Service user and carer involvement in social work education is a mandatory requirement in the UK. The role of service users, carers and survivors in Northern Ireland is fundamental to shaping social work students understanding of the unique life histories and experiences of others and acknowledging service user perspectives through the lens of experts by experience.This paper outlines the organic approach the authors adopted in developing and co-producing the Shared Stories Narrative Model for supporting service users, carers and survivors to participate in the direct teaching within the undergraduate social work degree at a university in Northern Ireland. The model is the product of extensive engagement with a group of young people who have experience of social work involvement. The model will be explained and applied to a case example. Reflections from the young people (experts by experience) and social work students are included. This paper seeks to demonstrate how the Shared Stories Narrative Model can be considered an effective framework for supporting meaningful service user involvement in social work education.

No abstract

This book is a critical exploration of the place of professions and professionals across a range of fields, f rom p olicing t o m idwifery, s ocial w ork t o j ournalism, a nd t he fi ctional pr ofessionals of literature. It arose from a concern about the denigration of professionals by populist politicians which in itself demonstrated the need for the kinds of trustworthy expertise for which professionals seek to be esteemed. I wrote a blog piece about my Place Model for the Good Project at Harvard and

Background ‘Getting Involved in Research’ was co-created and delivered by a multi-organisational group to provide an accessible introduction to research for those with lived experience of health and social care services. Method The evaluation of participants’ perceptions adopted an exploratory mixed method research design and aimed to gather data to provide an in-depth understanding of the participants’ experience of ‘Getting Involved in Research’ through the co-researchers’ analysis of qualitative data using Participatory Theme Elicitation (PTE). PTE was used with the qualitative data to promote co-analysis by the course development group; analyses from an independent academic was also used to further validate the method of PTE. Results Thirty-five participants in total participated in ‘Getting Involved in Research’. Age ranges varied from 19 to 73 years old. Participants were predominately female (n = 24), five males participated (n = 5) and there was one participant who identified as non-binary (n = 1). Six core themes were identified using the PTE approach: (1) A Meaningful Participatory Approach (2) Increasing the Confidence of Participants (3) Interactive Online Format (4) An Ambient Learning Environment (5) A Desire for Future Courses (6) A Balance of Course Content and Discussion. Participants in ‘Getting Involved in Research’ reported that the content of the training was applicable, relevant, fostered awareness of research methods and anticipated that it would support their involvement in research. Conclusion ‘Getting Involved in Research’ has contributed innovatively to the evidence base for how to engage with and motivate those who have experience of health and social care to become actively involved in research. This study demonstrates that ‘Getting Involved in Research’ may be helpful to train those with lived experience and their care partners however, further research following up on the application of the course learning would be required to ascertain effectiveness. Future directions Future research should explore methods to apply research skills in practice to further develop participants’ confidence in using the skills gained through ‘Getting Involved in Research’.