What can social workers learn about community development in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Danielle Mackle; Fergal O'Brien

doi:10.1921/jpts.v20i2.2054

Authors

Danielle Mackle Queen's University Belfast https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7638-6200
Fergal O'Brien Southern Trust, Senior Social Worker

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1921/jpts.v20i2.2054

Keywords:

community development, social work, education, COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an opportunity to re-explore community development in the context of social work. In Northern Ireland (NI), community development is a central component of a social work student’s practice placement, whereby students must evidence how they have met this. Over time, we have witnessed the reduction of community development to leaflet making (based on feedback from Practice Teachers across NI using a mentimetre tool). This article addresses what social work students and practitioners can take forward in terms of community development in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article will use NI as a case example to draw on COVID-19 inspired community development case studies, taking examples from practice, including work conducted online, and the role, practice, and efficacy of virtual community development during a time of physical distancing. We conclude that social work teaching and learning globally need to strengthen student understanding of community development beyond leaflet production to a coherent set of knowledge, skills, and values

Author Biographies

Danielle Mackle, Queen's University Belfast

Danielle Mackle is a Lecturer in Social Work.

Fergal O'Brien, Southern Trust, Senior Social Worker

Fergal is a Senior Social Worker and is the Programme Coordinator for the Social Work and Community Development Programme at Ulster University.

References

Abel, J., Kingston, H., Scally, A., Hartnoll, J., Hannam, G., Thomson-Moore, A. and Kellehear, A. (2018) Reducing emergency hospital admissions: a population health complex intervention of an enhanced model of primary care and compassionate communities. British Journal of General Practice, 68, 676, 803-810.

Banks, S., Cai, T., De Jonge, E., Shears, J., Shum, M., Sobočan, A.M., Strom, K., Truell, R., Úriz, M.J. and Weinberg, M. (2020) Practising ethically during COVID-19: Social work challenges and responses. International Social Work, 63, 5, 569-583

Barron, C and Taylor, B.J. (2010) The Right Tools for the Right Job: Social Work Students Learning Community development. Social Work Education, 29, 4, 372-385. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615470903079091

Baxter, P. and Jack, S. (2008) Qualitative Case Study Methodology: Study Design and Implementation for Novice Researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13, 4, 544–559

Benfer, E.A., Vlahov, D., Long, M.Y., Walker-Wells, E., Pottenger, J.L., Gonsalves, G. and Keene, D.E. (2021) Eviction, health inequity, and the spread of COVID-19: housing policy as a primary pandemic mitigation strategy. Journal of Urban Health, 98, 1, 1-12

Birbeck, A., and Houston, S. (2021) ‘Intersectionality’: An Indispensable Theory for Social Workers Promoting Social Justice in Ireland. Irish Social Worker, 225-233.

Bogues, S. (1998) Social Work and the Voluntary Sector, p87. Cited in CCETSW (1998) Social Work and Social Change in Northern Ireland

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979) The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press

Buffel, T., Yarker, S., Phillipson, C., Lang, L., Lewis, C., Doran, P. and Goff, M., (2021) Locked down by inequality: Older people and the COVID-19 pandemic. Urban Studies, 60, 8. https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980211041018

Capodistrias, P., Szulecka, J., Corciolani, M. and Strøm-Andersen, N. (2021) European food banks and COVID-19: Resilience and innovation in times of crisis. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps.2021.101187

CLD Standards Council Scotland (2023) Community Development NOS. Available: https://cldstandardscouncil.org.uk/resources/standards-and-benchmarks/national-occupational-standards/community-development-nos/ Accessed: 29.08.23

Crenshaw, K. (1989) ‘Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics’. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 140, 1, 139-167.

Crenshaw, K. (1991) ‘Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color’. Stanford Law Review, 43, 6, 1241-1299

Creswell, J. (1994) Research design: qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

Das, C., O’Neill, M. and Pinkerton, J. (2015) Re-engaging with community work as a method of practice in social work: A view from Northern Ireland. Journal of Social Work, 18, 4. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468017316652117

Department of Health. (2017) Health and Wellbeing 2026 – Delivering Together. Department of Health, Belfast. [Accessed 17 October 2022 at https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/health-and-wellbeing-2026-delivering-together]

Department of Health. (2018) Expansion of Community development Approaches. Report to Transformation Implementation Group. Department of Health, Belfast. [Accessed 17 October 2022 at https://hscbusiness.hscni.net/pdf/expansion%20of%20community%20development%20approaches%20report%20-%2018%20may%202018%20oct%2018.pdf]

Department of Health. (2022) Reform of Adult Social Care Northern Ireland Consultation Document. Department of Health, Belfast. [Accessed 24 August 2022 at https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/consultations/health/doh-rasc-consultation-document.pdf]

De Vaus, D.A. (1993) Surveys in Social Research. 3rd edn. London: UCL Press

Dickerson, J., Kelly, B., Lockyer, B., Bridges, S., Cartwright, C., Willan, K., Shire, K., Crossley, K., Sheldon, T.A., Lawlor, D.A. and Wright, J. (2020) Experiences of lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic: descriptive findings from a survey of families in the Born in Bradford study. Wellcome Open Research, 5

Egan, S.M., Pope, J., Moloney, M., Hoyne, C. and Beatty, C. (2021) Missing early education and care during the pandemic: The socio-emotional impact of the COVID-19 crisis on young children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 49, 5, 925-934

Flyvbjerg, B. (2006) Five misunderstandings about case-study research. Qualitative Inquiry, 12, 2, 219–245

Flyvbjerg, B. (2011) Case study. In: N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln (eds.). The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. 4th edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 301–316.

George, A. L. and Bennett, A. (2005) Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Science. Cambridge: MIT Press

Gerring, J. (2004) What is a case study and what is it good for? The American Political Science Review, 98, 2, 341–354

International Federation of Social Workers and International Association of Schools of Social Work. (2014) Global Definition of Social Work. [Accessed 8 September 2020 at https://www.ifsw.org/what-is-social-work/global-definition-of-social-work/]

Jacobson, W. (2001) Beyond therapy: Bringing social work back to human services reform. Social Work, 46, 1, 51-61

Jones, R. (2023), The Northern Ireland Review of Childrens' Services. Available: https://www.cscsreviewni.net/files/cscsreviewni/2023-06/The%20NI%20Review%20of%20Children%27s%20Social%20Care%20Services.pdf Accessed 29.08.23

Kretzmann, J. and McKnight, J. (1993) Building Communities From the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets . 3rd edn. Chicago, IL: ACTA Publications.

Lynch, D., Lathouras, A. and Forde, C. (2021) Community development and social work teaching and learning in a time of global interruption. Oxford University Press and Community development Journal, 56, 4, 566-586

Mayhew, E., Davies, M., Millmore, A., Thompson, L. and Pena, A. (2020) The impact of audience response platform Mentimeter on the student and staff learning experience. Research in Learning Technology, 28

Mellish, T.I., Luzmore, N.J. and Shahbaz, A. A. (2020) Why were the UK and USA unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic? The systemic weaknesses of neoliberalism: a comparison between the UK, USA, Germany, and South Korea. Journal of Global Faultlines, 7, 1, 9-45

Mendes, P. (2009) Teaching community development to social work students: A critical reflection. Community development Journal, 44, 2, 248-262

McLaughlin, H. (2009) What’s in a Name: ‘Client’, ‘Patient’, ‘Customer’, ‘Consumer’, ‘Expert by Experience’, ‘Service User’—What’s Next? The British Journal of Social Work, 39, 6, 1101–1117. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcm155

Mukhtar, S. (2021) COVID-19 feminist framework and biopsychosocial-spiritual perspective for social workers and mental health practitioners to manage violence, abuse, and trauma against children, women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ during and post-COVID-19. International Social Work, 66, 1, 93-106. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728211067158

Nayak, S. and Robbins, R. (2018) Intersectionality in Social Work: Activism and Practice in Context. 1st edn. Abingdon: Routledge

Northern Ireland Social Care Council (2020) Mainstreaming community development in social work. Retrieved from https://learningzone.niscc.info/learning-resources/mainstreaming-community-development-in-social-work-presentations/ Accessed 29.08.23

Oe, H. and Weeks, M. (2020) How to Support Vulnerable Citizens during the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Community Initiative from Ubiquitous Network Perspectives. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute - Journal, 3, 2, 1369-1377

Power, M., Doherty, B., Pybus, K. and Pickett, K. (2020) How COVID-19 has exposed inequalities in the UK food system: The case of UK food and poverty. Emerald Open Research, 2

Public Health Agency. (2014) Making Life Better - A Whole System Strategic Framework for Public Health 2013-2023. Public Health Agency, Belfast [Accessed 24 August 2022 at https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/articles/making-life-better-strategic-framework-public-health]

Rodger, J.J. (2000) From a welfare state to a welfare society. London: Macmillan International Higher Education

Smelser, N.J. and Baltes, P.B. (2001) International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences. Volume 11. Amsterdam: Elsevier

Tekin, S. and Drury, J. (2020) How do those affected by a disaster organize to meet their needs for justice? Campaign strategies and partial victories following the Grenfell Tower fire. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 11, 1, 92-109

Truell, R. and Crompton, S. (2020) To the top of the cliff: How social work changed with COVID-19. Rheinfelden: International Federation of Social Workers

Turbett, C. (2020) Rediscovering and mainstreaming community social work in Scotland. IRISS Insight, 57

Van Impe, A. and Arteel, I. (2018) Intersectionality in social work: A correction of the hype about superdiversity. Tijdschrift Voor Genderstudies, 21, 1, 75-79