Session Information
05 SES 06, Children and Youth at Risk (Part 1)
Paper Session
Time:
2008-09-11
10:30-12:00
Room:
B1 135
Chair:
Dolf van Veen
Contribution
The Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003), and the National Service Framework (DoH, 2003) policy agendas have brought inter-professional collaboration to the fore of Children’s Services in the UK. The recent development of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a central part of the Every Child Matters strategy and the National Service Framework. The CAF is a shared assessment tool that aims to provide a standardised approach for use across all children’s services, thus supporting coordinated provision. It should enable early identification of additional need by any professional, facilitating early intervention to improve outcomes for all children and young people and acting as a catalyst for discussion and information sharing between agencies (Children’s Workforce Development Council, 2007).
The theoretical framework for this paper centres on team reasoning (Sugden, 2005) and collective efficacy (Bandura, 1997). Team reasoning theory suggests that in certain circumstances, people consider outcomes and their actions in terms of what is best for a group of people, rather than for themselves as individuals. The two parts to team reasoning – i. the individual’s preference for and intention to achieve the group outcome, and ii. the individual’s actions as a part of the group – are applicable to collaborative group work and can help to explain issues that arise in inter-professional collaboration. The concept of collective efficacy arose from Bandura’s work on human agency, to explain groups’ motivation, commitment and performance. Collective efficacy describes a group’s perception of its ability to successfully carry out a course of action, relating to a group’s perceptions of the ability of individuals to successfully carry out specific courses of action, and to the interactive aspects of group functioning.
The research question for this study is “What are the contextual factors that lie behind high and low reported levels of team reasoning and collective efficacy in inter-professional collaboration when using the CAF?”.
Method
Fifteen professionals working in Early Years service provision in a rural county in the South West of England were interviewed for this study. Interview questions were based around two series of statements on the CAF process, with which participants were asked to rate their agreement on a 7-point scale. The first series of statements addressed participants’ past experiences of inter-professional working when using the CAF, with reference to team reasoning processes. The second series of statements addressed future expectations about inter-professional working when using the CAF, with reference to collective efficacy. Participants’ reasons for their agreement ratings were explored, and provided a framework for discussions about their experiences and feelings about inter-professional working within the CAF process.
Expected Outcomes
Preliminary analysis of the interview data indicates that there are four types of background factor that lie behind differing levels of both team reasoning and collective efficacy, with similar themes arising when discussing team reasoning processes and collective efficacy. These are: Confidence (eg past experience, training); Procedure (eg communication, contact with other professionals); Understandings and values (eg roles, aims, trust); and Structure (eg hierarchical support, workload). Potential implications for educational policy and educational practice, particularly in the field of inter-professional collaboration, are discussed.
References
• Bandura, A. (1997) Self Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York: W H Freeman. • Children’s Workforce Development Council (2007) Common Assessment Framework for Children and Young People: Practitioners’ Guide. Leeds: CWDC. • Department for Education and Skills (2003) Every Child Matters. London: Stationery Office. • Department of Health (2003) Getting the Right Start: The National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services - Emerging Findings. London: HMSO. • Sugden, R. (2005) The logic of team reasoning. In N. Gold (Ed.) Teamwork: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives. (pp. 181-199). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
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