural practitioners may use technology to access similar resources. Rural workers develop skills and expertise over time that may exceed those of their urban counterparts. Rural people may face issues similar to those facing urban people (e.g. the need for respite services as outlined in the example above); however, the implications of these issues for people and the options available to them may be quite different, and this will affect the way you work with them. Residents may be relative newcomers or be well established members of the community. How might any different expectations and experiences impact on your placement? You may have to rely heavily on your supervisor’s experience of adapting inherently city-based models of intervention to a rural setting. Thinking about the previous example, how might your work to establish a respite service be different if you were located in a large city? How would it be the same? Having the opportunity to reflect on practice and discuss issues may be harder for students in rural placements, and the training institution may be too distant for regular visits by the liaison person. Students may need to use telephone conferences as a way of maintaining contact if face-toface meetings are hard to arrange.

Personal safety A potential issue for rural practitioners is that of personal safety for themselves and their families. In an environment where ‘everyone knows everyone else’s business’, disputes that clients or community members may have with individual workers can escalate quickly. In their study of rural welfare and social workers in Western Victoria in fields of practice labelled ‘controversial’ or ‘conflictual’ (including corrections, child protection, mental health, or those that threaten community views on women or children), Green et al. (2003) found that reports of violence and harassment were significantly high. Further, the violence was not generally talked about or acknowledged as an issue that needed to be dealt with (p. 95). For staff and for students on placement, this needs to be challenged for the future wellbeing of all concerned. It is important that students be made aware both of situations in which threats of violence could arise, and of policies designed and implemented to protect staff and students. If students are exposed to a violent episode, they should be encouraged to discuss it with their supervisor and seek further assistance as needed.

INTERNATIONAL PLACEMENTS Unlike rurality, being overseas does not define a form of practice. Each placement will reflect the service structure, modes of operating in that culture and its legislative and policy context. A placement in rural Nepal is very different from one in a North American city. It is especially important to remember that while on placement we are guests of a community, and perhaps a HEP. These groups are offering students much more than the students are likely to give. Increasing awareness of how global issues influence local concerns, as well as increased student mobility and overseas employment opportunities, have given rise to increasing demands for international placements by social work students in recent years. Migration to, and within, most Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

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Western communities, either by choice or as a destination for displaced refugees, is also having an impact on social work interventions, which require them to have more knowledge of ‘trans-national’ practice and cultural competence (Lyons, 2006, p. 373). There is a range of models for organising international placements that reflect differing levels of input from the social work program. These range from placements identified by a student or faculty member, with minimal input from the school, to placements that are organised on an ongoing basis with significant input from the school in terms of academics visiting and other exchanges. Increasing federal funding in Australia is available to assist students to study or undertake internships in the Indo–Pacific region (Australian Government, 2018). Undoubtedly, international placements are increasingly popular with students and social work programs. A study by Cleak et al. (2016) found that students in Australia and Ireland generally assessed that international placements could offer opportunities for self-development, critical thinking and cross-cultural skills (p. 405).

Benefits and challenges of undertaking international placements There are many benefits in choosing to embark on an international placement. • One of the exciting aspects for students is the opportunity to experience social work roles and

• • •

have exposure to fields of practice that are otherwise unavailable in a generic Australian-based placement. Projects such as poverty alleviation, income generation, responding to natural disasters and other meso-level interventions are some of the more usual social work practices in developing countries. Experience and understanding of the direct application of cross-cultural practice can be transferred and applied to work within Australia’s multicultural society. There may be opportunity to work with international aid and humanitarian relief services. Students who have completed international placements can use this experience to pursue

various educational and employment opportunities that have an international focus (Cleak, 2016, p. 5). The literature is clear that international placements should not reproduce inequitable power relations by students ‘wanting to help or make a difference’ or perpetuate cultural imperialism and voyeurism by students wanting an ‘exotic’ field experience (Wehbi, 2009; Magnus, 2009). Some of the challenges identified by Pawar (2017) are: • issues with professional supervision in terms of adequacy in meeting expected standards, and challenges in developing, maintaining and terminating cross-cultural professional relationships •

issues concerning support and the safety of students, and in maintaining contact with local support bases • meeting the challenges of language and cultural differences, which limited the range of work available. Careful screening and pre-placement briefing can enable students to explore their expectations of their student role on placement and to critically examine the structural realities that limit the contribution they could make in an overseas placement (Cleak & Fox, 2011).

Exercise 12.12 For the student Develop a plan to increase your understanding of international affairs. This might include reading newspapers from the area to which you are planning to go for placement, watching a film from the region and discussing this with family and friends, and visiting the websites of international organisations and critically reflecting on their objectives and current activities.

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THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES Consider the following summary from a student of their placement experience. Social workers are concerned for those who are marginalised due to sociocultural processes or structures. We seek to achieve justice and equality through intervention that addresses the interfaces between people and their social context. My placement in a poor rural area of the subcontinent required an in-depth understanding of the cultural barriers that hindered and marginalised its poorest citizens: the caste system, the local religion and patriarchal culture, and gender relations. I believe that sociocultural change that targets such deep-seated values and norms that guide behaviour is needed to achieve a measure of social justice. At the same time, I have learnt to respect the key role of culture and religion in providing meaning and support, that in this context I need to listen and understand what the people want at this point – it is not necessarily the way I see the situation at all! I have also learnt the absolute necessity of having strong respectful relationships with community members, to work with the community to strengthen local capacity, to be flexible, open and responsive to the needs of others. It has not always been comfortable. People who are poor, who have health and mental health conditions that are not addressed because they cannot pay, who have a daily struggle to survive remind me of the importance of resilience, of seeing yourself as part of a whole.

Students’ capacity for flexibility, initiative and resilience requires an assessment prior to acceptance to an international placement, and supervisors’ interest and experience with students need to be equally established (Magnus, 2009). The development of strategies for handling cross-cultural work and foreign situations, such as language barriers and daily exposure to poverty, can be confronting for students. This exploration should occur prior to departure through formal briefings and sessions organised by the school. Other topics covered can include cross-cultural awareness, standards of dress and respect for local culture. Debriefing sessions give the students the opportunity to share their experience with other students upon their return (Magnus, 2009). Students placed in pairs or as a group can ensure a support network in an otherwise challenging environment. There can be a benefit as well to fostering group responsibility by allowing students to undertake as much preparation work as possible themselves, such as exchanging information and supporting each other in buying tickets, obtaining visas, getting vaccinations and finance, and sharing tasks among the group (Magnus, 2009). Overseas placements, particularly those located in the developing countries, require different types of arrangements from placements in the students’ own country, in order to ensure that students are able to gain maximum benefit from the experience and that the receiving agencies are given adequate support. Many of the issues raised about rural placements are also very relevant to an overseas placement. Some of the issues to consider if you are contemplating an overseas placement in many countries include the following: • • •

•

•

You will need to have a genuine interest in social development and working in developing countries and to have successfully completed the appropriate coursework. You must be able to handle cross-cultural work and be prepared to live in often suboptimal and isolating conditions. As a student in an overseas agency, you are ‘living the experience’; you are not only spending time in a new and sometimes daunting workplace, but you are also living the cultural experience 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You must be able to cope with language and cultural differences that may impede the achievement of your learning goals. Because language can sometimes preclude direct work with client groups, students will need to plan to have a direct practice placement in their first placement to meet the AASW accreditation requirements. You must be able to learn and work without the normal academic supports of liaison, peers and seminars.

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•

It is not as cheap as you might think, even in developing countries, so you need to plan and prepare for supporting yourself for this period of time. Here are some of the practical things to consider if you are contemplating an overseas placement: • Insurance: All students undertaking placements are covered by their university for personal and

•

•

•

professional liability. This insurance is usually extended for overseas placements, but the university reserves the right to refuse coverage if they believe that there are liability risks because of safety concerns in the country where the student is located. Since the increase in terrorism and civil unrest in many developing countries, universities have been more cautious in agreeing to allow students to take up placements overseas without requiring extra risk management protocols and the students to undertake training. Visas: Students usually take responsibility for applying for travel documentation, but some countries require written documentation to support their applications. Sufficient time should be allowed for visas to be processed. Accommodation: The onus may be placed on students to find accommodation that suits their personal needs and budget, but they should investigate possibilities before they leave and seek advice from the local agency or academic contacts. Immunisations: Working in some countries will require students to be immunised to protect them from local diseases. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade offers up-to-date information about safety and health risks at its website: http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/.

Choosing an international placement While overseas agencies might be prepared to offer placement, a difficulty may arise in appointing a supervisor who has the appropriate qualifications to meet Australian Association of Social Work requirements. Many non-government organisations in developing countries don’t employ trained social workers, which necessitates a wider search or the recruitment of an academic supervisor from the nearest university that has a social work department. Verifying the appropriateness of the qualifications of a potential supervisor is often a lengthy process. Many countries expect payment for supervising a student, and their interpretation of what constitutes a social work task or supervision may be very different from ours. Ideally, students should seek as much information as possible about the destination country and local conditions and be adequately briefed by academic staff before travelling to the agency. It can be very helpful to be nominated by two liaison persons, one from a local school of social work (if available) for general support and the other from the HEP, who will fulfil the assessment and monitoring aspects of the placement.

SUMMARY Rural placements and overseas placements offer students an opportunity to contribute to a community and make a difference. It is important to set up the placement carefully in order to maximise the opportunities of working in a different practice context and minimise its pitfalls. These types of placements may confront students with new or typical human service issues, such as confidentiality and boundaries, but in a more complex way. Rural and overseas placements will also give students the opportunity to work closely with a community and get to understand it. The skills students will learn from this experience will be beneficial, whether they end up working in an urban, rural or international setting. Some city dwellers who ‘go bush’ or who travel overseas for placement stay there – a testament to the value of the experience for both the student and the town or country.

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CHAPTER

Working with vulnerable adults

13

INTRODUCTION On placement you are likely to meet vulnerable adults no matter where you are – in hospitals, mental health services, child protection, probation and parole services, rehabilitation services, aged care, Centrelink, domestic violence and community centres. These people may or may not have a temporary or permanent cognitive difficulty that arises for a number of reasons such as illness, mental illness or intellectual disability, and they are at particular risk of not having their voices heard. They may or may not be seeing you of their own free will. This chapter focuses on practice issues that may arise for students in working with adults requiring assistance. When the focus is on adults, rather than minors, the important difference is that adults can and should make their own decisions and intervention focuses on helping to implement those decisions, often in difficult circumstances.

DEFINING VULNERABILITY A vulnerable adult is a person over the age of 18 who, ‘by virtue of their circumstances, and, as a result of the way care services are organised and operated and in the way that wider society treats people who are differently abled, are placed in a situation that makes them vulnerable’ (Penhale & Parker, 2008, p. 23). Vulnerability is suggested, on the one hand, by vulnerable people’s inability to take care of themselves and/or being unable to protect themselves from harm or exploitation. On the other hand, it reflects having less power or control in a situation, for example domestic violence or homelessness. In this chapter, we are focusing particularly on two causes of vulnerability – cognitive capacity and the nature of the person’s involvement with a service or program – voluntary or involuntary. People may experience more than one cause of vulnerability, such as having a cognitive disability and have a child in state care.

Exercise 13.1 For the student Where might you see a client in each of the groups below? • a voluntary client • a voluntary client with limited capacity • an involuntary client • an involuntary client with limited capacity? What client might you find more challenging and why?

Arguably, every adult is vulnerable at some time. For some people, vulnerability to harm or exploitation may be linked to older age, illness, mental illness, cognitive impairment, a history of trauma, to their status as homeless or being on a temporary visa, in prison or other institutional care – in fact, in any situation where they can be abused and require services or protection to enable

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them to live as adults. We can often think that their difference casts them in the role of ‘victim’, being ‘dependent’, being ‘weak’ or being like a child. There is no doubt that perceived vulnerability is linked not only to the impact of individual factors, but also to the way services are provided in the community or institutions, and to the attitudes people in the community may have. We should try to ensure that the way we work supports and empowers vulnerable people and does not perpetuate their vulnerability. This is particularly the case when we are protecting the rights of people to be self-determining, assisting people to make a decision or working with supportive or substitute decision makers. Asserting the right of vulnerable adults to have their desired level of choice enhances their sense of social usefulness, and autonomy is a key practice imperative. In Australia, people who fall into the category of vulnerable are generally divided into groups such as adults who are older, adults with cognitive limitations, adults with major health conditions or physical or sensory limitations or in positions of having little or no choice because of past behaviour or reduced capacity to deal with problems. They are adults with a wide range of life and living conditions that trouble individuals themselves, communities and society. Historically, society has responded to many groups by providing long-term institutional care when families could not, would not, or were strongly advised, not to provide care. Since the 1980s, there has been a widespread move to de-institutionalise many of these groups and provide support in the community, though aged care homes remain a clear exception here.

Exercise 13.2 For the student 1 2 3 4 5 6

What experience do you have of the lives of vulnerable adults? Why do you think shame and stigma often affects adults who need to access services? Which people are more likely to be most stigmatised? Do you think everybody should be entitled to services if they need them? Are there circumstances where services should be imposed on adults? What values should underpin the provision of services and what might make achieving this challenging? How do you think your answers may limit or enhance your practice?

For the supervisor (field educator) 1 2 3

What vulnerable adults might you find in your agency? Does your agency have specific responsibility for any vulnerable adults? What challenges might this group present to you, your students and the agency?

Defining involuntary Involuntary clients often receive social or legal services not through their choice but because of a legal directive or the potential threat of legal action (Trotter & Ward, 2013, p. 75). Examples are patients subject to mental health orders or families linked to child protection. Being subject to involuntary intervention generally exacerbates vulnerability and, by definition, increases the powerlessness of people subject to such orders.

Defining capacity Each state jurisdiction has its own definition of capacity and associated capacity guidelines. For example, the Queensland Capacity Assessment guidelines were reviewed recently and can be accessed at http://www.publictions.qld.gov.au/dataset/capacity-assessment-guidelines. These guidelines can change, and it is best to review the current guidelines in your own jurisdictions. The principles underlying the relevant Acts generally are that: 1 There is a presumption of capacity (the ability to exercise the decision-making process and communicate the decision) unless proved otherwise. These decisions may apply to health, place of residence, personal and financial matters.

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2 People may have capacity for some matters but not others. 3 Appropriate support must be provided to make decisions even when they are seen as eccentric or unwise. 4 Assess the adult’s decision-making ability rather than the decision they make. 5 Capacity can fluctuate over time. 6 Where people no longer have capacity to make decisions, anything that is done should be in their best interest, and if possible, mirror the decision they might have made. 7 The decision should be the least restrictive option regarding their rights and freedoms. It is important to realise that power differentials based on status, class, culture, age. education, cognitive capacity, or legislation often exist between an adult requiring assistance and those providing that assistance. These differences can make it difficult for the vulnerable adult’s views to be heard and respected. A person’s medical condition, age or appearance are not sufficient tests of capacity. Capacity guidelines should be used if deciding if an adult can agree to medical treatment, if more support is needed, if an application should be made to a tribunal or Supreme court to appoint an administrator, or if an enduring power of attorney should commence. Most jurisdictions suggest a range of tests of capacity. Values and ideas that are associated with work with vulnerable adults are harm, risk, abuse, decision making, empowering and safeguarding. Workers with vulnerable adults are often faced with challenging ethical difficult situations. Chapter 16 on ethical and legal issues may be useful here. Regardless of capacity, living in congregate settings, combined with their particular situation, almost always means the individual has little or no choice about who they live with, the routine that organises their lives or have control over the structure, staffing or care services provided. In the following situation, described in Exercise 13.3, what options does the social worker and hospital have? What principles might guide your actions?

Exercise 13.3

THEORY TO PRACTICE

For the student and supervisor Read the situation following and then answer the questions. Mr Alhazar, 72, was a single man living alone in his own home, which appears to be in need of repair. He had been admitted to hospital five times in the last six months suffering from various complaints attributed to self-neglect. He was referred to the social worker to arrange placement in residential care since he was assessed as not able to take care of himself. When they met, Mr Alhazar made it clear that he was not leaving his home. An initial assessment of his capacity to understand the reasons for his hospital admissions suggested that Mr Alhazar could or would not link the way he was living to his health conditions – it was just age – and he was keen to get home soon. Mr Alhazar had health conditions that would support an application for residential care. He had no immediate family; he had lived in his home for the last 40 years and intended to die there.

Questions for the student 1 2 3 4 5 6

What makes Mr Alhazar vulnerable? What is your own reaction to his decision? In your jurisdiction, what processes would you need to follow up on? What other information might you want to know? Who else might you need to involve in the community? How would you discuss this with Mr Alhazar?

Questions for the field educator 1 2 3

What questions might you ask a student in this situation? What might you emphasise as key practice principles here? Have you had similar experiences you might share?

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ABUSE Vulnerability is often discussed alongside the concept of abuse and the risk factors for abuse. Defining abuse can be difficult – our ideas of what constitutes abuse are constantly changing and are dependent on contemporary notions of what is acceptable or unacceptable behaviour. Overall, abuse can be seen as the violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by another person (Department of Health, 2000a para 2.3). But does it only result from individual acts perpetrated by one person on another or by self-neglect? Or does abuse arise from organisational policy and practices? Or others may think that abuse arises from the way that society is organised that may limit people’s rights, responsibilities, and roles. There are a number of categories of abuse (see Table 13.4). There are disputes about whether the alleged abuser should be in a relationship of trust, that is where it is assumed that the abuser is assumed to be caring, and with the best interests of the person cared for at heart. Abuse then becomes the event plus a loss of trust. Different types of abuse are likely to have different causes, though one form of abuse may result from others; for example, psychological abuse is often a consequence of other types of abuse.

Exercise 13.4 For the student 1 2 3

How might the nature of any disability be linked to abuse? What issues might predispose abuse occurring (e.g. a history of abuse, or sharing accommodation)? Abuse can be linked to a number of issues, particularly linked to community attitudes towards a group of vulnerable people (e.g. older people, people with long-term mental illness).

Table 13.1 Categories of abuse Category of abuse

Example

Physical abuse

Hitting, pushing, misuse of medication, restraint

Sexual assault

Sexual acts to which the vulnerable adult has not given consent

Psychological abuse

Emotional abuse, threats of harm, blaming, coercion

Social abuse

Deprivation of contact with others

Financial or material abuse

Theft, fraud, exploitation, pressure around wills, inheritance, misuse of benefits.

Neglect

Ignoring medical or physical care needs, failure to provide access to care resources, food, or heating.

Discriminatory abuse

Acts that are based on a person’s disability, age, race and other forms of harassment or mistreatment

Compared to the community at large, vulnerable adults have less physical, mental or emotional strength because of age, disability or ill health – they have less physical and psychological power. An imbalance of power exists in most situations of abuse. At times, a perpetrator’s power might be enhanced by an Enduring Power of Attorney, or by a threat to withdraw contact or to isolate the person from others.

Exercise 13.5

THEORY TO PRACTICE

Read the case of Mrs Hunt; following and using the information in Table 13.1, answer the questions that follow. Mrs Hunt is 85, widowed, receives an aged pension and is living in her own home. She has a diagnosis of dementia but had been managing her daily life quite well. Her daughter moved in a year ago after her relationship broke up. While Mrs Hunt is unaware that her daughter is not contributing to the household expenses, she says she is happy to share resources with her. She is aware that she will need more help in the future, and she enjoys her company. She gave

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her daughter an Enduring Power of Attorney recently, and the daughter has used this to gift herself money. The daughter receives a disability pension linked to long-standing mental health issues. The daughter claims her mother does not need the money. Is this a situation of financial abuse?

Questions for the student 1 2 3 4

In your practice environment, what questions might you have in protecting Mrs Hunt’s interests? What options are available to Mrs Hunt at this point? What outcome do you think Mrs Hunt wants? How might you balance any competing responses in this situation?

Comments for the field educator 1 2

Have you any similar situations to share? What impact does your organisation have on the options available here?

Assessment and abuse Risk assessment is a core social work skill when in contact with a vulnerable adult, who may, for a range of reasons, refuse services. Such a refusal may place them at risk of harm. There can be contradictions between priorities – for example, to support self-determination and to prevent harm. You are highly unlikely to be acting alone in these circumstances. Any plans should ensure there is direct work with the person as well as the coordinated response of any other services. Abuse may be identified by the adult person, someone providing care, as in hospital, people who know the person or by yourself. Many people who have experienced abuse are reluctant to name it as such, ashamed that others have treated them badly, worried about losing contact with the person or fearing to make the situation more difficult. It may well take quite a while for the person to trust others with knowledge of their situation. Figure 13.1 highlights some useful questions to ask the person concerned or a referrer.

THEORY TO PRACTICE

Figure 13.1 Assessing abuse: Some useful questions to ask the person concerned or a referrer

Are there any limitations on the person’s cognitive capacity?

What safeguards are needed before any action is taken?

Why seek help now?

Some useful questions to ask a referrer or the person concerned

What is at risk in the situation?

What actions – if any does the adult want?

Does the person know you have been contacted?

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There may be other matters to consider if the assessment suggests that there is the risk of suicide. Warning signs are spelt out by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing (2007). Bland et al. (2015) note the importance of asking directly – e.g. ‘Are you thinking about killing yourself?’ (p. 168). Risk factors are often considered in relation to a person’s cognitive capacity, their care needs, and their wishes for their life. This consideration is moderated by an evaluation of their environment, the possibility that others may abuse them, or that that they may harm others. For example, Covid19 forced a number of governments to provide at least temporary housing for groups of homeless people who were seen to be ‘at risk’ and ‘a risk to others’ when the preferred response was to lock down the population. There are many situations when you might be asked to observe or undertake a risk assessment in relation to a vulnerable person. The risk may be linked to the person themselves, or to the behaviour of others. An overarching consideration is that you should avoid ‘making bad worse’. This is often the

THEORY TO PRACTICE

case when the vulnerable person is being harmed but they tolerate this, wishing to preserve their living situation as their main goal. The risk assessment should include assessing the capacity of the vulnerable person, their wishes and the ability of those around them to improve the situation and should focus on the possible harm to an individual or their property in a given situation. It is necessary to focus on the likely emotional as well as physical harms. Risk assessment is an ongoing process rather than a one-off event risk. Figure 13.2 outlines the purpose of the assessment; this applies whatever the urgency of the situation. Figure 13.2 Planning action in situations of abuse

The purpose of risk assessment • Identify if abuse has occurred and may occur in the future. • Make sure the adult is safe. • Collect evidence to substantiate the abuse. • Identify and assess any harm that has occurred and assess the risk of future harm (see Pritchard, 2007, p. 192.) • Is this vulnerable person at risk of further abuse? • What options might be available to the adult? • What does the person want to happen? • What, if anything, are the positive outcomes for the vulnerable adult? • What are the dangers (feared outcomes) which cause significant emotional or physical harms? • Can the person identify risks and say what action they want to take?

In each situation the cognitive capacity of the person, their age and any physical limitations they have, and the nature and trajectory of the identified risk also form important parts of the assessment. People identified as vulnerable have a wide range of physical, cognitive and mental abilities as well as challenges. They may also have a range of opportunities or limitations in relation to resources, such as being homeless or being in an institution such as aged care, a hospital, a mental health facility or prison. Laws are often in place to safeguard – that is protect – vulnerable adults from harm. There is no single comprehensive legislation such as those that refer to vulnerable children, but there is a wide range of legislation covering topics such as capacity, guardianship, or enduring powers of attorney,

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to meet needs linked to reduced capacity, and other legislation. Social workers are often involved in initiating action using this legislation designed for people with limited capacity and there is a very clear requirement that we use these powers to open up, and not close down options (Wilson & Tilse, 2015). From a social work perspective, the focus is on empowering and safeguarding vulnerable adults.

Assessing and intervening in different contexts Different groups of vulnerable adults have different issues and legal frameworks that need to be considered. The issues for each can overlap – for example, levels of cognitive capacity are influenced by a range of factors, which may also co-exist – for example, dementia, long-term mental illness, intellectual disability and various forms of head injury. Vulnerability in relation to cognitive impairment is linked to the impairment itself (for example, around problem solving) and disabling responses by others to that impairment (for example, others taking control). It is important to respect the capacity and wishes of this group and not necessarily take over their lives. In Australia approximately three per cent of the population have an intellectual disability within the mild to severe range. If those with borderline impairment are included this figure increases to 13 per cent of the population (AIHW, 2008). Having a cognitive impairment can create difficulties in understanding and retaining complex ideas, interacting with others and problem solving in day-to-day life (Ellem et al., 2013). Our society presents many challenges to this group, particularly to those living alone or independently. They are overrepresented in prison, in criminal victimisation, in the homeless population and in psychiatric admissions (Baldry et al., 2013, p. 227). Women with a mild or borderline impairment are more likely to have their children removed (Feldman et al., 2012). Vulnerability in old age is linked to the need for assistance with physical or cognitive tasks. In addition to dealing with changes in physical and cognitive capacity, needing assistance changes the level of control the person may have in their life, may challenge the way existing relationships are managed, and the resolution of these issues might bring risks and possible abuse. It can be considered as amounting to a personal and social risk when a life-changing diagnosis, for example, of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, or heart disease is made. Dementia ‘is a combination of impairment in two or more aspects of cognition (e.g. memory loss, reasoning ability, orientation) and of problems with everyday tasks’ (Manthorpe & Iliffe, 2009, p. 253). It can be a devastating diagnosis for the adult and for those on whom they depend for care. It may be suggested to people given a diagnosis of dementia that they consider drawing up an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) that appoints one or more people to make specified decisions for them once they are unable to do so. If such situations arise on placement, it is a good idea to consult your state documentation on guardianship (usually in the Department of Justice). Broad principles apply in all jurisdictions: you must have capacity to understand the intentions of an enduring document; you can appoint one or more attorneys and say whether or not they must agree on all decisions; and you can nominate when the EPA comes into effect (at the time of signing or when you lose capacity). While an EPA is a useful tool for managing cognitive impairment, it can also be used by attorneys to make inappropriate use of finances and assets. Your response to any abuse can be impacted by whether the adult has capacity to appoint an attorney, or lay charges, or whether action should be taken on their behalf to approach a tribunal to appoint a guardian who can act on their behalf. This type of response can be seen in health care. Joubert and Posenelli (2009) discuss the window of opportunity that presentation to hospital emergency or observation of family interactions on the wards gives. Apart from extreme cases, older adults who have been abused need time to develop relationships with potential helpers before talking about any abuse. When there are doubts about capacity, action may be taken on behalf of the older person and may involve submission to a tribunal if no substitute decision maker has been appointed. Working with people who are, or feel compelled to see a social worker, raises questions about the use of power, and the simultaneous demand that clients engage and are compliant (Smith, 2020). Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

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Smith suggests that a constructive starting point is to be value based and include the basic qualities of being respectful, being helpful and ‘recognise the common humanity of the other’ (Smith, 2020, p. 330) regardless of what brought you together. Maylea et al. (2020) make a similar point discussing mental health advocacy and arguing for a person-led (rather than worker-led) rights-based advocacy in relation to treatment in areas such as seclusion and restraint.

SUPERVISION IN THE CONTEXT OF VULNERABILITY – STUDENT AND FIELD EDUCATOR While many points in supervision cut across all contexts of practice, there are some differences, largely around an examination of the use of power and authority, leading to coercion and control, that arise in work with people who are vulnerable. Cousins (2020) notes that when social work training emphasises anti-oppressive practice there is a consequent reluctance to overtly use power (p. 348) or to acknowledge the implicit use of power. Similarly, social work students are trained to foster self-determination and to respect basic human rights. There are often tensions around the intersection of community, family and individual rights, and the resolution of these tensions may colour the way supervision is experienced and/or provided. It is useful in supervision to discuss: • how trust in relationships is developed and maintained in the context of power differentials • how open students are in sharing information • how the often slow pace of work is supported • how the mixture of emotions (e.g. protection, frustration or perhaps hostility) potentially experienced by the student are managed. The AASW Code of Ethics (2020) presents three significant challenges in this context: • •

respect for persons when power-based decisions are needed social justice when the reasons for poor behaviour are known, yet actions are required that can cause further trauma • professional integrity where the role means that a social work student cannot always be transparent about their intentions or actions. The ethical challenges raised by these values provide a focus for discussion in supervision that will highlight that achieving social justice is challenging. A core topic in student supervision is the student’s emerging identity as a social worker. In the context of working with vulnerable adults, social work identity is linked to balancing social work authority and empowering the client to have as much control as possible. Discussing and evaluating the student’s responses to the issues of power and authority in the context of matters linked to this are likely to be helpful for supervisors and students. This area is also core in helping the student outline their practice framework at this stage of their training. Working with vulnerable people may well influence the student’s theoretical and practice approach. What adjustments might be needed? Ellem et al. (2013) outline an approach to work with marginalised people with mild to borderline disability. Their research endorsed a developmental approach, stressed the importance of relationship and the need to practice gentleness and hope in social worker – client interactions. This framework may well differ from that in other settings.

Exercise 13.6 For the student When might a vulnerable person’s rights to be self-determining be overridden: 1 in their own interests or 2 in the interests of the community?

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SUMMARY Vulnerability has been explored from the perspectives of being an involuntary client and issues of capacity. Both of these dimensions characterise different causes of vulnerability, consequence of vulnerability, such as abuse and disempowerment, and raise issues for effective practice in different contexts. Some implications of these issues for supervision are discussed.

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PART 5 KEEPING ON COURSE Most placements have moments in which the various stakeholders become aware of specific issues that need to be addressed and that ‘more of the same’ will not do. In Part 5, some of the common difficulties students and supervisors face on placement are explored. For most, these difficulties are part of the learning journey and will be quickly resolved, often with significant learning for all. However, in other situations the issues are more complex and require additional teaching and learning strategies, and perhaps input from the HEP. These difficulties may be a result of the impact of difference on placement. Differences of age, culture, gender, (dis)ability and more can exacerbate the inequalities in supervisory relationships and amplify other issues that exist. The impact of culture and power is explored in Chapter 15 and strategies for supporting students are outlined. Ethical and legal issues can emerge at all stages of placement. Learning about these can challenge students’ and supervisors’ sense of what really matters to them. The part played by the HEPs in setting up, supporting, monitoring and evaluating placements is also considered in Part 5.

CHAPTER 14 Challenging issues in supervision ................... 167 CHAPTER 15 Working with cultural and power differences ... 180 CHAPTER 16 Ethical and legal issues .................................. 191 166

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14

INTRODUCTION Placements are usually where competencies in demonstrating appropriate issues of knowledge, skills and values, as well as professional suitability become apparent. While most students successfully complete their placements, many experience difficulty and challenges, some may decide to withdraw from their placement, and some do not meet the threshold to pass. Students and field educators both contribute to the challenges experienced on placement and most of them will arise in a context of what both players bring to supervision. Understanding the nature and causes of these challenges needs to take the contributions of each into account. Some placement models, such as having on-site and off-site supervision, introduce additional players and open up the potential for conflict. Students may find it difficult to access enough of their field educator’s time or may find the style of supervision unhelpful to learning. Different stages of placement may be challenging, such as having to demonstrate the acquisition of skills at the mid placement and in the final weeks of placement. For students who may feel relatively powerless, negotiating across cultural or racial difference may also be linked to challenges. Whatever the reasons for the ‘problems’ arising on placement, it is very important to address these challenges rather than endure them. Many of the issues that arise for either party can be resolved through discussion, but it is usually helpful to link with academic staff when a third perspective is needed. This chapter focuses on assisting students and field educators to make the best of placement opportunities when learning challenges arise.

IDENTIFYING STUDENT DIFFICULTIES The difficulties faced by students and supervisors on placement are diverse and, as every situation is unique, there is no standard way to respond when problems arise. Most supervisory relationships experience some normal ‘blips’; however, in others, the difficulties are a serious barrier to effective learning. A number of reasons have been considered in the literature that document a range of potential issues that would be associated with difficulties on placement and students who may be at risk of failing placement. • Undesirable or unprofessional student behaviour: This would include prejudice or disrespect to service users’, crossing professional boundaries, being judgmental and an inability to demonstrate key values (Furness & Gilligan, 2004). •

•

Difficulty or inability to demonstrate skills and knowledge required for practice: This includes lack of professional knowledge, poor written and verbal communication, difficulty in applying relevant theoretical and conceptual frameworks and the students’ capacity for reflection and insight (Schaub & Dalrymple, 2013). Lack of engagement with learning: The behaviour includes poor time management, not using supervision, resisting feedback and having a negative attitude towards learning, as manifested by poor motivation or absences (Langlois & Thach, 2000; Croaker et al., 2017).

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Identifying personal difficulties Many of the behaviours outlined above can be attributed, not to failures in the student, but to undiagnosed learning issues or personal difficulties that impact on the student’s capacity to meet the learning requirements of the placement. It is worth considering that a student’s personal and professional struggles may be the cause of the problematic behaviour and should not be misinterpreted as incompetence, lack of motivation, or an inability or unwillingness to complete practice tasks. In a recent study of social work students who failed a placement, every one of them reported how their personal experiences affected their ability to fully engage with the learning and professional development opportunities. Earlier life events and subsequent coping strategies heightened their vulnerability and created a ‘domino effect’, which ultimately prevented successful completion of placement (Roulston et al., 2021). Students have also cited relationship problems, financial hardship and accommodation crises as other personal issues that negatively impacted on their progress on placement. Other personal factors can include: • Cognitive: Knowledge and the ability to retrieve knowledge are essential for the development of effective problem-solving and reasoning skills. Learning difficulties are a diverse group of difficulties, and the majority of higher degree students with learning difficulties are undiagnosed. Cognitive difficulties may be caused by: –

•

a learning disability such as dyslexia. Features such as poor spelling, illegible handwriting and poor comprehension may help to identify students with learning disabilities – inability to integrate knowledge and think conceptually – immature development of critical thinking – difficulty in generalising their learning from one situation to another – other learning difficulties, such as spatial-perceptual tasks, which may be due to the way that the brain processes information (Hendricson & Kleffner, 2002). Medical: Hendricson and Kleffner (2002) suggest that difficulties on placement may suggest that the student has an underlying health problem. These may include: – mental illness such as depression, anxiety/panic disorder – substance abuse – impaired performance due to substance abuse is difficult to identify because it may manifest itself as behavioural problems – a pre-existing illness that is poorly controlled, such as diabetes, MS or hearing impairment.

IDENTIFYING SUPERVISORY DIFFICULTIES There is much less written about the challenging behaviour of the field educator or the placement itself. Bogo (2010) suggests that any review of issues that students or field educators may be experiencing should include an assessment of how well the following four educational principles are adhered to which refers to the context and processes of the placement: 1 Field education needs to take place within an available and supportive relationship. 2 Learners need a balance of autonomy and structure when learning about practice. 3 Learners need to develop and use reflective and conceptual capacities. 4 Observation, reflective discussion and constructive feedback facilitate skill development (p. 105). These principles provide the positive environment for the student to learn but research suggests that there is often a poor ‘fit’ between the student and the work environment. For example, a student may not feel comfortable in a statutory setting or where the setting is poorly constructed, is not supportive of the student, is not adequately resourced or has an unrealistic expectation of the student’s workload. Power differential between the student and their supervisor can also undermine a positive working relationship.

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INTERVENTION AFTER PROBLEMS EMERGE Supervisors can be uncomfortable about identifying and intervening with students who exhibit difficulties with their learning. They may believe that it is not their role, that problems will, or should, be picked up by the HEP or that they can somehow work around them. Supervisors may also be inexperienced and may feel not sufficiently skilled to respond appropriately. However, it is almost always best to name issues so they can be explored rather than ignored. Students can similarly feel awkward and intimidated about raising their concerns with their supervisor or their learning tasks. Langlois and Thach (2000) recommend intervention based on a SOAP (subjective/objective/ assessment/plan) framework, using the steps in Table 14.1. Table 14.1 SOAP: An approach to challenging behaviours on placement Subjective

In assessing a potential difficulty, the subjective can be ‘why you think there might be a problem’. It may be an impression, or a ‘label’ given by another staff member.

Objective

It is essential that the behaviour is documented with specific examples. For example, ‘student took two hours to document the interview with Mrs S’; ‘student was 40 minutes late for the supervision session on three occasions’. Discussing your impressions with the student may elicit some of the reasons for their behaviour.

Assessment

Once the behaviour is clearly documented and is occurring often enough to constitute a ‘problem’, it needs to be assessed using the categories described above.

Plan

The final step is to develop a plan. This may involve gathering more information, perhaps talking to other staff or the training institution. Once a plan or intervention becomes clear, it needs to be discussed with the student for his or her ideas and input. An evaluation or review mechanism also needs to be part of the plan. Source: Adapted from Langlois and Thach, 2000, pp. 307–309

Case studies of common difficulties Consider the following four scenarios – each explores some common difficulties that arise in placements and uses a SOAP analysis to suggest ways to understand these difficulties and to implement an action plan.

THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES Cognitive disorder Supervisor:

Female, aged 38, experienced welfare worker.

Student:

Female, Sally, aged 22, first placement, completed her training by distance education. Works part-time in hospital. No welfare experience.

Subjective:

Sally is likeable and hard-working and engages well with the mental health clients in a communitybased service. During supervision, Sally appears anxious, although well prepared with case notes, diary and questions. After an orientation of three weeks, Sally is prepared for taking on a few cases through discussion, observing other interviews and reading other client case notes. Rehearsal is used before Sally interviews her first client; but, when debriefing occurs the next day, she appears to have gathered a great deal of information but gives long-winded and circuitous answers to questions about the presenting problems and a possible intervention plan.

Objective:

Supervisor asks Sally to write up the case for further discussion. Sally is reluctant to show the case notes to her supervisor and when they are produced some days later, they are long, disorganised and very descriptive. Sally appears very anxious about her performance, so the supervisor offers her a model of structuring case information and schedules another client to interview. This result is the same, with Sally being able to collect important information but unable to offer any insights into what the underlying issues might be. The supervisor arranges to sit in on Sally’s next interview and observes that she is courteous and empathic but her questioning lacks structure and direction.

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Assessment:

Hendricson and Kleffner (2002) suggest that when students cannot recognise obvious patterns in behaviours and cannot move beyond ‘surface’ descriptions (see Chapter 6 for surface and deep learning), the student might have poorly networked knowledge. This cognitive problem was probably not identified during Sally’s academic course as her coursework was mainly produced and assessed online so that individual and group feedback about her problem-solving skills was minimal. Hendricson and Kleffner outline recent brain research that shows that neurocognitive networks appear to underlie many aspects of memory, pattern recognition and decision-making (p. 46). The diagram below represents how this works.

Differences between novices’ and experts’ mental organisation of information Structure of novices’ information

Structure of experts’ information

Vertical–compartmentalised

Horizontal–networked

Lack of knowledge linkages requires inefficient ‘trial and error’ searching

Dense neural networking is needed for rapid information retrieval and problem-solving

Information

Knowledge

Adapted from Hendricson & Kleffner, 2002, p. 46. Used with permission by William D. Hendricson.

When confronted with a task or problem, a novice will struggle in a trial-and-error way to assemble isolated pieces of information, because they lack the pre-existing networks to fast-track pertinent data. Plan:

If this is a possible reason for Sally’s response to learning goals, the supervisor needs to talk to her and explore whether this could explain her behaviour. Sally may be resistant to this assessment because she may have achieved good grades during her classroom learning or she may be relieved that there is a reason why she is ‘not getting it’. It is not unusual that didactic, surface learning relies on memorising and reproducing information and will not uncover processing problems (Hendricson & Kleffner, 2002, p. 48). This neurocognitive theory suggests that connections are strengthened by repetition so, with Sally’s agreement, supervision sessions are structured so that after each client interview, Sally and the supervisor use a ‘connect-the-dots’ strategy to help Sally think about and verbalise her understanding of the relationships between different bits of information. Critical questions in the connect-the-dots questions include the following (Hendricson & Kleffner, 2002): • • • •

Decision questions – What do you think this client would like you to do? Why questions – Why do you think she is depressed? How questions – How might you facilitate this? What-if questions – What will you do if she refuses to accept this referral?

A review of Sally’s progress is planned after this strategy is applied to two cases.

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THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES Systems issues Supervisor:

Female, aged 46, very experienced, handles a small caseload and has management responsibility for a large child-protection agency.

Student:

Female, Jenny, aged 42, was a teacher before doing a welfare course. This is her first placement.

Subjective:

Although the supervisor is extremely busy, she agreed to take Jenny because she wants her agency to develop closer ties to the university and to encourage more graduates to work there. Jenny is strong academically and was pleased to be assigned to child protection for her first placement, as she is keen to specialise in this field. Jenny is confident that she can handle the work. In the first few weeks, Jenny is fully occupied in a formal orientation program about the organisation’s complex legislative and reporting mechanisms. Most of her time is spent with other team members. Her supervisor checks how she is going but does not offer any formal supervision time. The supervisor promises to block out some time when the three-week orientation period is over. At this first supervision session, Jenny presents a draft learning agreement, and the supervisor suggests a fairly full caseload that will be overseen by the supervisor and other team members. In the following three weeks, Jenny works long hours, but she loves the work she is doing, and it seems that most of the staff work this schedule. Supervision continues to be on the run and the times are frequently changed or cut short because of the supervisor’s hectic workload. The supervisor often tells Jenny that she is doing well, and Jenny greatly admires the supervisor’s professional skills. They often talk about aspects of their private lives because of their similar age and shared interest in child protection. During the sixth week of placement, Jenny presents a report in court that is strongly criticised by the magistrate, and she is very upset. She becomes even more upset when the supervisor also criticises her work and suggests that she may have to extend her placement.

Objective:

Jenny reviews her diary and supervision notes and notes that she has had a total of three hours’ supervision with her supervisor. Most of this has been administrative and not offering educative feedback and little reflective processing of her work. Supervision with task supervisors has been task-focused on their shared cases. Jenny also talks to her liaison staff person and looks at her student manual about what the supervisor’s responsibilities should be during a placement.

Assessment:

Jenny believed she could transfer her previous teaching skills to the new learning environment without the input of supportive and educative supervision. Jenny had difficulty asking for direction from the supervisor as she did not want to compromise her working relationship with her and did not want to be seen as creating extra work. The supervisor, in juggling a very busy workload and attempting to create an equal and open relationship, failed to establish a supervision environment in which Jenny’s learning goals were clear and where direction and reflection was a feature. The supervisor and Jenny may have unconsciously colluded in minimising any problems – the supervisor is relieved that the student is not too demanding of her time and rewards her by personal chats and positive feedback. However, when Jenny experiences a learning difficulty, the supervisor takes a fairly punitive response perhaps because of guilt over not spending more time with her.

Plan:

The identified problem in Jenny’s work provides the catalyst for a reflective discussion. Both Jenny and the supervisor need to acknowledge that supervision is not what it should be and that neither of them is to blame, but it is something they need to sort out together. They need to renegotiate the supervision contract to set some strong boundaries and outline how they will work together in the future. They also need to review the learning agreement to ensure that Jenny feels safe to embrace the role of learner and not feel that she should have the skills of a worker. The student may have entrenched views that make it difficult for her to assume the role of student, in which case the ‘unlearning’ can be challenging. Perhaps the liaison person from the HEP could help to facilitate dialogue about this.

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Plan:

Mature-aged learners face a number of issues in placement that can have a detrimental impact on their learning. They may fear failure or believe that others will expect them to be more knowledgeable because they have had more life experience. The learning agreement could be reviewed to include more reflective and process methods, such as process records, a reflective journal or strength cards.

THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES Personal problems Supervisor:

Male, aged 35, experienced community worker.

Student:

Male, Sean, aged 25, trained youth worker and now doing final placement. Sean had external supervision for his first placement and only met his field educator on a few occasions and the task supervisor was ‘not sure what to do with him’.

Subjective:

Sean was very pleased to be having a placement in a community health service and was an active learner during his orientation. After six weeks into a 14-week placement, Sean rings in to say he is sick and does not come in for two days. In the following week, he has to take another day off, although he offers to make up the time by doing longer hours for the next few weeks. The task supervisor reports that Sean is spending extended periods of time on emails and his mobile phone and has missed two opportunities to attend a community forum.

Objective:

During a scheduled supervision session, the supervisor shares his concerns with Sean. Sean becomes very angry and says that he was dealing with ‘some personal stuff’ but he was able to handle it. During the next two weeks, the supervisor documents that Sean was late another three times and he missed another appointment. Sean continues to work on a community profile and researching for an advocacy project. Staff report that Sean is an active member of the community team, but his preliminary report is overdue and when asked about this, Sean becomes agitated and admits that he has forgotten about it.

Assessment:

Sean’s behaviour suggests that some sort of personal problem or a medical/mental health problem is distracting him from the completion of his learning tasks, and his out-of-character outburst during supervision could be a defensive reaction to being challenged or perhaps could be an erratic response because of substance use or a medical condition. The lack of structure in his first placement has also resulted in Sean being unclear of his role and responsibilities in this placement.

Plan:

Sean’s behaviour is becoming a problem and has the potential to interfere with his learning as well as his professional judgements, so it is not an option for the supervisor to agree not to discuss the personal aspects of the student’s practice. A balance needs to be found between the student’s right to privacy and the supervisor’s right to sufficient information to be able to make a decision about how to proceed. The relationship between the supervisor and Sean is critical in this context so that the student’s personal issues can be raised and discussed. The supervisor must be sensitive to the student’s emotional needs and assess the level of difficulty or trauma and his duty of care towards him. The supervisor is not responsible for counselling the student about his issues, but he can help Sean understand how his behaviour is having an impact on his practice. Confronting Sean with his concerns and the likely consequences, such as terminating or failing the placement, helps Sean to recognise that a problem exists. Possible plans include offering ‘time out’ for Sean to sort out his problems, referral to a counselling service and the HEP will need to be contacted to update them about a potential change in the placement and a liaison meeting can be arranged for further advice and support. The learning agreement would need to be renegotiated and some timelines put into place. Indicators that Sean is able to function in the placement would include evidence of punctuality, meeting time frames for completed work and positive engagement with his learning tasks to ensure that Sean is clear about the parameters of the renegotiated placement arrangements.

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THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES Affective problems Supervisor:

Female, aged 55, experienced health social worker.

Student:

Female, Jana, aged 20, no experience and undertaking first placement.

Subjective:

Jana is part of a group of five students placed in a large acute hospital. The supervisor finds that Jana is an interested and keen student who completes all of her tasks diligently but displays a rigid and often punitive approach when discussing patients’ problems. When the supervisor asks her to explain the reasoning behind her assessment of a case, Jana uses a psychoanalytical and reductionist framework to see problems as personal inadequacies.

Objective:

The student unit coordinator describes Jana’s behaviour in the group as ‘overconfident and arrogant’, with some of the other students expressing frustration with her rigid and apparently discriminatory views. The supervisor notices that Jana often eats alone in the staff lounge. Jana’s written work and her skills in interviewing and presenting her assessments are of a high standard and the supervisor finds it difficult to give her negative feedback. When the supervisor raised her concerns about one of Jana’s assessments, Jana became angry and protested that the feedback from the allied health team was that ‘she did a good job’.

Assessment:

Students’ attitudes play an important role in how they approach learning, and their emotional learning travels along a path similar to their professional development. Jana is unaware of, and lacks insight into, the impact of her attitudes and judgements that conflict with those of her supervisors and peers. Hendricson and Kleffner (1998, 2002) provide a useful model for understanding how a student sees themselves at various stages of the competency development process (see diagram).

Evolution of learner self-concept during progression from novice to expert status Unconscious competent Conscious competent Conscious incompetent

Quick, accurate, confident, impatient, use shortcuts, sophisticated comprehension

Methodical, receptive to assistance, quality-oriented Hesitant, frequent errors, low confidence, acutely aware of limitations, defensive, negative self-talk; secretive

passive-aggressive

overt hostility

deflect feedback Unconscious incompetent

Optimistic, eager, and enthusiastic but also naive and uninformed

Adapted from Hendricson & Kleffner, 2002, p. 55. Used with permission by William D. Hendricson.

Jana would be at the unconscious incompetent stage in relation to self-knowledge and professional values and is hesitant to deviate from classroom learning. She needs to be moved towards the conscious competent, where she is more receptive to input from the supervisors and realises that the ‘road to competence is long and arduous’. The supervisor needs to recognise that Jana’s ‘unconscious competent’ approach allows her to routinely complete tasks successfully, but that Jana’s competency has to evolve through repetitive practice and coaching (Hendricson & Kleffner, 2002).

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Sometimes the student’s peer group can be more useful at identifying and addressing problem behaviours, especially around acceptable professional behaviour. The student unit supervisor plans a ‘family of origin’ exercise to allow students to share where they come from and what factors have helped to shape their attitudes and beliefs. This will help Jana to see that ‘expert’ knowledge is not all textbook, and that people’s narratives can be a powerful feature of an assessment. The supervisor arranges for Jana to interview a long-term client and the task is to just engage and gather information about the client’s life without having to produce an assessment.

Plan:

Strategies The common features of the action plans that have been suggested for the above four scenarios included the strategy of early identification and acknowledgement by both parties of what is happening is needed. As both students and supervisors are likely to have a vested interest in the success of the placement, they may be reluctant to raise issues that could lead to further problems; but generally, problems won’t disappear, they will only become more acute as the placement progresses. Students who subsequently failed placement reflected that they had chosen not to seek reasonable adjustments for personal problems or raising the breakdown of their supervisory relationship with their field educator or the HEP (Roulston et al., 2021). Further points to remember when there are problems on placement are listed: • Problems in placements often start out as small issues, concerns or ‘niggles’ that cannot be

•

• •

clearly defined. It is only when these small things accumulate, and themes reoccur that an issue becomes a problem. Records – journals, process records and supervision summaries – provide evidence and examples that enhance discussion of the emerging issues. Students should be made to feel that the ‘problematic’ behaviour is a shared concern, and supervisors should not overreact and assume that the instance of problematic behaviour will manifest in other areas of practice. A strong, trusting supervisory relationship is essential for open discussion of concerns. Supervision and learning contracts are important documents that identify, record and structure

strategies for resolving placement issues. Exercise 14.1 can help students and supervisors explore situations in which they are getting ‘bogged down’ or in which the outcomes are not what they expected.

Exercise 14.1 For the student and supervisor Think broadly about your placement and more specifically about your supervisory relationship. 1 2 3 4 5 6

In this placement, do you feel that you are actually doing what you think or say you do? If not, why not? To what extent are your feelings congruent with your reasoning or understanding about practice? Is your verbal behaviour consistent with your non-verbal behaviour? To what extent are your goals for placement being met? Are you able to focus on your own behaviour in the supervisory relationship? Are you more likely to blame others?

SPECIFIC ISSUES If you felt some level of discomfort in answering the questions in Exercise 14.1, it could be that there are specific issues in your supervisory relationship that need to be addressed. In the following section, some typical issues in supervisory relationships are discussed: game-playing, mirroring, unmet learning needs and conflict. Many of these issues are linked to students or field educators being uncomfortable with the structural power imbalance between these roles. An issue that is likely

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to cause discomfort and perhaps conflict is unsatisfactory student performance. This is dealt with in more detail in Chapter 16.

Game-playing Game-playing is a covert transaction in which one or more people have an ulterior agenda – usually to punish the other person or people; it is a negative expression of unmet emotional needs, often linked to power struggles. In environments that are alienating, game-playing is one way to survive (but not thrive!). Because games are based on dishonest or covert transactions, they never satisfy the real or underlying, and sometimes legitimate, needs. Neither party will win, but all of those involved and others, such as clients or other staff members, can certainly lose. Game-playing in placement thrives in environments in which some or all of these factors are present: responsibilities are unclear and there is no placement contract, there is no feedback or permission to express feelings or needs, or difference is not acknowledged. As a student or supervisor, you might suspect you are in a game when: • you frequently feel bad or uncomfortable with the same person or group • you go into interactions knowing what you want to do, but always do what the other person wants • you try to help someone, and you end up feeling punished • you never get to say what you really want to, or what you say gets twisted. Kadushin (1976) suggests that many of the games that are played in supervision act out the drama triangle. This concept comes from transactional analysis theory and describes the ways in which the three roles of persecutor, victim and rescuer can get passed around. These three psychological positions can be adopted during an interaction as a defence to avoid a range of feelings. Hughes and Pengelly (1997) argue that this dynamic is fostered by a persecutory environment, while Morrison (2001) suggests the drama triangle is an attempt to deal with the struggle for power that is present in much supervisory interaction.

THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES The drama triangle Supervisor to student: I just wanted to check that you were right for today. (The rescuer speaks to the victim.) Student to supervisor: Yes, of course, didn’t we cover that yesterday? (To avoid being perceived as the victim, the student goes on the attack and adopts the persecutor role, putting the supervisor in the role of victim.) Supervisor to student: Well, there’s no need to adopt that tone! I was simply checking. (Responding to the perceived attack and being put in the victim role, the supervisor adopts the role of persecutor and puts the student back in the victim role. Alternatively, the supervisor, having been put in the victim role, may choose to put the student in the position of rescuer and say something like, ‘Yes, of course we did. I’ve just got so much on my mind; I wasn’t sure this morning what we said.’)

If there were significant differences between the supervisor and student as in this example, in terms of gender, age, ethnicity and so on, these transactions would need to be explored in the wider context of structured expectations and inequalities. The meaning of unhealthy processes, including games, needs to be understood at an interpersonal, institutional and societal level. Many supervisory games mirror discrimination, as they are based on distorted assumptions and stereotypes and are exacerbated by role confusion, pressure and threats to established patterns of thinking and behaving.

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The way Kadushin (1976) categorises the games that are typically played in supervision is shown in Table 14.2. If you experience some or all of the signals outlined above, you might want to consider whether any of these games are being played out in your supervisory relationship. Table 14.2 Games played in supervision Purpose of the game

Game

Redefining the relationship: This game dilutes the boundaries and power base of supervisors to be critical of students’ practice or behaviour.

Treat me, don’t beat me.

Reducing power: In this game, students challenge the expertise and knowledge of supervisors.

So, what do you know about it?

Controlling the situation: This game diverts attention away from the issue at hand because it may be threatening.

I have a little list.

Heading them off at the pass: In this game, students get supervisors off the track in order to avoid difficult or confronting situations.

What you don’t know won’t hurt me.

Manipulating demand levels: In this game, students overstep professional boundaries in order to join with the supervisor and avoid issues such as negative feedback.

You and me against the organisation.

Abdication: Cousins (2004) suggests that this game allows the supervisor to project their responsibility elsewhere.

They won’t give me any time off to spend time with you.

Evaluation is not for friends. Let’s sort it out over a drink.

If you knew Dostoyevsky like I know Dostoyevsky . . .

I wonder why you really said this. One good question deserves another.

I know it’s my session, but you look busy.

The budget will not provide petrol money.

Recognising that these processes are occurring, and naming the processes, is the first and most significant step in assisting students and supervisors to no longer feel the need to use or be involved in such processes.

Mirroring Mirroring (or paralleling) is the unconscious process through which the dynamic of relationships with clients or other people is reproduced in the relationship between the student and the supervisor. Mirroring stems from the way in which individuals, groups or organisations adopt unconscious defence mechanisms when confronted with stressful feelings. This stress often stems from the distress felt by students who work with people who are poor, powerless and in pain, and from helplessness on their part, or the part of their supervisors, to do anything about this distress. In the face of such stress, students and supervisors may deny, minimise, blame, project or rationalise feelings that would otherwise threaten to overwhelm them. To help students maintain their objectivity and develop their capacity for critical thought, supervisors must be alert to the mirroring process in supervision. Morrison (1993) asserts that what workers cannot ‘swallow’ they ‘spit out’, using processes such as denial (He’s such a competent worker, it’s just not possible), blaming (If only you’d done what I asked you), collusion (I couldn’t raise that issue, it would ruin my relationship with X), minimisation (It’s nothing really), and invalidation (You haven’t got enough experience to comment).

Strategies for game-playing and mirroring Exercise 14.2 comprises questions for students and supervisors to tackle unhelpful processes in supervision, based on strategies suggested by Morrison (1993, p. 98). It is important not to discount your ‘gut’ feelings – they are telling you something important – and remember that everyone gets caught up in such processes at times.

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Exercise 14.2 For the student and supervisor Analyse the sequence Think about an unhelpful process in your supervisory relationship and consider the following questions: 1 How did this process start? What do you think it relates to (e.g. issues of power inequality, other relationships affecting it)? 2 Who starts it? 3 If you don’t start it, how do you get hooked into it? 4 What are the different stages you each go through? 5 How do you end up feeling? 6 Is there a hidden pay-off for either of you? 7 What does it allow you both to avoid? 8 How does it affect your practice?

It may be useful for you to check what you think is happening with a trusted colleague or fellow student who knows you well. The following strategies to interrupt these processes can be used by supervisors and students in supervision sessions: • Tell the other person that you are feeling angry, frustrated and so on. • Ask how the other person is feeling. • Name the process you think is happening. • Ask the other person who their behaviour or feelings most reminds them of among their clients (or other people). • Ask whether the other person has experienced this process before in interactions or in previous supervisory relationships. • Explore what would happen if these processes were not occurring – what would be the costs or potential benefits? Clarify what you both want to achieve for the placement. Pool ideas for how your discussions could be more productive (e.g. staying on the issue, listening to the other person). • Agree to ground rules to which you both can keep. • Make a note of the processes you have found effective in tackling challenges in supervision. These processes need to be dealt with, otherwise they can become damaging to others in the agency, as well as clients, students and supervisors. • •

Unmet learning needs Students may be uncomfortable about supervision because they believe that their learning needs are not being met. This checklist of frequently mentioned student needs, adapted from Shardlow and Doel (1996, p. 71), is a useful way of exploring whether unmet needs are a potential source of unhelpful processes in the supervisory relationship: • • • •

Students need recognition of their existing strengths, so it is not assumed that they are ‘starting from scratch’ in everything they do. Students need guided practice. They can be given opportunities to practise skills in a controlled environment, so they are not prematurely given responsibility. Students should not be placed in situations beyond their level of competence. Students need to be given the opportunity to learn complex tasks in small steps.

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• • •

Students need to observe practice in order to replicate it, otherwise they will have to rely on intuitive methods. Students need to feel that they can make a mistake without it having disastrous consequences. Students should be able to experiment with different learning approaches if the chosen methods are not working.

Strategies for unmet learning needs Many of these issues can be dealt with before they become problems, if the placement is set up with clear agreements and processes for resolving difficulties, as outlined in Part 2 and particularly in Chapter 5.

Conflict Conflict is an inevitable part of interaction with others whenever people are involved in promoting change. The way students and supervisors respond to conflict can prevent or promote an escalation of difficulties in supervision; however, some degree of conflict is often inevitable. Conflict in supervision is generally a result of a perceived difference of interests and values. It can be seen as a positive force, enabling new options to emerge and challenging negative ways of working. It may result in better communication, more clearly defined structures, more resources and a resolution of competing demands. If an equitable process is used to manage the conflict, there is an opportunity for growth and development. It is a negative experience, however, when it develops to the point that individuals and not issues are the focus of the conflict. The way people interact in conflict depends in large part upon their culture – the shared meanings, knowledge and processes they use to perceive and interpret social realities. If there is a breakdown in these shared meanings, knowledge and processes, it results in conflict. Sources of conflict can also be located in the roles or positions people adopt in their interactions with others. There are a number of sources: • Organisational: Are structures or procedures getting in the way, or is the physical environment an issue? • Cultural: Are assumptions about class, gender or race, for example, causing conflict? Is the • •

worker oblivious to, or aware of, the cultural norms of the other? Interpersonal: Are styles, behaviours or non-verbal messages making the conflict worse? Are the values of the people involved clearly at variance? Intrapersonal: Is the supervisor or student caught in an inner conflict? Has the situation triggered a transfer of feelings that belong somewhere other than the current situation?

Strategies for conflict Understanding the process of conflict assists supervisors and students to hear what the issue is and be aware of the approach the other is taking in response to the conflict. The successful resolution of conflict usually requires that the issues, rather than individuals, be addressed as outlined in Table 14.3. That is, students or supervisors identify and respond to the messages that are being sent, without trading insults or attacking the other person. Using statements that start with ‘I’ rather than ‘you’ helps to keep students and supervisors on track. For example, a supervisor or student might say ‘I get the impression that this is really important to you, and it needs to be resolved’, rather than ‘You are being very pigheaded about this and digging in your toes’.

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Table 14.3 The reactive–proactive model of handling conflict Reactive

Proactive

Blame

Take responsibility

Generalise

Be specific

Emotive

Objective

Judge

Describe

Criticise

Offer suggestion

Demand

Invite

Negative

Positive

Opposition

Inclusion

Problems

Issues, challenges, opportunities

Past

Future Source: Adapted from Cornelius and Faire, 2006, p. 77.

SUMMARY The supervisory relationship is no different from other forms of human interaction – a degree of discomfort, conflict, game-playing and transference is to be expected at times, especially since the relationship between students and supervisors is inherently unequal and must be formed quite quickly, often in pressured and stressful environments. Issues in this important relationship should not develop to the point where they prevent either or both parties from acting competently and effectively. Understanding the causes and processes of such problems can help students and supervisors to become aware of the problems and take action sooner rather than later – in which case, resolving the issues can be an important learning experience for both.

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CHAPTER

15

Working with cultural and power differences INTRODUCTION Placements are an important opportunity to recognise and engage with different ways of viewing and acting in the world, in the context of multiple relationships. At a minimum, there are six sets of relationships: student–colleague or community members, student-client, student–supervisor, supervisor–client, student–HEP, and supervisor–HEP. Any of these may be characterised by cultural and power differences. Where such differences may devalue people or lead to different ways of viewing the world, it is essential that students and supervisors try to understand the impact of such difference on their practice, teaching and learning. Difference associated with inequality, as Thompson (1993) notes, occurs at three different levels: the personal, the cultural and the structural. Discrimination at the personal level is the result of the potential in people for stereotyping and prejudice. At the cultural level, it is a failure to appreciate the significance that different cultures ascribe to events. At a structural level, discrimination occurs if social forces are not taken into account and social policies maintain the status quo that privileges some at the expense of others. Factors such as difference between urban and rural lifestyle, coming from other countries to study, in levels of mental and physical ability, in class and education, as well as in race, culture, sexual orientation, age and gender, influence students’ and supervisors’ implicit and explicit assumptions and values, their behaviour and how they represent themselves to the world. We all have a number of identities. In different circumstances we project different aspects of who we are. Some identities are ascribed by society and may make us more or less powerful in different social situations. Students and supervisors should consider characteristics such as age, gender, sexual orientation, class, ethnic and cultural background, previous work and family experiences, sporting achievements, lifestyle, role as student or supervisor, and so on. The following exercise encourages students and supervisors to consider issues of power and identity.

Exercise 15.1

THEORY TO PRACTICE

For the student and supervisor 1 2 3

List five characteristics that give you more power and five that give you less power. Identify which of these characteristics are public aspects of your identity. If you can choose whether or not to reveal the characteristics, which of these do you tend not to disclose and why? In your agency, do any characteristics in particular make you feel powerless? (Consider the extent to which you are marginalised or included, have your confidence and self-esteem raised or lowered, feel you have choices or are constrained.)

It is important that differences from ourselves are named and valued, and that any inherent power differential is recognised. If we are not aware of how these characteristics position us in society, then it is likely that we belong to the group in society with power, and that this power exists at the expense of those who are different (Doel et al., 1996, p. 52).

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CHAPTER 15 Working with cultural and power differences

UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENCE Consider the following scenario in Experience from the field.

EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD I had gone shopping with Brian, a young man with a learning disability. We were working, at his request, on his budgeting skills and had spent time beforehand thinking about the various items that he needed now, and the things he would need to save for. It was pension day, a high point in Brian’s life. When we arrived in the shopping centre Brian wanted to look at new CDs, although these had not been on our shopping list. In the store I tried to discuss with Brian how purchasing the CDs would affect his other plans, and indeed make it hard for him to get by for the next fortnight. He just was not interested. It was about now, having something that would give him pleasure. I gave up, but it was hard to share in his pleasure in the purchases.

The disparity here between what was planned and what actually happened has just as much to do with a culture of poverty as it does with Brian’s learning disability. Although the student existed on much the same income as Brian, she knew that it was a temporary state of affairs. She had other ways to feel good about herself; she did not share Brian’s cultural understanding of money, gratification or sense of self-worth. THEORY TO PRACTICE

Exercise 15.2 For the student

Think of similar examples from placement in which unacknowledged cultural differences have got in the way of effective practice.

Age, gender, culture and race can impact on the supervisory relationship, particularly if one person has characteristics that are less socially valued. Similarly, students from minority groups face considerable challenges as they learn human service practice in the dominant culture. The following exercise from Doel et al. (1996) helps students and supervisors to explore the dynamics of supervisory relationships. THEORY TO PRACTICE

Exercise 15.3 For the student and supervisor

Use the triggers in the box and think about the dynamics of a supervisory relationship in which the student and supervisor are similar in terms of their race, age, gender and ability. Then consider the dynamics if the student and supervisor are very different in these same characteristics. making assumptions ethnocentrism ascribing expertise political correctness

support networks difference dumping over-identification

fear power differential collusion stereotyping

In human service work, the commitment to redressing injustice and working together to address issues that unnecessarily constrain people’s life choices, as well as demonstrating an abiding respect for all people, should be universal. The challenge is to apply these commonalities in a way that is respectful of difference.

Culture and difference Figure 15.1 shows the areas of cultural difference that Smart and Gray (2000) suggest need to be considered during placement.

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Figure 15.1 Cultural differences that need to be considered during placement

Individualism

Anglo-Saxon cultures view individualism as a marker of maturity and believe that the individual is entitled to be self-determining and in control of their life. This view is not universal and in many cultures the focus on self is seen as a marker of immaturity. In such cultures, individuals must take account of their place in the family and their interdependence.

Spirituality

Practice in human services in most Western countries is underpinned by scientific notions of human behaviour and social functioning in which the emphasis is on rational thought and deductive reasoning. In this context, little attention may be paid to the religious and spiritual beliefs that influence the way people operate in and perceive the world. In other cultures, causes for individual and family problems may be found in the spiritual realm and perhaps attributed to physical features of the environment, and hence healing should pay attention to these dimensions.

Family

Students are likely to meet families or family members who challenge their assumptions about family life. These differences may be linked to poverty, to disability, to inadequate housing etc. They may be a consequence of the reasons for which the families become involved with human services (e.g. child safety) or may reflect cultural differences.

What constitutes appropriate boundaries between professional and unprofessional behaviour varies from culture to culture. This may relate to physical contact, the meaning of time and Boundaries the ways time should be used, and the amount of social contact that is appropriate between the worker and the people with whom they work.

Field education is closely linked to professional enculturation. It is important to consider how this might occur for Indigenous students as they put theory into practice, particularly when this theory and practice derives from non-Indigenous frameworks linked to a colonisation process. Failing to understand Aboriginal cultures can mean that practitioners and educators resist and challenge Aboriginal points of view. While on placement, Indigenous students may find that they are confronted with the racism of society at large. Gair et al. (2015) found that Indigenous social work students often feel alone and isolated as the only Indigenous person in the agency, and experience many of the forms of racism from staff and the public as in their everyday lives. The authors suggest strategies to support cultural safety, including placement preparation with the student, agency and university staff, and cultural support from elders and mentors. These suggestions are supported by reports from other countries. For example, in Canada, Johnson et al. (2012) found that Indigenous students face similar challenges and suggest a range of strategies to support the student. These include the manner and extent to which the student brings an Indigenous identity to placement, and the extent to which they share knowledge about cultural obligations and responsibilities (pp. 156–157). The following protocol has been crafted in consultation with key Indigenous leaders from the Cherbourg community in Queensland. It provides guidance for students, educational institutions and the whole community to have a holistic and culturally aware approach to placement.

THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES The Cherbourg Student Placement and Learning Protocol The Protocol has been informed by a community-driven yarning process undertaken in collaboration with Queensland University of Technology (Crane & Brough, 2016). It was formally endorsed by the Cherbourg Health Action Group and Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council in November 2016. At its core is the view that student placements and work-integrated learning experiences involving the

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CHAPTER 15 Working with cultural and power differences

community must be undertaken as a reciprocal process. The following extract from the protocol demonstrates its key recommendations (Cherbourg Health Action Group and Cherbourg Aboriginal Council, 2016). ‘Cherbourg welcomes students undertaking part of their learning in Cherbourg … and values the opportunity to assist students in their learning journey, and in particular the opportunity to help students to become culturally safe practitioners when working with Aboriginal people.’

Principles – students Students who come to Cherbourg should want to come to Cherbourg. Students should be non-judgmental, come with an open mind and want to expand their knowledge of Aboriginal Australia. They will need to develop strong relationships and be prepared for that. Students should be interested in the community as a whole and develop their specific expertise within the context of the whole community. All students should undertake community-based learning about Cherbourg and its history. Cherbourg values students making a contribution, which has a long-term perspective. Cherbourg values projects which lead to something tangible and sustainable. Willingness to help out and share skills is valued not just within the specific agency the student may be connected with, but also in the community as a whole. Participating and contributing to whole of community events, e.g. fun run, football, dances, rodeo are good ways for students to show interest in the broader community. Students will need to be flexible in their capacity to learn. Holistic approaches to professional practice are central to working effectively in Cherbourg in all disciplines and this requires students to be open to learning outside of the neat boundaries they may have experienced in non-Indigenous educational institutions.

Principles – educational institutions Educational institutions should take the prime role in negotiating student learning opportunities in Cherbourg. They should negotiate the proposed activities and nature of student learning with Cherbourg prior to students beginning their placements. Educational institutions should have provided a solid foundation in cultural awareness prior to students undertaking learning in Cherbourg. In particular, students should have a broad knowledge and sensitivity to the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia. Educational institutions should screen students carefully for their capacity to learn and contribute in Cherbourg in a culturally safe manner. Educational institutions should ensure that students are appropriately supported during their time in Cherbourg. Educational institutions should ensure appropriate feedback is given to the community about any student projects undertaken and should ensure that the projects are in the spirit of tangible and sustainable contributions to the community. Educational institutions should undertake a process of gaining feedback from students about their experience in Cherbourg and this should be shared with Cherbourg so that there is a cycle of continuous improvement and partnership in how such placements are organised.

Principles – Cherbourg Community Cherbourg will provide a solid foundation in cultural awareness training opportunities for students. All agencies in Cherbourg will ensure that all students receive an appropriate orientation to Cherbourg. This will also include community engagement opportunities outside of the specific agency in which the student is placed. Apart from ensuring each student is appropriately supervised in their placement, each student will also be provided with an Aboriginal community mentor.’ Source: Text provided by Tarita Fisher, Cherbourg Health Services and the Cherbourg Health Action Group.

Supervision for Indigenous and non-Indigenous supervisors and students may use Yarn Up Time and the CASE model of supervision (Harris & O’ Donoghue 2020). In a relaxed environment, the supervisee explores ‘their story as it relates to them through their own meaning’ (p. 67). These authors apply this process to the CASE supervision model. This model has four quadrants that represent the (C) Cultural/Professional, (A) Administrative/Line Management, (S) Support/Person and (E) Educative/Professional Developmental aspect of the supervisee’s role (Harris & O’ Donoghue, 2020, p. 70).

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Figure 15.2 The CASE supervision model

Harris, T. & O’Donoghue, K. (2020).

The four quadrants (as shown in Figure 15.2) provide a focus for the Yarn Up as both supervisor and supervisee discuss the meaning of each quadrant and how they interact together. This Yarn Up Time conversation includes development of skills and knowledge, how cultural knowledge transfer … professional excellence in the role and professional development. (Harris & O’Donoghue 2020:72)

Ryde (2000) suggests the following exercise as a way of understanding cultural differences. It highlights the interaction of different elements, and challenges you to think about difference in more than a one-dimensional way (pp. 39–40). THEORY TO PRACTICE

Exercise 15.4 For the student and supervisor

Locate yourself in relation to these four quadrants. (For example, you may come from a group-oriented culture that is high on emotional expressiveness, in which case you would place yourself at some point in the bottom left.) Now think about how you understand human nature and locate yourself. Do the same exercise to think about how you relate to hierarchy and deal with conflict. Can you think of factors that are relevant to your situation?

Individual

Emotional expressiveness

184

Emotional restraint

Group

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CHAPTER 15 Working with cultural and power differences

Culturally aware supervision Beddoe and Davys (2016) note that cultural competence in supervision is said to have four dimensions: awareness, knowledge, relationship and skills held together within a relationship that respects and explores cultural complexity. These dimensions relate to the cultures of the supervisor, the supervisee and the service user: • Awareness of your own values and prejudices includes exploring the differences between yourself and others. • Cultural knowledge includes history, world views, and an understanding of why issues arise and what responses are appropriate. • Relationship dimensions include an understanding of roles, expectations, an exploration of power in the relationship and a willingness to look for common ground. •

Skill dimensions include a capacity to constructively challenge cultural stereotypes that emerge in how work is viewed and avoid taking up positions that devalue the opinions of others. These authors note that in culturally aware supervision, aspects of culture, gender and belief are routinely evident in supervision, rather than only being explored spasmodically. Such awareness will help in the creation of alternative models of providing and using supervision. They highlight a range of Indigenous-specific approaches to supervision, noting that supervisors who do not have this heritage need to be able to accept healing and learning processes different from their own experiences. For example, the CASE model above and M aori approaches to juvenile justice, which involve shaming processes, have had effective outcomes with Anglo-Australian youth (O’Connor et al., 2003, p. 63). There is minimal attention in the literature to the needs of, and appropriate responses to, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students on placement (Gair et al., 2015). The exploratory research of Zuchowski et al. (2013) into the experiences of Indigenous practitioners noted that colonisation has changed the lives of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people forever, and social work has been part of that colonisation process. These authors concluded that nonIndigenous social work educators need to understand and use decolonisation theory, particularly ‘as they seek to link theory to practice in field education in order to play their unique role in decolonising social work practice’ (p. 61) and this requires cultural support. Strategies for change include increased cultural awareness for field educators through training, increased cultural support for our Indigenous students, and increased preparations of educators and placement agencies to better ensure students’ cultural safety (Zuchowski et al., 2013, p. 62). The main barrier to an equal exchange of ideas and practices is, perhaps, the inability of those whose backgrounds reflect the dominant culture to step outside their comfort zone and take on ideas that challenge their frames of reference. To begin to address these areas, the supervisor should complete Exercise 15.5 (adapted from Hosken, 2011).

Exercise 15.5

THEORY TO PRACTICE

For the supervisor 1 2 3 4 5

Can you identify your own social and cultural location? Can you identify why it is important to reflect on your own cultural and social location for supervision and in your practice? How often do you discuss issues of power and authority between you and your student? How often do you address with students the difference between you (age, ethnicity, gender, etc.)? How often do you address with students the differences between them and their clients?

Another useful way to start this dialogue in supervision is to review the Australian Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics (2020) to explore the complexity and tension of the supervisors and students’ own racial, cultural and social location.

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Exercise 15.6 For the student and supervisor What does the Code of Ethics say about ‘cultural competence, safe and sensitive practice’ (2010) and are you equipped to practise in line with these recent changes?

Cultural competence can be achieved through a commitment to achieving culturally appropriate service delivery and a culturally appropriate workplace environment (AASW, 2020, p. 43). Culturally sensitive practice aims to recognise and respect clients’ ethnic, cultural and race-based values, characteristics, traditions and behaviour, and to integrate these characteristics successfully into social work practice (AASW, 2020, p. 43). For example, does the staff make an effort to pronounce clients’ names correctly; are there translation brochures about the service in different languages? A culturally safe environment is one that is spiritually, socially and emotionally safe, as well as physically safe for people; where there is no assault, challenge or denial of their identity, of who they are and what they need (AASW, 2020, p. 43). For example, does the maternity ward at the hospital you are placed in offer a special diet and observance of customs for newborn babies from Africa or Vietnam? THEORY TO PRACTICE

Exercise 15.7 For the supervisor

Using the terms in the following diagram of the five aspects of culturally competent service, ask the student to undertake an audit of the organisation to assess how well the organisation provides culturally competent service.

Communication between consumer and provider

Linguistic competence

Aspects of culturally competent service

Experiences of discrimination within the system

Shared decision–making and respect for consumer preferences

Experiences leading to trust or distrust

Adapted from Cournoyer, The Social Work Skills Workbook, 6e. ª 2011 Cengage Learning.

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Physical and mental (dis)ability and placement A significant number of students, as well as supervisors, live with a range of disabilities. There is not a great deal of information about placement for students with disabilities, yet it is an issue that needs to be discussed when negotiating placement. It is essential that a student’s disability does not become the focus of placement. As for all students, the focus should be on the student’s ability and learning.

Disclosing a disability In planning a placement, some students who have a disability that is not evident may choose not to disclose their disability, believing that this will restrict their choices and chances on placement. This is understandable, but risky. It is highly likely that the moment of disclosure will come and perhaps damage the trust in the supervisory relationship. Also, the student may not get appropriate education and support, or may be asked to do inappropriate work by the supervisor or other staff. It is possible that the student or clients or community members may be put at unnecessary risk. It is difficult for the HEP if it knows that a student has a disability to keep that information from the placement agency. Non-disclosure may introduce duty-of-care and ethical issues. At a pragmatic level, not telling agencies the student has a disability may have future implications for the HEP. It is much better if the student is in control of the process of telling a prospective supervisor about the specific issues he or she faces. A recent study of students who failed their field placement found that over half of them reported being actively involved with university well-being and disability services due to pre-existing health conditions. (Roulston et al., 2021). Most did not disclose for fear of a negative response from the supervisor but in retrospect, their disability did negatively impact on their ability to learn on placement. Disclosing this information may be less threatening to the student if he or she has a sensory or mobility deficit, or a learning disability. The student may be more reluctant if he or she has a ‘hidden’ disability such as mental health issues or an acquired brain injury, particularly if the student is doing placement in a relatively small community. Tension may result because the student understandably wishes to keep the information within as small a circle as possible, and therefore does not want to say anything until the offer of placement is almost sure, yet the supervisor may need to know this information before deciding whether to offer a placement. Cooley and Salvaggio (2002) identify possible obstacles for students with a disability on placement (pp. 54–55). To what extent do you think these might apply to your situation? Students could: • experience stigmatising and labelling, restricting their options • be limited in their choices for placements – the general shortage of placements impacts more on students with disabilities • • • •

be seen more as a client than a student be viewed by the agency as an occupational health and safety risk experience negative attitudes from some staff not be taken seriously as an emerging practitioner if tasks are modified to take account of disability, or if the supervisor overcompensates • have difficulties with the physical environment. Students with disabilities who have met course requirements leading to placement have as much right as other students to an appropriate placement. However, some placements may not be

THEORY TO PRACTICE

suitable for students with certain disabilities. This is a reality for all students, whether they have a disability or not (Cooley & Salvaggio, 2002, p. 57). For instance, some placement settings are in high demand and not all students who want to do placements in these settings will be able to. Cooley and Salvaggio (2002) also point out that there may be distinct advantages for agencies that are prepared to offer placements to students with disabilities, such as raising awareness of disabilities and reducing the barriers between the agency and people with disabilities.There is no doubt that

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placement itself can be financially and emotionally draining (Gair & Baglow, 2018). The stress of placement may exacerbate pre-existing mental health issues. Many students experience the onset of mental health stresses during placement (Martin, 2009). In either scenario the stigma of mental illness and fears of discrimination follow students through their studies and potentially into the workplace (Gair & Baglow, 2018, p. 33). THEORY TO PRACTICE

Exercise 15.8 For the student and the supervisor

Read the case study about Harriet and then answer the questions that follow. Harriet had a history of depression and anxiety leading to hospitalisation. She struggled with these issues on first placement but managed to successfully complete it. She found it difficult to manage part-time work while on placement but needed the money to pay bills. When discussing her options for final placement she raised the issue of how much should be disclosed in information provided to an agency and how much she should tell her field educator. 1 What information would you suggest should be shared at these points? 2 What are the potential risks for Harriet and the field educator?

Preparing for placement Placement will be a success for everyone if potential challenges resulting from a student’s disability are, as far as possible, identified and planned for. HEPs can provide considerable assistance by supporting students with disabilities on placement practically and by identifying helpful teaching strategies. Planning for the placement will involve: • understanding the impact of the particular disability on the student and being aware that this • • • •

impact may change over time and in different circumstances negotiating appropriate tasks and determining any arrangements if the student’s abilities are likely to vary or if they become unwell outlining the agency’s expectations of the student in terms of the student communicating about his or her health status negotiating support that the HEP or disability support agencies can offer modifying aspects of the placement to take account of the student’s disability, where necessary. As with cultural differences, a student’s mental or physical (dis)ability can magnify the power

differences between student and supervisor and make it difficult for both to be clear about what is expected. The student is required to meet the same standard of performance as other students, although the placement tasks undertaken and the approach to teaching and learning may vary.

Exercise 15.9

THEORY TO PRACTICE

For the supervisor 1 2 3 4

To what extent could the working arrangements in your agency impact on someone with this specific disability? Can you modify these working arrangements, if necessary? (Don’t assume that special arrangements will be required.) What information do others in the agency need to know about the student’s disability and who will let them know this information? What modifications, if any, need to be made to the tasks the student is asked to do? In what way might you need to change your approach to help the student to learn? (For example, if a student has head injuries that affect memory, taping supervision sessions so that the student can replay them may help.)

Exercise 15.10 gives students an experience of difference and increases their self-awareness. It involves the use of symbols such as photos and common objects or symbols that students make using plasticine. Strength cards, such as some agencies use with clients, could also be used as the stimulus (see Chapter 8 for more details). The exercise works best in a group but can be undertaken between the supervisor and student. A group has the added benefit of learning from others and learning not to impose your own interpretations on the sense others may make of the topic.

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CHAPTER 15 Working with cultural and power differences

Exercise 15.10 For the student and supervisor Step 1 The student selects an object or card from the collection. Alternatively, the student can choose to make an object with plasticine. Step 2 Without speaking, the student writes responses to the following questions. 1 Why did you select this object or card? Why did you make this object? 2 Looking at this object, what life experience comes to mind for you? 3 Name three feelings that arise in you when you look at the object. 4 What are you thinking now? Step 3 Share your reactions with the supervisor (or group). The supervisor can ask about the meaning of the colours for the student today or always, and whether the pictures or words on the card influenced the student. Step 4 The student should pay attention to anything that he or she chose to withhold during the exercise and notice if this occurred in this situation only or whether this is typical behaviour. If it is only in the current situation, what is the student learning about himself or herself or the situation? If the exercise is done in a group, there is the added learning of not interpreting or imposing on another’s choice or meanings given.

DIFFERENCE – TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS Teaching and learning methods used on placement must seek to minimise any power imbalances linked to difference. As a first step in adapting teaching and learning methods, it is important to acknowledge that students and supervisors are products of their own cultures and that no one is culturally neutral. What they should be aiming to achieve is an open approach to understanding the impact that difference makes to their lives and the lives of clients, their practice as human service workers, and their roles as teachers and learners on placement. This openness is not necessarily easy to achieve – people are often blind to their prejudices, and the issues related to difference are very complex. The placement setting should also be considered: on what cultural, professional and legal assumptions is the setting based? The assumptions are often painfully obvious in agencies with statutory obligations that reflect dominant cultural views and where people from minority groups are over-represented in the client group. In these contexts, the system may be seen as racist and victimblaming, but if supervisors and students are open to exploring these issues, there is a significant opportunity for learning about discrimination and its effects, as well as learning to work within the system to minimise the effects of cultural prejudices on individuals. Think about other agencies in which there is a good fit between the culture of the organisation and the needs of those who use its services. How did this come about? Even though it is doing a good job, it may still exclude some people. As newcomers to an agency, students may be more aware of the culture than supervisors who are used to it. Students often comment on how quickly they became ‘acclimatised’ to the agency, and their initial reactions, sometimes even negative ones, can be very useful to consider, as demonstrated in the following ‘Experience from the Field’ scenario.

EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD Sue is placed in a community-based palliative care service for her final placement. She accompanied the visiting nursing team on a home visit to a young woman, with two young children, and who is dying of ovarian cancer. At the team meeting the following day, Sue disclosed that she started to cry when she was observing the nurse’s interactions with the client. The nurse confirmed this and

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added that she asked Sue to leave the room ‘to compose herself’ and added that she did not want the client to become upset by Sue’s ‘unprofessional’ behaviour. On the car ride back to the agency, the nurse was supportive and empathic towards Sue’s emotional situation. Using a critical incident analysis tool (see Chapter 8), the supervisor and Sue discussed this event in supervision. The event is critical because Sue felt ‘out of control’. •

What are the implicit assumptions and how do they differ from the explicit ones? There is an implicit assumption that feeling emotional is equated with a lack of control. On a deeper level, there is an assumption that a good professional is in control and therefore does not necessarily express emotions.

•

Deconstructing the event and finding another perspective, Sue questions whether she agrees (or not) with other professionals about being emotional and whether there may be an alternative model of professionalism that incorporates being able to be emotional.

•

How can Sue use this awareness to change practice? What does this practice imply about the workers and the agency’s fundamental values? What is being assumed about the nature of human beings? Could the display of emotion by workers be a positive thing? When? Where? Practice research may offer some evidence to explore this idea. Adapted from Fook, 2011.

In this example, the critical reflection was able to unsettle the dominant, implicit assumptions in order to discover and change relevant thinking and practices and reformulate a framework for practice.

Strategies

THEORY TO PRACTICE

Hawkins and Shohet (2000) describe different modes of supervision to assist students to work with difference. The following approaches to supervision may be useful: • Discuss explicitly the cultural contexts of clients and seek to understand in cultural terms the issues raised by clients and the way they raise them. • Discuss ways of responding appropriately in this context. • Discuss the ways in which the cultural differences between student and client and/or the student and supervisor can be seen in the relationships. Explore the cultural assumptions made by the student and the supervisor. Discuss the social, organisational and political issues that are a result of difference. In addition to being useful in supervision, these approaches can assist students in their work with clients and to make links between individual experiences and political and social structures. It is important for students to feel safe in discussions of their experiences, whether they come from minority or dominant groups. ‘Their social identity and the extent to which they have internalised society’s dominant ideologies and values will determine how they respond to issues of privilege and • •

oppression’ (Smart & Gray, 2000, p. 103).

SUMMARY Human service practice aims to address structural and individual inequality by recognising the diversity of people’s needs and empowering people who have less power and status in the dominant culture. Students need to understand how their attitudes and values are created by their own culture in order to develop awareness of prejudices and stereotypes that may inhibit effective practice with people who are different from them. Agencies also need to be aware of the impact that diversity and difference may have in placements and be prepared to modify their practice to ensure that students are given equitable access to learning opportunities.

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CHAPTER

Ethical and legal issues

16

INTRODUCTION Placements bring together a number of systems in a range of power relationships: the agency that provides the placement, the clients who use the agency, the supervisor, the agency staff, the student and the educational institution. The relationships between these systems are to some extent mediated by legal requirements – duty of care, occupational health and safety, anti-discriminatory practice – as well as by laws and protocols governing the behaviour of citizens. The ethical and legal considerations of placement relate to implementing these rules that enforce the rights of service users, protecting the vulnerable as well as protecting the wider community. Students are usually seen as quasi-employees and, therefore, need to work to the agency’s ethical and legal protocols as well as social work’s professional ethical standards. In this chapter, the legal and ethical concepts that underpin student placements, as well as how students can learn about ethical practice on placement, are considered.

SOCIAL WORK IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LAW Australian and State government laws affect all social work and human service practice. Other legal obligations are determined by various legislation and regulations that govern the activities of individual agencies and need to be recognised and understood by students embarking on placement. Both the HEP and the placement agency need to ensure that students are familiar with the justice system and the major legislation that impacts clients, and this requirement is embedded in the current ASWEAS (2020) standards. Some legislation will be more relevant to specific settings, but the following list outlines the major codes that students should be aware of: • • • • • • • •

Child safety/child protection Informed consent and capacity Mental health Family violence Human rights Housing and tenancy Family law Youth and young persons

• • • • • •

Asylum seekers and refugees Health and disability Bankruptcy Criminal law Anti-discrimination and racial discrimination Migration and immigration.

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All human service organisations will be concerned with the interrelationship of legal and social issues so social workers must have an understanding of what law and legislation is applicable within their practice context. Each jurisdiction in Australia has its own hierarchy of courts and avenues of appeal. Although the educational institution is required to provide classroom learning about these aspects of the law, supervisors may like to use Exercise 16.1 as a way to introduce aspects of the law relevant to the agency.

Exercise 16.1 For the supervisor This exercise asks the student to match the type of court with the appropriate function. You can adapt to reflect your own setting and maybe make the description more relevant to the clients or activities that social workers face. It may be tribunals and administrative courts: Supreme Court

Hears both criminal and civil jurisdiction and deal with more serious matters and can hear some appeals from the Magistrates court.

Magistrates Court

This court deals with matters which are covered by the Family Law Act

Family Court

This is the highest Court in Australia, hearing all criminal and civil appeals from federal courts as well as State and Territory Supreme Courts and may hear other matters which involve, for example, important Constitutional issues

High Court

Hears both civil and criminal and hear more serious crimes such as homicides, major drug cases and can hear appeals from other courts.

County Court

This court conducts an inquest if it is suspected that a person has died a violent or unnatural death or died in circumstances that are unclear or in a facility, such as a prison or mental hospital

Coroners Court

Deal mainly with relatively minor criminal matters (traffic, assaults, robbery etc.)

THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES THEORY TO PRACTICE

Table 16.1 Relevant policies to consider in practice Legislation

Coverage

Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Victoria)

Covers allegations of child abuse, out of home care, Children’s and Koori Courts and youth justice matters

Mental Health Act 2016 (Queensland)

Provisions to improve and maintain the health and wellbeing of persons who have a mental illness as well as involuntary treatment

Family Law Act 2012 (Australian)

Includes a number of recent amendments that cover family violence, Family Court processes and family counselling provisions

Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Australian)

Concerned with insolvency, administration of debtors’ estates and creditors

Privacy Act 1988 (Australian)

Includes a description of privacy principles and breaches as well as how to access information and exemptions

Consider the following case and identify how many of the laws listed in Table 16.1 or any other from the categories listed previously may be applicable. Mrs Hussein and her three young children have been in Australia for the last three years on a temporary visa. She has arrived at the crisis service after fleeing from her violent husband. Mrs Hussein has few social or financial resources and has been working part time but is not sure if she is allowed to. The relevant Commonwealth Acts may include the: • •

Social Security Act 1991 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1954.

•

The requirements for a Protection Visa are found in the Migration Regulations 1994.

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CHAPTER 16 Ethical and legal issues

The relevant State Acts may include: •

Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 (Queensland)

Are there any others?

Responsibilities of the Higher Education Provider The HEP has an obligation to provide a duty of care to students and agencies: to act with due diligence, to try to pre-empt potential dangers and minimise risk to students and placement agencies (including staff and clients). It must also ensure that students are treated fairly, that antidiscrimination legislation is complied with and that students are placed in safe environments. In different jurisdictions, the legislation affecting these relationships varies. For example, in most states, police checks are required for all students; additionally, security checks are required for students who will be working with children or people with a disability. Educational institutions provide insurance that typically covers students, or those with whom they work, for personal injury while on placement, including while using motor vehicles on placement. It also covers professional indemnity to protect students for actions clients may take against them or, indeed, that students may take against placement supervisors. The HEP must ensure that agencies and students are clear about what is covered by the insurance. Some HEPs formalise the relationship with the agency, using a contract that specifies the duties and rights of the parties involved. This generally covers the topic of insurance. It is important to clarify responsibilities before things go wrong. Exercise 16.2 assists students and supervisors to consider the responsibilities of each party involved in placement. Some questions that may require research are given.

Exercise 16.2 For the student and supervisor 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

What are the responsibilities and rights of all parties involved in placement? What is the nature of the agreement between the HEP and your agency? What are the educational institution’s obligations towards students and supervisors? What are the student’s obligations to the placement agency? To what extent are these obligations required by legislation? What is covered by the insurance for students and supervisors in your placement? What are you required to do to be covered by this insurance? If you are not clear about the answers to questions 1 to 7, what information do you need to find out?

Other legal issues that have an impact on the process of organising and conducting placements, including fairness in the allocation of placements, the appropriate sharing of information by the HEP with students and prospective supervisors, and assessment of students’ performance, are not easily dealt with in contracts. Although HEPs and agencies are bound by anti-discrimination legislation, not all placements are available to all students (e.g. some agencies that provide services to women don’t take male students; some agencies require students to demonstrate at least a tolerance of specific religious beliefs, and some agencies may not offer placements to students with a criminal record). Agencies may specify characteristics they prefer; for instance, the student must have prior experience or should not be a school leaver or, alternatively, a mature-age student. In this regard, the agency’s position in terms of the legislation may be tenuous. Most HEPs have policies about placement for students with specific issues that are likely to impact on their experience of placement. For example, some institutions require students to disclose any information that may impact on their placement, such as a history of mental illness, and usually

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request that the student discuss their experience with the prospective supervisor before placement is finalised. In this way, the institution is balancing its duty of care to clients and agencies with the student’s right to disclose personal information. Other HEPs may take the approach that students and agencies are entitled to make their own assessment about doing or offering a placement. Agencies may expect, however, that the educational body will share relevant information about the student. Legally, students’ confidentiality is protected, but agencies may argue that they are entitled to information about students so that they can make informed choices about whether a particular student will be acceptable to the agency clients. It is important that educational institutions and students are clear about what information is shared with prospective supervisors. It is common practice for the institution to use the information gathered from the students in interviews or in forms as a basis for allocating placements. In general, students should be aware that the information they provide can be given to agencies, unless students specifically request otherwise. However, legislation such as the Privacy Act 1988 limits the amount of information that can be passed on, and it is important for all parties to be aware of such requirements. Equally, students are entitled to information about any safety, health and insurance issues with placements. Increasingly, students are being asked to be immunised against hepatitis and to be aware of particular health issues in particular agencies. Students may also argue that they are entitled to know something of the quality of the placement previous students have experienced in a particular agency. Exercise 16.3 explores these issues for students and supervisors in more detail.

Exercise 16.3 For the supervisor 1 2 3

What information has been shared between the different parties involved in placement? Do you think this is appropriate? What types of information about the prospective student could present you and your agency with challenges? What is the hierarchy of legal and ethical principles in making your decision about taking a student on placement?

For the student 1 2 3 4

What personal issues do you think are important to raise with your educational institution and placement agency? What legal and ethical principles underpin your decision about what information you would pass on to the agency? What information did you have about the agency before you came on placement and was it adequate? Do you think the information the agency was given about you was appropriate?

The reality for HEPs is that generally they don’t ‘own’ placements. They are voluntary offers by agencies who have certain expectations for the time and energy put into providing the placement. If the academic staff determines that the requirements of the agency are discriminatory, and cannot be influenced, it can choose not to use the agency. Consider the following scenario. The questions in Exercise 16.4 are based on this scenario and ask supervisors and students to consider how they would deal with complex issues.

THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES Samma is ready to do her final placement. Samma comes from a large regional centre, and she wants to do

THEORY TO PRACTICE

her final placement there. She had considerable difficulty in a previous placement and was moved to another placement setting because the personal problems between her and her supervisor could not be resolved by the liaison person from the field education program. Eventually Samma met the course requirements and passed the placement.

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CHAPTER 16 Ethical and legal issues

Samma believed that her first supervisor was prejudiced against her because Samma is gay, and her supervisor continually asked her how her sexual orientation was impacting on her work. Samma thought this was inappropriate. Her supervisor believed that Samma developed inappropriate relationships with clients, that she promised more than she could deliver, and that she could not be trusted to tell the supervisor what was happening with her clients. Samma does not want the report from her first supervisor to be sent to her prospective supervisor, as she feels it will prejudice the supervisor and not give her a fair chance of passing. Samma disclosed to an academic staff member that she has a diagnosed mental illness, and she does not want this information made known to the placement supervisor.

Exercise 16.4 For the student and supervisor Consider the ‘Thinking about the issues’ scenario you’ve just read: 1 How would you deal with this situation if you were the staff member at the educational institution or the placement supervisor? 2 To what extent would your approach be influenced by legal requirements, professional ethics and values or knowledge of the field or the consequences of your decision?

Responsibilities of the agency Most organisations will have induction processes and procedures and require students to read relevant information or completion of some form of induction training. These will probably include areas such as equity and diversity, occupational health and safety and policies related to harassment and bullying in the workplace. Remember that these policies are there to protect students as well as staff and service users so should be clearly understood as they may offer you support if workplace issues arise. There are two set of standards and principles to guide the legal and ethical obligations of the agency and the staff. The ASWEAS Standards- Appendix 3 (2020) state that the placement agency understands that their legal obligation to provide a safe workplace with respect to freedom from bullying, harassment and discrimination extends to students in the workplace. Once a placement is established, a range of ethical and legal issues – related to the duty to protect students and clients and to use assessment criteria in a fair way – should be considered by the agency and supervisor. It is worth noting that some agencies, especially those who do not employ social workers, may not practise according to social work’s professional codes. This may require the external supervisor and the liaison staff member to be more aware of potential concerns for students if they experience unprofessional behaviour from agency staff. The second set of standards is the Australian Association of Social Workers’ Code of Ethics (2020). In particular, Section 9 – Working with Students & Social Workers under Supervision – outlines their duties of care towards students on placement. They include: • Social workers will foster in social work students a knowledge and understanding of this Code, emphasising the relationship of these to their practice, teaching and research. • Social workers will provide appropriate training, supervision, mentoring, guidance and support for students. Students should not be asked to perform work for which they do not have the knowledge or skills or be sent into situations in which their safety is at risk. They should not be given inappropriate responsibility for decision making or for the running of a project or agency. • Social workers will ensure that their professional relationships in these areas are constructive and non-exploitative. For example, a supervisor asks a first-year student to drive a bus of adolescents to a function because the regular driver was on annual leave. In addition to feeling concern about driving a large vehicle, the student felt uncomfortable about being given responsibility for the safety of a vulnerable group.

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•

•

•

•

Social workers will ensure that students access regular professional supervision. Students require supervision to oversee and guide their practice and to ensure that the clients’ needs are being met. Supervisors must provide back-up supervision in their absence. Social workers will adhere to the principles of privacy and confidentiality in the supervisory relationship, acknowledging any limitations that may apply in particular circumstances. Supervisors must spell out the circumstances in which information about clients and the agency can be shared and with whom. Students need to understand agency protocols such as getting written permission from clients, if necessary, and disguising the identity of clients and staff when talking about their work with other staff, students and in field seminars. Social workers will recognise that the supervisor’s role is intended to be educational, supportive, developmental and work-focused. In the event that supervisees request or require therapy, they will be referred to another competent practitioner. Try to give students useful learning opportunities. Students’ time should not be consumed by tasks that don’t meet the educational requirements of the course. However, it is reasonable to ask students to do some of the less skilled tasks that staff share, such as answering telephones or getting milk for morning tea. Social workers will ensure that supervision and training are culturally safe places for social workers with diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities, disabilities and other identities.

Duty of care to clients Agencies have a duty of care to clients and the following guidelines should be considered to ensure that clients will be protected when working with a student: •

The agency should feel reasonably confident that the student has the skills required to start work with the clients and, if not, that he or she is adequately supervised. • The agency should ensure that clients are aware that the person they are seeing is a student. The clients must agree to this. • The supervisor should agree with the student on a process to ensure that the supervisor knows about the work done with clients. It is clearly stated in most agreements between HEPs and agencies providing placements that supervisors are responsible for the work done by students, and, in turn, students are obliged to keep their supervisors informed of their activities with colleagues and clients. This is a straightforward process when the relationship between the student is well supported by the supervisor and the student is competent to do placement tasks. As mentioned earlier, this becomes more of a problem when the supervisor is external to the organisation and has difficulty accessing the student’s work. It may then be time to contact the liaison person. In general terms, if a student acts inappropriately with a client, the student must be withdrawn from contact with clients and probably from the agency. But students and supervisors are also obliged to exercise caution in making negative comments about students, supervisors or institutions, as defamation laws may apply. It is better to focus on the facts rather than make broad generalisations when making an assessment of either a supervisor’s or a student’s behaviour. A very useful Australian resource that covers all of these items in greater detail is: • Kennedy, R., Richards, J., & Leiman, T. (2016). Integrating human service law, ethics and practice (4th ed.), Oxford University Press.

Evaluating students An important aspect of duty of care for students is to ensure that the student’s work is assessed fairly. This is examined in detail in Chapter 17. Fair and just processes are critical for providing as open an environment as possible for the difficult task of evaluation.

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CHAPTER 16 Ethical and legal issues

ETHICAL PRACTICE Reflection about ethical issues involves systematic exploration of how we ought to act in relation to others – what we see as right or wrong, or good or bad – and how well we meet these standards. Our moral framework in our relationships with others and the way we interpret society are underpinned by our values. Ethics and values influence our choices when a range of actions is possible and determine how we exercise power. Failure to meet the legal obligations of placement also constitutes unethical practice. Ethics are at the heart of the student–supervisor relationship and attending to ethical issues is a way of coping constructively with the power imbalance in this relationship and with the complex nature of each of the roles. The supervisor needs to model ethical practice and to provide a context in which ethical issues can be identified and discussed.

Ethical supervision Supervisors are guided by the laws of society and the policies and procedures of their employer and the educational institution. Although codes of ethics are not law, they provide guidelines, and practitioners still need to exercise professional discretion. Clear agreements about rights and responsibilities are necessary to clarify the boundaries and expectations of supervision. This is discussed in more detail in Chapter 5. The ethical principles that underpin worker–client relationships are also relevant to supervisor– student relationships. Briggs and Kane (2000, pp. 132–136) developed some moral principles that should direct the relationship between the supervisor and the student. • Autonomy: Promote self-determination. Supervisors should assist students to develop their capacity to make informed choices about their practice, within organisational and legal limitations. The challenge for a supervisor is that it can be difficult to gauge a student’s competence for a given task and, in some contexts, the individualism inherent in the principle of autonomy is not always appropriate in contexts in which other rights may override those of the student. •

•

•

•

•

Non-maleficence: Do no harm. Supervisors and students should not do things that, intentionally or otherwise, put clients or themselves at risk. This is a basic principle in all human service work. In the context of placement, students should not take on work they are not competent to do, or where they are knowingly put at risk. Beneficence: Promote good for others. The focus of all parties on placement should be on facilitating the growth of the student and clients. The principle of beneficence depends on cultural definitions of what is ‘good’. In professional terms, some broad goals will be agreed to, but there may be debate as to how to put these into practice in particular situations. Justice: Provide equal opportunities to all regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, class, religion, sexual orientation and cultural background. The principle of justice requires that students are treated consistently, fairly and impartially, particularly in relation to the supervisor’s assessment of their practice. Fidelity: Make honest promises and honour these commitments. This is a basic principle in most occupations; in placements, it requires the student and supervisor to be committed to meeting the obligations they have to each other, or renegotiating the obligations if conditions change significantly. Veracity: Be truthful. It is difficult to be entirely truthful on all occasions, but students and supervisors certainly should not mislead others by omitting important information or falsifying information. Both should operate on the basis of informed consent, so that supervisors agree to a student’s plan, knowing the student’s intentions. Students are entitled to know supervisors’ opinions of their performance and on what the opinions are based.

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Exercise 16.5 For students and supervisors Think of an example from your experience where you have been conscious of applying these principles or where you have experienced difficulties in meeting the expectations raised by each principle: 1 How aware were you of the issue at the time? 2 What process did you use to reach a resolution? 3 What practice principles do you now consider when resolving such issues?

Both in practice and in the supervisory relationship, students and supervisors may be faced with ethical problems or disputes that require resolution. These principles may assist them to think through these disputes, but in practice there are few absolutes. Therefore, it is important for students to share the ethical dilemma with their supervisor or other staff members in the agency.

Ethical decision-making An ethical dilemma arises from the idea that a variety of different decisions have merit, and it is likely that there will be ethical issues in all practice situations. For example, if a worker, by using his or her knowledge of policies, advocates for a client on a waiting list for public housing to be moved up the list, it raises ethical issues because in doing so the worker has pushed others down the list. Ethical problems can arise when a worker knows what to do but feels uncomfortable doing it (e.g. taking a child into care). To students on placement, such ethical problems can be very confronting. The following model describes a well-known series of steps of an ethical decision-making model that may help students to work through such situations. 1 Define the ethical issue(s). In ethical dilemmas, workers are confronted with a choice between two mutually exclusive courses of action (e.g. a worker may be bound to confidentiality but feel a duty to warn others about a client’s behaviour; a worker may want to distribute resources based on a client’s merit or need, rather than distribute the resources in equal shares). The way the issue is defined gives the worker a clear direction and encourages them to explore the situation further. 2 Gather useful information from books, from the internet, or by analysing the situation or discussing it with others. Take the time to explore at least some of the many perspectives on the issue(s) to determine whether it is legal, ethical, clinical or moral. It may be a combination (Harber-Iles & Seibel, 2012). 3 Identify broad ethical principles that could guide action and may provide clarity or guidance (Harber-Iles & Seibel, 2012). The principles previously could include protection of life, the principle of autonomy and freedom or the principle of least harm. 4 Refer to your profession’s code of ethics or the agency’s code of conduct for guidance. 5 Think about the client’s world view and hopes, society’s values and your values. Quite often it is the worker’s values that have the most impact on how situations are defined and resolved; yet reflective practice depends on your ability as a worker to take these factors into account and subject your values to the scrutiny of others. 6 Brainstorm various solutions to the dilemma, define your options and arrive at a resolution. The options must be real and possible. 7 In reflecting on the ethical basis of your practice, you need to keep an open mind and entertain a range of possible outcomes. Does this decision fit with my professional code of ethics? Does this decision fit with the cultural values and experiences of my clients? How have my values been challenged or affirmed (Harber-Iles & Seibel, 2012)? Think about a situation from your practice and apply these stages or do the same for the following scenario.

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CHAPTER 16 Ethical and legal issues

THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES The student is placed at a Youth Drop-In Centre which offers a low-key venue to encourage vulnerable young

THEORY TO PRACTICE

people to seek out a safe space and connection to other support and services. The student is on duty when a young woman, who attends regularly, became violent and appeared to be on some drug (maybe ice) which could account for her erratic and ‘spaced out’ behaviour. She has had involvement with a number of staff at the Centre and there is a clear policy that clients must not attend if they are alcohol or drug affected as they can be a risk to themselves and maybe unsafe towards other clients and staff. What are the ethical implications in this scenario? The student could start thinking about: •

Who are the people who have a stake in this?

• •

What ethical considerations are relevant here? How might the agency and staff respond ethically to the young woman?

The student noted that social work practice is indeed complex, and this case reflects conflicting interests and expectations. In Briggs and Kane’s (2000) terms, the student could compromise on the broad values of justice and beneficence by treating the young person as troublesome rather than troubled. More specifically, the student could fail to demonstrate respect and empathy because he adopts the culturally sanctioned agency rules and regulations. In reflecting on this scenario, the student learns about the interaction of behaviour and attitudes and raises questions about what constitutes appropriate and reasonable behaviour. A profession’s code of ethics is a guide for professional behaviour and outlines what it means to be a member of the profession, protects people who use services from incompetent practice, and protects workers from malpractice lawsuits. Reading and thinking through the implications of your Code should be a key piece of work on placement. Codes are made up of values and principles of practice. The Australian Association of Social Workers’ Code of Ethics (2020) outlines three key values: respect for persons, social justice and professional integrity. Applying these values is seen as a way of moving ahead in situations of ethical conflict. For example, a practitioner works with a group of young people, some of whom are being excluded by other members of the group. The practitioner considers that the young people being excluded are in the most vulnerable position; therefore, the rights of those doing the excluding are secondary. The practitioner feels that the only ethical thing to do is to advocate on behalf of the excluded members, even though it could be argued that all young people are disadvantaged in society. Agencies often have similar codes of conduct, which provide a framework for thinking through situations encountered on placement. Exercise 16.6 helps students to identify this framework.

Exercise 16.6 For the student Read any relevant codes of ethics or conduct and think about how these should direct your practice. 1 Are there any differences between your agency’s codes and the professional codes of ethics? 2 Which aspects of these codes are harder, and which are easier to apply in your agency? 3 Why is it hard or easy to apply them?

To think about the ethical basis of your practice you need to link specific events with general ideas and principles. Banks (2012) outlines four principles for human service practice, none of which is straightforward in meaning or in its implications for practice, but they form a useful framework. It is important that this framework reflects your cultural situation, so you should consider whether these principles, written by a British author, are appropriate to your situation: •

Practitioners must respect and promote individuals’ rights to self-determination by creating an environment that assists people to be more self-determining. However, there are very real limits

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•

• •

to self-determination in many welfare systems – it is not always morally right to promote one person’s rights at the expense of others. Practitioners should promote welfare or wellbeing by improving the interactions between individuals and the society they live in. However, there is always the potential for conflict between welfare for the individual and welfare for the majority. Practitioners should strive to be equal in their treatment of others, to provide equal opportunities and to aim for equity in outcomes. Practitioners should apply the principle of distributive justice (justice based on need, rather than ‘just deserts’). This is a challenge for workers, as they are often gatekeepers between the resources and the people who need those resources.

Exercise 16.7 For the supervisor A useful article written by Sarah Banks provides some interesting ethical issues for social workers. The case studies could be used to discuss with students in supervision: • Banks, S. (2016). Everyday ethics in professional life: Social work as ethics work, Ethics and Social Welfare, 10(1), 35–52, DOI: 10.1080/17496535.2015.1126623 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/17496535.2015.1126623

Ethical considerations in writing reports, records and documentation The core business of human service workers is to problem-solve, which requires gathering information and making thoughtful observations to form a picture of the situation that can facilitate an optimal intervention or action plan in partnership with the service user and others (Cleak, 2012). Agencies will have clear policies about collecting client data and the form of record keeping. Ethical considerations underscore the decisions about what and how to share information about a client. Providing information about a client should respect the client’s right to know (autonomy), as well as not sharing information that may be harmful. The following ideas ensure that students adhere to ethical considerations of their documentation: • Try to look at the whole situation and look for alternative views rather than accepting the first option that the information suggests, or others’ perceptions of the client, such as health care providers, who may be biased because of their role. • Be wary of emotional or labelling language, such as ‘mental retardation’ or ‘schizophrenic’. • Use credible sources. • Keep relevant to the main purpose of the report. • Be willing to change your opinion based on new evidence. •

Acknowledge uncertainty about decisions that are made (Cleak, 2009).

SUMMARY The onus is on students and supervisors to be cognisant of the legal requirements for human service practice and to work in an ethical and reflective manner that reflects the broad social values of justice, fairness, autonomy, equality and equity, as well as personal and agency values. Key issues include confidentiality, informed consent and duty of care. The formal legal requirements and codes of ethics and conduct should be clearly outlined in the academic curriculum and the placement agency and be agreed to by all stakeholders in some form of contract or agreement.

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PART 6 EVALUATING, ASSESSING AND FINISHING PLACEMENT By now, the learning goals are firmly established and so now comes the time when you as a supervisor or student will evaluate whether the standard of work is competent and the goals of placement have been achieved. Formative and summative assessment should ideally identify and document the growth and learning that have been achieved and where further improvement is needed. In Chapter 17, a framework for evaluation to assess both students’ and supervisors’ performances on placement is outlined. The difficulties of the assessment process and how to deal with issues such as managing situations when sufficient learning has not occurred are explored. The responsibility of the HEP in the assessment process, through the liaison role, is also described. In Chapter 18, the processes and ideas for finishing placement well are explored. Finally, Chapter 19 explores the transition from student to a new graduate social work role and what to expect from employer and covers some strategies to ensure that there is a balance between opportunities and support.

CHAPTER 17 Assessment and evaluation – students and supervisors ................................................... 202 CHAPTER 18 Finishing well................................................ 215 CHAPTER 19 Forging your transition from a student to a professional social worker.............................. 223

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CHAPTER

17

Assessment and evaluation – students and supervisors INTRODUCTION The term ‘evaluation’ is used to refer to the ongoing process of feedback about a student’s work, whereas ‘assessment’ refers to the process used to decide on the standard of work or to defined events such as the mid-placement assessment. Importantly, the domains of the assessment framework are not the same as the assessment tools or data collection instruments used to collect the information on which the assessment is based. These should be clearly defined in the learning agreement established at the beginning of placement and modified along the way. A combination of clear learning expectations, appropriate ongoing feedback and appropriate opportunities for the student should produce a sound base for final assessments. It is not only the student who is assessed. Supervisors are also evaluated during the placement process, at least informally, by the student, the educational institution and, to some extent, by their colleagues and managers. It is crucial that graduates who intend to work in human services have been assessed as competent and it requires capable and knowledgeable practitioners to make this judgement. The supervisor stands in the middle of a tangle of organisational relationships, facing the demanding task of being both assessor of and advocate for the student. While it may be easier for the supervisor to facilitate the student’s learning, the process of examining, judging and identifying concerns in the student’s practice, may be more difficult (Hughes & Heycox, 2000, p. 92) and cannot be avoided.

EVALUATING STUDENTS’ PRACTICE Field educators are given the important role of being the gatekeepers of the profession by objectively evaluating student capacity or readiness for practice by observing and documenting evidence of students learning during the field placement. More importantly, this learning must be demonstrated rather than assumed which can be a difficult task because of considerable uncertainty and different interpretation among supervisors (Bogo et al., 2015; Cleak et al., 2015). In addition, there are significant variations between placement contexts and different and sometimes limited access to learning opportunities. So how do students, supervisors and HEPs know when first-year students have demonstrated appropriate beginning skills or final-year students are ready for practice? • Is it when students demonstrate progress towards competent practice and show the ability to learn? • • •

Is it when students achieve all of the learning goals outlined in the learning agreement? Is it when students can develop good working relationships with a range of people? What are the different expectations of a first or final placement? From these questions, it may be clear that judging the value of practice or behaviour is not an easy process. So, before a student can be evaluated, what is good practice or good-enough learning (Giles et al., 2010, p. 136) and how it will be measured must be decided on and agreed to from the outset (see the construction of the learning agreement in Chapter 5). Social work programs provide guidelines on how to evaluate students’ practice. How supervisors carry out this evaluation in the

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CHAPTER 17 Assessment and evaluation – students and supervisors

context of their agencies is an important aspect to consider. The liaison staff member also plays an important role in helping students and supervisors determine clear and achievable goals for evaluation. Hopkins and Cooper (2000) offer a helpful framework to follow when undertaking assessment (see Table 17.1). Table 17.1 Principles of assessment Principle

Conditions to meet the principle

Open

The students know they are being assessed and the indicators against which they are being assessed. The students know what evidence is required and how much they have to provide.

Manageable Fair

Assessment is carried out within the constraints of times, work requirements and resources. Assessment requirements should be feasible within these constraints. Assessment methods should not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, race, culture or sexual preferences. Methods of collecting evidence are fair, open and transparent. Students’ specific needs are acknowledged. Students receive feedback about achievement of standards. There are reasonable opportunities for students to be reassessed if they have not met the standards. Assessment is based on actual work conducted in the workplace and not some contrived or artificial exercise.

Authentic

The student has produced the evidence for assessment without assistance from others. If assessment is done as part of a collaborative effort, such as a group project, the assessor can identify the work completed by the student. Consistent

Assessment decisions are consistent across a wide range of students. This is achieved through moderation of students’ work and assessor training and use of set assessment guides.

Valid

Assessment methods assess what is meant to be assessed, covering only the items specified in the assessment criteria. There is enough evidence to enable the assessor to make a sure and certain decision.

Sufficient

There is enough evidence to decide that the student can repeat this competence in other agencies and with other clients. Part of work and learning

Evidence can be found in the normal day-to-day work and training activities of the student. It may be necessary to design assessment activities to support evidence obtained from everyday activities. Source: Adapted from Hopkins and Cooper, 2000, p. 65

The evaluation criteria Evaluation of social work practice performance is complex and subjective, and it is often challenging to identify clear standards from which to assess performance. As reported above, field educators have identified a lack of clear criteria as one of the difficulties in assessing practice competence. Competence is conceived as a set of knowledge, skills and values that are evident in the student’s responses to different learning situations. What is missing, however, according to Bogo et al. (2013), are the ways in which problems are conceptualised and how internal thinking processes influence students’ judgement and decision-making abilities. These are referred to as meta-competencies or higher-order cognitive and reflective processes that add the subjective and creative aspects of a student’s performance as part of the evaluation criteria. The AASW Practice Standards and the Code of Ethics are now increasingly used by training institutions in identifying which areas of practice receive attention in formal assessment of placements. Table 17.2 details specific criteria that supervisors and students could use to determine the degree to which students are assertive in group situations. These criteria relate to the ‘Doing’ framework of experimental learning as outlined in Chapter 2, Exercise 2.5.

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Table 17.2 Examples of criteria for different levels of practice in a group context

THEORY TO PRACTICE

Unsatisfactory practice

Beginning practice

Competent practice

• The student remains silent during most group forums and avoids opportunities to contribute. • The student lacks confidence in expressing his or her point of view in supervision. • The student is unable to contribute at a professional level at team meetings in which the student’s clients are discussed.

• The student is able to present ideas in staff meetings but remains intimidated by the senior staff. • After rehearsing in supervision, the student feels more comfortable about presenting cases in team meetings.

• The student is able to chair a meeting and behave assertively when handling conflicting views of members. • The student actively participates in staff meetings. • The student is able to express and defend his or her ideas in group supervision, even when these ideas differ from those of other students. • The student contributes ideas and opinions in team meetings in which staff from other disciplines are present.

Grading criteria To date, there are few studies that directly evaluate the reliability and validity of the tools that measure a student’s performance on placement. In fact, the literature indicates that it is unusual for a student’s performance to be evaluated as inadequate and ratings are often inflated, with students usually receiving ‘above average’ ratings (Regehr et al., 2011, p. 469). Developing strategies to evaluate field performance fairly and accurately is key to demonstrating student competency development in social work education programs, and to ensuring that graduates possess an adequate level of competency to engage in social work practice (Ringstad, 2013). This area of evaluation of a student raises more questions than there are answers! Is it acceptable for a student to pass placement even though he or she has not demonstrated competent practice for all criteria? How is the overall assessment determined when the student has demonstrated examples of both unsatisfactory and competent practice? At what point could a student’s performance be considered ‘good enough’? Grades in placements are usually ‘pass/fail’ or ‘satisfactory/ unsatisfactory’ reflecting the difficulties in making a precise assessment across different placement settings and different teaching and learning opportunities. The challenge for HEPs is to develop better standards that define what constitutes good, competent or unsatisfactory practice.

Principles of evaluation Giles et al. (2010) suggest that the main components of evaluation and assessment are dialogue and reflection (p. 133). It could be said that there is often an over-reliance on these tools and that direct and indirect (audio- or video-recordings) observation, written records in a range of formats and feedback from other staff and service users are very useful (these are described in Chapter 8). It is unlikely that all forms of information gathering will be practical; however, a range of evidence is very desirable, since each has its limits and advantages.

Evidence for evaluation and assessment Educational institutions are likely to take professional standards, such as the ASWEAS Field Education Standards – AASW Board Approved Version April 2021 or statements of competency in industry standards into account in setting the assessment criteria for placements, but there may be debate about how accurately or how thoroughly they have done so. To deal with this, the learning agreement should spell out the criteria for learning and assessment (see Chapter 5).

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CHAPTER 17 Assessment and evaluation – students and supervisors

In some social work programs, placements may be graded on the basis of assignments, journals or portfolios in which students demonstrate their learning on placement. The advantages of these assessment methods are that supervisors can compare and contrast work, and students can identify themes in their practice, consolidate learning, and make links between practice and the theory that underpins it. The disadvantages are that these methods rely on the student’s capacity to conceptualise practice and don’t really evaluate what was actually done on placement. It is very important to use written assessment methods to support decisions about the student’s level of performance. It is both a skill that students must develop and a requirement of the HEP. The institution will nominate core tasks that all students must complete for assessment. These may form a portfolio that builds confidence and will ensure that evidence of achievement is readily available at assessment times. In addition to any written methods, evaluation ideally should combine direct observation of practice with assessment of: • • • •

how students access and use feedback how students make sense of what they have done and explain their practice to others whether students work constructively with organisational staff as well as clients and communities whether students can articulate their emerging practice framework, which could be the knowledge and theories that guide their practice approaches. The observations other people have made about the student will be taken into account in the evaluation process. It is a good idea for the supervisor to ask whether colleagues who wish to comment on a student’s activities are prepared for the information to be passed on to the student.

EVALUATING SUPERVISORS’ PRACTICE Evaluating supervisory practice can be more difficult for academic staff and students than evaluating students, for two main reasons: (1) if the evaluation of the supervisor is more negative than positive, the agency may be unwilling to take future placements; and (2) it is difficult for anyone external to the supervisory relationship to observe supervisory practices. Nevertheless, students and educational institutions do evaluate the quality of placements, and these evaluations affect decisions about whether agencies will be asked to take future placements and about the type of students who may suit certain agencies and supervisors. In Chapter 18, a framework for student evaluation of supervisors is outlined. Some educational institutions require students to give formal feedback to supervisors. This is another opportunity to reflect on and review the placement in general and the supervisory relationship in particular. Students need to consider how to offer this feedback so that they are comfortable, as they may fear reprisal if the evaluation is negative. Some ideas about how to give constructive feedback are covered in Chapter 7.

Criteria for the evaluation of supervisors At this stage, it will be helpful for supervisors to review the material in Part 2 about the expectations of placement and supervision. Part of the evaluation of supervisors will be to decide whether they have met these expectations. Taking students on placement is often part of a supervisor’s professional development – they progress from being competent practitioners to testing their ability to teach practice. They also may be trying out their wings in a management role. Taking a student may reflect their commitment to the profession, their interest in expanding their skills or improving their curriculum vitae, or their need for assistance to complete a particular task. How they evaluate themselves will be influenced by their reasons for supervising placements, and this will impact on the experience students will be evaluating.

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Supervisors often ask the HEP to provide feedback on their work with students, often via the liaison staff member. This can be difficult since the liaison person is unlikely to have seen supervisors in action and is relying on the impressions of the student and the liaison staff member’s self-report during liaison contacts. Students may raise concerns with academic staff, but they may not want the discussion to go any further and, unless the matter is serious, this feedback is often not given to the supervisor. The supervisor’s team leader and peers can be a useful source of feedback on supervisory practice. Taping supervision and reviewing the tapes using the formats in Chapter 7 can give supervisors some objective data on what they did and did not do and say and can also be a basis for constructive feedback from students on the usefulness of the sessions. Supervisors should identify their standards for whether they are doing a ‘good enough’ job as a supervisor. It can be easy to get stuck between meeting the needs of the agency, clients and community members, and their own standards and those of students. Having a clear set of achievable objectives is one way of avoiding the trap of trying to be all things to all people.

Factors to consider in evaluating the supervisor There are often mitigating factors such as the demands of their workload or the agency, and the focus should be on the opportunities they had as much as the constraints experienced. The criteria outlined below are broad, and supervisors might wish to expand them to suit their context. For example, the criterion ‘Ability to be student-focused’ could comprise indicators such as their flexibility in allocating work, their ability to negotiate with other staff for work for students, their ability to assess students’ learning needs, their capacity to vary the teaching methods used, and the quality of their preparation and availability for supervision. There has been considerable research that is very consistent in identifying the qualities of the supervisor and supervision that promote quality student learning. Successive studies of student satisfaction with their placement and the learning activities and supervision styles consider the factors outlined in Table 17.3 as the most important factors (Cleak et al., 2021 In press). Table 17.3 Important factors in achieving student satisfaction with their placement, learning activities and supervision styles. Context

Important factors for meeting student learning need

Supervisory Relationship and/or other Enabling Relationships

• • • • •

Key Anchor(s) & Support Mentor & Role Model Teaching & Promoting Learning Feedback & Affirmation A Welcoming Team

Real World Practice Opportunities

• • • •

Joining a Team Shadowing & Observing Direct Work with Service Users Inter Professional & Inter Agency Practice

Focused Teaching & Learning in Practice

• • • • •

Induction, Pacing and Timing Supervision Self-directed Learning Reflective Practice Integrating Theory, Ethics, Research Evidence, Practice Wisdom & Procedural Knowledge. • Using Teaching & Learning Activities

Just as supervisors are required to provide examples to back up their assessment of students, the student’s review and evaluation of the supervisor in the agency context needs to be based on specific evidence. It is important for students to recall any instances that challenge the conclusions they reach and include them in the final assessment. In Chapter 7, some methods for recording supervision sessions were outlined. These records can be reviewed for patterns. Supervisors could ask for feedback from students on a particular aspect of

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each session. Supervisors might, for example, enquire about their effectiveness in each of the supervisory functions – educational, administrative, management and support. They might review this feedback in light of the learning agreement and assess whether they are consistently assisting students to meet their goals. Educational institutions often run sessions to train supervisors, and, in well-developed courses, social work programs will give supervisors various activities that can be used to evaluate their practice. Supervisors should try to make explicit links in their records on supervision between their behaviour, their assessment of what happened and their goals for supervision. Completing assessments of students is a good opportunity for supervisors to review their practice and set goals based on their evaluation.

ASSESSMENT EVENTS Ongoing evaluation processes should be linked to the assessment events in which issues raised using the criteria discussed earlier can be summarised. Sometimes supervisors may not be aware of the issues that haven’t been discussed with students until all the criteria are reviewed together. Social work programs usually outline a timetable of assessment events showing how and when assessment and accompanying documentation should be completed. Assessment typically occurs mid-placement and at the end of placement, although liaison meetings are another means of evaluating students’ progress. Supervisors and students may also decide on other assessment events, such as a presentation, completion of a project, or evaluation of a program. These events give all parties the opportunity to review the direction, pace and progress of learning. Without them it is too easy to keep busy without reflecting and examining the learning that has occurred.

Mid-placement assessment The purpose of the mid-placement assessment is to review the learning to date against the goals set at the beginning of placement, to highlight the student’s achievements and identify ongoing learning needs, and to revise the goals to direct the remaining time of the placement. The mid-placement assessment may indicate that some goals are unattainable or unnecessary. Other goals may have become crucial in the light of the mid-placement review. Feedback from the supervisor to the student in the mid-placement assessment, as far as possible, should be clear, objective, specific and timely. It is easier for a student to accept and use feedback if it balances the positive and the less-than-positive aspects of practice and focuses on the issues rather than the personality of the student. If any party believes that the negatives of a particular placement outweigh the positives, then the mid-placement review is a good time to check if the placement continues to be viable. Figure 17.1 gives an example of a mid-placement report.

Final assessment The purpose of the final assessment is to make a decision about whether students have met the placement criteria of the HEP. The assessment report may have a long shelf-life. If this is the student’s first placement, the report may be sent to their next supervisor and it will probably be used in planning the next placement, or students may use the report to show evidence of their learning achievements to date and what learning is still required. It is important that what is written is discussed as openly as possible, that critical and positive comments are made on the basis of specific examples, and that the limitations of the agency with respect to the student’s learning are noted. Figure 17.2 contains an example of a final placement report using learning area about Policy.

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Figure 17.1 Example of a mid-placement report

EXAMPLE OF A MID-PLACEMENT REPORT USING LEARNING AREA ABOUT POLICY Student: Task 1) I have been very interested in policy and how it interacts with the community I am working with as well as the agency I have been placed in. In particular, I have been working with another student to analyse how some mental health policies may disadvantage different group of people. Task 2) I observed my supervisor’s advising the support group about confidentiality and privacy policies and how they may impact on them during group sessions. My goal is to understand the legislation about this and deliver this information to the community group later in the placement.

Supervisor: The student is very interested in policy practice and is involved in current social issues at the University through social campaigns. I have encouraged the student to question and examine the relevant policies and legislation around mental health, including the current Royal Commission. However, I would like to see more writing and constructive analysis of this work, rather than just discussing them during supervision. I suggest that the student drafts a position paper that the agency can use to present to the upcoming annual meeting of stakeholders.

Figure 17.2 Example of a final placement report using learning area about Policy

EXAMPLE OF A FINAL PLACEMENT REPORT USING LEARNING AREA ABOUT POLICY Student: Through the second half of the placement, I channelled my interest in policy practice into writing a position paper for the agency to consider, to inform their future direction and strategic plans. I was able to discuss the privacy policies with the community support group and answer any questions.

Supervisor: The student continued to make progress in this area and demonstrated her awareness of inclusion policies and showed a commitment to changing the way mental health legislation may affect some groups, such as disabled women with children. The report to the Board has been slow to complete as the student still finds some hesitancy in committing her ideas on paper. I strongly advise that her next placement concentrates on encouraging and helping student to manage her anxieties about writing as her ideas and conceptual knowledge of policies is commendable Useful Resource: Cleak, H., & Ross, B. (2021). Writing a placement report. In B. Ross (Ed.), Writing skills for social work students (pp. 202–222) Macmillan.

The liaison role The other important assessment event is the liaison contact with the agency, the student and supervisor, as part of its responsibility to support, monitor and enrich the placement (see also Chapter 4). However, over the last decade, the role and importance of liaison has been eroded as field education programs seek alternative and cost-effective ways to undertake these functions. Therefore, the onus is often on the supervisor and the student to request that liaison contact events are put in the diary at the commencement of placement to ensure that it occurs. It is an important process to protect and support both the supervisor and the student and should not be seen as onerous, intrusive or unnecessary (Cleak & Venville, 2018).

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The liaison person has a responsibility to ask explicit questions that relate to the evaluation of the student’s learning: • ‘Are there are any potential areas of concern that could interfere with the achievement of the student’s learning goals?’ • ‘What part of the learning has been developing well?’ • • • •

‘What is presently proving to be a challenge?’ ‘Are there any concerns about the learning at this stage?’ ‘What do you need from me at this stage?’ ‘Can I see evidence of the student’s work?’ Sometimes students and supervisors collude to keep the true state of the placement from the liaison person because they fear having to examine the difficulties more than they fear continuing with the current arrangement. The following scenario illustrates how this can impact on a student’s experience of placement.

THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES During the first liaison visit (Week 4) for a second placement, the liaison staff member, sensed that there were

THEORY TO PRACTICE

some concerns in the placement. The student was asked to describe her induction process and how the learning agreement was developed by her and her supervisor. The student appeared quite defensive and reported that the agency was ‘super’ busy and that they hadn’t had time to complete the learning agreement but that she was undertaking a whole range of activities which she was enjoying. Some of these included ‘holding the fort’ while administrative staff had lunch and taking minutes at a variety of meetings held in the agency. Further questions revealed that supervision sessions were regularly postponed or rescheduled due to the supervisor’s busy work schedule and recent secondment to a management role. The supervisor was apologetic but indicated that her new role and unavailability to supervise was discussed with the educational institution at the beginning of placement and that probably wasn’t going to change.

So, what are the issues for the student that liaison needs to address? •

Lack of appropriate learning tasks for a final year student

•

Lack of regular supervision

• •

Incomplete learning goals established between the student and supervisor Student defensive about discussing her experience because she doesn’t want the placement terminated and having to start again and appears to have a rapport with the supervisor

What are some of the ideas that the liaison staff member could suggest? •

The placement is not far through so there is time to develop a learning plan between the parties.

•

Negotiate if and what the supervisor is prepared to offer in terms of dedicated time for supervision and working through a learning plan with student.

•

The liaison staff member could suggest that the agency may be able to offer other staff input to meet some of the student’s learning needs. However, because the other employees are not qualified social workers, the supervisor will need to oversee and direct the tasks.

•

Being in a final year placement, the student is required to undertake significant activities that will complement and build on her

•

first-year placement. The liaison staff member could suggest some timeframes and then monitor that these can be achieved and will return in a month

• •

The liaison can write a report that outlines these strategies and will ask the student and supervisor to review and sign. The placement may need to be extended or terminated if adequate progress has not been made in these areas.

to review the progress of the placement.

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THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES The following is an example of a report that a liaison staff member would complete in the case of a potentially failing student.

Table 17.4 Supporting a failing student Please provide an overview of how the student continues to engage in learning on placement. Are they ‘on track’ to achieve the learning goals/activities detailed in their learning plan?

Student’s view

Supervisor’s view

Student is aware that he is not on track with his learning goals. He states that he feels underconfident generally, but is able to handle some cases well though not others. His last placement was a community project in which there was no client contact and student therefore feels that he has started his final placement with minimal experience in working with clients. The student is also clear that he struggles with his reflective ability and states that his responses are sometimes ‘superficial’; he understands that an emerging graduate should be clearer and more confident of their practice frameworks and professional skills and knowledge and can demonstrate these.

The mid-placement report cited that some areas were assessed as ‘beginning competency’ but other areas were assessed as ‘limited capability’. Supervisor does not feel confident that the student is able to work independently, and all of his cases have been supervised by her. Supervisor sits in on all the student’s interviews with clients because student still ‘gets lost’ gathering important information required to assess a client’s eligibility for emergency accommodation. As a result, the student’s exposure to a range of clients and situations has been limited.

If there are concerns about the student’s progress on placement, please briefly identify what they are. Student is not performing as a final year student with four weeks to go. He is not working autonomously and appears to be unable to generalise his learning from one case to another, and so needs to spend time reviewing client files, etc. In some instances, the supervisor has seen that the student has some capacity to engage, assess and intervene with a client, but this is dependent on the level of comfort that he feels with the client. As mentioned earlier, the student also seems to struggle articulating his reflective skills and practice framework. Please provide details around the arrangements made regarding the strategies that have been agreed to and any additional liaison visits that have been planned. 1. Now that the issues have been identified and discussed, student and supervisor will work towards a revised learning plan that will offer the student the opportunity to demonstrate his knowledge and skills and work independently. This will involve access to cases where the student can take a lead role. 2. Supervisor will continue to review the student’s process reports, which will be written weekly to demonstrate how he assesses and can critically evaluate his skills in interviewing and assessment. 3. Student has also not had the opportunity to write a psychosocial assessment, as the agency mainly uses case notes, but supervisor will try to arrange for this activity to be done. This will also be used to allow the student to articulate his conceptual frameworks. 4. Supervisor would like some input from the training institution to assist her in offering the student some extra learning opportunities, especially around his reflective skills. This may involve a couple of teaching sessions in which the student can work through some exercises. 5. Supervisor also suggested that maybe a staff member might assist in offering feedback on some of the student’s process records and allow the student to co-lead in some of their cases, to increase his exposure to different cases as well as different styles. 6. A third liaison visit will be undertaken on ___________ to review the student’s progress. At this point, the placement may be extended for another two weeks to achieve the learning, the placement will be terminated as the learning goals will not be achievable within the time frame or the placement will be assessed as on track and will be completed on time.

WHEN THINGS GO OFF TRACK Learning on placement is a developmental process and it is expected that students will make some minor ‘mistakes’ that should be seen in the context of their overall progress. Willingness and ability to learn, openness to examining practice, and a capacity to form good working relationships are the

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key indicators that a novice practitioner is likely to be successful. However, the educational institution and the supervisor may judge some mistakes as being too serious to overlook, particularly if they involve unethical practice, an inability to develop professional relationships with clients or staff, or a breakdown in the student–supervisor relationship, and the placement may be terminated. There is a wide range of reasons why a placement is terminated, but they can be broadly categorised as: • learning issues connected to the student, such as personal difficulties, difficulty in making professional judgements, unethical behaviour or lack of conceptual or practice skills • issues connected to the ‘environment’, such as loss of agency funding or staffing issues • issues connected to the nature of the relationship between the student and the supervisor. Further discussion of these issues can be found in Chapter 13. The decision to terminate a placement or fail a student can be very distressing for all involved and, for many complex reasons, seems to rarely happen in social work programs. Hopefully this means the HEP has successfully screened out students who may not be ready to enter the field, but it is usually the placement that offers the ‘litmus test’ of a student’s readiness and suitability for the profession. Despite this crucial gatekeeping role, there is very little empirical work to help guide supervisors and students to manage this aspect of the placement, should it arise. The dual role of both supporting and nurturing students, as well as being gatekeepers for the profession and service users, presents dilemmas for supervisors, which can affect their ability to provide an objective judgement that a student is not ready to (Finch, 2017). • • • • • • •

The supervisor may: be aware of the academic, financial and personal consequences for the student develop a closeness to the student and an understanding of his or her difficulties lack confidence to assess the student in the absence of reliable and useful criteria for evaluation lack confidence to assess the student for fear that their judgement may be biased have trouble describing the basis of the student’s learning difficulties have difficulties pinpointing evidence to back up concerns lack support from agency colleagues or program staff

• • • •

feel guilty that the student’s failure reflects on his or her teaching abilities fear a negative reaction from the student be aware of the ‘all-or-nothing’ effect of the pass/fail choice experience a lack of sufficient rigour in the assessment process.

What is important to evaluate The literature offers some empirical evidence about the areas that are considered essential for a student to be considered competent and, hence, the lack of these attributes could play a particularly critical role in the supervisor’s judgements of students with problematic knowledge, skills and values. These include: • conceptual abilities, approach to learning, and personal attributes – foundational in field instructors’ assessments of student performance (Bogo, 2006) • motivation, growth, and commitment (Bogo et al., 2004) • personal qualities, such as maturity, self-awareness, professional interaction and congruence with •

social work values (Lafrance & Gray, 2004) self-reflection and conceptualisation – seen as foundational in supporting the development of desirable professional attributes (Sussman et al., 2014).

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Taken together, these studies suggest that criteria other than those that are typically identified in field evaluations play a significant role in a supervisor’s evaluation and ranking of student performance, readiness, or capacity for practice in all types of settings and levels of practice. It was growth and change, rather than level or degree, that helped supervisors formulate judgements of students’ overall capacity for practice. As students become aware that their performance is seen as problematic, it can be difficult for them to continue to share their work honestly with their supervisor. Supervisors may feel obliged to focus on the problematic areas of a student’s performance, and it is sometimes difficult for the student to ‘hear’ that there are positive aspects in their work. If the student continues to fail to demonstrate that they are able to learn from their experience, it is difficult for the supervisor to continue to allocate work so that the student can learn. A cycle of failure is established that reinforces the negatives and makes it hard to find a way forward. ‘Feed-forward’ strategies are covered in Chapter 7. A supervisor’s final assessment is usually a recommendation to the training institution, which is ultimately responsible for the final grade. Depending on the policy of the training institution, there are four possible options to follow: • The placement may be extended for a period that will give the student the opportunity to demonstrate the learning that needs to occur. • The student may be withdrawn and placed in another agency in order to test out the learning. • The student may be required to take a break from the placement to provide the time for student/ supervisor to address the issues that are impeding the learning. •

A decision is made to terminate the placement and fail the student.

Strategies Terminating a placement or failing a student could be dealt with more ‘cleanly’ if the standards required for passing placement were clearly articulated at the outset, students were given appropriate tasks and adequate support, supervisors regularly evaluated their own performance and modified their behaviour to meet students’ needs, and supervisors documented what had been tried and what was achieved. However, as discussed above, the evaluation criteria are not always clear and agencies, supervisors and students are all subject to issues that they can’t always control. Because of the stress and uncertainty, and even guilt, students are often given ‘the benefit of the doubt’ in the hope that a final placement or practice will provide the additional learning opportunities (Furness & Gilligan, 2004). It is never easy to decide that a student is not at a pass standard, but the following checklist will help supervisors feel more confident that they have been fair and transparent. The methods and strategies discussed have been outlined in more detail in the chapters referred to in the following points: • Agreements: The learning agreement and supervision contract are specific ways to discuss,

•

•

•

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record and examine the competencies expected for placement. The value of the agreements lies less in the paperwork than in the processes by which they have been established (see Chapter 5). Open communication: If there has been good communication in supervision and the teaching and learning environment is open and supportive, there should be no surprises for either the student or the supervisor (see Chapter 8). Feedback: Students and supervisors need to be given specific feedback about their performance so that they are clear about what work or behaviour is problematic and the learning that needs to occur (see Chapter 7). Evidence: Supervisors need to produce fair, reliable and consistent evidence to substantiate the assessment that the student is failing. Using a range of learning tools, such as process records, observed practice, written assessments etc. will form a useful summary of the student’s capacity (see Chapter 8).

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CHAPTER 17 Assessment and evaluation – students and supervisors

•

•

Records: It is unfair to comment on behaviour if it had not already been raised as an issue in supervision. Students and supervisors are advised to record such issues because students may have grounds to appeal a fail grade if they are not told about a problem at an earlier assessment (Hughes & Heycox, 2000, p. 88) (see Chapter 7). Consultation: Supervisors should not have to make the decision about failing a student on their

own. Seeking the opinions of task supervisors and other colleagues who have had supervision experience broadens the range of ways that a student’s performance can be evaluated. This is where the liaison person plays an essential role and is especially effective if efforts had been made to link with the liaison staff member earlier. The literature stresses the importance of sharing concerns early and openly, being aware of the influence of the uneven power dynamics and recognising the stress and anxiety that placement concerns have on the student and the supervisor. To test the extent to which the process of assessment and evaluation respects the rights of students, supports supervisors and follows due process, students and supervisors could complete Exercise 17.2, adapted from Doel et al. (1996, p. 161).

Exercise 17.1 For the student and supervisor 1 2 3

What do you think was fair and what do you think was unfair about the way your work was assessed? What other methods would you have liked to use as the basis of assessment? Were there any aspects of the assessment that were too positive or too negative?

Exercise 17.2 assists supervisors to examine their assessment processes to see whether they are being fair to their student and have taken account of the rights and responsibilities of both parties. Students are asked to consider whether they are clear about the assessment process.

Exercise 17.2 For the supervisor 1 2 3 4 5 6

How well was the student prepared for placement? What is a reasonable standard of competence, given the student’s level of preparation? Was your agency able to respond to the needs of the student on this placement? Were you able to offer an adequate placement at this time? Did you have sufficient time and skills for the task? What evidence do you have for passing the student, based on assessment criteria? Do you think that the assessment criteria are clear? Do the criteria adequately measure the student’s level of competence? Is there a clear appeals process if there are problems with the assessment? What would you need to do to prepare for an appeal?

For the student 1 2 3 4

Do you think that the assessment criteria are clear? Do the criteria adequately measure your level of competence? Have you had adequate support from the training institution and were you able to raise any issues? Is there a clear appeals process? What would you need to do to prepare for an appeal? What feedback would you give your training institution about evaluation and assessment processes?

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SUMMARY It is important to remember that there are numerous steps to achieving competency. Placement should begin or continue the journey rather than be the final stop, so supervisors, students and training institutions should have realistic expectations. The assessment and evaluation process is three-way, and each party – student, supervisor, liaison person – should feel equipped to both give and receive feedback about performance. This should be done in an open, constructive manner in which the constraints on agencies, supervisors and students should be acknowledged and the strengths of the placement highlighted. If an effective and ongoing evaluation process is carried out, the focus of assessment will be familiar to all and will build on the learning.

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Finishing well

18

INTRODUCTION There is plenty written about beginning placement, but discussions about ending placement tend to focus on the final evaluation rather than the actual process of finishing. The ending should be as important as the beginning and is an opportunity to model good practice in the management of change-oriented relationships (Beddoe, 2000, p. 53). In this chapter, some of the emotional and practical aspects of terminating the placement effectively are discussed.

HOW TO BEGIN THE ENDING The ending of placement should be anticipated from the outset. It does not need to be overemphasised, but there should be an explicit expectation about finishing with clients, projects, staff and your HEP. Agencies may have specific requests of students, such as asking them for feedback to the agency about its placement processes or doing a presentation at a staff meeting. Such requests should be documented in the learning agreement. In addition to completing the formal aspects of final assessment and review processes, the following are helpful aspects of finishing well: students should complete and record their work, note and think through their reactions to the work tasks, and mark the end with some form of ceremony. It is common for agencies to have a special event such as a lunch or morning tea, or for students to provide some feedback on the gains they have made on placement. These are public occasions where contributions are acknowledged, and people are thanked.

Completing the work Most placements necessitate ending student contact with service users as well as agency staff. Ideally, agencies will have already informed clients and staff about the length of time students will work at the agency so they will have anticipated the end of the relationship. Before leaving, students need to inform their supervisors and relevant staff about the status of their cases, projects and research activities, and any tasks that need to be handed to other workers. Sometimes supervisors and students may lose interest towards the end of placement and prematurely disengage from teaching and learning tasks. This can have negative consequences for the final assessment if the supervisor views this as the student neglecting his or her responsibilities, or if the student believes that the supervisor is abandoning his or her role prematurely. Towards the end of placement, the final assessment will probably dominate the content of the supervision sessions. Even if evaluation has been ongoing, students and supervisors will still need to complete the assessment documentation. Beddoe (2000) suggests that it is useful for supervisors to try and balance the requirement to complete this documentation with helping students to view the assessment as a milestone in their development – part of their continuous learning for the future (p. 52).

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Learning about self-care As well as reflecting on the skills, knowledge and values developed throughout the placement, it is also useful for students and supervisors to begin to reflect on their experiences of the broader impacts on their personal and professional self. Being on placement exposes students to: • demanding situations (e.g. involving clients, colleagues, projects) • organisational pressures (e.g. resources, staffing, management, policies) • personal experiences (e.g. managing time/roles, reflecting on experiences, receiving feedback) • colleague experiences (e.g. hearing and seeing both positive and negative experiences of others). From these, students begin to form a broader understanding of some of the ‘realities’ of professional practice. Questions to consider include ‘How do we go from ‘‘surviving’’ to ‘‘thriving’’?’ and ‘How do we cope when things become more difficult?’. Stress can be part of any workplace or role; however, it can also be experienced in different ways in different contexts. Workers need to develop the capacity to identify possible risk factors (both internal and external) for stress, as well as begin to think about their own self-care strategies. McDonald et al. (2011, p. 147) have identified sources of stress commonly found within human services that may be experienced by students; these include: • • • •

effects of dealing with disadvantaged and distressed clients resource limitations lack of adequate support or supervision perceived absence of positive client outcomes. The effects and impacts of stress include feelings of empathy, grief, loss, joy, resentment, disappointment, fear, horror, hope and frustration. There can also be physical effects such as digestive upsets, headaches, muscle tension, sleeplessness, overeating or undereating. Psychological effects such as anxiety, depression, irritability, anger, or self-doubt can occur, as well as behavioural effects such as poor performance, withdrawal, negativity, absenteeism, poor communication and conflict. Compassion fatigue (often called ‘burnout’) occurs at the more extreme end of the ‘stress continuum’ and is associated with disengagement from work, growing frustration, helplessness, and reduced empathy for clients in the face of work pressures. It is particularly applicable to social workers and other caring professions (Van Heugten, 2009, p. 441). Effective supervision can prevent workplace stress from becoming problematic. It should also provide a safe environment for problematic issues to be discussed openly, and for strategies to be

THEORY TO PRACTICE

negotiated, actioned and reviewed. Some strategies (adapted from Chenoweth & McAuliffe, 2012, p. 299) to consider are as follows: • Manage stress through problem-solving approaches, relaxation, fun, exercise or whatever else works for you. • Maintain clear boundaries between work and personal life and protect and nurture a life outside work. • • • •

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Be assertive in expressing your emotional needs at work and use supervision to process emotional responses and to articulate needs. Become politically active on issues that are important to you in both your personal and professional life. Access external supervision when necessary. Acknowledge the difficult parts of your work, as well as the successes. Figure 18.1 outlines some questions to consider.

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Figure 18.1 Questions to consider to reduce the impact of workplace stress

What issues relating to stress have you come across so far on placement?

What ideas do you have about your own approach to self-care?

How effective do these seem to be?

Workplace stress – questions to consider

Do you think that your supervisor or other staff members may be suffering from burnout?

What strategies have you seen the organisation or staff employ to prevent or address such issues?

Reflecting on your experience during placement as either a student or supervisor helps you to develop specific strategies and skills to sustain yourself in the profession. Supervisors may reflect on what impact this work has had on their professional and personal self and whether providing field placements will be an ongoing part of their professional life.

THEORY TO PRACTICE

DEALING WITH FEELINGS AROUND ENDINGS The beginning and concluding of a field placement both represent significant transition points for students. Feelings such as fear of what is ahead, coupled with relief about finishing and becoming a professional and questions about their competence are all commonly experienced by the graduating student. Throughout the supervisory relationship, the student is somewhat dependent on the supervisor for knowledge and support; this can lead to an attachment process that provides a security that is about to end. Hopefully, this should develop into a more collaborative relationship with their supervisors, consistent with ‘their greater self-confidence in their abilities and a stronger sense of themselves as autonomous practitioners’ (Bennett & Deal, 2009, p. 104).

Awareness of previous experiences with termination Students have experience in endings and saying goodbye to friends, family members, places and people, and have established patterns of emotional reaction and behaviour in these situations. Students will feel more in control if approaching termination with some self-awareness about how they handled these previous situations: did they avoid, confront or minimise the event? Some relationships will be more significant than others, and students may feel regret and loss about leaving some clients. Reflective tools such as think sheets and journals, and other learning and teaching methods such as role-playing, can help prepare students to handle difficult partings.

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EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD Some reactions to consider

THEORY TO PRACTICE

Baum (2011) reported on the experience of 80 social work students at the ending of their placement. The results indicated that students who had constructive supervisory relationships reported mixed or ambivalent feelings about the ending, which reflected their positive feelings of the relationship, as well as their wish to move on. Students who described their supervisory relationships as only fair or poor, did not report feelings of sadness or loss, but they reported residual negative feelings, with little ability to express them. Consider the following statements to assess where your feelings might sit: •

I feel both happiness and sadness. Happiness because the placement is coming to an end, and sadness because my supervisor

•

was really there for me. I’d like to keep in contact with my supervisor as she is like a mentor.

•

I tend to forget or ignore the moment of ending, both with my community group and with my supervisor.

• •

Our relationship was positive and open, but with clear boundaries and not something I feel the need for in the future. I feel a very strong urge to confront my supervisor and express everything I feel, but I worry that it will affect my final evaluation.

•

I learned so much this year, but I see how much I still don’t know, and I’m scared that my next supervisor will not be as supportive.

To assist students to overcome their resistance to terminating placement or to just dealing with the ending, supervisors should ensure there is time and space to acknowledge and share these feelings as the end of the placement gets closer. Adding the topic of termination to the supervision agenda and suggesting that students devote time to reflecting about termination in their journal or diary are helpful strategies. Students can also discuss ending with the liaison person from the HEP or can raise it in field seminars to hear how other students deal with ending.

Working through unfinished business The extent of any unfinished business with the placement will largely depend on the nature of the supervisory relationship and the experiences that supervisors and students have shared together. It can be a time of emotional intensity. The placement journey may have been relatively smooth, but disappointment, residual anger or resentment may not have been explicitly expressed. In deciding whether to raise unresolved issues in the end stage, supervisors and students should consider the following questions: What is the impact of not addressing the issue? Is now the appropriate time to bring up these issues? Will it enhance the learning for both parties? For example, a student may have been unhappy about the fact that placement did not offer enough exposure to different kinds of practice. The supervisor may have hoped that the student could have worked more autonomously on tasks. This feedback would be valuable information for both and would not have posed particular difficulties if it had been raised and worked on throughout placement. Would it matter if the student or the supervisor decided not to give feedback about this? Would both gain if the feedback is given? Giving and receiving critical feedback can be awkward, but at this stage in the relationship it is hoped that the student and the supervisor have both practised the positive techniques of giving and receiving feedback and are able to be open to any ideas to keep improving their practice. Chapter 7 covers this skill in detail. Effective termination of placement offers students the opportunity to reflect on the dreams, fantasies and fears that catapulted them into the placement and gives them insights that will enhance their future career decisions.

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Evaluating performance It is imperative that both students and supervisors have the opportunity to review the experience overall as well as in the format suggested by the HEP. In thinking back over the placement, identify learning experiences that were significant in shaping your learning – even if the experience was unpleasant or seemingly trivial at the time. It can be difficult to recognise the value of a particular event when it is happening, so this time at the end is crucial. The final activity for terminating placement is the formal evaluation of the performance of the supervisor and the student. As with clients, acknowledging the learning and growth that has occurred reinforces a sense of pride and completion. The processes and tools of evaluation are discussed in Chapter 17.

Ending the ending Saying goodbye to a student can raise a range of emotions for supervisors. They go through the learning journey with them and like the student. Sometimes it is easy and fun to watch your student just glow; sometimes it feels like a struggle. Either way, by the end of the placement, the student is ready to fly, and the supervisor’s job is done. So how do you mark the occasion? Here are some examples.

EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIELD For the supervisor: The wisdom present: Lollipop, peg, string and a safety pin This is a simple gift that represents wisdom and memory which your student can take with them into their career and be reminded of the learning they received from you. When I completed my final placement, my supervisor passed me a little social work survival box. The contents were a lollipop, a peg, a length of string and a safety pin. I’ve given this wisdom gift to every student I have taught since. •

The lollipop has a million wise uses in tough situations. If you are unsure what to do and you need some time to think it through, get out the lollipop, sit quietly, suck and think. By the time you have finished it you will know what to do and if not, take out another one. The lolly can also be a useful tool if you are about to say something that you fear you will regret later as emotions are running high. Take a pause and have a lolly before continuing the conversation, then if you would still like to make your point say it with pride and conviction.

•

The peg represents joining and networking – a critical skill for social workers. In your career, you will come across opportunities and connections that if joined together they might just make a critical resource link for the people you are working with. So, the peg reminds you to make temporary connections and can join two parties together when useful. Then, if not so useful, the peg can be taken away and both parties set free.

•

The safety pin is a social worker’s best friend. If the temporary connection is tenuous and you don’t want it to pull apart, then join the parties up with a safety pin. This will hold the connection for an extended period. Once the connection is proving to be useful and strong, then organise a more permanent arrangement by sewing the two together or supergluing for permanency.

•

Safety pins also come in handy for a wide range of unexpected practical uses. The string and pegs combined. Remembering large amounts of information is a key feature and skill of social work. Using a piece of string represents remembering information or ideas and a peg comes in handy to pin together reminder notes so you don’t forget. Or you can tie the string around your little finger to remind you not to forget Think about what represents the wisdom that you would like your student to carry with them into their career and create a

wisdom box. Source: Courtesy Anna Spencer, University of the Sunshine Coast.

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Exercise 18.1 For the student: A gift to the team The ‘behind the scenes’ mentor’s map This is a tool to identify and acknowledge the many teachers and mentors who have given them a learning experience while they have been on placement. It provides a space to talk about the many learnings that happen and how it takes a team to educate a social work student. In the lead-up to leaving, interview each of the staff and ask them how they recall their journey to where they are working now and what has motivated them to keep working in the field. Then: 1 Take a photo of each interviewee. 2 Create a picture board with the photos of the people you spoke to. 3 Under each photo summarise the wisdom given by each interviewee. On leaving the service, present the photo gallery as a gift or make into individual thankyou cards. Have a farewell morning team meeting to get everyone together and celebrate the learning journey. Source: Courtesy Anna Spencer, University of the Sunshine Coast.

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE By now, students will have an idea about the work of other agencies. This exposure can help students to form tentative goals for the future. At the end of placement, they are in a position to think about where they want to do their next placement, or which work settings will complement and extend their learning. Exercise 18.2 helps students to consider the next step after placement.

Exercise 18.2 For the student Think about the following questions in light of the placement you are about to complete: 1 Would you prefer to work in a smaller or larger agency? 2 Would you like to work with a different client group or use different practice methods or focus on other issues? If so, what are your preferred options? 3 Have you identified through self-reflection areas of practice that you particularly enjoy or in which you have particular shortcomings? 4 What skills and knowledge can you transfer to a new setting? 5 What specific learning issues have been identified in this placement that require more attention in your next placement? 6 How flexible are you about what field of practice you would like to work in?

Students and supervisors may find it useful to reread Chapters 1 and 2 and consider some of the initial questions raised about choosing placement settings and preparing for placement. Exercise 18.3 requires students and supervisors to answer similar questions, but with the benefit of hindsight.

Exercise 18.3 For the supervisor 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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Were you ready to have a student? What did you learn about your teaching style? What did you learn about your approach to practice? Which learning tasks were particularly helpful and which ones did not work as well as expected? What did you like most about teaching the student? What did you find difficult about teaching the student? Which questions will you definitely ask at the pre-placement meeting next time?

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CHAPTER 18 Finishing well

8 9

Was your agency able to offer a stable working environment for the student? Was your agency able to offer appropriate tasks for the student, or were there too many constraints (e.g. legal requirements or accountability issues)? 10 Were the agency staff able to support the student and offer appropriate task supervision or co-supervision?

For the student 1 2 3 4 5

What did you find out about yourself as a learner? What do you now know about your knowledge, skills and value frameworks? Did the placement offer the structure and work that you wanted and needed to experience? Did you have a ‘good enough’ match with your supervisor? If not, why not? Are there any attributes that would be essential for your next supervisor to have?

Your career An important task at the end of this placement is to consider the meaning of the learning experience for your future, both professionally and personally. Some students may feel elated and more passionate and committed to the human service profession, but others may feel disillusioned and confused about the meaning of their placement experience for their future career in this area. If a student is experiencing the latter, talking to the supervisor, a trusted person or a staff member from the HEP may help. Sometimes, these emotions are symptomatic of work exhaustion and tiredness, especially if the student has been juggling work, domestic tasks and placement. Exercise 18.4 may be helpful for reflecting on the placement experience and whether a career in the human services is the best choice for you at this stage in your life.

Exercise 18.4 For the student Answer the following questions: 1 Do you remember why you chose to work in human services? 2 Have your motivation, passion, or interests changed? 3 Why? 4 What did you enjoy about the work in this placement? 5 What did you not enjoy about the work in this placement? 6 Has your perception of human services changed since you commenced this placement?

Placement and its evaluation are significant events in students’ careers. Students’ ability to embrace the learning situation in placement and their appreciation of the value of supervision will give them a better understanding of why and whether they want to be a worker in human services and what kind of worker they want to be. For supervisors, agreeing to take a student on placement engages them in a complicated web of roles and responsibilities, yet it offers them the chance to reflect on their practice, to assist another to learn in a demanding profession and perhaps to reveal further options as they continue to develop as practitioners. Working in human services is an important and rewarding career but can also be complex and demanding. Practitioners must continue to examine and reflect on their practice to remain effective. It is hoped that students emerge from placement recognising that learning is a lifelong endeavour.

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SUMMARY This chapter has looked at how you can plan and achieve positive endings as well as to reflect on the learnings that has shaped your placement and your beginning career as a new social work graduate. Social workers know that ending work with a service user or community or even with a team member needs to be approached with care and planning. But before you go, Chapter 19 will offer you some important information to final year students to consider as you enter the world of professional practice.

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Forging your transition from a student to a professional social worker

19

INTRODUCTION The field placement is a fantastic introduction to the health and human services industry and the world of professional practice. Many exciting challenges await you and the placement will hopefully have provided an understanding of some of the cultural, social and structural context within these organisations including their opportunities and constraints. However, placements vary in context and content and cannot usually provide all of the opportunities to develop the full range of skills and knowledge required to practise confidently and effectively after being formally qualified. There appears to be little discussion or input at the educational institution to enable students to navigate the transition from the classroom to the profession, such as the differences between a placement and work. Students are usually ‘protected’ on placement so do not experience either the volume of work, the ethical complexities nor the politics that are encountered in practice (Agllias, 2010). Your first job is a significant stage in your development as a competent practitioner, so you need to consider your expectations and goals carefully. This chapter will review the literature about the employment landscape in Australia and what new graduates can expect in navigating towards their first social work position. There is a final section that describes some strategies to promote your journey to becoming a competent practitioner.

A ‘PORTFOLIO CAREER’ The social work profession has experienced significant growth due to an expansion of human services, a shortage of qualified staff and an ageing workforce. The number of people employed as social workers in Australia grew by 33% in the past five years, with the average weekly income of social workers considered high compared to the overall average income (Zuchowski et al., 2021). Global employment trends in the past three decades reflect a changing jobs market in which there are shifting concepts of work and employment and fewer ‘first-choice’ career opportunities. The social work profession shows similar tendencies especially through the greater complexity of people’s employment patterns. The movement on downsizing organisations, contracting out services, and establishing a flexible workforce has led to the growth of the ‘portfolio career’ and an increase in the numbers securing employment through employment agencies (Lyons & Manion 2004). This can be characterised by the variety of work arrangements including full-time or part-time; short term or permanent positions and the likelihood that some graduates straddling a number of part-time and/or short-term contracts. Kyle et al. (2018) looked at the employment of social workers in Victoria and found that less than half of all jobs in the community services industry were full-time (45%), there was a high rate of part-time employment (33%) and a high rate of casual employment (45%). This can cause considerable job insecurity but in time, these lead to permanent employment. Of course, this may be beneficial for some graduates who may prefer flexible arrangements to fit in

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with domestic, educational and caring responsibilities but can create uncertainty and insecurity in others. Another tendency of employment advertisements is to define social work roles by function rather than occupational classification. Therefore, the graduate will be looking for titles, such as case manager, discharge planner, family support worker, disability worker, community advocate, policy advisor, etc. and will be competing with other graduates with a diverse range of qualifications in degrees such as human services, psychology or applied social and behavioural sciences. This increase in generic job-roles has been recognised as making social work less visible in the workplace. Of further interest to new graduates, are the results of a recent Australian study of social work graduates over a ten-year period (Papadopoulos & Egan, 2021). For the 36 respondents who were considered to be in an organisationally senior role, there appeared to be no relationship between these positions and the amount of time that had elapsed since they had graduated. For example, four respondents were in senior roles only two years after they had graduated, ‘with 53% of the group occupying a senior role five years or less since graduation’ (p. 8). Graduates were predominantly working in targeted, direct (client-facing) practice.

TRANSITION TO BEING A PROFESSIONAL Given these current work conditions, how do newly qualified social workers make sense of and become competent in their profession? The contemporary work environment in Australia for social work graduates offers high employment but your first ‘dream’ job may take more time to secure because of an increase in temporary and contract-based work. Social work jobs are mainly in the non-government sector which is characterised by job insecurity due to competitive tendering processes, funding uncertainty, and the use of short-term funding agreements (Harrison & Harding, 2016). Under these measures, there is an increase in diverse and generic job-roles, rather than positions being specifically titled as social work which requires new graduates to define their skill set in terms of competencies rather than relying on your professional status as the basis of your application. The learning agreement and final report can provide the operational or work tasks that could complement your description of your abilities and capacity. As described above, the practice field into which students emerge in Australia continues to evolve, with increasing administrative pressures and less support and supervision and learning on the job. So how does the new graduate promote their work readiness in the transition from learning to professional practice and forge a professional identity as a newly qualified worker? First, what does the new graduate need to know to make a successful adjustment to their role in a new organisation? It is hard to know what to expect and to ‘sift’ through a wide range of stories, facts and fantasies so what is the evidence about what students report as their experiences as a new graduate? Figure 19.1 provides a summary of some of the recent, evidence-based research which might offer some pointers for the emerging graduate. Figure 19.1 Some evidence about what students report as their experiences as a new graduate

Need for supervision

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Research has shown that qualifying training alone cannot prepare students for a career as a fully developed professional and is more like an anchor for the development of full professional status during the early years of post-qualification experience. A UK study of new graduates found that induction was often not very helpful in recognising the graduates’ learning needs or opportunities for organisational support. Supervision was identified by all participants in the study as a key learning and support mechanism, but it is equally clear that the majority of new graduates did not experience supervision to be supportive or instructive. Most studies of new graduates emphasise the importance of supervision. New graduate programs must embed reflective supervision to ensure that there is time and space allowed for safe reflection on practice challenges (Jack & Donnellan, 2010).

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CHAPTER 19 Forging your transition from a student to a professional social worker

Need to take time

This Australian study interviewed 17 newly qualified graduates across the first 12 months post-qualifying. The findings revealed that the participants were not only learning how to perform in their new job, but also how to locate and enact a professional identity within their workplace, The participants recognised they did not enter employment as “completed” social workers; rather they needed to consolidate, clarify and settle into their new professional identity and it generally took six to 12 months to transition from being a student to a more proficient practitioner, even for graduates who had a human service background (Moorhead, 2019).

Need for professional values

The broader trends of securing a generic position can undermine a graduate’s commitment to their professional values in relation to the ethical stance of other workers and the agency’s lack of commitment to new graduates’ professional development (Harrison & Healy, 2016).

Not like a placement

Supervision was identified by new graduates in Sweden as a key learning and support mechanism and it was evident that many participants expected to receive considerable support and guidance in their workplaces. The transition from protected student to worker can be quite confronting as new graduates become exposed to a higher and more complex workload and no longer have the flexibility and the supports offered by tertiary staff (Tham & Lynch, 2014). Supervision was identified as a key learning and support mechanism, but many newly qualified graduates did not receive the supervision that they had experienced on placement.

Need for theory

This Irish study followed students from their final year of study and surveyed them again when they had been in employment between nine and 12 months. The placement was considered important preparation for social work practice, particularly when the student is given responsibility and when placement was in the same field of practice as the new position or previous work experience. Of particular interest was the feedback from new graduates that the theoretical underpinnings of practice are not prioritised in the workplace. Reflection was often focused on practice only rather than integrating theoretical knowledge with practice. Although it was suggested that social work programs offer more than merely equip trainees with skills to do their jobs, some graduates admitted that they did not avail themselves of opportunities to utilise the theoretical bases for practice as ‘they did not see them relevant at that time’ (McSweeney & Williams, 2019; Hussein et al., 2014).

Need for good support

Research suggests that the transition period for the graduate is most effective when the organisation provides appropriate training and support for managers who supervise the needs of their newly qualified staff and help them to develop coping mechanisms. The necessity of further training in the workplace is emphasised together with the provision of a work environment where the new practitioner can obtain support from experienced colleagues and from managers (Jack & Donnellan, 2010; Tham & Lynch, 2014). There is significant evidence that it is the organisational pressures which results in most irritation, frustration and lack of satisfaction for new graduates (Tham & Lynch, 2014).

Need to manage emotions

Most graduates struggled to balance their personal feelings when working with clients with the ability to be objective and to make difficult judgements and found it difficult to leave their concerns behind. The effect on them, including the relentlessness of a heavy workload was not always recognised by senior staff. Some support for new graduates was found in supervision, informal opportunities to discuss work and feelings as well as the use of regular support groups (Jack & Donnellen, 2010).

This UK study followed students after graduation and into the first six months of their employment and looked at the interaction between satisfactions with different work-related elements and intention to leave Organisational the job. It found that job engagement was a more important predictor than workload and that external constraints, such as workload pressures, can be counteracted by experiencing a workplace in which support employees feel involved and which reflects their values, while promoting autonomy. Having a supportive team was a key influence on new graduates’ intention to remain in their jobs (Hussein et al., 2014).

Its only the beginning

One US study confirmed what has been reported elsewhere – that more than one half of the graduates moved out of their first job to another within 15 months of graduation. Career mobility is often lateral, to another agency or field of practice, rather than promotion. Some new graduates take the first offer of employment then move to a more desirable position. Another possible reason is that these graduates were of the generation that does not expect to stay in one job for long. Almost all movers stayed within the social work profession (Choi et al., 2015, p 478).

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Employers’ experiences with new graduates So, what is the evidence base about what we know about what employers report as their experiences with new graduates? This is explored in Figure 19.2. Figure 19.2 The evidence base regarding what employers report as their experiences with new graduates

What is the evidence base about what we know about what employers report as their experiences with new graduates? • A study of Australian employers expected that new social work graduates to have moderate levels of competency rather than advanced levels of ability. Most employers assessed graduates on their readiness for direct social work practice with clients as opposed to research and policy practice. (Yu et al., 2016). • Knowledge of social work values and principles were seen as most important for beginning practitioners (Yu et al., 2016). • Other research emphasises the need for critical thinking, conceptualisation of issues, self-reflection, emotional awareness and regulation, as opposed to specific skills (Yu et al., 2016). • Some studies stressed the importance of other, ‘softer’ skills needed by newly qualified workers, such as negotiating boundaries, establishing relationships with colleagues and supervisors, retaining values and maintaining personal development plans and a commitment to life-long learning (Clapton, 2013).

Strategies The placement would have provided various challenges, inspirations, learning opportunities and maybe some disappointments. The information above provides some possible factors that need to be considered for a new graduate to become a fully developed professional. Previous research has shown that training alone cannot prepare students for a career in the helping professions, with the first year in post-qualification practice likely to be a particularly important one, in which much further learning and development takes place. Exercise 19.1 will help you prepare to apply for your first professional position.

Exercise 19.1 For the student How do you feel applying for your first professional position? Use some of the information offered above to think about the following questions? • What are your personal circumstances that will affect what you would consider? Location, full or part time, flexibility of rostered hours, etc.? • What field of practice would you consider? What are the boundaries or limits to the field of practice and/or the type of activities that you feel comfortable working in? • What can be part of your first job and what can wait? It is unlikely that you will get your dream job first time around so what knowledge and/or skills could help you work towards your longer-term goals.

How to maximise your ability to secure and thrive as a new social worker New graduates are poised to enter a responsible and dynamic career in social work with important knowledge and skills to offer. The work opportunities are plentiful and diverse, but you just need to be flexible and adaptable in order to both gain and maintain meaningful employment.

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CHAPTER 19 Forging your transition from a student to a professional social worker

So, what can you do? The following ‘Thinking about the issues’ feature gives examples of some of the issues you may face as a new social worker and suggests some strategies you could use to help yourself in your quest to enhance employability, as well as a case study that shows how these could be put into practice.

THINKING ABOUT THE ISSUES Strategies to help you thrive as a new social worker

THEORY TO PRACTICE

Table 19.1 Strategies to help you thrive as a new social worker

Issue

Strategy

The classroom and placements do not give students a true understanding of the busyness and ethical dilemmas they will encounter as new social workers in the workplace.

As suggested earlier, final year students can request more learning tasks on their placement to challenge their ability to meet deadlines, timeframes and decision making under pressure. If this is not possible, keep actively involved in any work-related activities.

Busy workplaces impact on the supervision offered to new graduates and it also makes it more difficult for new graduates to find time to reflect on their practice.

It is clear that the key to thriving, rather than merely surviving in your first job is to get a clear definition of what constitutes a ‘protected caseload’ at the job interview. A responsible employer will recognise the need for more frequent supervision and opportunities for extended shadowing and co-working, with time set aside for reflection on practice experiences and personal development.

Many graduates will be employed doing activities for which they did not have specific knowledge and skills.

Be reminded of the importance of a generalist foundation that prepares social workers to do the array of tasks they may encounter. These include communication skills, problem solving, advocacy and empowering of service users, and drawing on the key theories of systems, psychosocial and critical knowledge.

Unsuccessful interviews and caring responsibilities can hamper confidence and current knowledge and skills over time

Use any available time productively to undertake volunteer work or maybe a locum to keep relevant. Keep abreast of current practice developments in open access journals, attending professional development activities organised by the profession and maintaining an awareness of changing policies and legislation.

Contemporary work conditions may often define the features of the job description according to tasks and competencies rather than by qualifications. This may result in management not recognising the requirements and occupational standards for new social workers and students’ personal development plans, in-house training and skills in managing stress, etc.

Developing or expressing assertiveness in the workplace to insist on some role boundaries and develop peer networks and supports to continue to use critical reflection to examine your values, thoughts, assumptions and interventions.

Being employed on a contract can hinder the ability to engage in professional development and training opportunities on the basis of funding constraints potentially stalling professional development.

New graduates can try to ensure that they obtain work, even short term, for an organisation that has resources that can offer some ongoing training. Another important strategy is to engage with the professional association which provides a wide range of professional development and support activities.

Now you have read through Table 19.1, read this case study about Jane and then review the strategies she put in place to help her transition into social work practice.

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Jane, aged 22, has always wanted to work with young people and moved from psychology to social work to pursue her interest. However, in her first placement, she was placed in a case management agency in aged care, and the second placement was a policy placement looking at social housing needs in a local government area. Both placements wrote positive comments about Jane’s good communication skills and conceptual ability. Once Jane graduated, she applied for a couple of positions working in mental health with adolescent clients but was not successful. In the meantime, Jane worked at an after-school care facility at the local primary school. Jane put a number of strategies in place: 1 She contacted the two employers with whom she had the job interviews and asked for feedback. One told her that they were only interested in an applicant who could undertake regular assessments of their clients to access certain health and welfare 2

services and the other employer offered the job to an applicant who had some mental health training. Jane re-read her first and final learning agreements and underlined the examples where she demonstrated good communication and teamwork. In particular, she reflected on how her case management placement in aged care could be relevant in undertaking a psychosocial assessment as the generic features of engagement, assessment, intervention and evaluation are common to other settings.

3

In order to improve her mental health literacy, Jane re-visited the mental health module she had undertaken in her degree

4

and was still able to access many of the references on a free website as her university library access had finished. The AASW offered professional development courses in mental health, so Jane enrolled and, in the process, connected with a couple of other new graduates to form an informal peer review group for support and reflection about social work practice.

5

The school where Jane worked has a social work/counsellor on staff. Jane approached her and asked if she would be able to spend some time with her as a volunteer. There were some complex discussions with the principal regarding OH&S and risk management issues, but Jane spent one day a week at the school conducting wellbeing groups with groups of children and

6

sitting in on family meetings with the counsellor. She received supervision from the counsellor. After six months, Jane was offered a job in disability as a case manager working with younger children and she has negotiated some paid time to undertake further study in mental health.

What the professional association can do for you The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) has been the national professional body since 1946 which represents and advocates for social work and AASW members. New graduates can benefit from a range of services designed to help you learn, grow and evolve throughout your social work career. These are a few things that would be helpful for you to consider: • Graduates can contact their AASW branch to join any practice groups of interest, such as mental health, private practice. • There is a mentoring program available to members which provides meaningful support and structure to assist both new and existing members on their social work journey • New graduates have a reduced membership fee in their first two years. •

Members can access professional development programs through an annual calendar of events provided by external trainers. • Online newsletter and articles of interest are published regularly. Access to Australian Social Work, which is an international peer-reviewed journal reflecting current thinking and trends in social work.

SUMMARY Forging a professional career as a newly qualified social worker is arguably a complex endeavour and students’ experiences in their field placements form an important insight into employing organisations as well as learning the essential skill, knowledge and value required to practice. The contents of this book will offer students a range of important ideas, exercises and insights to enhance social work learnings from your first placement to your first professional job.

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Appendix

USEFUL WEBLINKS Professional associations Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) – the Australian Association of Social Workers provides a range of useful tools, including the 2010 Code of Ethics and the Practice Standards for social work. http://www.aasw.asn.au/ Practice Standards for social workers: achieving outcomes http://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/16 Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) http://anzasw.org.nz/ ANZASW posters summarising practice standards and codes of ethics https://anzasw.nz/wp-content/ uploads/Practice-Standards-Poster-A4.pdf; https:// anzasw.nz/wp-content/uploads/Ethics-andPrinciples-A4-Final.pdf Australian Community Workers Association – the professional association for all paid and unpaid human services workers in Australia regardless of their occupational title or educational background. http://www.acwa.org.au/ Australian New Zealand Social Work and Welfare Education and Research (ANZSWWER) – was previously known as the Australian Association for Social Work and Welfare Education (AASWWE). It is an independent commentator on social work and welfare education, encourages membership from social work and welfare educators, field supervisors, practitioners and students in Australia and New Zealand. http://anzswwer.org International Federation of Social Workers http://www. ifsw.org

Social work in a range of countries Social Workers Across Nations. NASW initiated SWAN to provide a mechanism for social workers to offer their expertise and skills to serve humanitarian needs within the international community on a voluntary basis and to develop collaborative linkages with other countries around the world. http://www.naswswan.org/ Social Care Institute for Excellence UK- Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) improves the lives of people of all ages by co-producing, sharing, and supporting the use of the best available knowledge

and evidence about what works in social care and social work. https://www.scie.org.uk/ The New Social Worker. A career newsletter but provides web sites of special interest to social workers. New ones are added every day. http://www.socialworker. com/Social_Work_Web_Links/

Resources for teaching and learning University of Plymouth has a wide range of accessible online resources for students, including reflective writing. https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/student-life/ services/learning-gateway/learning-development Donald Scho¨n – learning, reflection and change http:// infed.org/mobi/donald-schon-learning-reflectionchange/ On line student supervision project – resources for field educators http://www.socialworksupervision.csu. edu.au/ Information for Practice. To help social service professionals throughout the world conveniently maintain an awareness of news regarding the profession and emerging scholarship. http://ifp. nyu.edu/rss-feeds/ ScOPTbox – a curated collection of useful resources for field education practice on behalf of the Scottish Organisation for Practice Teaching https://practicelearning.info/ University of Western Sydney https://www.westernsydney. edu.au/ir

Global context of practice Global News. This web site looks into global issues that affect everyone and aims to show how most issues are inter-related. http://www.globalissues.org/ Australian Volunteers International. The Australian Volunteers Program matches a broad range of skilled Australians with partner organisations in the Indo-Pacific region, to support them to achieve their own development goals. http://www. australianvolunteers.com United Nations Development Program-UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty while protecting the planet. It helps countries develop strong policies, skills, partnerships and institutions so they can sustain their progress. http://www.undp.org

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Appendix

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care. This service provides a range of caring and support services as well as having a network of over 10,000 organisations and individuals from community-based services and individuals and state and federal agencies nationally who share an interest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and children. http://www.snaicc.org.au/ Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet. Helping to close the gap by providing the evidence base to inform practice and policy in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/

Information on a range of population groups in Australia Australian Institute of Health and Welfare http:// www.aihw.gov.au Australian Council of Social Service http://www.acoss.org.au Australian Bureau of Statistics http://www.abs.gov.au New Zealand Statistical Services http://www.stats.govt.nz New Zealand Ministry of Social Development http://www. msd.govt.nz

Ageing Australian Government Department of Health. This is an Australian government site where you can find out about what services we fund, how older Australians can access them, and what service providers need to do to deliver our aged care programs. https:// agedcare.health.gov.au/sites/g/files/net1426/f/ documents/07_2015/dss1582_aged_care_strategy_ cald_a4_vaccessible.pdf Liveable communities and ageing http://www.ithaca. edu/aging/livablecommunities National Aging Research Institute- are a national, independent medical research institute, which is highly respected across the aged care industry and research sector nationally and internationally. https://www. nari.net.au/

Families & children Australian Institute of Family Studies https://aifs.gov.au/ National Child Protection Clearing House http://www. aifs.gov.au/nch

Mental health Mental Health Council Australia http://www.mhcc.org.au

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ANU Centre for Mental Health Research The Centre for Mental Health Research (CMHR) aims to improve the mental health of Australians through research, education, and policy development. http://rsph.anu. edu.au/research/centres-departments/centremental-health-research Embrace Multicultural Mental Health. A national platform for multicultural communities and Australian mental health services to access resources, services and information in a culturally accessible format https://embracementalhealth.org.au/

Asylum seekers Asylum Seekers Centre, (NSW). http://asylumseekerscentre. org.au Asylum Seekers Resource Centre (Vic). Both these services provide practical support, counselling, advocacy, legal aid as well as contributing to research and policy development. https://asrc.org.au/our-work/ Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma is a network of Australia’s eight specialist rehabilitation agencies that work with survivors of torture and trauma who have come to Australia from overseas http://fasstt.org.au/

Health Multicultural health. Part of Queensland Health. Providing services, interpreting, employment etc. http://www. health.qld.gov.au/multicultural/default.asp Cochrane Collaboration – reviews best practice of the effects of health care interventions http://www. cochrane.org

Disabilities People With Disabilities Australia http://pwd.org.au

Domestic and family violence ANROWS-Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited is an independent, not-forprofit research organisation established to produce evidence to support the reduction of violence against women and their children. https:// www.anrows.org.au/ Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centreaddresses the prevention of gendered family and intimate partner violence, and how women and those who have experienced family violence can be supported to access economic and social security. https://www.monash.edu/arts/gender-and-familyviolence/home

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237

Index Note: page locators in italics denote figures and tables abstract conceptualisation 23, 24

audits electronic medical records 134 self-assessment for placement 6–7

abuse 160–4 assessments 161–3

Australia and New Zealand Social Work and Welfare Education and Research 20

categories 160

Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) 3, 18–19, 156,

in elders 163 planning actions 162 accommodation of team’s goals 34 acquire-it-as-you-go-along approach 42 See also inductive

203, 228 Code of Ethics 51, 148, 164, 185, 186, 195, 199, 203 Practice Standards 51–2 revised standards 16

approach action planning skills 118, 119 action plans, supervision 174 active experimentation 23, 24

Australian Qualifications framework (AQF) 120 Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS) 50–1 Appendix 3 (2020) 195

active listening 37 administrative staff 44 advocacy, in community work 128 affective problems supervision case study 173–4 agencies See also human service agencies codes of conduct 199, 200 confidentiality and privacy policies 16–17, 150 data collection policies 200 identifying field of preference 9–10 identifying preference for placement 8 level of insurance 16 readiness in undertaking placement 15–21 reasons for offering 17

guidelines on supervision 77 international placement guidelines 144 new observation guidelines 102 Practice Standard 5 120 research practice standards 132 revised standards 135 Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS) Field Education Standards – AASW Board Approved Version 3–4, 48, 204 authoritative style 73 autonomy 33, 197

responsibilities 150, 195–6

Bankruptcy Act 1966 192

services of 44

beneficence 197

structures of 44–6

bottom-up practice 121–3

student selection process 18

boundaries 182 See also personal and professional boundaries

agency records 98–9

brainstorming techniques 100

agency visits 108, 109

burnout 216

agreements 56–8 analysing skills 118, 119, 126, 139 community work 130

capacity 158–9, 165 assessing vulnerable adults’ 162

anonymity 151

career mobility 225

assertive communication 30

career path reflection 221

assessment skills 52, 55

case studies

assessment tools 51

SOAP analysis of affective problems 173–4

assessments 202, 214 See also risk assessments

SOAP analysis of cognitive disorder 169–70

due process 213

SOAP analysis of personal problems 172

evidence 204–5

SOAP analysis of systems issues 171–2

main components 204

transition from new graduate to professional 228

principles for framework 203

CASE supervision model 183–4, 185

timetable of events 207–10

case work 131

vulnerability in different contexts 163–4

checklists

attachment process 217

evaluation criteria 212–13

attachment theory 115

student learning needs 177–8

audio and video, use in evaluating supervision 206

supervision of student placement 39–40

audio recording 105 auditory learners 25

238

supervisory functions 71–2 Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council 182

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Index

Cherbourg Health Action Group 182

consent, obtaining 92

Cherbourg Student Placement 182–3

consultations 213

Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Victoria) 192

contracts See also learning agreements

circular questions 74

considerations when developing group 85

client interviews, critical reflection 63–4

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1954 192

clients

co-supervision 84

duty of care 196

counselling 131

involuntary 158

COVID-19

clinical teachers 2

impact on international placements 144

coaching 107–8

impact on placement process 33–4, 132

cognitive difficulties 168

impact on social work staff 28

cognitive disorder supervision case study 169–70 cognitive disorder vulnerability 163 Combined Schools of Social Work 51 communication

as reason for housing provision for homeless 162 co-working 105 community work 127 critical incident analysis tool 190

assertive 30

critical incident format 67

community settings 128

critical incidents

evaluating non-verbal 105 minimising power imbalance through 30 non-verbal 74 one-way model 90

assessment of 129 reflection 97–8 critical reflection 51, 54, 61, 91, 190 ways to theorise 62

open 30, 212

critical reflection tools 67

for teamwork skills 37

critical reflexive practice 132

techniques and examples 74–5

cross-cultural awareness 155

two-way model 90

cultural awareness, supervision 185–6

communication skills 51, 54

cultural competence 185, 186

community context 51, 54

cultural conflict 178

community profiles 129–30

cultural difference 180, 181–4

research practice 133

areas of consideration 182

community relationships, building trust in 122

cultural safety 182

community work 121

culturally safe environment 186

areas of tension 122 bottom-up and top-down practice 121–3 communication and technical skills 128 co-working 127 insider/outsider considerations 146, 147–8 political aspects 123–4 suggested structure for analysis 130 training and educational roles 127 community-based placements 125–8 finishing 130 community-based practice 145 See also rural practice community-work skills 124 compassion fatigue 216 See also burnout competence, employers’ experiences with new graduates 226 competence assessments 203, 214 essential components 211–13 concept maps 100–1 concrete experience 23, 24 confidentiality and privacy 16–17 community work 126 issues in rural practice 150 students’ rights to 194 conflict 178–9 reactive–proactive model of handling 179 ‘connect-the-dots’ strategies 170

culturally sensitive practice 52, 55, 182–3, 186 international placements 155 curriculum 49 data collection policies 200 data mining 133, 134 debriefing sessions 155 decision-making process areas of tension 122 ethical 198–200 groups in community settings 125–6 understanding behaviours behind 32–3 decolonisation theory 185 deductive approach 42 deductive learning 116 deep learning 63, 90 See also two-way model dementia 163 dementia service in remote area framework 152–3 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 156 Department of Health and Ageing 162 descriptive research 133 developmental stage model 19 diaries 30, 74, 129 for community work 128 supervisors’ access to 94

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239

Index

difference issues, in supervisory relationships 73

facilitative style 73

digital technology, use in rural placements 147, 153

family 182

direct observation 102, 109

Family Law Act 2012 192

directives 75

‘family of origin’ exercises 174

discrimination 180

feedback

fear of disclosing mental health issues 188

community work 127

discussion and reflective tools 92–9

constructive 91

distributive justice 200

‘feed forward’ strategies 212

documentation

formal feedback to supervisors 205

ethical considerations 200

giving and receiving critical 218

pro forma for presenting policy 140–2

mid-placement assessments 207

Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 (Queensland) 193

receiving 81 supervision sessions 78–81, 212

drama triangle 175

sustainable 79

duty of care 187

techniques and examples 75

Higher Education Provider (HEP) 193–5

feedback sheets 47

social workers 195-6

feed-forward See feedback

useful resources 196

fidelity 197

dyslexia 168

field education 16, 49, 182 field educators 2, 103–4

education history 6

cultural awareness 185

educational plan 49 educational roles, skills associated with 127 elder abuse 134 emotional intelligence 118 empirical knowledge 113 employment trends 223–4 Enduring Power of Attorney 160–1, 163 ethical practice 197–200 decision-making process 198–200 ethics 51, 54

evaluating students in placements 202 role and responsibilities 89 supervision considerations with vulnerable adults 164 training 20 field instructors 2 field placements 2, 3, 223 final assessments 207, 212, 215 final placement report using learning areas about policy 208 final placements, difference from first placements 55–6 final reports 53

data mining 134 disclosure of student disabilities 187 vulnerable adults 164 evaluation 202, 214

financial considerations, practical considerations for placements 11 first placements 5 considerations 2

criteria 203–4 duty of care aspect 196 evidence 204–5

difference from final placements 55–6 ‘fitness for practice’ policies 5–6 formative assessments 201

formal 219 grading criteria 204 principles of 204 students’ practice 202–5 supervisors’ practice 205–7 evaluative research 133

frameworks for self-assessment 7–8 funding internships in Indo-Pacific region 154 models for human services 36 non-government sector 224

evidence 212

game playing in supervision 175–6

evidence-based practice 132 See also research-based practice

generalist practice framework 145, 148, 152–3, 227

experiencing skills 117, 119

geographic location, practical considerations for

experimental learning models 24

placements 11

explanatory theory 113–14

Gibbs, Graham 64

exploratory research 133

Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle 64

external supervision 81–3

‘going out’ process 124 good teaching 89–90

potential issues 83 external supervisor 3 See also off-site supervision

Graduate Attributes 120

potential issues with placement 196

group supervision 15, 84–6

preparing for rural placements 146

reflective practice 67

ways to reduce power imbalance 17

student with disabilities 188

240

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Index

group work

interpersonal conflict 178

community settings 125–6

interpersonal skills 51, 54, 139

evaluation criteria for different levels of practice 204

interpreting technique 75

international placement 155

interprofessional teams 87

health conditions disclosure, practical considerations for placements 11 help, first weeks of placement 29 Higher Education Provider (HEP) 3 duty of care 193–5 mental illness disclosures 193–4 responsibility in assessment process 201 risk of non-disclosure of students’ disabilities 187 support for students with disabilities 188 ways of organising placements 5 higher-order cognitive processes 203 hospital team development scenario 34–5 human service, reflecting on career path in 221 human service agencies 31–3

intervention skills 52, 55 groups in community settings 126 linking theory to practice 110 interventions challenging supervision case studies 169–74 involuntary 158 micro-level 131 time-limited 134 vulnerability in different contexts 163–4 interviews critical reflection on client 63–4 pre-placement 11–13 intrapersonal conflict 178 involuntary clients 158, 165

areas of potential tension 32–3

journaling 96–7, 100–1

diversity of services 9

journals 30, 67, 74, 94–6, 172 See also personal journals;

hypothesis 111 immunisations 194 international placement 156 practical considerations for placements 11 Indigenous people, effect of colonisation on 185 Indigenous population 144 Indigenous students

portfolios as part of ending placement process 217 as part of learning process 46 supervisors’ access to 94 justice 197 juvenile justice, Maori approaches 185 kinaesthetic learners 25

cultural difference considerations during placements 182

knowledge, types of 112–13

culturally aware supervision 185

knowledge in practice 51, 54

individualism 182

approaches to 132

inductive approach 42

community work 124–30

inductive learning 116 inferential learning See inductive learning information accountability for confidentiality 150 difference between novice and expert’s mental organisation 170 ethics in research practice 134 recording requirements 46 techniques and examples 75 insiders, in community 124 institutional care, deinstitutionalising 158 insurance 193 adequacy of cover during placement 16 international placements 156 inter-agency teams 36 inter-agency work 122 interdisciplinary teams 36, 37 See also interprofessional teams learning activities 87 interdisciplinary team supervision 87 International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) 49 international placements 153–6 cultural issues and processes 155 impact of COVID-19, 144 sourcing appropriate supervision 156

linking theory to practice 110 Kolb Experiential Learning Theory 24, 25, 64, 86 modified version 65, 118 La Trobe University, School of Social Work and Social Policy 44 laws Commonwealth Acts 192 major codes students should be aware 191 safeguarding vulnerable adults 162–3 social work context 191–6 State Acts 193 learner self-concept, progression from novice to expert status 173 learning See also deep learning; surface learning first weeks of placement 30 impact of difference on 180 meaningful 60 minimising power imbalance linked to difference 189–90 peer 87 supervision as key support mechanism and 225 learning agreements 49–56, 59, 171–2, 212 broad content 50–1 content 52–3 documenting ending placements 215 learning and assessment criteria 204

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241

Index

other types 56–8

norms and rules, explicit and implicit 46

reviewing 53

Northern Ireland Social Work Degree Partnership 103

VUFEN framework learning areas 54–5

Northern Ireland social work students’ learning activities 91

learning contracts 49, 174 learning cycles 117, 118 learning difficulties 168 learning needs, unmet 177–8 learning plans 49, 53

observation skills community work 127, 129–30 on placements 29–30 observation templates 103–4 observation tools 92, 101–5, 212

learning styles 21–5 alternative models 25 basic learning strategies 23 learning modes, environment and methods 24 Learning Styles Questionnaire 25 learning tools 212 See also teaching and learning tools liaison meetings 207

off-site supervision 17–18, 146–7, 167 old age vulnerability 163 one-way model of teaching 89, 90 on-site supervision 17–18, 146–7, 167 open communication 30, 212 open questions 37 operation of teams 35

liaison person role and responsibilities 47–8, 208–10, 218 role in evaluation process 203 role in helping students provide feedback on supervisors 206 supporting failing students 210 linear questions 74

organisational analysis 44–5, 99–102 organisational conflict 178 organisational context 51, 54 organisational culture 32 orientation programs 34, 39, 42 checklist 40

listening, active 37 log sheets 128–9, 138

designing learning modes 41 evaluating 46–7

macro-level interventions 131

outreach services in remote areas 152

Maori approach to juvenile justice 185

outsiders, in community 124

mature-aged learners, common supervisory problems case study

overseas placements See international placements

171–2 medical difficulties 168 Mental Health Act 2016 (Queensland) 192 mental illness disclosures 193–4, 195 meta-competencies 203 method 111 micro-level interventions 131, 133 mid-placement assessments 207 report about using learning areas about policy 208 mid-placement reports 53, 208 Migrations Regulation 1994 192 mind mapping 100 mirroring in supervision 176–7 See also paralleling model 111 modelling/shadowing 101–2, 109 multidisciplinary teams 35–6 multiskilled practice 152–3

paralleling 176–7 peer learning 87 personal and professional boundaries 148, 150 personal and professional liability 156, 193 personal bias 148 personal difference 180 personal history 7 personal interests 10–11 personal journals 46, 94 personal knowledge 113 personal problems supervision case study 172 personal safety in rural practice 153 perspective 112 placements 2 See also community-based placements; field placements; first placements; final placements; international placements; practicum; second placements appropriate types of work 16

narratives 67

areas of cultural difference 181–4

negotiation in teams 34–5

common supervisory problems case studies 169–74

networking

confidentiality and privacy policies 16–17

in community work 128

conflict issues 178–9

for new student graduates 227, 228

critical factors for student learning 21

in policy work 139

diversity and varying contexts 223

in rural practice 146

duty of care 195–6

neurocognitive theory 170

evaluation 221

non-clinical social work 131

evaluation and assessment framework 205

non-government sector, policy development 137

game playing 175–6

non-maleficence 197

goals 3–4

242

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Index

identifying personal difficulties 168 identifying student difficulties 167–8 impact of COVID-19 33–4

political nature policy work 139 rural practice 145, 151–2

impact of working remotely 28

population, Indigenous 144

learning opportunities during 89

portfolio career 223–4

learning principles for 41–2

portfolios 29, 95–6, 205

learning tasks 41–2

postmodern theory 111, 112

meeting staff 43–4

power and authority

mental health stresses during 188

abuse situations 160–1

mirroring issues 176–7

considerations with vulnerable clients 163–4

non-traditional settings 81

external supervision 17, 146

orientation program 42

open communication 30

planning stages 6–13

policy practice 139

practical considerations 10–11

political reality 137

pre-placement interviews 11–13

students with disabilities 188

process for ending 215

supervisory issues linked with imbalance 174–5

promoting quality of learning experience 82

in supervisory relationships 72–3, 168

readiness in undertaking 5–6 reasons for terminating 210–11, 212

teaching and learning methods to minimise difference 189–90 practice

reflective practice 64–5, 217

conceptualising framework 110–11

reporting components 53

first weeks of placement 30

research 133

impact of difference on 180

research in aged-care facility 134–5

linking theory to 20, 46, 110, 116–19, 225

stages 4

making framework concept maps 100

starting out considerations 145–8

methods and contexts 120

students with disabilities 187–9

practice approach 112

supervisory preparation 39–48

practice skills, community work 124–30

tips for first weeks 29–31

practice teacher 2

types of relationship structures in 180

practice theory 113–14

understanding context of practice 43

practice wisdom 113

understanding cultural difference 181

practicum 2

unmet learning needs 178

praxis 116

placement contracts 57

pre-placement interviews 11–13, 26

placement ending 217–20, 222

presentations, student 108

awareness of previous experiences with termination 217–18

Privacy Act 1988 192, 194

evaluating performance 219

procedural wisdom 113

planning for work after 220–1

process records 93–4, 137–8, 172, 212

strategies to overcome resistance to 218

process reports 128–9

working through unfinished business 218

professional association memberships 227, 228

placement reports 49

professional development 205, 225, 227, 228

placement settings 8–10

professional enculturation 182

planned program approach 42 See also deductive approach;

professional knowledge 112

taught approach

professional practice 51, 54

community work 127

project work, learning tasks 131–2

police checks 193 practical considerations for placements 11 policy 51, 54 policy practice 135–42 final placement report 208 interrelatedness with research 131 mid-placement report 208 proposal format 140 skills needed in 136, 143 stages of planning 137 teaching and learning tools 137–9 writing policy 139–42

Queensland Capacity Assessment 158 Queensland University of Technology 182 questioning 74–5 ‘connect-the-dots’ 170 evaluation of student’s learning 209 for facilitating reflection 67–8 open 37 for vulnerable adults at risk of abuse 161 reading 30, 108 types of literature during placement 46 record keeping, first week 30

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243

Index

record sheets 78

safety issues in rural practice 153

recording

satellite models 152

agency 98–9

second placements 2

audio and video 105

secondary analysis 133, 134

ethical considerations 200

security checks 16, 193

ideas for following up 95

self-assessment, planning for placements 6–8, 41

process 93–4, 137–8, 172, 212

self-awareness 46, 217–18

summary form 101–2

self-care 216–17

supervision sessions 77–8, 206–7

self-concept, progression from novice to expert status 173

supervisory activities 76

self-determination 197, 199–200

recording requirements

self-directed learning 29

information in human services 46

self-evaluation 61

policy practice 140–2

self-learning 51, 54

records 213

self-reports (students) 90–1, 93

reflecting skills 117–18, 119

shadowing/modelling 101–2, 109

reflecting technique 75

simulations 106–7

reflection 61, 62

single-discipline teams 35

reflective observation 23, 24, 46

skills

reflective practice 61, 62, 116, 118

community work 124

critical incidents 97–8

identifying skill to develop 10

group supervision 67–8

integrating theory with practice 110, 117–18

policy work 139

policy development 136–7

reflective tools 217

for teamwork 37–8

reflexive questions 75

skills training 107–8 See also coaching

reflexivity 62

SOAP framework See subjective/objective/assessment/plan

use in placement supervision 65–8

(SOAP) framework

relationship-based practice 121 See also community work

social intelligence 118

reports See also final reports; mid-placement reports

social planning work 122

community work process 128–9

Social Security Act 1991 192

ethical considerations 200

social work

good writing approaches 99

adoption of technology 147

liaison report for supporting failing students 210

advertisement of roles by function 224

research 52, 55

career mobility 225

research practice 132–5

career path 221

evaluation and 133

codes and laws 191–6

interrelatedness with policy 131

core skills 161

research to direct practice 133–5

evolving landscape for new graduates 224

skills needed in 143

sources of stress 216

research-based practice 132

social work education, reflective practice 61

risk assessments 161

social work graduates 224

role plays 106–7, 217

attributes 135

rotation placement model 86

employers’ experiences with 226

rural communities

reports of experiences of new 224–5

dynamics in 144, 145 insider/outsider considerations 124, 151 rural practice 144, 145–8

strategies to thrive as social workers 227–8 social workers duty of care 195–6

blurred personal and professional boundaries 148, 150

employment statistics 223–4

dementia service framework 152–3

students’ emerging identity 164, 225

generalist practice framework 145, 148, 152–3

support for transition period into professional 225

insider/outsider considerations 124, 151

training timeframe 18–19

issues common in 148–53

transition from new graduate to professional case study 228

off-site and on-site supervision 146–7

soft skills 226

personal safety considerations 153

spirituality 182

understanding power structures in 151–2

St Luke’s Innovative Resources 99

working at a distance from clients and colleagues 147

St Vincent’s Hospital 134

rurality 144

244

strategic questions 75

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Index

strength cards 67, 99, 115, 172, 188

supervision contracts 56, 58, 212

strengths-based approach See deep learning

supervision models 81–7

stress See workplace stress

co-supervision 84

strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis

external 81–3

149

group 84–6

structural difference 180

interdisciplinary teams 87

structured learning environments 60

rotation 86

student learning

student unit 86–7

critical factors during placements 21 factors for achieving satisfaction 206 student presentations 108 student unit models 86–7 students with disabilities

task 83–4 supervision sessions 77–81 feedback 78–81 using strength cards 99 supervisor See also external supervisor; group supervision; task

placement considerations 187–9

supervisor

potential issues on placements 187–8

advantages of critical reflection 63

students with learning difficulties

areas of responsibility for placements 2, 3

common supervisory problems case study 169–70

balancing practice and sharing work with student 123

learning agreement framework 51

clarifying placement expectations 26–7

unsuitable supervision models 87

developing critical reflection 63–8

subjective/objective/assessment/plan (SOAP) framework 169–74 analysing cognitive disorder case study 169–70

dilemmas in evaluating placements 211 duty of care towards students 195–6

suicide warnings 162

functions checklist 71–2

summary form 101–2

identifying themes in teaching style 24

summative assessments 201

meaningful end of placement gift to students 219–20

supervision See also external supervision

meeting with student 12–13, 26–7

balancing tasks and skills 74

off-site and on-site rural 146–7, 167

conflict issues 178–9

placement preparation considerations 14–21

co-supervision 84

professional development 205

cultural considerations for Indigenous students 183–4

recording sessions 77–8

culturally aware 185–6

reflective practice on placements 217

cycle 118–19

responsibility for students’ work 126, 196

ethical 197–8

role and responsibilities 5, 111, 221

expectations 70–2

supervisor (community-based), placement approaches 125

functions of 69–70, 117

supervisor evaluation 205–7

game playing issues 175–6

factors to consider 206–7

identifying personal difficulties 168

sources of feedback on practice 206

identifying student difficulties 167–8

supervisor placement preparation 14–21

identifying supervisory difficulties 168

first weeks of placement 39–41

mirroring issues 176–7

general issues discussion 40–1

new graduates’ experiences in real life 224

supervisory relationship 91, 179

observation tools 101–2

areas of cultural difference 181–4

planned program approach 88

building trust 80

recording sesions 206–7

co-working 105

reflexivity model for placement 65–8

determining effective 12–13

sessions 77–81

developing 72–6

setting and clarifying boundaries and expectations 197

factors for healthy 70

SOAP analysis of affective problems case study 173–4

factors that impact 181

SOAP analysis of cognitive disorder case study 169–70

influence on student learning 69

SOAP analysis of personal problems case study 172

recording activities 76

SOAP analysis of systems issues case study 171–2

styles of 73–4

sourcing appropriate person for international placements 156

supervision sessions 77–81

strategies to address placement ending 218 styles of 73–4 unmet learning needs 177–8 using concept maps 100

techniques and content of sessions 74–6 surface learning 63, 90, 170 See also one-way model of teaching systems issues case study 171–2

vulnerability considerations 164

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245

Index

task supervision 83–4

new student graduates 225

task supervisor 2–3, 17, 146

skills 107–8

taught approach 42

supervision sessions 207

teacher 2

transactional analysis theory 175

teaching

transport, practical considerations for placement 11

good 89–90

trust in relationships 80, 122

impact of difference on 180

two-way model of teaching 90

ways to minimise power imbalance 189–90 teaching and learning on placement discussion and reflective tools 92–9 good teaching principles 89–90 observation tools 101–2

universities’ ‘fitness for practice’ policies 5–6 University of Western Sydney 5 values 51, 54 linking theory to practice 110

organisational analysis 99–102

veracity 197

policy skills 137–9

Victoria, social work employment statistics 223–4

principles for approaches 91–2

Victorian Universities Field Education Network (VUFEN) 51, 54–5

teaching and learning activities 106–8 teaching and learning tools 90–2, 137–9, 212 teamwork 34–8

See also Combined Schools of Social Work video recording 105 visas 156

interdisciplinary 36, 37, 87

visual leaners 25

interprofessional 87

volunteer work 227

negotiation 34–5

vulnerability 157–9

skills 37–8

assessing and intervening in different contexts 163–4

types of teams 35–7

causes of 157

theoretical knowledge 112–13, 118 theory 111–13 See also Kolb Experiential Learning Theory

supervision considerations 164 vulnerable adults 157–9

attachment 115

asserting rights of 158

categorising into groups 113–16

with intellectual disability 163

decolonisation 185

legislation to safeguard 162–3

explanatory and practice 113–14

risk assessments 161–3

linking to practice in placements 20, 46, 110, 116–19, 225 neurocognitive 170 postmodern 111, 112 transactional analysis 175 think sheets 67, 97, 138, 217 time management 30 time-limited interventions 134 time/workload constraints practical considerations for placement 11 supervisor considerations 15 top-down practice 121–3, 127 See also inter-agency work; social

wisdom, types of 113 wisdom present (gift) 219 work history 7 working remotely 33–4 impact on placements 28 workplace stress 216–17 reducing impact 217 written communication 212 assessment and evaluation 205 in community work 128 report writing approaches 99

planning work training and development community settings 127

writing policy 139–42 Yarn Up Time 183, 184

field educators 20–1

246

Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300

Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-300