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Social Structure in Social Care. Towards a holistic Irish Social Care Education and Practice. Social Care Project. Social Care Project: The necessity for European social pedagogy and the wider EU social model.
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Social Structure in Social Care Towards a holistic Irish Social Care Education and Practice.
Social Care Project • Social Care Project: The necessity for European social pedagogy and the wider EU social model. • See Share ‘Professionalization and Social Care in Ireland’ (European Journal of Social Care Education 2006) • Therapeutic care is crucial also. • Needs greater symbiosis and interfacing • The profession is struggling for an identity based on body of knowledge and skills mix
Social Structure • Social Structure is economy, class system and the state (Peillon 1986) • These are crucial predictors of the genesis of social care problems. (Kirby 2006, Fanning 06) • Predictors of the adequacy and effectiveness of social care provision/interventions • See O’Connor (2006):more than context for Therapeutic interventions (Oliver 1993) • Their importance in the Irish project neglected
Practical Examples • ABA education for children with ASD • Drug rehab: see Mc Verry (CIT Visiting Speaker Visit) • Care for the elderly- Financing (see Prof. O’Shea CIT Visiting Speaker Visit) • Primary care and community care: lack of teams (see Prof.Bury CIT Visit, O’Connor 2006 Irish Examiner) • Lack of CMHTs for mentally ill (See O’Connor 2007 Irish Examiner; Saunders+Prof.Casey, CIT visits, highlighting the ‘Biopsychosocial’ Model in mental health. This profession is mulistranding. We need to move likewise.
Practical social Care and Pedogogy • Social pedagogy needs to interface with some personal development and more practical social care skills. • So the sociology and law of all of the previous examples need a synergy and symbiotic link with the personal development and practical skills, e.g LSI and TCI. • This would vastly strengthen the profession. • We are not counsellors. We are not nurses. We need multi-strand ‘joined up’ modules reflecting a specific social care identity, leading too: skills for holistic care plans e.g. TCI with professional policy interventions e.g. sheltered housing for the mentally ill combined with advocacy strategies.
Holistic Social Care • I made additions to course and professional descriptors on the IASCE guidelines for the profession , reflecting these needs recently. • I am arguing for this in CIT. SISSPIC Model: Symbiosis in Social, Structural, Psychological in Care. • The profession needs to be strengthened so as not to lose out in the implementation of Health and Social Care Professions Act. • Warning signs: social care workers are not mentioned in policy on PCTs or CMHTs. • Given that Primary Care is the locus of community care, an enhanced holistic social care identity giving the SCW a deeper, wider and more indispensable role is necessary.
Where to Start • A survey for IASCE to find out the balancing between the 3 components as outlined: PD, thematic subjects and practical skills • At dept level in colleges more multidisciplinary seminars. • FESET: what can we learn from EU practice? • Modules need to be multi d across PD, TC, Sociology, and practical skills • We need an inclusive social model not a quasi-medical model based on individual needs (see Braye and Preston-Shoot, O’Connor, Porter 2006) • ‘Synthesised’ and recognisable social care education and training mix enhancing profession: in advocacy the individual case legal strategy (see Moira Jenkins) with the wider social advocacy mobilisation of groups
Significant Challenges • Challenges to this process: • Old professional biases: Democratic vs Reflexive Practitioner (see Share CIT talk, Banks 2007) • Timetabling • Professional resistances: (Clarke 1996) • The muliple accountability problem (Hawkins and Shoet) • More meetings to synchronise the courses. • Crucially, just collaborating on the ‘academic’ subjects (done in CIT integ studs) is not the r’aison d'être. • Continuous and ongoing collaboration with the multiplicity of organisations in service provision and representative groupings.
Future Priorities • More dissemination of our work in media. Need for greater presence. Major advocacy focus • Partnerships with social care organisations and research collaboration e.g. Positive Action, NCAOP. • Encourage ‘service providers’ to advocacy: e.g my proposed new book. Holistic articles. • Many NSMs also engage with traditional politics e.g. Sirl. We need influence and lobby with them. • The crucial need for us to link with new social movements in social care: DFI, Autism Ireland, PWDI, CFJ, IMHC, Age Action, Grow.
New Times • Social workers don’t have a campaigning focus but social care workers can have. • Social care workers increasingly work in community care. • New sites of community care in FRCs, CDPs and other. • Community care will interface with community development and local development: social care workers need to participate on CDBs and other state structures. • Family support and social capital are also at the interface (see O’Doherty 2006+07). • New professional identity and interfaces are part of post-modern/post-fordist ‘New Times’ (Hall 1990) • Happy new times!!!!