Session Information
04 SES 01 B, Collaboration Between Professionals
Paper Session
Contribution
This paper reports research investigating the developing role of social work students in schools and finds tensions that might mitigate against their effectiveness in supporting inclusion. Innovative visual methodology is used in the research. Possible solutions are discussed.
Concern for the way schools support the social and emotional needs and development of pupils plays a key role in inclusive education in all countries. In the UK and in some other European countries there has been a tension for teachers between their curricular and pastoral role. This has led to an increasing role for social workers and other social care professionals in school. In England this role has developed within ‘extended schools’, with a range of services and activities to children, parents and the community. Our national evaluation of extended schools showed special care professionals as ‘filling a gap’ between school and outside agencies, removing the need for lengthy wait times after referral (Cummings et al. 2007). However, there were a number of tensions in the roles of such professionals and those in the more traditional teaching roles of staff in schools. This research investigates such tensions further by looking at the role of student social workers in schools as this role develops on placement.
The theoretical framework of cultural historical activity theory is used to investigate this area (Daniels 2008; Engestrom, Engestrom, and Karkkainen 1995). This framework uses activity systems of schools and of social care work to investigate role tensions between different professions and the implications for inclusion.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Cummings, C., A. Dyson, D. Muijs, I. Papps, P. Pearson, C. Raffo, L. Tiplady, and L. Todd. 2007. Evaluation of the Full Service Extended Schools Initiative: Final Report. Research Report 852. London: DfES. Daniels, H. 2008. Vygotsky and Research. Abingdon: Routledge. Engestrom, Y., R. Engestrom, and M. Karkkainen. 1995. Polycontextuality and Boundary Crossing in Expert Cognition: Learning and Problem Solving in Complex Work Activities. Learning and Instruction 5 (4):319-36 Todd, L. 2007. Partnerships for Inclusive Education: A critical approach to collaborative working. London: Routledge
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