The workshop
The Practice Educator Learning Partnership hosted an online workshop event in September 2023 for Practice Educators, Placement Supervisors, social workers, and independent and voluntary sector practitioners supporting social work students in practice. This is part of the continued work under the Pan Dorset and Wiltshire Social Work Teaching Partnership. These events form part of our ongoing programme of continued professional development for practitioners who are committed to supporting the development of pre-qualifying social work students.
Social work practice is widely underpinned by a strengths-based approach so it made sense to consider how we can embed this into practice education too. Taking a strengths-based approach enables us to shift our perspective from “what is wrong” to “what is strong” (Doh 2019). This is something which educators can also model through practice learning in both statutory and independent and voluntary sector placements.
Social work practice is widely underpinned by a strengths-based approach so it made sense to consider how we can embed this into practice education too. Taking a strengths-based approach enables us to shift our perspective from “what is wrong” to “what is strong” (Doh 2019). This is something which educators can also model through practice learning in both statutory and independent and voluntary sector placements.
The workshop considered how strengths-based practice can encourage students to evaluate their practice meaningfully, develop a more authentic sense of their professional identity, improve how we deliver feedback, and how we can support students more effectively in supervision. We asked practitioners how they enable students to connect with the positive impact of their practice, and what tools they use. Practitioners enjoyed opportunity for group discussion and to get thinking of models and tools we could create and share.
Whilst social work favours strengths-based practice, practitioners rarely recognise the strengths they bring. With students coming into the profession at a time of enormous economic and social difficulty, it is a greater challenge for practice educators and supervisors to create and support positive learning environments. We hoped the workshop would spark ideas on how we can take action to challenge negative narratives about social work and recognise the impact great practice can have on people’s lives! We used some of the ongoing work from a collaborative project involving BU social work academics and members of the BU PIER Partnership to frame the keynote presentation on working in a strengths-based way. The project, titled “positive stories about social work” prompted questions around how students evaluate their practice amid so many negative narratives about the profession. It has been an important way of re-positioning student perception of the impact and purpose of their practice. You can access the video created as the foundation of our project about celebrating the positive impact of social work. You are also welcome to contact Ros Dray (BU) on rosdray@bournemouth.ac.uk if you would like to contribute a positive story of your own for our growing project!
