FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE PRACTICE LEARNING INTEGRATING THEORY AND PRACTICE

1
FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCEPRACTICE
LEARNINGINTEGRATING THEORY AND PRACTICE

• PAT COLLINGWOOD
• Social Work Tutor University of Stirling
• Freelance Facilitator Learning and Development
• P.T. Programme Co-ordinator S. E. Scotland
  Training Partnership

2
THE KNOWLEDGE BASE OF SOCIAL WORK

• To define social work as an activity, a
  professional practice, a body of academic
  knowledge and a set of tools for practice
  underpinned by a consistent value base is not
  straightforward?
• Social work is an area of social life and
  activity in which its origins, its purpose and
  its delivery are as hotly contested as the
  theoretical knowledge base which informs every
  aspect of its existence.

3
THE STAKEHOLDERS

• Politicians and policy makers who decide what the
  priorities and resources should be
• The professional awarding body which determines
  how government priorities are translated into
  professional requirements for competent practice
• Educational institutions which design the
  educational curriculum for the delivery of the
  knowledge base for social work practice
• Practice agencies which have responsibility for
  providing services within the legal framework
• Practitioners who are invested with the task of
  carrying out the work
• People who use the service.

4
THEN THERE IS THE STUDENT

• who needs to understand the potentially
  competing interests of the different stakeholders

• who needs to develop the theoretical literacy
  which is required as evidence of their capacity
  to practice as a professional

• who needs to integrate the theory with the
  practice of social work.

5
When its in my head its spaghetti
6
THEORY AND PRACTICE

• (Students need to understand).Research-based
  concepts and critical explanations from social
  work theory and other disciplines that contribute
  to the knowledge base of social work including
  their reliability and how they are applied(SiSWE
  2003)
• What is important to remember is that the
  relationship between theory and practice is a
  much more complex and intermingled one than a
  simple split construction of them suggests (Fook
  2002)
• If you ask me to think about theory here and now
  I wouldnt have a clue (Howe 1987).

7
KNOWLEDGE FOR SOCIAL WORKTWO THEORETICAL ROUTES?

• A theoretical knowledge base that equips the
  social worker with an understanding of the
  service users situation. This is drawn from the
  academic disciplines of sociology, psychology and
  social theory.
• A practice literature that enables the social
  worker to intervene in the service users
  situation. This knowledge base is drawn from the
  psychodynamic, person centred and behaviourist
  schools of thought.

8
THE APPLIED SCIENCE MODEL
Body of Professional Knowledge
APPLIED TO
Societal Problems

The traditional view of the professional social
work practitioner is that they solve societal
problems by applying an existing body of
professional knowledge.
9
WHY USE THEORY? (HOWE 2002)

• To make sense of complex and difficult human
  situations
• To generate different understandings of human
  behaviour and social situations
• To develop sequence and structure to practice in
  a systematic way
• To practice in a thoughtful and professional
  manner
• To consider the cultural context in which social
  work is situated.

10
HELPING STUDENTS IDENTIFY and INTEGRATE THEORY
and PRACTICEusing THE THREE-STAGE THEORY
FRAMEWORK
11
THE BIRTH OF AN IDEAREFLECTIVE PRACTICE

• Experience of theory and practice
• Academic teaching
• Practice teaching
• Exam Board findings
• Identifying a gap

12
THE THREE-STAGE THEORY FRAMEWORKREFLEXIVE
PRACTICE

• STAGE ONE KIT
• STAGE TWO THE THEORY CIRCLE
• STAGE THREE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS VALUES

13
THE THREE-STAGE THEORY FRAMEWORKCOLLINGWOOD
(2005)
KNOWLEDGE
SKILLS
THEORY CIRCLE
KIT
VALUES and ETHICS
14
STAGE ONEKIT

• THE SERVICE USER PROFILE
• THE ORGANISATIONAL SETTING
• THE REFERRAL

15
STAGE ONEKIT

Referral Agency Setting
16
STAGE TWOTHE THEORY CIRCLE

• TWO HALVES OF A WHOLE
• THEORY TO INFORM
• THEORY TO INTERVENE

17
STAGE TWOTHE THEORY CIRCLE
Theory to inform
Theory to intervene
18
STAGE THREEKNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND VALUES
KNOWLEDGE
SKILLS
VALUES ETHICS
19
THE THREE-STAGE THEORY FRAMEWORKCOLLINGWOOD
(2005)
KNOWLEDGE
SKILLS
THEORY CIRCLE
KIT
VALUES and ETHICS
20
THE THREE-STAGE THEORY FRAMEWORKIN ACTION
21
STAGE ONEKIT
KIRSTY
Not attending school Stays away from school to
care for her mother and baby brother Has
self-harmed Appears to be thin and
withdrawn Attended school until a year ago No
friends Wants to find her Dad
KIRSTY DISLIKES Her new Dad Her two
big brothers School and her teacher Talking
about school and why she doesnt go there any
more The other kids at the school That she
cannot spend time with her Grandma When her Mum
drinks When her baby brother cries When her
new Dad is angry
10 year old girl White, Scottish, Travelling
family Mother has alcohol dependency Mother has
new male partner from travelling family Father
left home when Kirsty was 5years old Three
brothers aged 12, 14 8months
KIRSTY LIKES Drawing and reading Her baby
brother Her teacher from P3-4 Her
Grandma Seeing her Grandma Karaoke and dancing
when nobody can see her Robbie Williams Her old
social worker Anything Pink
Paternal Grandmother lives close by
Referral Agency Setting
From the reporter to the Childrens Panel
requesting a Social Background Report following
concerns from school regarding Kirstys
attendance. Social Work Department Children and
Families Assessment Team
22
STAGE TWOTHE THEORY CIRCLE
Theory to inform
Theory to intervene
Person Centred Play work Behavioural Lifeskill
s Lifestory Geneogram
Attachment and Loss Human Development Risk and
Resilience Systems Mental Health Self
Harm Travelling families
KIRSTY
23
STAGE THREEKNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND VALUES
KNOWLEDGE
SKILLS
THE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK AGENCY POLICY AGENCY
PROCEDURE ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT RESOURCES
COMMUNICATION ENABLING ASSESSMENT ADVOCACY REP
ORT WRITING
Theory to inform and explain Kirstys world
Theory to intervene in Kirstys world
KIRSTY
DIFFERENCE, DIVERSITY AND POWER PERSONAL,
PROFESSIONAL AND ORGANISATIONAL ISSUES CHOICE
VALUES ETHICS
24
THE THREE-STAGE THEORY FRAMEWORK

• RESEARCH MINDED PRACTICE

25
THE RESEARCH IDEA

• Putting the Three-Stage Theory Framework to the
  test
• Using practice settings for this
• Getting the different perspectives of the
  student, practice teacher and tutor.

26
THE RESEARCH QUESTION

• Does the Three-Stage Theory Framework assist the
  student to access theory for practice?
• Does the Three-Stage Theory Framework enable the
  student to provide the evidence required for
  competent knowledge-based practice?
• Does the Three-Stage Theory Framework provide a
  resource for student learning which is currently
  lacking?

27
LITERATURE REVIEW

• Professional Requirements
• Theory to Inform
• Theory to Intervene
• Frameworks to assist integration

28
METHODOLOGY

• Heuristic
• Qualitative
• Case Studies
• Triangulation of data

29
DATA COLLECTION

• Three interviews with the practice teacher and
  student
• Observation of practice using the Framework
• Evidence schedule completed separately by
  practice teacher and student
• Questionnaire sent to the tutor

30
FINDINGS

• 100 response rate for all stages of the research
  from practice teachers and students
• All would continue to use the Framework
• Using the Framework had increased confidence and
  competence and reduced anxiety
• At the core of the learning process was
  supervision and the learning partnership between
  student and practice teacher
• The Framework can appear a relatively easy
  exercise to complete but requires rigorous
  application to realise full potential for
  learning.

31
QUOTES FROM STUDENTS

• At the start of the final placement
• There are so many different theories and there
  doesnt seem to be any coherent way of
  identifying conflicts between them, why you
  choose one theory as opposed to another, or do
  you just randomly pick a theory.
• Getting to the end result was basically a fluke,
  because I never used the theory to get there,
  commonsense was more what I used than theory to
  get to the place I wanted to be. It was then a
  surprise that it was theory.
• I would only really integrate it when it came to
  formalising things for reports.
• The university was just theoretical.

32

• During the placement and following the observed
  supervision session using the Framework
• Its purely a visual thing for me. When its in
  my head its spaghetti but when its on the paper
  its like lining the spaghetti up in rows.
• Its a generation of ideas like brainstorming,
  its quite refreshing.
• Being able to use it as a visual model instead
  of just talking about it, I think that helped a
  lot, it helped me a lot.
• I have to go back and get more details from her
  the client, I probably wouldnt have thought
  about, but when you do think about it and you are
  writing it down you think aha I better check
  thatIt makes obvious things I have maybe assumed
  or not thought about.

33

• Toward the end of the placement, reflecting on
  the use of the Framework
• Using Kit helped identify areas where I didnt
  have enough knowledge, I needed to do more
  reading and I have done that.
• In the beginning I used to just throw everything
  I had ever heard of into the Theory
  Circle..its made me more confident in my
  ability to use those theories.
• In the early stages of using the Framework I
  just listed the theory. That really doesnt
  help, you need to say how the theory is going to
  help you, go into depth, that is what produces
  the result.
• I have just been writing up my plan for my
  practice study for the university and I have
  basically written it as the Framework. Its been
  brilliant for doing that.

34

• QUOTES FROM PRACTICE TEACHERS
• At the start of the Placement
• I think being able to see what theories the
  student needs to understand and needs to
  know.and this Framework brings it out
  perfectly.
• The model you have shown us will help to bring
  things together and thats the difficult bit,
  finding the theory and finding the practice. I
  will use the Framework starting with the person
  in the middle, thats where you do start and use
  theory to find out whats going on.
• The more I feel a student is struggling with
  theory and practice the more I would be inclined
  to use it to help both of us.

35

• During the placement and following the observed
  session
• The fact that it was already written down and it
  was very clear as I was asking the questions it
  was focussing the discussion.
• What it has helped the student to do is
  incorporate theory almost naturally in her
  reflections about practice.
• This model shunts you right into practiceif I
  hadnt been part of the research study I probably
  wouldnt have used it.

36

• Toward the end of the placement
• As a learning tool I found it really useful, it
  gave me a focus and aim for each supervision
  session. I felt I knew the client by the end of
  it. I felt I could have gone in and worked with
  that client.
• Its a way of working the case.
• Kit will be placed in the front of files being
  worked by the student. The following stages will
  be placed in the folder also. This will assist
  others who access the file to see what the
  intervention is informed by.

37
CONCLUSION

• The value of using the Framework was confirmed
• The Framework continues to be introduced and
  developed for a wider professional application
• The potential for development of other Frameworks
• The consequence of heuristic enquiry stimulates
  further enquiry into the application of
  frameworks for learning.

38
RESEARCH AND PRACTICE A CONSTRUCTIONIST MODEL

• REFLECTIVE,
• REFLEXIVE AND
• RESEARCH MINDED PRACTICE
• Professional knowledge and practice continually
  constructed
• and reconstructed by whom?
• Practice Minded Researchers
• and
• Research Minded Practitioners