‘Making It Real’: Evaluating the Impact of Service User and Carer Involvement in Social Work Education

Abstract

Service user and carer involvement (SUCI) in social work education in England is required by the profession's regulator, the Health and Care Professions Council. However, a recent study of 83 HEIs in England reported that despite considerable progress in SUCI, there is no evidence that the learning derived from it is being transferred to social work practice. In this article we describe a study that examines the question: 'What impact does SUCI have on the skills, knowledge and values of student social workers at the point of qualification and beyond?' Students at universities in England and Northern Ireland completed online questionnaires and participated in focus groups, spanning a period immediately pre-qualification and between six to nine months post-qualification.From our findings, we identify four categories that influence the impact of service user involvement on students' learning: student factors; service user and carer factors; programme factors; and practice factors; each comprises of a number of sub-categories. We propose that the model developed can be used by social work educators, service user and carer contributors and practitioners to maximise the impact of SUCI. We argue that our findings also have implications for employment-based learning routes and post-qualifying education.

Outcomes focused user involvement in social work education: applying knowledge to practice

“…As McLaughlin (2009McLaughlin ( :1106 argues, '[T]he act of involving service users has become more important rather than providing more effective services'. Thus a culture has emerged that has valued a consumerist and procedural approach to practice over activism, change and social justice, leading to SUCI becoming a mechanism for sustaining, not challenging, the hegemonic discourse (Cowden and Singh, 2007;Carey, 2009;McLaughlin, 2010;Tanner et al, 2015). Within social work education a critical lens is beginning to problematize SUCI as the discussion and focus of involvement evolves and matures.…”

Outcomes focused user involvement in social work education: applying knowledge to practice

“…As McLaughlin (2009McLaughlin ( :1106 argues, '[T]he act of involving service users has become more important rather than providing more effective services'. Thus a culture has emerged that has valued a consumerist and procedural approach to practice over activism, change and social justice, leading to SUCI becoming a mechanism for sustaining, not challenging, the hegemonic discourse (Cowden and Singh, 2007;Carey, 2009;McLaughlin, 2010;Tanner et al, 2015). Within social work education a critical lens is beginning to problematize SUCI as the discussion and focus of involvement evolves and matures.…”

“…Cowden and Singh (2007, p.5) caution against 'professional users' those with the experience and knowledge of how the system works, in the language of Bourdieu (1992) those with cultural capital, becoming the privileged voice of service users to the exclusion of silent, hard to reach groups. A focus on the former risks perpetuating current hierarchies of knowledge rather than challenging the outcomes of neoliberalism on the lives of carers and users (Cowden and Singh, 2007;and Tanner et al, 2015). The question of the representativeness of SUCI is fundamental if there is a genuine openness to listen, learn and change, and to avoid service users being selected to 'fit' and conform to existing knowledge, language and structures (Stickley, 2006).…”

“…The genesis of the SUCI in social work education debate is threefold, located in the mandatory requirement for SUCI in social work education (Scottish Executive, 2003), epistemological debates around knowledge production and what is valued as knowledge for social work education and practice (Beresford and Boxall, 2012), and outcomes of involvement in practice. Robinson and Webber's (2013) review of the SUCI literature found no empirical evidence on outcomes in practice, however, a recent paper by Tanner et al (2015) has begun to address this omission. …”

Education for a sustainable future? Students’ experiences of workshops on ethical dilemmas

“…The cooperation strengthens the students' insight into and awareness of different life perspectives, increases their empathy for service users, and challenges stereotypical views. It also develops the students' communication skills and forges links between theoretical learning and practice (Tanner et al, 2017).…”