A brief overview of the context of the study The methodology adopted

1. A virtual community of practice between social work lecturers in the UK and India: enhancing knowledge and learning Isabel Williams isabel.williams@anglia.ac.uk

2. Promoting a global knowledge sharing environment: development of an on-line community of practice between social work lecturers in the UK and India.

3. A brief overview of the context of the study The methodology adopted The method of data collection – a virtual Community of Practice Some initial themes This Presentation will consider:

4. What this research is….. It is….. a collaboration between 12 lecturers from Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Mumbai, India. It is undertaken by….an on-line collaboration through discussion and debate about social work and social work teaching from a local and global view It aims to….develop a model of sharing knowledge and understanding of social work and social work teaching within two very different contexts which can be replicated by others It aims to….continue and expand the debate relating to a local and global perspective of social work

5. Reasons for this Collaborative Research To determine whether this collaboration identifies an established commonality between a global and a local perspective of social work To determine whether this collaboration identifies an established commonality between a global and local perspective of teaching social work students To determine whether there is a need for increasing knowledge of an international perspective of social work teaching and learning. “…the theorisation of international social work and its impact on international exchanges in linking the global and the local has not been given high priority….this limited approach to internationalising social work has short-changed the profession…” Dominelli and Bernard 2003, p.26)

6. The Research Questions • How useful is an on-line virtual community of practice for sharing knowledge about social work teaching and learning between two departments of social work – one in the UK and one in India? • What are the main themes of knowledge sharing that arise from the on-line community of practice? • How do participants feel about being part of an on-line community of practice? • How will participants use the knowledge gained within their future social work teaching?

7. The Aims • 1st Aim • Set up, use, facilitate an on- line Community of Practice between social work lecturers in the UK and India • 2nd Aim • Sharing of knowledge and experience of teaching within differing social context – understanding commonality and difference • 3rd Aim • Add to knowledge of a global debate on social work teaching

8. Community of Practice India UK Primary application Professional Development Secondary application Teaching andLearning Primary and Secondary Application

9. Global debate / profession Value to: Teams, Universities, Individuals, students Output Personal Strength of Access to Knowledge relationships Information Activities Threaded Sharing explicit discussions and tacit experiences Hierarchy of Application

10. Aims TheoreticalPerspective Research Methods Outcome / measure Overarching Action research 1st Aim Set up, use, facilitate an on line Community of Practice between social work lecturers in the UK and India Quantitative (hard data relating to engagement) Qualitative (soft data relating to content and feelings) • Usage of an on-line Community of Practice – including engagement • the synergy of using technology to further knowledge of social work teaching within two different contexts • Added value to teaching and learning within the social work profession 2nd Aim Sharing of knowledge and experience of teaching within differing social context – understanding commonality and difference Social Learning Knowledge sharing Pedegogy Qualitative Action research (soft data) Thematic discourse analysis and storytelling • Self Assessment and professional development • Widening knowledge which can be applied within the professional context Literature review and analysis of emerging data and research finding 3rd Aim Add to knowledge of a global debate on social work teaching The Overall Conceptual Framework of this study - 1st aim = how. 2nd aim = why (micro) 3rd aim = because (macro)……… Globalisation and social welfare and social care Adding to the global debate and paradigm relating to the universality of social work teaching through an analysis of local and global perspectives

11. International Federation of Social Work Aims of the IFSW • The Constitution of the IFSW provides that the aims shall be: • to promote social work as a profession through international co-operation, especially regarding professional values, standards, ethics, human rights, recognition, training and working conditions; • to promote the establishment of national organisations of social workers or professional unions for social workers and when needed national co-ordinating bodies (collectively "Social Work Organisations") where they do not exist; • to support Social Work Organisations in promoting the participation of social workers in social planning and the formulation of social policies, nationally and internationally, the recognition of social work, the enhancement of social work training and the values and professional standards of social work. • In order to achieve these Aims the Federation shall: • encourage co-operation between social workers of all countries; • provide means for discussion and the exchange of ideas and experience through meetings, study visits, research projects, exchanges, publications and other methods of communication; • establish and maintain relationships with, and present and promote the views of Social Work Organisations and their members to international organisations relevant to social development and welfare. http://www.ifsw.org/en/p38000046.html

12. Globalization George and Wilding (2002, p. 168) remind us that globalization compresses time and space and creates a keener sense of the world as one and so of interdependence. As such, an understanding of social work concepts such as oppression, poverty, inequality, discrimination, diversity (as a few examples of many) need to be understood from a global perspective. Yip (2005) argues that we are entering a phase of international development where exchanges of social work practice become frequent among different countries and ethnic groups based on the notion of either culturally specificity or cultural universality of practice.

13. A Community of Practice?Some definitions Community of Practices are informed networks that support professional practitioners to develop a shared meaning and engage in knowledge building amongst the members (Hara, Kling, 2002). Community of Practices are distributed groups of professionals, belonging to separate departments that have a common field of work for which they exchange and develop knowledge (Andriessen, 2002). A Community of Practice is a group of people who share an interest in a domain of human endeavour and engage in a process of collective learning that creates bonds between them (Wenger, 2000).

14. Virtual Communities Hoyland (2005) argues that the core competency of communities of practice is that they can enable a learning conversation. Davenport and Prusak (2002, p.18) state that: the communication and storage capabilities of networked computers make them knowledge enablers…. And connect people who need to share knowledge over a distance.

15. The first meeting – setting the context of this study and virtual community

16. This study takes on a ‘comparativists perspective as it considers the role, function, methods and barriers encountered by University Lecturers (UK and India) who teach social work students within their respective societal context. Winch (1990) (as sited in May 1997:189) argues that the creation of a comparative social research programme requires: “the comparison of like with like…in order to decide which institutions in one society to compare with those of another we shall need to be able to say what kind of part they play in their respective societies…..” When comparing two Institutions (in this research study – two seats of social work teaching within a University setting) it is vital that the society in which they operate has a significant bearing on the methodology chosen, the research tool design and the analysis. Otherwise, misunderstanding and misinterpretation can occur…things may not be all they seem…..Consider the following…….

17. How might we interpret what is going on in this photograph? As social workers in the UK might we be concerned if we saw this scene? We do not share a common understanding of what is going on here. Perhaps our chosen methodology will help us create a framework in which to base our comparative research and allow us to understand those similarities and differences and, in the case of this study, give a platform to articulate this to our students within our teaching agenda.What about action research?

19. Child Protection, safety and risk? Poverty? Education? Health Care? Being a child?

20. Gender, Employment, Equality, Health and Safety, Financial Reward, Oppression, Values

21. Concepts of family and family life, family roles and gender

22. However, as we will see, comparing different societies and different realities raises methodological issues…….

23. The Initial Obstacles - Juggling the balls of Methodological Issues and Research Design in Comparative Research Legal Frameworks Dominant Paradigms Oppression Ideology Inequality Distance The role of signifcant others eg. service users Societal measures and indicators Politics Values Understanding theoretical Concepts Identity Beliefs Belief systems Ethics Culture and history Sustainability Interaction Communication Language Truth and Honesty Professional Practice Professions Attitudes

24. Action research………………… ‘plan, act, observe, reflect’….. draw up revised plans……….move forward better informed and hopefully more able to negotiate the obstacles. Kemmis and McTaggart (1988:11) (as cited in Winter and Munn-Giddings 2001:10)

25. Action research as an overarching methodology The overarching methodology use for this study is action research. Winter and Munn-Giddings argue that action research can be seen as: a model of ‘work’ as well as a model of ‘research’…(which) bring the two together by attempting to create a ‘culture of enquiry’. (2001, p. 9) Or as Hopkins states: Action research combines a substantive act with a research procedure: it is action disciplined by enquiry, a personal attempt at understanding while engaged in a process of improvement and reform. (2002, p. 42)

26. Core Action Research Cycle Reflective cycle The Action Research Cycle Zuber-Skerritt (1992b, p. 13)

27. Participatory Action Research - Level of Participation Dominant participant shaped by researcher Researcher Dominant researcher shaped by participant Equal dominance by researcher and participant Participant

28. The Method of Data Collection

29. Due to distance this Community of Practice needs to function on a platform of IT support. • Document depository • Discussion database • Document Exchange • Explicit Knowledge exchange, but, can a level of tacit knowledge exchange also occur Community of Practice Platform of IT Support

30. Information Communication Technology The WEBCT Site - Homepage The Communication / knowledge sharing tool Welcome to the Community of Practice Paired discussion forum Depository for shared articles / professional interest links Questionnaires Reflective log The Common Room

31. Small scale – 6 Senior Lecturers from UK paired with 6 Senior Lecturers in India Initial, midway point and final semi-structured questionnaire. Biographical information Workplace information Expectations on being part of an on-line community Aspirations for how knowledge gained can be linked back to teaching social workers about global issues (explicit and tacit) Reflective log – filled out monthly on-line by participants (tacit) Electronic depository – articles / general information (explicit) The Common Room – an area where everyone can debate specific points of enquiry

32. Initial and Ongoing Difficulties • Technological – largest initial difficulty • University change and restructuring – participants moving or leaving their jobs • Time structures of participants i.e. different University holiday breaks – geographical time differences • Participants on sick leave or other unplanned absences • Participants raising issues for debate or asking for information outside of the paired colleagues normal understanding • Language – use of English as the language of this study • Silence – if participants do not reply to a colleague • Different expectations – a cosy chat, writing shared academic articles or somewhere in the middle • Different starting points

33. Initial Questionnaire – What participants hoped to gain from being participants • Sharing knowledge • A global interaction • Knowledge about social work in another country. First hand experience from others • To identify the innovative methods adopted by the international community. Knowledge sharing • Another dimension to learning which can be shared with students. Useful links with colleagues • A dialogue with lecturers working in a very different context • I hope I can offer something useful to others as well as learn about other ways of thinking and ways of doing things • I am hoping to improve my understanding of social work from a global perspective • I will be vastly improving my IT communication skills • Future collaboration opportunities

34. Initial Fears of Participants • Expression in English and use of computer • Will I be able to meet the demands and time factor • That I will be too busy to do it properly • I am concerned that I will not have enough to offer to the discussion • That my computer skills will not be sufficient • I may not be able to keep pace with the rest of the participants • Accountability and commitment due to local work pressure and lack of IT access • No fears, mainly because this offer (to be a participant) has come to me through my Principal ..who visited you last year

35. Examples of intial themes of discussion • Introductions – forming a virtual relationship • The weather !! • Wider macro societal issues, economic issues, political change • Seeking help with participants research areas • Different teaching roles • Sharing information and asking questions • Sharing articles amongst the group – articles that group members had written i.e. ‘Working in the slum areas’ • Understanding different concepts i.e. discussion on a module being delivered by India colleagues ‘Community Organisation’ • Debates relating to globalisation and inequalities in health and social welfare • How students learn through placement experiences • How international social work can be more firmly placed within each others curriculum … is it appropriate that students should have an international view..the local v’s global debate

36. Ongoing possibilities…. • Anglia Ruskin … process of planning for a Masters in International Social Work • Staff and student exchanges • Setting up video conferencing • Model could be used in other discipline areas in different countries

37. Perhaps I will conclude by what I feel is one of the most important things to consider when undertaking comparative work involving two social care institutions in two very different societies… Haug (2005, P.127) makes the comment that althoughthere has been limited dialogue on ‘international social work’ over the last 50 years, it has historically been portrayed as: “a friendly, apolitical, ahistorical, cozy conversation in which participants merrily engage in mutual exchange, through conferences, journals or international work in which primarily Western ‘experts’ teach or consult in non-Western countries…… Western knowledge systems, ideologies, social care and development methods have repeatedly been shown to be not only inappropriate but also totally inadequate for the crises confronting our planet.”

38. References: Andriessen, J.H.E. (2002) Working with Groupware: Understanding and Evaluating Collaboration Technology. London: Springer-Verlag. Davenport, T.H. and Prusak, L. (2002) Working Knowledge: How Organisations Manage What They Know. Boston, Mass:Harvard Business School Press Dominelli, L. and Bernard, T.W. (2003) Broadening Horizons: International Exchanges in Social Work. London: Ashgate George, V. and Wilding, P. (2002) Globalization and Human Welfare. Basingstoke: Palgrave Hara, N. and Kling, R. (2002) IT Supports for Communities of Practice: An Empirically-Based Framework. Indiana University. USA. Hopkins, D. (2002) A Teachers Guide to Classroom Research. Maidenhead: OU Press Hoyland, I. (2005) Successful Communication: A Toolkit for Researchers and Civic Society Organisations. Overseas Development Institute International Federation of Social Workers. http://www.ifsw.org Wenger, E. (2000) Communities of Practice and Social Learning Systems. Organisation – Interdisciplinary Journal of Organisation Theory and Society. Vol. 7 (2) pp. 225-246 Winter, R. and Munn-Giddings, C. (2001) A Handbook of Action Research in Health and Social Care. Routledge: London. Yip, K. (2005) A Dynamic Asian Response to Globalisation in Cross-Cultural Social Work. International Social Work. 48. pp.593-607 Zuber-Skerritt, O. (1992b) (1st ed.) Action Research in Higher Education: a Theoretical Framework for Action Research. London:Kogan Paul

39. Contact details: Isabel Williams Senior Lecturer Anglia Ruskin University Rivermead Campus 3rd Floor William Harvey Building Bishop Hall Lane Chelmsford Essex CM1 1SQ Isabel.williams@anglia.ac.uk O1245 493131 ext. 4797