The "Key Situations in Social Work" model: fostering good co-sleeping of research and practice

1. The "Key Situations in Social Work" model: fostering good co-sleeping of research and practice AdiStaempfli, MSc - Lecturer in Social Work

2. introduction Professional Social Work Practice is based on ... • ... knowledge, • ... research, • ... values and ethics, • ... skills.

3. introduction How can we best combine research and practice? Social work science Scientific knowledge of social problems Scientific knowledge of interventions Ethical knowledge Social work profession Experiential knowledge Organisational and contextual knowledge Skills Infrastructure and material resources ?

4. introduction Combining research & practice: Challenges for education, practice and academia • "... theories are not grasped in education and practice is without terms“ (Homfeldt, 2004, p. 337, authors’ translation). • Evidence based practice is fraught with conceptual and practical difficulties (Hüttemann & • Sommerfeld, 2008; Maynard, 2009; Munro, 2011) • “The case is not in the book” Schön (1987, p.5) • A direct transfer of knowledge is not possible http://www.google.ch/imgres?q=the+case+is+not+in+the+book&hl=de&biw=1252&bih=548&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=WnC9bJJDiT_9YM:&imgrefurl=http://stevemehta.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/dont-judge-a-mediation-by-its-cover/&docid=MPrwEO3aaLhEiM&imgurl=http://www.pollsb.com/photos/o/353990-don_t_judge_book_cover_metaphorical_phrase_means_don_t_determine_worth_something_based_appearance_i_think_we_v_met_someone_judge_cover_how_you_please_feel_free_comment.jpg&w=311&h=362&ei=etOfT-23Mc364QTUjpXxAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=110&vpy=109&dur=1230&hovh=242&hovw=208&tx=139&ty=144&sig=105433286321189799057&page=1&tbnh=172&tbnw=148&start=0&ndsp=11&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0,i:79

5. introduction How can we best combine research and practice? Social work science Scientific knowledge of social problems Scientific knowledge of interventions Ethical knowledge Social work profession Experiential knowledge Organisational and contextual knowledge Skills Infrastructure and material resources Co-operative knowledge production & professional reflection Gredig (2011) Sommerfeld (2004) Tov, Kunz, Stämpfi (2013)

6. introduction Reflection enables the linking of theory and practice “Relationierung” Although reflective practice has become a key paradigm in social work (e.g. PCF), the ideas and practices associated with its application are not well defined operationally. (Wilson, 2011; D'Cruz et al., 2007). • Reflection models are lacking clear processes of how knowledge, values and practice can be related

7. Key Situation model The model “key situations in social work” addresses 3 challenges • A reflection model: Working with Key Situations • A discourse model: Dialogue and discourse around professional practice • Knowledge management in social work: online platform combined with communities of practice

8. Key Situation model The „Key Situation in Social Work“ model • … developed at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Northwestern Switzerland for social work education • … offers theoretical(individual and organisational learning ) and practical perspectives on how to relate knowledge, practice and values • … can be applied in and across organisationssuch as universities and practice organisations • … focuses on reflectionand discoursein communities of practice(CoPs) (Wenger, 1998) • … is currently being developed further (platform and CoPs) as part of a funded 20 month project.

9. Key Situations in Social Work Key Situation model • The underlying premise of the model is that every profession can be described by its typical, reoccurring situations. • A project team consisting of social work practitioners and lecturers applied a modified “developing a curriculum” methodology (DACUM) (Norton & Moser, 2008). They analysed the fields of social work and social pedagogy in Switzerland and produced a collection of professional key situations. • The resulting 130 situations describe the typical activities that social workers need to be able to manage. • The term key situation was chosen in reference to key competency and key role.

10. Key Situation model Definition of „Key Situation“ • Key Situations in social work are situations which professionals describe as important and reoccurring and which they need to be able to manage in their professional practice. • Although every professional situation is unique, there are essential generalisablefeatures. • The number of such situations, as the situations themselves are flexibleand change over time in response to changing social conditions. • From the practitioners' perspective situations are experienced as an uninterrupted course of action and as a symbolically structured context of meaning.

11. Describe a situation of your practice. Split the situation into sequences and re-enact each sequence in role play. Following this describe the emotion of the social worker and the service user and the thinking (reflection-in-action) of the social worker. Choose a title (from the collection) Determine typical characteristics of the situation reflection model Working with key situations:a step by step reflection process 11

12. Identify resources (theories, research, experiential knowledge, skills, organisational, material and time resources) Define quality standards Reflect the situation using the quality standards and Develop alternative courses of action reflection model Working with key situations:a step by step reflection process 12

13. reflection model Co-production • Students and practitioners work in groups of 3 • Everyone works on an experience of a unique situation with the same key situation title • Cooperation over a sustained period of time • Focussing on specific aspects of their own situation and generalisable aspects of all three

14. reflection model The reflection model is... • ... developed for educational settings • .... resources, module plans, presentations, etc. are available from www.schluesselsituationen.ch and from book publication (German). • ..... translation and adaptation for UK social work as part of PhD project

15. discourse model Outcomes of Reflections are seldom documented .... Social work science Scientific knowledge of social problems Scientific knowledge of interventions Ethical knowledge Social work profession Experiential knowledge Organisational and contextual knowledge Skills

16. discourse model …. orsharedas „boundaryobjects“ • The co-constructed reflections are documented on an online platform and are thus made accessible to others. • The Key Situation Model makes use of a Wiki (akin to Wikipedia) where all 8 elements of a situation are documented.  Key Situations can thus be used as boundary objects: “When artefacts are seen as mediating tools rather than reified knowledge, we come to recognise that much of our knowledge lies in the discussions we have around mediating artefacts rather than in the artefacts themselves. This then creates opportunities for the re-creation of the original artefact.” (Eraut, 2013, p. 217)

17. discourse model Reflections on Key Situations are documented on a Wiki platform • Centre: key situation with generalisable elements • Wiki-pages with article (reflection), discussion and history • Links to specific reflections History Discussion Reflection title characteristics resources links to situations

18. Platform enables discourse on documented practice and knowledge discourse model “Social work researchers (...) argue that IT should be designed to support the knowledge-sharing process rather than simply supporting the mechanical process of information (...)”. (Jang, 2012, p. 6) • The platform based on situations constitutes an innovative tool and can be used by the professional and scientific community to access its knowledge. However, knowledge is situated: bound by context and people and it is fluid, flexible and open to interpretation and change. • Therefore, discourse aims to develop the quality of the practice, knowledge and values documented in a key situation.

19. discourse model #Schlüsselsituationen project #key situations aresearchprojectwithintheprogramme «BREF – Brückenschläge mit Erfolg» by KFH and Gebert Rüf Stiftung, co-financedbytheUniversity of Applied Sciences and Arts, NorthwesternSwitzerland, School of social work

20. discourse model Our Vision is ... …. to develop a platform and a network for students, pro-fessionals, organisations and academics in social work, which aims to support: • reflection and discourse on situations and • continuous professional development of social work practitioners/practice.

21. Project #Key Situations discourse model • Currently we are developing the platform as part of a funded research and development project to make it more user friendly and open it up to professionals and academics. • We are planning to establish around 15 CoPs consisting of practitioners and academics who will look after a range of key situations in which they have expertise (Quality Assurance) • We are testing different ways to access situations. • The projects runs from February 2014 to September 2015. The core team consists of three academics and an E-Learning specialist.

22. discourse model Key Situation Network: Members • Students and qualified practitioners from practice and academia can become members of the network. They can get access through the platform. • Collaboration in a thematic CoP is open to all members who have an interest in the domain of the CoP, in virtual forms of cooperation and who may wish to broaden their existing networks across boundaries of academia and practice. • Our network is currently being established. There are practitioners, lecturers and students in Switzerland and Germany who are already using the model and the platform.

23. Challenge: Knowledge Management knowledge management • Knowledge management traditionally focuses on publication (Jang, 2012). Publication of research alone, even when suitable access is provided, does not lead to its use in practice (Gray et al. 2009) • Purely technical solutions for the integration of research and practice are fraught with difficulties and cannot replace co-operation (Seely Brown & Duguid, 2000). • The current discourse on knowledge management in social work therefore points to socio-technical solutions (e.g. Jang, 2012), which are based on community management and social/communicative processes

24. Knowledge Management based on key situations knowledge management • Effective knowledge management relies on publication of knowledge and its use in professional reflection and discourse. • Situations offer an ideal way to structure knowledge. Situations can easily be identified in associative, intuitive ways and can than be used for reflection and discourse. • Situated knowledge is more easily transferrable through association and adaptation to new situations. • This process is facilitated through further reflection to refresh knowledge, to discuss in supervision, to comment on, to form the basis for a reflection process in a CoP or in a team, .....

25. Benefits of the Key Situation in Social Work Model conclusions • The reflection process enables professionals to relate knowledge to (their own) practice and to focus on quality. (Internalisation  Externalisation) • The platform with its documented reflections makes diverse forms of knowledge visible, tangible, accessible and understandable. Knowledge is linked to specific situations it becomes alive and relevant. • Knowledge can thus be shared, which enables a discourse, a negotiation of its meaning in relation to professional social work practice situations and fosters coproduction of new professional knowledge.

26. Application of the model Can you envisage ways in which this model could contribute to your professional development, your reflection or your practice?

27. Application of the model • The model and the platform are currently used in pre- and post qualifying social work education. We envisage that it will be used .... • in organisations to improve the quality of their practice (knowledge management, professional reflection, prof. development, induction). • by Practice Educators to support students’ reflections & learning. • byResearchers to support transfer of their (new) knowledge. • byLecturers to refer to practice situations. Overall the network and the platform help to bridge the gap between academia and practice, between theory and action.

28. conclusions Continuous Professional Development of Capability Person Knowledge, Skills, Dispositions, Values  individual Situation 1 Situation 3 Situation 4 Situation 5 Situation 2 Professionalism prof. competence prof. identity in Communities of Practice Reflection Negotiation of Meaning Performance Action Environment Knowledge, Norms, Values, Context, Resources  social

29. Interested?  www.schluesselsituationen.ch (German)  Staempfli, Adi; Kunz, Regula & Tov, Eva (2012). Creating a bridge between theory and practice: working with key situations. European Journal of Social Education, 22/23, p. 60-78.  Tov, Eva; Kunz, Regula & Stämpfli, Adi, (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit. Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep  a.staempfli@gold.ac.uk

30. Thank you for your attention! AdiStämpfli, Msc, Lecturer in Social Work, Goldsmiths, University of London

31. References D'Cruz, Heather; Gillingham, Philip & Melendez, Sebastian (2007) Reflexivity, its Meanings and Relevance for Social Work: A Critical Review of the Literature, British Journal of Social Work, (37), 73-90. Eraut, Michael (2013) Developing Complex Performance Through Learning Trajectories and Re-creating Mediating Artefacts. In: Deitmer, Ludger; Hauschildt, Ursel; Rauner, Felix & Zelloth, Helmut The Architecture of Innovative Apprenticeship. Technical and Vocational Education and Training: Issues, Concerns and Prospects Volume 18, pp 207-218 Gray, Mel; Plath, Debbie & Webb, Stephen A. (2009) Evidence-Based Social Work. A Critical Stance. London and New York: Routledge. Gredig, Daniel (2011) From research to practice: Research-based Intervention Development in social work: developing practice through cooperative knowledge production, European Journal of Social Work, 14 (1), 53-70. Homfeldt, Hans Günter (2004). Wissenschaftlich ausgebildete Professionelle. In E.-U. K. Reinhard Hšrster & S. Wolff (Eds.), Orte der Verständigung. Beiträge zum sozialpädagogischen Argumentieren. Burkhard Müller zum 65. Geburtstag gewidmet (pp. 336-354). Freiburg im Breisgau: Lambertus. Hüttemann, Matthias & Sommerfeld, Peter (2008) Relating Science and Practice in Social Work. A Critical and Constructive Review of the Concept of Evidence-Based Practice. In: Bryderup, Inge M. (ed.) (2008) Evidence Based and Knowledge Based Social Work. Research Methods and Approaches in Social Work Research. Aarhus: University Press, pp. 155 - 171.

32. References Jang, Kyeonghee (2012) An Understanding of Optimal Knowledge Management for Social Work Practice: Based on a Process-Oriented Conceptualisation of Knowledge Integration. British Journal of Social Work 1–20 Maynard, Brandy R. (2009) Social Service Organizations in the Era of Evidence-Based Practice. The Learning Organization as a Guiding Framework for Bridging Science to Service, Journal of Social Work, 10(3), 301-316. Munro, Eileen (2011) The Munro Review of Child Protection: Final Report – A Chld Centred System, London: Department of Education. Norton, R. E., & Moser, J. (2008). DACUM handbook (3rd ed.). Columbus, OH: Center on Education and Training for Employment, The Ohio State University. Schön, Donald A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner. How professionals think in action. London: Temple Smith. Seely Brown, J. & Duguid, P ( (2000). The Social Life of Information. Harvard Business School Press. Sommerfeld, Peter (2004) Soziale Arbeit - Grundlagen Perspektiven einer eigenständigen wissenschaftlichen Disziplin. In: Mühlum, Albert (Ed.) Sozialarbeitswissenschaft. Wissenschaft der Sozialen Arbeit. Freiburg im Breisgau: Lambertus. p.175-203 Wenger, Etienne (1998) Communities of practice. Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press Wilson, George (2011) Evidencing Reflective Practice in Social Work Education: Theoretical Uncertainties and Practical Challenges, British Journal of Social Work, (Advance Access online), 1-19.

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