NOPT Annual Conference 2013 Dr Jo Finch [email protected] Failing to

NOPT Annual Conference 2013 Dr Jo Finch [email protected] Failing to See the Road Signs?

MY STARTING POINT That social work, and definitions of what is good (enough) social work, are heavily contested. That assessing students in practice learning settings is a very complex task. That professional training courses within universities raise unique challenges and complexities. And that when issues of struggling or failing students emerge – these complexities come to the fore.

MY STARTING POINT That social work, and definitions of what is good (enough) social work, are heavily contested. That assessing students in practice learning settings is a very complex task. That professional training courses within universities raise unique challenges and complexities. And that when issues of struggling or failing students emerge – these complexities come to the fore.

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MY STARTING POINT That social work, and definitions of what is good nd My 2 Thought (enough) social work, are heavily contested. That assessment That assessing students in practice learning frameworks can’t always settingsmake is a very complex task. adequate sense of That professional training courses within the complexities universities raise unique challenges and complexities. And that when issues of struggling or failing students emerge – these complexities come to the fore.

MY STARTING POINT That social work, and definitions of what is good (enough) social work, are heavily contested. That assessing students in practice learning settings is a very complex task. My 3rd Thought That professional training courses within can That these complexities universities raise unique challenges and often make relations complexities. between the field and the And that when issues of struggling or failing academy challenging. students emerge – these complexities all come to the fore.

MY STARTING POINT That social work, and definitions of what is good (enough) social work, are heavily contested. That assessing students in practice learning settings is a very complex task. That professional 4th Thought training courses within universities raisewe unique and Whether like itchallenges or not complexities. – the placement remains And that when struggling or failing a key siteissues of gateofkeeping students emerge – these complexities all come to the fore.

Presentation will explore Concerns about Practice Learning New Road Signs and Regulatory Landscape The Challenges of Working With Struggling or Failing Students in Practice Learning Settings

Presentation will explore New Road Signs and Regulatory Landscape Concerns aboutINTRODUCTIONS BUT FIRST! Practice The Challenges of Learning Working With Struggling or Failing Students in Practice Learning Settings

BRIEF INTRODUCTION Senior Lecturer in Social Work, MA Social Work Programme Leader and Admissions Tutor, University of East London Course Tutor, Professional Doctorate in Social Work, Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust Practice Educator & Mentor Long standing research interest in students failing in practice learning settings.

2010 – completed professional doctorate that BRIEFwhy INTRODUCTION explored practice educators found it so difficult Senior Lecturer in Social Work, MA Social to fail students. 2011 (withProgramme Alberto Poletti) compared Italian practice Work Leader and Admissions educators of working with failing students with UK Tutor, University of East London practice educators. Course Tutor, Professional Doctorate in 2011/12 explored tutors experiences of working with Social Work, Tavistock and Portman NHS failing students in practice learning settings Trust 2013 – currently undertaking an ethnographic pilot study of practice assessment panels. Practice Educator & Mentor Long standing research interest in students failing in practice learning settings. 2013 (with Schaub & Dalrymple) theorising our data further using psychodynamic frameworks, i.e. defensive mechanisms .

New Road Signs and Regulatory Landscape

KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION IN LAST DECADE Social Work Degree Introduction of Degree in Social Work in 2003 Number of placement days in increased from 130 to 200. Fitness to practice requirements on new degree “Suitability” and “termination of training” emphasised Service user Involvement in all aspects of social work education Stricter entry requirements

KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION IN LAST DECADE CareWork Standards Social Degree Act (2000) Introduction of Degree in Social Work in 2003 Social Work became a protected title Number of placement days in First tribunal hearing increased from 130 to 200.2006 Fitness to practice Requirement on forrequirements CPD new degree Four regional care councils set up in England, “Suitability” and “termination of Wales andemphasised Northern Ireland training” GSCC July 2012. Serviceabolished user Involvement in all aspects of social workineducation Regulatory Body England now HCPC Stricter entry requirements

KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION IN LAST DECADE Changes to Post Qualifying Programmes CareWork Standards Act (2000) Social Degree (2007) Introduction of Degree in Social Work in 2003 Three levels, specialist, highertitle specialists Social Work became a protected Numberand of placement days in academic advanced, with First tribunal hearing 2006 increased from 130 to 200. equivalents. Fitness to practice Requirement requirements on for CPD Specialist pathways (i.e. practice new degree Four regional care councils set upand in England, education and management “Suitability” and “termination of Wales and Northern Ireland leadership. training” emphasised GSCC July 2012. Practice education started at higher Serviceabolished user Involvement in all aspects of social work specialist level. Regulatory Body ineducation England now HCPC Stricter entry requirements

KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION IN LAST DECADE Changes to Post Qualifying Programmes CareWork Standards Act (2000) Social Degree (2007) Introduction of Degree in Social Work in 2003 Three levels, specialist, higher specialists Social Work became a protected title Numberand of placement days in academic advanced, with First tribunal hearing 2006 increased from 130 to 200. equivalents. Fitness Requirement to practice for requirements on CPD Specialist pathways (i.e. practice new degree Four regional care councils set up in education and management and “Suitability” and “termination of England, Wales and Northern Ireland leadership. training” emphasised Practice education started at higher Service user Involvement in all aspects of social work education specialist level.

BABY PETER. “The 17-month-old boy was on Haringey Council's at-risk register and was visited more than 60 times by social workers, doctors and police. But he died after they failed to spot the horrific abuse he was suffering at the hands of his mother, her boyfriend and their lodger”. (Daily Telegraph, 2009)

BABY PETER. Social Work Task Force Set Up Social Work Reform Board to take forward the recommendations Munro report College of Social Work now in operation Introduction of PCF New Practice Educator Standards

ALL THESE DEVELOPMENTS HAVE AIMED AT: increasing public trust and confidence in the profession (DH, 2002) making social work similar to comparator professions, i.e. nursing (Orme, et al, 2009) Transforming the status and image of profession (DH, 2002) Emphasising the centrality and importance of practice learning in social work education. Recognising the importance of practice educators

“Students have to undertakeHAVE much of their ALL THESEwill DEVELOPMENTS learning in practice settings and demonstrate their AIMED AT: in practice. Service providers, working competence increasing public trust and confidence in the in partnership with other key stakeholders, must profession (DH, 2002) deliver sufficient quantity and quality of practice making social work similar to comparator learning opportunities in order to ensure that professions,social i.e. nursing et al, 2009) tomorrow’s workers(Orme, are properly trained to do their job”. the status and image of Transforming Jacqui Smith, Health Minister, 2002 profession (DH, 2002) Emphasising the centrality and importance of practice learning in social work education. Recognising the importance of practice educators

Concerns about Practice Learning

LONGSTANDING CONCERNS ABOUT PRACTICE LEARNING Quantity and quality of placements (Sharp and Danbury, 1999; Kearney, 2003; Skills for Care, 2003) Rarity of placement failure in UK (and internationally) (Coulshed, 1980; Hughes and Heycox, 1996; Raymond, 2000; Basnet and Sheffield, 2010) Concerns about failure by profession to deal with issues of suitability in practice (Finch and Taylor, 2013) Failing students in practice learning settings stressful and general reluctance to fail (Bogo et al, 2007; Finch, 2010; Schaub & Dalrymple, 2011) Students being passed inappropriately (Shapton, 2006; Finch and Taylor, 2013)

RECENT CONCERNS ABOUT PRACTICE LEARNING Practice educators find it emotionally painful to fail students (Schaub and Dalrymple, 2011; Finch and Taylor, 2013; Finch and Poletti, 2013) Concerns that practice educators and tutors may “put off” making difficult decisions (Finch, forthcoming) Concern about impact on current economic situation on the quality and quantity of placements (Finch, forthcoming)

EVIDENCED) NARRATIVES ABOUT SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION: Too many social work graduates – not enough jobs Social Work training not fit for purpose Current model a “barrier to most talented” (Michael Gove) "Give me a student undertaking a three-year social work degree, consisting of the most unadulterated Marxist rubbish, and I will give you a social worker who puts their warped ideology ahead of the interests of those they are paid to serve," Harry Phibbs, Conservative Councillor

I am lost!

PRACTICE EDUCATORS Emotionally Internalise Struggle Role painful (e.g. guilt and anger) failure of student as own failure to maintain adult learning principles conflict/role strain

PRACTICE “I was really pissed off EDUCATORS with him .I felt angry”. (Claire) (Finch, 2010) Emotionally painful (e.g. guilt and anger) Internalise Struggle Role failure of student as own failure to maintain adult learning principles conflict/role strain

PRACTICE “I was really pissed off EDUCATORS with him .I felt angry”. (Claire) (Finch, 2010) Emotionally painful (e.g. guilt and anger) Internalise failure of student own failure “ and I did actually thinkasthe next time you shout at me, I might Struggle actuallytoshout back at you because maintain adult learning principles who the fuck do you think you are ” (Daisy) (Finch, 2010) Role conflict/role strain

PRACTICE “I was really pissed off EDUCATORS with him .I felt angry”. (Claire) (Finch, 2010) Emotionally painful (e.g. guilt and anger) Internalise failure of student asthe own failure “ and I did actually think next “it was the first fail, I felt terribly timeguilty, you shout at me, I might I felt really I had sleepless Struggle actually back at you because toshout maintain adult learning principles nights, felt quite sick, I felt incredibly whoguilty .” the fuck do you think you (Finch, 2010) (Claire) are ” (Daisy) (Finch, 2010) Role conflict/role strain

PRACTICE “ That was the issue I was struggling EDUCATORS with through this whole thing. How much of her failure was my fault?” Emotionally painful (e.g. guilt and anger) (Terry) (Finch, 2010) Internalise failure of student as own failure Struggle “I it was my failing toactually maintainfelt adult learning principles because I wasn’t getting it [evidence] out of her .” (Martha) Role conflict/role strain (Finch, 2010)

PRACTICE “ he [student] EDUCATORS took on the role of a child sometimes and puppy dog. I’m the weak Emotionally painful (e.g. guilt and anger) one and you're the strong one and it will be in your hands and you’re the Internalise supervisor [it] carried on,asthe puppy dog failure of student own failure eyes”. (Jude) (Finch, 2010) Struggle Role to maintain adult learning principles conflict/role strain

PRACTICE EDUCATORS Emotionally painful (e.g. guilt and anger) “ there was a clash for me between the facilitator of learning Internalise failure of student as own failure role and the kind of management roles.” (Lily) (Finch, 2010) Struggle to maintain adult learning principles Role conflict/role strain

SOCIAL WORK TUTORS Managing and supporting practice educators and students at the same time. “Good” tutors and “Bad” tutors Conflicts Practice with university systems Educators and Placements

SOCIAL WORK TUTORS Managing and supporting practice educators and students at the same time. “Good” andis “Bad” tutors “ the maintutors challenge that I feel slightly hypocritical sometimes because what we say to the students is ‘this is transparent and we wont have any conversations Conflicts process with university systems or do anything you don’t know about’ but in reality, there are those conversations [with practice educators] which Practice Educators andfrank Placements are sometimes a little more than those with the student might be.” (Adrian)

SOCIAL WORK “ there is the level of complexity around the TUTORS skills of the training team around the student you’ve got some practice educators that are Managing and supporting practice educators brilliant but also to be fair, I question the and students at theacademic same time. capability of some staff.” (Carol) “Good” tutors and “Bad” tutors Conflicts “ Somewith tutors are more systems active than university others and I think that being pro-active you can prevent a lot and I think it’s important that the tutor is proactive in Practice Educators and Placements getting to difficulties early and negotiating how to resolve them.” (Jane)

SOCIAL WORK “ there are still problem with it [fitness to TUTORS practice panels] we have to argue and insist that is a registered, Managing and somebody supportingwho practice educators qualified social worker, is part of the and students at the same time. panel you’ve got to have a professionally qualified one on the panel”. (Carol) “Good” tutors and “Bad” tutors Conflicts with university systems “we have to fight sometimes to get them [the Practice university] to even listen our professional Educators and to Placements regulations. We have had a real struggle with that.” (Carol)

SOCIAL WORK “ there are still problem with it [fitness to TUTORS practice panels] we have to argue and “the university prioritise students’ insist that somebody who is a registered, Managing and supporting practice educators rights over social the publics’ rights, whereas qualified worker, is part of the and students at the same time. we have to protect public rights as panel you’ve gotthe to have a professionally gatekeepers to the profession” (Gerry) qualified one on the panel”. (Carol) “Good” tutors and “Bad” tutors Conflicts with university systems “we have to fight sometimes to get them [the Practice university] to even listen our professional Educators and to Placements regulations. We have had a real struggle with that.” (Carol)

SOCIAL WORK TUTORS Managing and supporting practice educators “the at practice educator bottled it I think and students the same time. it was easier to pass than it was to fail them it’s a combination of things, partly “Good” tutors and “Bad” a bit laziness wheretutors they are, for whatever reason, reluctant to do the hard, extra work.” (Adrian) Conflicts with university systems Practice Educators and Placements

BACK TO MY 4 EARLIER THOUGHTS 1. 2. 3. 4. That assessment frameworks cannot protect us from the emotional pain of struggling or failing students. That assessment frameworks can’t always make adequate sense of the complexities That these complexities can often make relations between the field and the academy challenging. Whether we like it or not – the placement remains a key site of gate keeping

Finch and Poletti (2013) – Comparison of Italian and UK BACK TOEducators MY 4 EARLIER THOUGHTS Practice That assessment frameworks cannot protect us from the emotional pain of struggling or failing students. 2. assessment can’t always NoThat national (or evenframeworks regional) assessment make adequate sense of the complexities framework for practice learning 3.Italian educators more emotionally That practice these complexities can often make measured working with failing relationsresponses betweenwhen the field and the students. academy challenging. 4.Lack of assessment framework appeared to Whether we like it or not – the placement “protect” practice educators from the emotional remains a key site of gate keeping pain. 1.

Current ethnographic pilot study of practice assessment BACK TO MY 4 EARLIER panels (preliminary findings);THOUGHTS That assessment frameworks cannot protect Practice educator reports do not always adequately us from the emotional pain of struggling or capture the complexities of the situation and so failing decisions students.being deferred (or put off?). assessment 2. That assessment frameworks can’t always make adequate sense of the complexities 3. That these complexities canexisting often knowledge make PAP members often drawing on pre relations between the field and the about the student in making decisions. academy challenging. Social work tutors play a powerful role in decision making 4. Whether we like it or not – the placement remains a key site of–gate keeping Panels often become “split” powerful voices prevail! 1.

BACK TOdoes MY the 4 EARLIER THOUGHTS “I think the niceness factor “Why needs to be decreased and send us frameworks cannot protect 1.university That assessment maybe they [practice shit us students?” from the emotional pain of struggling or educators] need to get (Mark, failingpractice students. more demanding”. (Gerry educator) – social can’t work tutor) 2. That assessment frameworks always make adequate sense of the complexities 3. That these complexities can often make relations between the field and the academy challenging. 4. Whether we like it or not – the placement Anger remains a keySPLITTING site of gate keeping BLAMING

BACK TOtoMY Entrance Uni 4 EARLIER THOUGHTS Practice Learning Opportunity 1 That assessment frameworks cannot protect us from the emotional pain of struggling or Academic work failing students. 2. That assessment frameworks can’t always make adequate sense of the complexities Academic work 3. That these complexities can often make relations Fitness to Practice between the field and the academy challenging. 4. Whether we like it or not – the placement remains a key site of gate keeping 1. Practice Learning Opportunity 2

CONCLUDING COMMENTS The presentation started off with road signs, but I lost sight of them when discussing the complexities of practice. Whatever assessment framework we use, teaching and learning relationships are complex and can raise in all of us, difficult emotional responses which come to the fore when issues of failing students emerge and we may all lose sight of the road signs. Relations between the field and the academy can then often become conflictual . and the assessment process becomes obscured.

CONCLUDING COMMENTS The presentation started off with road signs, but we “lost” them when discussing the complexities of practice. TCSW Service Users Whatever assessment framework we use, teaching and learning relationships are complex and can raise in all Failure Holistic Holistic Assessment of us, difficult emotional responses which come to the fore when issues of failing PCF HCPC students emerge and we may lose sight of the Capability road SOPS signs”. SETS Threshold Relations between the field and the academy can then often become conflictual . and the assessment process becomes obscured.

FINAL WORDS Developing robust gate keeping practices really important for all of us involved in social work education. However painful and challenging, we must fail students if necessary. Reflecting on the dynamics that emerge in teaching and learning relationships is vital. The new road signs, i.e professional capability framework important but need to use carefully and recognise its potential, as well as its limitations. Practice education is a highly skilled and complex task.

CONCLUDING COMMENTS The presentation started off with road signs, but we “lost” them when discussing the complexities of practice. TCSW Service Users Whatever assessment framework we use, teaching and learning relationships are complex and can raise in all Failure Holistic Holistic Assessment of us, difficult emotional responses which come to the fore when issues of failing PCF HCPC students emerge and we may lose sight of the Capability road SOPS signs”. SETS Threshold Relations between the field and the academy can then often become conflictual . and the assessment process becomes obscured.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Finch, J and Parker, J (2013) Editorial, Special Edition – Failing Students, Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, Vol. 11 (3) p3-6 Finch, J. and Poletti, I. (2013) ‘It’s been hell.’ Italian and British Practice Educators’ Narratives of Working with Struggling or Failing Social Work Students in Practice Learning Settings, European Journal of Social Work, DOI:10.1080/13691457.2013.800026 Finch, J. and Taylor, I. (2013) The Emotional Experience of Assessing a Struggling or Failing Social Work Student in Practice Learning Settings, Special Edition – Field Education, Social Work Education, 32 (2) pp:244-258 DOI: 10.1080/02615479.2012.720250 Finch, J. (2010) “Can’t Fail, Won’t Fail – A Qualitative Study of Practice Assessors’ Experiences of Assessing Marginal or Failing Social Work Students” Unpublished DSW Thesis, Sussex University, Falmer Special Edition – Failing Students, Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, vol 11 (3) 2012/2013 – available from Whiting and Birch