Listening to care experienced young people and creating audio-bites for social work education

Abstract

It can be challenging to incorporate young people's voices into social work pedagogy even though service user involvement is an essential part of social work education. Technological advances present new ways to involve service users and overcome barriers to participation.The purpose of this research was to explore service user involvement amongst young people by developing an audio resource for a qualifying social work programme in Scotland. We used a co-production methodology to create eight audio-bites based on interviews with four careexperienced people, aged 14-19, about their involvement with social work. We share key findings from the interviews, about the young people's involvement with social work and about being 'subjects' of statutory recording practices and processes, such as chronologies and Child's Plans. We discuss how the audio-bites were used in teaching and present feedback from students and lecturers about their use. We argue that the audio-bites promote authentic learning as they depict real life practice situations, and help students to develop listening and reflection skills that will inform their preparation for practice with children and young people.

Systematic Review of Service User and Carer Involvement in Qualifying Social Work Education: A Decade in Retrospect

“…Driessens et al, 2016) and the use of digital aids such as videos (e.g. Duffy, 2012) and audio bytes (Lucas and Thomas, 2021). In this review, their involvement in role plays was the most common strategy along with delivering teaching alongside lecturers in the classroom.…”

“…This included experience of child protection or being care experienced (e.g. Smith, 2011;Lucas and Thomas, 2021); mental health problems (Kirwan, 2013;Hitchin, 2016); substance misuse (Loughran and Broderick, 2017); chronic health conditions and/or disabilities (Skoura-Kirk et al, 2021); criminal justice system (O' Shea and McGinnis, 2020) or poverty (Driessens et al, 2016). Studies from Ireland and Northern Ireland included victims of political conflict as experts (e.g.…”

“…Students felt they had a better understanding of the link between the concept of empowerment and the practices of empowerment, their relational competence had developed and they learnt to be more open and inclusive (Askheim, 2012). Additional learning outcomes reported by students included the importance of listening (Hitchin, 2016); increased confidence in interacting with service users (Duffy et al, 2021); improved communication (Skilton, 2011) and questioning skills (Lucas and Thomas, 2021).…”

Understanding how young people transitioning from out-of-home care acquire and develop independent living skills and knowledge: A systematic review of longitudinal studies

“…There is consistent international evidence that indicates that as a population and across the life course, young people who have been in the care of the state before entering adulthood have poorer outcomes compared with peers in the general population [ 1 , 2 ]. A better understanding of how to improve experiences and outcomes is crucial because the number of children and young people entering out-of-home care (OOHC) is increasing across jurisdictions.…”

e-Service-Learning for more digital and inclusive EU Higher Education systems: a new e-SL Design Framework

“…While e-SL certainly does have specific disciplinary pedagogical choices that influence design and facilitation, Lucas and Thomas (2021) In an era driven by technology and interconnectedness, in which the boundaries of learning extend beyond traditional classrooms, e-SL combines the potentialities of technology and the principles of experiential education in a dynamic blend (Manasia, 2023). The virtual environment becomes an educational tool that expands working in a local community.…”