Participation and institutional Change -within the field of social work with 'at risk youth’ -

Mette Bladt (assistant professor) and

Ditte Tofteng (senior associated lecturer)

University College Capital (UCC)

Denmark

About us…

• Researchers from the UCC - University College Capital (Copenhagen) R&D department.

• As action researchers we are occupied with knowledge production within research as a collaborative participatory process with various participants.

• This presentation is a reflection on the notion of participation and how upturned participation can develop the social work with at-risk youth in a welfare system

Content

• A different notion of participation

– “Upturned participation”

• Research with at risk youth in the frame of upturned participation

• All in – developing the social work with at risk youth

• Common discussion

Developing af different notion of participation

The inspiration arises from two different places –and theoretical notions

1) Arnsteins ”Ladder of participation”

2) Action research

The ladder of participation

• A very used model in Denmark – in planning, in social work etc.• It is used to illustrate levels of participation• But the ladder tells us what participation is NOT• Interesting critique we share

Arnstein, Sherry R. "A Ladder of Citizen Participation," JAIP, Vol. 35, No. 4, July 1969, pp. 216-224.

• Shares Adorno and Horkheimers notion of the “dialectics of enlightenment”

• The notion of participation in action research is: social oriented democratic co-creations of the social life.

• In critical utopian action research the ground of participation is critique –A lack of democratic relations in society: Critical analysis that points out positivism (science) as partly responsible for authoritarian orientations in modern society

• Research and researchers; can take an active role in changing this –opening alternatives through social change and critical social analysis

• Adorno & Horkheimer (1944): Ambivalence is a continuous condition

• Block (2000): Utopia is part of reality – is part of a critical analysis – it can be developed or it can be set aside

• Lewin (1948): A practical alternative – democratic experiments as social technology for (normative) democratic change - Re-establishing a connection between science and normative culture

Critical utopian action research- and the notion of participation

”Upturned participation”

• Another way of thinking participation

Research together with at risk youth

Several research projects with very marginalized youth.

The analytic question is:

”The good youth life – when we decide” - and we act upon the ideastogether

Research together with at risk youth

The research projects show that marginalized youth:

• Wishes to be a part of the ”normal” society, and hold a responsibility for it

• Are looking for spaces in the soceital reality where theycan belong

• Develop funny, substantial and original types of social work, institutions and activities

All in – the professionalsResearch project presentation

• Nine call (workshops) over a period of 1½ year.

• Aproxx. 50 participants• 2-4 from the same institutions• Aproxx 29 institutions

• The project is a partnerships with 3B Boligsocial enhed (engelsk?) and the municipality of Copenhagen…

• With the participants and their institutions – how to develop new insights and new methods – the former methods did not work

The beginning

Theoretical background and

introduction of the model

IPlanning of the

experiments

E

Ideas and reflections – new input to the

experimentsE

Exchanging of experiences with

experiment's E

Analyzing and reflections on the

model…

E

Pedagogical repertoire – how does the model

connect

Looking for places to begin

Evaluation -

The flow and activities - workshops and experiments

The experiments;

New forms of social activities in the youth center (public)New ways to be a resident at the group home

Organizing refugee kids

New ways to create pedagogical room at school – together with ay risk youth

Roles in the project and process

• Co-creation of knowledge (experiments, analyzing and reflection)

• The participants; Co-researchers

• The researchers: facilitators, teachers and researchers

• Democratization of knowledge production –democratization of research.

Preliminary findings

• Recruitment (youth) is difficult• They find the method meaningful in a pedagogical context and

as a supplement to the vocation as pedagogues/ pedagogical skills – development of their pedagogical repertoire

• Their first argument is – ‘we already do that’ – but they end up looking at it as very different from what they are already doing

• It is challenging for the leaders and organizations/institutions

• Political attention – 3 B is a strong political player• The rooting of the project and the change processes is done

simultaneous with the research

ReferencesArnstein, Sherry R. (1969): "A Ladder of Citizen Participation," JAIP, Vol. 35, No. 4, July 1969, pp. 216-224.Bladt, M. (2012): Frirum og værksteder I Duus m.fl. (red); Aktionsforskning – en grundbog. Samfundslitteratur Bladt, M. (2013): De unges stemme – udsyn fra en anden virkelighed. Ph.D. afhandling. ENSPAC. Roskilde UniversitetBrydon-Miller et al (2003): Why actions research? Action research, vol 1(1), p9-28, Sage Publications Elliott, J. (1995). Action research for educational change. Philadelphia, PA: Open University Press. Horton, Myles & P. Freire (1991): We make the road by walking. Conversations on education and social change: Temple UniversityHusted, M. & Tofteng, D. (2013): Kan medarbejdere stoppe stress? I Friis Andersen, M. & Brinkmann, S. (red): Nye perspektiver på Stress. Klim Nielsen, K. Aa. & Nielsen, B.S. (2005): Kritisk utopisk aktionsforskning, i Bechman Jensen, T. og Christensen G.(red.), Psykologiske og pædagogiske metoder, Roskilde Universitetsforlag Nielsen, K. Aa. & Nielsen, B.S. (2006): DEN LILLE GRØNNE/HVIDE NATURBOGSvensson, L., & Aagard Nielsen, K. (2006). A framework for the book. In K. Aagaard Nielsen & L. Svensson (Eds.), Action research and interactive research (pp. 13–45). Maastricht: Shaker Publishing. Park, P., M. Brydon-Miller, B. Hall & T. Jackson (Eds.) (1993), Voices of change: Participatory research in the United States and Canada. Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey. P., & Bradbury, H. (eds.) (2001): Handbook of action research. London: SAGE. Toulmin, Stephen and Bjørn Gustavsen(ed.) (1996). Beyond Theory. London. John benjamins publishing. Tofteng, D & Husted, M (2008): Respekt og realiteter. Ph.D. afhandling. ENSPAC. Roskilde Universitet