Enhancing the practice learning experiences of BME students: Strategies for practice education

Prospera Tedam

doi:10.1921/jpts.v13i2-3.820

Authors

Prospera Tedam University of Northampton

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1921/jpts.v13i2-3.820

Abstract

Practice learning, also known as field education or practicum is central to social work education not only in the UK, but also in countries such as the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. It presents students with opportunities to integrate academic learning and practice experience with people, their families, communities and environments, and enables the development and enhancement of key skills and social work values. In England, recent studies have highlighted the disparity between black students and white students in terms of progression and attainment on social work qualifying programmes, and practice placements are becoming notorious as sites of difficulty for many students from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds. This paper focuses on a sub-group (black African students), an ethnic minority group with a unique set of characteristics which have been found to contribute to their specific experiences of practice education in the UK.
This paper outlines some strategies which have been proposed by black African students as necessary and central to enhancing their practice learning experiences and outcomes on social work programmes. This article was developed from a paper presented to the International Conference on Practice Learning in Scotland (4-7 April 2014).

Author Biography

Prospera Tedam, University of Northampton

Senior Lecturer in Social Work & University Teaching Fellow

References

Bartoli, A. (2013) (Ed.) Anti-racism in Social Work Practice. St. Albans: Critical Publishing

Bartoli, A., Kennedy, S. and Tedam, P. (2008) Practice learning: Who is failing to adjust? Black African student experience of practice learning in a social work setting. Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, 8, 2, 75-90

Bellinger, A. (2010) Talking about (re)generation: Practice learning as a site of renewal for social work. British Journal of Social Work, 40, 8, 2450-2466

Bernard, C., Fairtlough, A., Fletcher, J. and Ahmet, A. (2011) Diversity and Progression among Social Work Students in England. Goldsmiths University of London [Accessed 27 December 2013 at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/policy-institute/scwru/dhinitiative/projects/bernardetal2011diversityfinalreport.pdf]

Bernard, C., Fairtlough, A., Fletcher, J. and Ahmet, A. (2013) A qualitative study of marginalised social work students’ views of social work education and learning. British Journal of Social Work [Accessed 21 January 2015 at doi: 10.1093/bjsw/ bct055]

College of Social Work (TCSW) (2012) Practice Educator Professional Standards for Social Work. London: TCSW. [Accessed 11 January 2015 at http://www.tcsw.org.uk]

College of Social Work (TCSW) (2012) Professional Capabilities Framework. [Accessed 11 January 2015 at http://www.tcsw.org.uk/pcf.aspx]

Davys, A.M. and Beddoe, L. (2009) The reflective learning model: Supervision of social work students. Social Work Education, 28, 8, 919-933

Dhanda, M. (2010) Understanding Disparities in Student Attainment: Black and minority ethnic students’ experience. University of Wolverhampton. [Accessed 2 January 2015 at http://www2.wlv.ac.uk/equalopps/mdsummary.pdf]

Doel, M. (2010) Social Work Placements: A traveller’s guide. London: Routledge

Fairtlough, A., Bernard, C., Fletcher, J. and Ahmet, A. (2013) Black social work students’ experiences of practice learning: Understanding differential progression rates. Journal of Social Work, 14, 6, 605-624. [Accessed 21 January 2015 at doi: 10.1177/1468017313500416]

Field, P., Jasper, C. and Littler, L. (2014) Practice Education in Social Work: Achieving professional standards. Critical skills for social work. Northwich: Critical Publishing

Finch, J. (2014) ‘Running with the fox and hunting with the hounds’: Social work tutors’ experiences of managing failing social work students in practice learning settings. British Journal of Social Work, 44, 8 [Accessed 21 January 2015 at doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcu085]

Finch, J. and Taylor, I. (2013) Failure to fail? Practice educators’ emotional experiences of assessing failing social work students. Social Work Education: The International Journal, 32, 2, 244-258

Fletcher, J., Bernard, C., Fairtlough, A. and Ahmet, A. (2013) Beyond equal access to equal outcomes: The role of the institutional culture in promoting full participation, positive intergroup interaction and timely progression for minority social work students. British Journal of Social Work, 45, 1 [Accessed 30 July 2015] at http://dx.doi. org/10.1093/bjsw/bct081]

Gair, S., Miles, D., Savage, D. and Zuchowski, I. (2014) Racism unmasked: The experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in social work field placements. Australian Social Work, [Accessed 19 July 2014 at DOI: 10.1080/0312407X.2014.928335]

Goldingay, S. (2012) Getting it right in the mix: Teaching social work practice skills inclusively to diverse student groups. Journal of Social Inclusion, 3, 1, 101-116

GSCC (2012) A Report on Social Work Education in England 2009-2010. London: General Social Care Council

Hair, H.L. and O’Donoghue, K. (2009) Culturally relevant, socially just social work supervision: Becoming visible through a social constructionist lens. Journal of Cultural and Ethnic Diversity in Social Work, 18, 1-2, 70-88

Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) (2010) Student Ethnicity: Profile and progression of entrants to full-time, first degree study. [Accessed 11 January 2015 at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/year/2010/201013]

Hussein, S., Moriarty, J. and Manthorpe, J. (2009) Variations in Progression of Social Work Students in England: Using student data to help promote achievement: Undergraduate full-time students’ progression on the social work degree. Social Care Workforce Research Unit, King’s College London [Accessed 27 December 2013 at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/policy-institute/scwru/pubs/2009/husseinetal2009Variations.pdf

Hussein, S., Moriarty, J., Manthorpe, J. and Huxley, P. (2008) Diversity and progression among students starting social work qualifying programmes in England between 1995 and 1998: A quantitative study. British Journal of Social Work, 38, 8, 1588-1609

Johnson-Ahorlu, N.R. (2012) The academic opportunity gap: How racism and stereotypes disrupt the education of African American undergraduates. Race Ethnicity and Education, 15, 5, 633-652

Jones, R. and Thomas, L. (2005) The 2003 UK government higher education paper: A critical assessment of its implications for the access and widening participation agenda. Journal of Educational Policy, 20, 5, 615-630

Lefevre, M. (2005) Facilitating practice learning assessment: The influence of relationship. Social Work Education, 24, 5, 565-583

NUS (2011) Race for Equality: A report on the experiences of Black students in further and higher education. National Union of Students [Accessed 3 January 2015 at http://www.nus.org.uk/PageFiles/12350/NUS_Race_for_Equality_web.pdf]

Page, G. (2005) Professional socialisation of valuers: What the literature and professional bodies offer. International Education Journal, special issue, 5, 5, 105-116

Probyn, E. (1996) Outside Belongings. London and New York: Routledge

Reynolds-Dobbs, W., Thomas, K.M. and Harrison, M.S. (2008) From Mammy to Superwoman. Images that hinder Black women’s career development. Journal of Career Development, 35, 2, 129-150

Richardson, J.T.E. (2008) The attainment of ethnic minority students in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 33, 1, 33-48

Shiner, M. and Modood, T. (2002) Help or hindrance? Higher education and the route to ethnic equality. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 23, 2, 209-232

Singh, G. (2011) Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Students’ Participation in Higher Education: Improving retention and success. York: The Higher Education Academy

Social Work Task Force (SWTF) (2009) Facing up to the Task: The interim report of the Social Work Task Force: July 2009. London: Department of Health and Department for Children, Schools and Families

Sue, D.W. (2005) Racism and the conspiracy of silence. Counselling Psychologist, 33, 100-114

Tedam, P. (2012a) Using culturally relevant case studies to enhance students’ learning: A reflective analysis of the benefits and challenges for social work students and academics. Enhancing the Learner Experience in Higher Education, 4, 1, 59-69

Tedam, P. (2012b) The MANDELA model of practice learning: An old present in new wrapping. Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, 11, 2, 19-35

Tedam, P. (2013) What can social workers learn from African proverbs? Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, 12, 1, 17-32

Tedam, P. (2014) When failing doesn’t matter: A narrative inquiry into the practice learning experiences of black African social work students in England. International Journal of Higher Education, 3 (1) 136-145

Thomas, L. (2012) Building Student Engagement and Belonging in Higher Education at a Time of Change: Final report from the What Works? Student Retention & Success programme. [Accessed 21 January 2015 at https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/What_works_final_report_0.pdf]

Valentine, D. (2004) Field education: Exploring the future, expanding the vision. Journal of Social Work Education, 40, 1, 3-11

Walker, J., Crawford,K., Parker, J. (2008) Practice Education in Social Work. A handbook for practice teachers, assessors and educators. Exeter: Learning Matters

Walter, M., Taylor, S. and Habibis, D. (2011) How White is social work in Australia? Australian Social Work, 64, 1, 6-19

Yorke, M. and Longden, B. (2008) The First Year Experience of Higher Education in the UK: Final report. York: The Higher Education Academy

Zuchowski, I. (2014) Getting to know the context: The complexities of providing off-site supervision in social work practice learning. British Journal of Social Work [Accessed 21 January 2015 at doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcu133]