Dr Kaeren Harrison

1
Tackling issues in the design and delivery of the
new degree

• Suitability for Practice
• How do we look for potential?

2
Moving from the DipSW to the new three year
degree

• Key roles and tasks rather than core competences
• Extension of time in placement (130 - 200 days)
• Involvement of service users
• Experience of social work / social care no longer
  pre-requisite
• Restrictions on minimum age after qualification
  lifted
• Impact of the bursary?

3
Composition of Year One

• 31 full time, 7 part time
• 33 female, 5 male
• Age range, 18 - 45
• Less than one third have worked in social work /
  social care settings

4
Introduction to Social Work (SWK 101)

• Negotiated access at 8 units across range of
  settings
• 22 places available
• Students split alphabetically into 2 groups
• Carers Workshops running simultaneously

5
Significant Concerns

• Organisation
• Participation
• Engagement
• Timing
• Numbers
• Attitude

6
The De-briefing Session

• Overall aim - to reflect, analyse and process
• Outcome - confession time on Trisha?
• Delayed response via student feedback

7
Students training to be someone other than
themselves?

• It is not my usual practice not to let people
  know I am unable to make an appointment. The
  letter I received made me feel that I am
  unprofessional in this matter, and appeared to
  infer that I am / would be in my professional
  practice. I found that very difficult, as I do
  not feel that missing a tutorial is related in
  any way to how I behave professionally at work

8
Reflections

• What is different about this group?
• Dates of interviews and offers of places?
• Little understanding or experience of social
  work, and what it means to be professional

9
Reflections

• Students unaware of social work role, tasks and
  boundaries
• Few have worked in large organisations
• Need to re-think staff expectations, and starting
  point different (i.e. lower)

10
Discussion

• Teaching done within wider social context, where
  transition into adulthood seems to be lengthening
  
• Different expectations around being a student and
  being a social work student?
• Becoming a professional is an incremental
  process, and should start with students taking
  responsibility for their behaviour

11
Conduct, behaviour and values of students

• Bursary for the new degree - attracting a
  different type of applicant?
• Should age experience be pre-requisites for
  professional practice?
• What are the different needs of young adult
  learners?

12
Some further questions

• How can we improve students relationships with
  each other?
• Why do some students seem resistant to working
  with service users?
• How does this othering happen, and get
  entrenched early on?
• What are the implications for social work
  practice?