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

Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag

Key Situations in Social Work 10/2014

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

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Adi Staempfli, MSc - Lecturer in Social Work



Professional Social Work Practice is based on ...

• ... knowledge,• ... research,• ... values and ethics,• ... skills.

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introduction



How can we best combine research and practice?

Social work Social work sciencescience

Scientific knowledgeof social problems

Scientific knowledge of interventions

Ethical knowledge

Social work Social work professionprofession

Experiential knowledge

Organisational and contextual knowledge

Skills

Infrastructure and material resources

??

introduction



Combining research & practice: Challenges for education, practice and academia

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

• "... 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

introduction



How can we best combine research and practice?

Social work Social work sciencescience

Scientific knowledgeof social problems


Ethical knowledge

Social work Social work professionprofession

Experiential knowledge


Skills

Infrastructure and material resources

Co-operativeCo-operativeknowledge knowledge

production &production &professionalprofessional reflectionreflection

Gredig (2011)Sommerfeld (2004)Tov, Kunz, Stämpfi (2013)

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

introduction



The model “key situations in social work” addresses 3 challenges

1. A reflection model: Working with Key Situations

2. A discourse model: Dialogue and discourse around professional practice

3. Knowledge management in social work: online platform combined with communities of practice

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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 organisations such as universities and practice organisations

• … focuses on reflection and discourse in communities of practice (CoPs) (Wenger, 1998)

• … is currently being developed further (platform and CoPs) as part of a funded 20 month project.

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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.

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Key Situations in Social Work

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 generalisable features.

• The number of such situations, as the situations themselves are flexible and 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.

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Key Situation model



1. Describe a situation of your practice.2. 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.

3. Choose a title (from the collection)4. Determine typical characteristics of the situation

Working with key situations:a step by step reflection process

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reflection model



5. Identify resources (theories, research, experiential knowledge, skills, organisational, material and time resources)

6. Define quality standards7. Reflect the situation using the quality standards

and8. Develop alternative courses of action

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Working with key situations:a step by step reflection process

reflection model



Co-production

reflection model

• 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



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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

reflection model



Outcomes of Reflections are seldom documented ....

Social work scienceScientific knowledgeof social problems


Ethical knowledge

Social work professionExperiential knowledge


Skills

discourse model



…. or shared as „boundary objects“• 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)

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discourse model



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title

DiscussionHistory

links to situations

characteristicsresources

Reflection

• Centre: key situation with generalisable elements

• Wiki-pages with article (reflection), discussion and history

• Links to specific reflections

Reflections on Key Situations are documented on a Wiki platform

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.

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Platform enables discourse on documented practice and knowledge

discourse model



a research project within the programme «BREF – Brückenschläge mit Erfolg» by KFH and Gebert Rüf Stiftung, co-financed by the University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Northwestern Switzerland, School of social work

#Schlüsselsituationen project #key situations

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.

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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.

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Project #Key Situations

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.

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discourse model



• 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

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Challenge: Knowledge Management

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, .....

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Knowledge Management based on key situations

knowledge management



1. The reflection process enables professionals to relate knowledge to (their own) practice and to focus on quality. (Internalisation Externalisation)

2. 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.

3. 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.

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Benefits of the Key Situation in Social Work Model

conclusions



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Application of the model

Can you envisage ways in which this model could contribute to your professional development, your reflection or your practice?



• 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.• by Researchers to support transfer of their (new) knowledge.• by Lecturers to refer to practice situations.Overall the network and the platform help to bridge the gap

between academia and practice, between theory and action.

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Application of the model



Continuous Professional Development of Capability

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Per

form

ance

Person

Environment

Professionalismprof. competenceprof. identity inCommunities of Practice

Negotiation of

Meaning

Reflection

Action

Situation 1 Situation 2 Situation 3

Knowledge, Skills, Dispositions, Values individual

Knowledge, Norms, Values, Context, Resources social

Situation 4 Situation 5

conclusions



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

[email protected]

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Thank you for your attention!

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Adi Stämpfli, Msc, Lecturer in Social Work, Goldsmiths, University of

London



ReferencesD'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.

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