Jean Gordon

Talking Knowledge — Practising Knowledge: A Critical Best Practice Approach to How Social Workers Understand and Use Knowledge in Practice

There is strong government support in the UK for the development and implementation of evidence-based or knowledge-informed practice in social work. At the same time, despite many national and local initiatives to support evidence use, there is still uncertainty and disagreement about how best to enable organisations and practitioners to achieve this goal. This paper argues that policy and practice initiatives to promote the effective use of evidence and knowledge for practice must be based on an understanding of how social workers understand and use knowledge in their day to day practice. It reports on a small-scale research study in Scotland which uses a ‘critical best practice’ approach to take an in-depth look at how six social workers make use of research, inquiry and other forms of knowledge evidence in relation to an example of their practice. The research found that the social workers drew on a wide range of knowledge in active, critical and reflective ways that were embedded within the particular context of their practices and their own experiences and beliefs. The findings highlight a range of personal and organisational capabilities which may support best practice in using knowledge to inform social work practice.

‘We thought we would be the dunces’ – From a vocational qualification to a social work degree: an example of widening participation in social work education

The policies of successive UK governments have promoted access to higher education by students from diverse social backgrounds. This paper uses the example of social work education to examine one way in which The Open University (OU) has sought to attract ‘non-traditional’ students into higher education. It draws on findings from a small-scale research study that explored the experiences of students with vocational and other prior qualifications who gained ‘advanced entry’ to the University’s social work programme in Scotland. The paper explores the interplay between students’ day-to-day experiences of transition and broader influences on widening access to education, including the political and organisational contexts within which this change has taken place. It reflects on both the University’s learning from the experience of implementing this initiative and the continuing experience of widening participation in relation to social work education and, more broadly, to distance learning practices in higher education.

The fall and rise of ‘use of self’? An exploration of the positioning of use of self in social work education

Abstract ‘Use of self’ was a central concept in social work in the middle of the twentieth century. Since then its emphasis in social work education has declined as more managerial, procedural and task-focused approaches have prevailed. A review of the degree and postgraduate diploma in social work in Scotland, initiated in 2014, incorporated a comparative content analysis of past and present UK National Occupational Standards (NOS) for social work. The analysis revealed many shifts in thinking and practice, including increased emphasis on ‘use of self’ in the 2013 Standards. This paper reports on this finding in the context of the fluctuating positioning of use of self in social work education, and the potential impact of these changes on qualified practice. It concludes that the changing standards reflect increasing interest in social workers’ ability to draw reflectively on ‘self’ in their day to day practice. Some of the drivers and challenges for a renewed focus on relationship-based practice and use of self are identified, as well as the opportunities presented by this review of the degree for evaluating the impact of changing educational policy on day to day social work practice.

Social Workers Writing for Publication: The Story of a Practice and Academic Partnership

This paper outlines the processes, outcomes and lessons learnt from a collaborative writing project undertaken as a partnership between academics at the Open University and 11 social work practitioners from a variety of social work settings across the UK. This partnership successfully co-produced a book of social work stories using a critical best practice approach, which describes and analyses the realities of everyday social work practice. In a context where there still appear to be many barriers to the involvement of practising social workers in research and writing, we conclude that the project’s collaborative process facilitated the sharing of practitioner experience and expertise with the wider world. Drawing on lessons learned during the writing of the book, a number of practical ways of building on this initiative to support the development of practitioner writing are proposed.

Social work and the law in Scotland

Introduction Legal Values and Social Work Values J.Roche Accountability and Professionalism and Practice K.Cameron Risk, Professional Judgment and the Law: Antinomy and Antagonism in an Age of Uncertainty S.Hunter & M.Titterton The Role of Assessment in Social Work for Children and Families in Scotland J.Aldgate Law, Social Difference and Discrimination L.Robinson Childrens Hearings in Scotland: Balancing Rights and Welfare J.McGhee The Voice of the Child K.Marshall Community Care and the Promotion of Independence A.Petch Vulnerability, Autonomy, Capacity and Consent K.MacKay Working with Adults Who Use Services and Carers L.Curtice & K.Stalker Youth Justice B.Whyte Adult Criminal Justice F.McNeil & T.McCulloch Partnership with Service Users A.Kendrick