Exploring the Development of Reflective Capacity in Young People

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Hickson ◽  
Jennifer Lehmann ◽  
Fiona Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Service Workers ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Story Reading ◽  
Reflective Capacity

People use reflection and reflective practice for many different reasons, including for self-care and to make sense of their experiences. In this study, social workers spoke about how they learned to be reflective, with many participants describing activities in their childhood that developed their reflective capacity. The aim of this article is to apply these ideas and examine the factors that enhance reflective capacity in children and young people. This research was part of a PhD study that involved interviews with 35 social workers in USA, Canada, UK and Australia. This exploratory study found that activities like story reading and asking children to reflect on their behaviour are early steps in the process of becoming reflective, but this needs to be followed up with conversations that deconstruct assumptions to make sense of experiences and explore multiple perspectives. This research is important for health and human service workers and others who want to develop reflective capacity in children and young people, particularly for children subject to disadvantage who need to overcome trauma and adversities.

Reflecting on Mistakes in Practice among Social Workers in China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Lu ◽  
Juan Chen
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Professional Identity ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Reflective Awareness ◽  
Risk Management Strategies ◽  
Reflective Capacity

Abstract Reflection is widely practiced in human service professions, but little research has examined whether reflection actually translates into action and, if so, how. This article explores the possibilities and limits of reflective practice by drawing on data collected through reflective interviews with fifteen Chinese social workers on mistakes in practice. The findings demonstrate that social workers in China are aware of being reflective, even critically reflective, by pondering mistakes and failures they have encountered. Their reflections, however, do not extend to future action plans. Rather, they prefer to rely on manual-based knowledge providing explicit guidance, reflecting their developing reflective capacity and low professional identity. The article argues that social workers’ reflective awareness needs to be built up, while fully recognising the limits of reflection. To address mistakes, not only do we need to create opportunities for practitioners to reflect, but also to address the risk-management strategies of social work organisations and the independent roles that should be performed by professional social work associations in Mainland China.

How parents and children view the system

2020 ◽  
pp. 43-64
Author(s):  
Clive Diaz
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Young People ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
High Turnover ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Barriers And Enablers ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
System P ◽  
The Impact

This chapter considers children and parent’s perspectives of child protection conferences and whether they feel actively involved in decision making. It is based on interviews with 40 children and 52 parents in two local authorities whose children were subject to a child protection plan at the time. Most parents felt unsupported throughout the child protection process, reporting feelings of powerlessness, intimidation and fear. Parents reported that they found child protection conference particularly stigmatizing and oppressive and this led to them not trusting social workers and often other key agencies. A further interesting finding was that some parents felt sorry for their social workers and stated that they seemed stressed, clearly under too much pressure and often did not do what that said they could do. The chapter also considered young people’s views of social workers and what the barriers and enablers of good child protection practice are. This chapter highlights the high number of social workers young participants had; their relationships with their social worker and their perception of the child protection conference. The extent to which the young participants were aware of the impact of bureaucracy and high caseloads on the service they receive, coupled with the impact of the high turnover of social workers, was also examined. These factors impacted on how much the children and young people participated in the work that social workers were carrying out with them and the extent to which they trusted their social workers.

Nonverbal Narratives: Listening to People with Severe Intellectual Disability

2002 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 239-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rea Dennis
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Narrative Research ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Service Workers ◽  
Severe Intellectual Disability ◽  
Severe Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Working Day ◽  
Group Interviews

This article describes an exploratory study that examined the perspectives of practitioners who spend much of their working day listening to and in some ways “interpreting” for people with severe intellectual disabilities. On the basis of focus group interviews with 23 professional disability-sector workers, including speech therapists, psychologists, and human service workers, the article reports on the importance of a practitioner's values and experience in successful interactions with individuals who rely on self-developed nonsymbolic communication repertoires. The article includes a discussion of the likelihood of including individuals with severe intellectual disabilities in narrative research.

Social Work and the Education of Children in Foster Care

1993 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 25-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Aldgate ◽  
Anthony Heath ◽  
Matthew Colton ◽  
Michael Simm
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Young People ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Educational Needs ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Children In Foster Care

To what extent should social workers advocate the educational needs of children and young people in foster care? Jane Aldgate, Anthony Heath, Matthew Colton and Michael Simm present the findings of a recent study.

Transitioning from (and with) care: The next steps

2006 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 42-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoe London ◽  
Nick Halfpenny
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Participatory Approaches ◽  
Family Services ◽  
Service Workers ◽  
Experience Of Care ◽  
Care Leavers ◽  
Legislative Changes ◽  
Services And Supports

This article builds on research work undertaken by MacKillop Family Services on the experience of care leavers to explore the importance of the relational aspects of human service work. Recent legislative changes have focused on the availability of services and supports to young people transitioning from care. The authors suggest that it is time to refocus attention on the relationships between young people leaving care and human service workers. Such a discussion opens up models of practice that encourage flexible and participatory approaches.

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