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‘Getting it Write’ in social work: exploring the value of writing in academia to writing for professional practice a
Lucy Rai & Theresa Lillis
b
a
Department of Social Work , The Open University , Walton Hall , Milton Keynes , MK7 6AA , UK b
Department of Communication and Languages , The Open University , Walton Hall , Milton Keynes , MK7 6AA , UK Published online: 17 Sep 2012.
To cite this article: Lucy Rai & Theresa Lillis (2013) ‘Getting it Write’ in social work: exploring the value of writing in academia to writing for professional practice, Teaching in Higher Education, 18:4, 352-364, DOI: 10.1080/13562517.2012.719157 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2012.719157
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Teaching in Higher Education, 2013 Vol. 18, No. 4, 352364, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2012.719157
‘Getting it Write’ in social work: exploring the value of writing in academia to writing for professional practice Lucy Raia* and Theresa Lillisb
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a Department of Social Work, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK; bDepartment of Communication and Languages, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
(Received 28 October 2011; final version received 2 August 2012) Writing plays a central role in social work practice and in the qualifying programmes studied by student social workers. The research on which this paper is based explores the value of writing undertaken in higher education to writing for professional practice in social work. Drawing on data sources from a ‘text oriented ethnography’, this paper explores the reflections of five recently qualified social workers making the transition from academic to professional practice. The significance of this study is heightened as social work practice and education are undergoing significant review at the time of writing. This review has identified the role of writing as important in both academic and practice domains. The paper suggests that there is currently no clear progressive link between academic writing in social work and the writing in practice required of graduate social workers. This paper offers some reflections on the implicit and explicit value of writing in an academic context to writing in professional practice. Keywords: social work; student writing; professional writing; higher education; ethnography
Introduction Social work is currently undergoing significant review. The role of writing has been identified as an important measure of competence of entrants and the effectiveness of professional writing (recording) in social work has fallen under scrutiny (Department for Children, Schools and Families/Department of Health 2009, 15; Department of Education 2011, 6). There are ongoing debates about the precise nature of the relationship between ‘academic’ qualifications and their value and relevance to professional practice in a range of professions (see also Cinebell and Cinebell 2008; Whyte et al. 2000). An emphasis on academic level as a lever to improve professional standards (Dillon 2011) raises questions about the explicit value of learning in the academic context to practice in the professional context. In our research we were interested in exploring in particular the nature of the link between academic learning and professional practice with regard to writing. Our interest in social work writing arose in part from such scrutiny of academic level in professional programmes of study, frequently focusing on literacy as a measure. More specifically we were interested in the value of the writing undertaken in *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] # 2013 Taylor & Francis
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higher education to professional practice and the extent to which academic writing, which was primarily driven by the priorities of assessment, prepared social workers for professional writing. We were also influenced by our respective previous research exploring the nature of student writing in social work education (Rai 2004, 2006, 2008) and on academic writing more generally as well as methodologies for exploring writing in professional contexts (e.g. Lillis 2001; 2008; 2011). We established a research project to explore the demands of writing in social work practice and practitioners perspectives on the extent to which qualifying education prepared them for such demands. A key goal in this research is to build understandings based on ‘insider/ outsider’ research perspectives (Jacobs 2005; Lillis and Rai 2011): an insider’s perspectives on the discourses and practices used on an Higher Education Institution (HEI) social work programme (Rai), the writing practices in everyday social work (participating social workers), whilst also adopting a critical stance arising from distance and unfamiliarity with the discourses and practices (Lillis). We suggest that academic writing in social work poses particular challenges to students and tutors due in part to the requirements to incorporate reflections on practice into academic assignments (see Findings section below). Theoretical context Two strands of literature have informed this study; firstly research which has developed and applied a ‘social practices’ approach to student writing in higher education, and secondly work focusing more specifically on writing in social work. A social practices approach to student writing, often referred to as ‘academic literacies’, recognises academic writing as an activity embedded in social and interpersonal ways of being (Lea and Stierer 2000; Lillis and Scott 2007; Lillis 2001; Lillis and Turner 2001; Lillis 2003). Much of this work has taken a critical approach to understanding disciplinary based institutional practices which are particularly relevant in the context of multi-disciplinary practice-based subjects such as social work. The second area of literature focuses more specifically on writing undertaken by social work students and practitioners. This area of study has received little scholarly attention in the UK and most publications emanate from the USA (Alter and Adkins 2001, 2006; Badger 2010; Horton and Diaz 2011; Leon and Pepe´ 2010; Simon and Soven 1989; Waller 1996, 2000) and Canada (Pare´ 2002, Le Maistre and Pare´ 2004, Pare´ and Le Maistre 2006; Wehbi 2009). This body of work is primarily concerned with supporting social work writers in their academic writing at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It does illustrate, however, similar concerns pertaining to the quality of social work students’ academic writing and the implications that this may have for the quality of their writing in practice. Of specific relevance to our research is the work of Leon and Pepe´ (2010) and Pare´ (2000; 2004) who, unlike others researchers cited above, have focused on the interface between academic and professional writing in social work. Leon and Pepe´ (2010) draw on an investigation into teaching ‘documentation’ to undergraduates through a triadic relationship between assessment, interviewing and documentation. They conclude that although a bespoke module on documentation was valuable, professional writing was complex and required more exploration. Pare´ ’s research in Canada suggests that such learning takes place during students’ field placements in the form of an informal and implicit apprenticeship (Pare´ 2000). This process
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involves students reading texts written by experienced social workers and then participating in writing gradually more complex texts on which they receive feedback from colleagues as a consequence of which the professional newcomer is introduced to regular textual practice and the ‘headset’ it promotes (Pare´ 2004, 85). The implication of his research is that students are not explicitly taught or assessed in professional writing and that there are no opportunities for them to critically evaluate or contest the writing practices that they are expected to adopt by experienced practitioners. Both Leon and Pepe´ and Pare’s studies recognise firstly that professional writing in social work is not traditionally taught through academic writing undertaken in the university and secondly that writing has a very important role to play in the quality of social work practice. In essence they identified that writing is social work practice and not merely a tool to convey information: In producing professional documents, social workers do more than record: they select, arrange, interpret, imply, hypothesize, infer, catagorize, simplify, and on and on. They do not merely relay information, they create re-presentations. (Pare´ 2004, 83)
In the UK, there has been little research specifically on social work writing apart from Rai’s work (2004, 2006, 2008), which explores the nature and role of reflective writing in social work education and suggests that the writing students undertake during professional training is particularly challenging due to the required integration of theoretical knowledge and experience. Our research aims to contribute to the limited work in this area, connecting in particular with debates around the value of making closer connections between academic and practice learning.
Student writing in social work education In common with most higher education programmes, writing plays a central role in the assessment of student social workers’ learning. The forms, purposes and domains in which social work writing takes place are varied. The domains can be broadly depicted as ‘academic’ and ‘practice’; ‘academic’ referring to university based writing and ‘practice’ referring to the domain of the social work agency in which students undertake their practice placements.1 Authority over the assessment of writing in both domains during the social work programme remains with the university. In broad terms students undertake three forms of writing across two domains (see Figure 1). Firstly ‘academic assignments’; these are assessed pieces of writing which are primarily based on academic learning and with criteria set and assessment undertaken solely in the academic domain. Although commonly referred to as ‘assignments’ these texts include, for example, essays, reflective writing, examinations and occasionally writing based on simulated practice such as role plays. Secondly ‘portfolios’, or writing which takes place in the practice domain and which assesses students’ competence against prescribed practice outcomes. This writing is carried out whilst the student is based on their practice placement but the criteria are set and the writing is assessed by tutors from both the university and social work practice domains. The third kind of student writing that also takes place in the practice domain is only indirectly assessed. We refer to it here as ‘routine’ or ‘everyday’ social work writing and it encompasses all the writing undertaken by students during the
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Academic assignments
Portfolios assessing practice placements
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Everyday social work writing
Professional domain
Figure 1. Writing in social work education programmes: writing across academic and social work practice domains.
course of their everyday social work practice whilst they are on placements such as case recording, professional letters, emails, reports and meeting notes. Although not formally assessed, the second and third category may overlap as authentic pieces of practice writing may be included in a portfolio of evidence. In our research we have begun to examine the significance of the domains relating to each form of writing and also the relationship between all of the forms of writing in the academic and the writing undertaken by qualified social workers in the professional domain (Lillis and Rai forthcoming). The study on which this paper is based This paper is based on a study which forms part of a larger research project exploring both student and professional social work writing. The methodology that we have adopted overall is what we call a ‘text oriented ethnography’ (see Lillis and Curry 2010). The authors and lead researchers, both based in a national UK university, have worked in partnership with seven social work agencies with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of authentic, everyday social work writing practices, and of exploring the links between writing carried out as part of the social work education curriculum. Data collection has involved shadowing, interviewing, diary keeping, programme documentary analysis and group discussions/workshops. All the data collection have been text-oriented, in other words texts have formed the basis for discussion and analysis. These texts have also been collected as data. In addition, data have been compiled from the social work programme studied. The specific study on which this paper is based involved a team made up of the authors working closely with five ‘co-researchers’ who were all recent graduates of the same qualifying social work programme. Data were drawn from social workers with texts and diaries being collected over a period of 4 weeks, summarise in Table 1. Although there are some institutional differences across social work programmes, the common regulation and curriculum governing social work education in England lead us to suggest that the nature of the writing demands on this programme and the experiences of our co-researchers have broader significance. Focusing on data from social workers in the workplace provided an important opportunity to make visible
356 L. Rai and T. Lillis Table 1.
Summary of data collected.
Data from academic programme Module A (practice learning module)
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Module B (level 1 foundation course) Social work programme Study support Data from social workers Texts Diaries Group discussions Individual interviews Workshops discussing and categorising the data collected
Course readings, assignment book, assessment guide Course readings, assignment book, assessment guide Programme guide Websites and paper guides 200 20 days 4 60 minutes 5 4060 minutes 3 day
potentially hidden experiences of recently qualified social workers transferring their learning to professional practice. Student data provided perspectives as qualified social workers in practice reflecting back on writing during their qualifying programme; the reflections of the academic insider provided perspectives on the underlying intentions behind the teaching of writing and tasks included in the programme. Analysis of data was an iterative process with the co-researchers contributing through working with their texts during the workshops, drawing on themes identified by the lead researchers.
Findings This paper focuses on the following two questions:
What learning experiences do social workers identify as being useful in the development of their professional social work writing? What connections do social workers identify between the academic writing undertaken and professional social work writing?
Programme documentary data Programme documentary evidence included all available teaching and guidance materials (such as assessment and study support guides). All references to ‘writing’ in these materials were noted. Guidance provided information to students on issues such as objectivity, use of evidence, referencing and structure of writing. Additional ‘programme specific’ study guidance was provided on reflective writing which was provided as the University wide generic study advice on academic writing was unhelpful for students writing in this particular genre. For example in the generic guidance, students were advised to avoid the use of ‘information from your own experience’ (Online study support guidance) while in the programme guidance students are advised: While there is still an expectation that your writing remains objective and that your discussion provides evidence and is not just based on personal opinion, you
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will need to write more about yourself and your ideas than in essays for other modules.
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Assignment book, practice learning course. Although writing was acknowledged as an important practice skill, there was very little guidance or teaching on writing in practice writing. The following extract is from the assignment guide for the practice learning course and illustrates the recognition of writing as relevant to both academic and practice domains: Writing is an essential skill in social work, and your writing skills will be assessed in several contexts during the Programme. Writing is a practice skill and social workers’ competence in writing has been a concern in evaluating the quality of social work education which led to the diploma qualification becoming a degree. It is essential, therefore, that you appraise your own writing skills and, if you think there are areas in which you need to improve or develop, that you make your tutor aware that you need support.
Assignment guide. Beyond this general comment about reflection, there are very few explicit references in the programme materials to writing in practice or ways in which academic writing on the programme is intended to prepare students for practice writing after they have qualified. Although explicit advice is given on who should provide support with practice the following advice is given to tutors on the same programme which indicates that tutors should be helping students gain awareness not only of academic texts but also practice texts: Part of your function is to help students to develop their writing skills and write with an awareness of the purpose of each text. This will include being mindful of the differences, for example, between an essay for K101, a reflective assignment for K113, a professional report and case recording in practice. Students are expected to continue developing these skills (to the appropriate level of academic work) as they move through the Programme.
Tutor guide. A reference is made here to ‘professional reports’ and ‘case recording’, both of which are text types which students and qualified social workers are commonly required to undertake in practice but versions of these text types are not set as academic assignments.
Social worker perspectives The perspectives of the social workers can be mapped onto three area:
The demands of academic writing in social work. The relationship between academic writing and practice writing. Self-positioning in reflective and practice writing.
The demands of academic writing in social work education. All of the social workers, referred to here by pseudonyms, had some experience of academic writing prior to
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enrolling on their social work programme and only two of the five spoke of any lack of confidence in their ability to write an academic ‘essay’.2 Both of the less confident social workers reported gaining confidence in their essays; Dale as a result of tutor feedback and Sam as a consequence of gaining satisfactory marks. A common but unexpected challenge for all of the social workers, however, was the variety of writing demands that were made of them. In response to a question about the writing on the programme, Lorna said: Well obviously the majority of it was essay based, but with the reflective component which was sort of different from the other courses really. . . . So they were quite distinct in terms of the writing. It was very different from one course to the next. So you had to kind of get your head into so of what style of writing you would need for each essay. Even though you were trying to study both courses alongside each other. Working at placements which run at the same time, so it was quite challenging.
Here Lorna illustrates the complexity of her writing experiences, engaging with several different ‘writing styles’ at the same time in both the academic and practice context. Chris found the reflective writing very different from the relatively impersonal academic writing he had encountered in a previous degree: I’ve done a degree before . . . and I’ve always written in the third person, that’s how to me, how you write a kind of an academic type of an essay. So I found it quite uncomfortable in, for the sort of practice learning courses, writing in the first person. So to begin with I didn’t do that, so obviously the feedback I got was that I needed to take ownership for some of my comments. So where I would probably write ‘ it could be argued that’ and then it was I, ‘ I would argue that’ you know? And so point of view is very narrow or something, so that was kind of difficult.
Moving between courses was a challenge in itself, but all the social workers in this study identified the reflective writing in particular as less familiar and more challenging than the ‘essays’.3 It was in the reflective writing that students were expected to write about their own personal and practice experiences which required them to adapt the academic writing that they were more familiar with, for example writing about themselves in their texts. Fran stated: Writing in a reflective way was really difficult I felt . . . difficult in terms of what I’d done in previous learning. I never kind of wrote about myself and that’s sort of the key aspect of anything really, so that was kind of, at first it was really difficult just to kind of get the balance between writing about yourself and bringing in sort of the theory, the theory aspect into it. (Fran)
One of the common difficulties identified with the reflective writing was the expectation to write about yourself whilst also including theoretical discussion: The difficulty with the reflective writing as well, is that although you had to reflect we still have to analyse the course material even if you left the course, so you had to integrate academic stuff within the reflective writing. I think sometimes trying to merge the two was quite a challenge. (Lorna)
Sam identifies that she would have liked an exemplar of the reflective writing to clarify the differences from the more familiar essays:
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It would have been quite helpful, say in first year [to be] sent a dummy essay as to what how they would like how they would like the reflective writing set up because it was kind of complete contrast to the sort of academic sort of essay, but we didn’t we didn’t have that.
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The relationship between academic writing and practice writing. Despite finding reflective writing being more difficult than essays, social workers did recognise its value as part of their professional training. For example the social workers were able to make links relatively easily between reflective writing and reflective practice. Chris commented: I suppose the reflective writing sort of helps you understand what reflective practice . . . I think it was definitely valid and definitely gets you into the mind set of understanding what reflective practice is and kind of get comfortable I suppose at analyzing your work and being able to say I didn’t do that very well or, you know, I learnt from these so yes it’s definitely valid and worthwhile.
This view was shared by Lorna: I can definitely see the reason for including it [reflective writing]. I would say that I am quite a good reflector . . . And I think for me I think I could do it quite well, at the time I think I can do it, but I struggle more to put it on to paper and, I don’t know, I just always found it more challenging . . . I don’t think I ever quite mastered it.
Sam was clearer that reflective writing supported not only her reflections in practice but also putting reflections on paper: I find that I actually utilise it [reflective writing] all the time . . . even unconsciously throughout you know, well you know so far throughout all of my practice I automatically start to reflect and then when . . . because I’ve had to write my reflections for the programme it helps me in my analysis.
Social workers identified a number of ways in which academic writing enabled them to develop their practice writing in discrete and specific ways such as learning to be more selective and concise in preparing essays and reflective assignments had direct parallels when writing case notes or reports. For example, Dale suggested that one of the benefits of encountering different kinds of academic writing was that it prepared students for the range of texts that they would be expected to write in practice: Yes, definitely adaption is key, and I think from the variety of the writing skills throughout the three year programme. If there’s something I’ve taken from it is having that variety of writing skills and being able to, to use that in practice.
Sam also identified that she had been able to transfer her learning from the academic to the practice context through developing her ability to focus on a particular point from essay writing to report writing: I’m really sure that having to sit down and agonise over those essays has helped me but I can’t identify or pinpoint exactly where. But it has to have helped me because I do all sorts of reports for work and although it’s nowhere near like writing an essay I think the
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fact that you have to focus on a certain point and draw out the significance of it helps you somewhere.
Despite the fact that the social workers could recognise the value of undertaking academic writing (and reflective writing in particular) in relation to their practice, they also reported that they received very little explicit or direct support with their practice writing. Where this was received, it was not from academic tutors but from senior social work practitioners, either on their practice placements or subsequently in professional practice. This support included team support where colleagues commented on each others’ drafts (Lorna and Sam), line managers (Fran and Dale). Chris did not mention any direct support and none of the social workers identified having received support from the practice assessors, who are responsible for their learning during their practice placements: There’s nowhere on the degree programme or practice learning that covers the actual work that we do. Meeting with the family, working along with the children [and] other professionals. When you come down to it it’s producing the report using the information we get from the children and families and writing the statutory report required of us and it’s nowhere in the degree or placement where they look at those reports. (Chris)
Self-positioning in reflective and practice writing. One of the most significant differences encountered by students in undertaking reflective writing was the move from writing in the third person to, at least in parts, the inclusion of the first person to enable the author to write about their personal and practice experiences, values and reflections. The inclusion of the self, or self-positioning in texts was also an issue in practice and professional writing where, in dependant on the context, writers needed to express their own views or those of the employing agency. Lorna stated: I mean if you think about the reflective bit though, writing in the first person, I don’t hugely, did I do that? (pause) I suppose I do a little bit, but more, I think I’d be writing more of a (pause, sigh) not necessarily 3rd person but more kind of objectively. So you would take your own, you take out some of your own, own emphasis away from, and often I think maybe some if this is because I’m writing with regard to looked after children, so often I’m writing about the children and the children’s needs, rather than my views about the children’s needs.
In this extract Lorna is really puzzling over her professional writing and her learning in relation to the use of the first and third person as well as the balance between objectivity and the expectation that she present an argument based on her own professional judgement. In the following extract she reflects on her use of argument and analysis, a required element of both essays and reflective writing, in her professional writing: In intake and assessment you might write more around, you know ‘I was concerned about XYZ’ so, that is a little bit different. I think (pause) I think the level of analysis is, is not there in our practice writing and very, very, very rarely do we, do I ever have the opportunity to use any kind of theory or evidence to illustrate my argument. I might write something about my suspected observations about why a child might be behaving in a particular way. You know, maybe kind of a alluding to something like an attachment style. Very rarely within reports is it common for us to use, to kind of
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reference that in a way we might do with essays. Although that surprises me in some ways because I actually think we ought to be doing that.
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Insider academic-researcher reflections From the perspective of the academic insider, that is the social work educator, academic writing and reflective writing in particular, implicitly offered writing development opportunities to students and so had the potential to develop their practice writing as well as their reflective practice. One of the reasons for teaching and assessing reflective writing was to encourage students to write in the first person. The intention of this, in addition to demonstrating the ability to reflect, was to confront them with the need to reposition themselves in their texts by encouraging writers to move from the third person to the more involved but still objective first person. In the context of professional social work, writing practitioners are frequently required to write their professional judgement using the first person, so this move from an objective third person to a first person with an evidence based, informed judgement was considered important. Lorna’s comment above could be interpreted as suggesting that through developing an awareness of the requirements of reflective writing, she had been indirectly introduced to thinking about how she positioned herself, or her voice in relation to her audience in the text. From the perspective of the academic insider this comment was surprising as during the first year students were provided with six reflective writing teaching exercises, intended to introduce them to the key features of reflective writing, spread through the year, four of which were submitted to a tutor for feedback. These were ‘mini’ assignments both in that although they were graded (as this was required by the university) the weighting was very low. The purpose of these activities and assignments was specifically to enable students to develop an awareness of the difference between reflective writing and the essays they were undertaking on other courses and more importantly to provide a low stakes space where they could practice reflective writing and receive feedback. The student’s comment above highlights that there was a discrepancy between the intentions of the teaching team and the experiences of at least some of the students.
Conclusion and implications for educators As indicated in the literature cited above, there is always a difficult balance in practice-based education between the academic and practice domains. Social work, as a discipline, has long struggled to establish its scholarly worth (see, for example, James 2004; Flexner 2001) but is also deeply embedded in practice through partnerships with practice agencies. Although the social workers in this study reported some challenges in negotiating the expectations of academic writing, they represented a relatively confident and successful group of academic writers. This was unsurprising as they had volunteered to participate in research into student writing and had the confidence to talk about their experiences. Consequently this group were not necessarily typical graduates but their experiences were very similar to those of
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362 L. Rai and T. Lillis students in a previous study (Rai 2006, 2008) who also found reflective writing challenging and programme guidance contradictory, In addition, however, this study illustrated that the social work graduates did not feel well prepared for undertaking professional writing. Where individuals were assisted in developing their professional writing this seemed to take place serendipitously arising from the interest of a line manager or support from a team member. Despite the practice placements taking place under the auspices of the university, social workers reported no systematic involvement or direction from the faculty in relation to teaching professional writing. The implication of this is that the direct teaching of professional writing during practice placements is at best random and sporadic and arose due to the interest of a particular individual in writing rather than being considered a core role in relation to student social workers and was not considered to be a central role of the practice assessor. The fact that the social workers did not identify any specific places where the programme taught practice writing is not surprising as, based on the programme materials, there was no evidence of any systematic teaching of practice writing, any direct links made between academic and practice writing or even clear indications of who should support students in this area of their learning. Despite this lack of a clear link between academic and practice writing, the social workers valued the learning that they gained from the academic assignments. Both essays and reflective writing required rigour, planning and scholarly skills which social workers valued and, in many cases, recognised as contributing to their professional writing. The transfer of learning was not necessarily explicit for social workers, but experience in thinking critically about changes in how they positioned themselves in the text (reflective writing) and the use of evidence (both essays and reflective writing) to build an argument appeared to be relevant and valuable to their professional writing. The value of reflective writing was explicitly identified and discussed by social workers, in part due to the challenge that it posed them. While its value in developing their ability to reflect critically on their practice was evident, it was less clear whether this necessarily transferred to any specific areas of professional writing. Notes 1. Practice placements are periods of learning during which students undertake supervised professional practice which is assessed by an experienced social worker in the role of a practice assessor. 2. ‘Essay’ was the word used by co-researchers to refer to those academic assignments which did not (in their view) require ‘reflective writing’. 3. This is consistent with findings reported in Rai (2006).
References Alter, C., and C. Adkins. 2001. Improving the writing skills of social work students. Journal of Social Work Education 37, no. 3: 493505. Alter, C., and C. Adkins. 2006. Assessing student writing proficiency in graduate schools of social work. Journal of Social Work Education 42, no. 2: 33754. Badger, K. 2010. Peer teaching and review: A model for writing development and knowledge synthesis. Social Work Education 29, no. 1: 617.
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Cinebell, S.K., and J.M. Cinebell. 2008. The tension in business education between academic rigor and real-world relevance: The role of executive professors. Academy of Management Learning & Education 7, no. 1: 99107. Department for Children, Schools and Families/Department of Health. 2009 Building a safe and confident future: Implementing the recommendations of the social work task force. London: HMSO. Department of Education. 2011. The Munro review of child protection: Final report - A childcentered system. London: HMSO. Dillon, J. 2011. Black minority ethnic students navigating their way from access courses to social work programmes: Key considerations for the selection of students. British Journal of Social Work 41, no. 6: 220. Flexner, A. 2001. Is social work a profession? Research on Social Work Practice 11, no. 2: 15265. Horton, E.G., and N. Diaz. 2011. Learning to write and writing to learn social work concepts: Application of writing across the curriculum strategies and techniques to a course for undergraduate social work students. Journal of Teaching in Social Work 31, no. 1: 5364. Jacobs, C. 2005. On being an insider on the outside: New spaces for integrating academic literacies. Teaching in Higher Education 10, no. 4: 47587. James, A.L. 2004. The MacDonaldization of social work - Or come back Florence Hollis all is (or should be) forgiven. In Reflecting on social work: Discipline and profession, ed. R. Lovelock, K. Lyons, and J. Powell, 3755. Aldershot: Ashgate. Lea, M. and B. Stierer, eds. 2000. Student writing in higher education: New contexts. Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education and The Open University Press. Le Maistre, C., and A. Pare´. 2004. Learning in two communities: The challenge for universities and workplaces. Journal of Workplace Learning 16, no. 1/2: 4452. Leon, A.M., and J. Pepe´. 2010. Utilizing a required documentation course to improve the recording skills of undergraduate social work students. Journal of Social Service Research 36, no. 4: 36276. Lillis, T. 2001. Student writing: Access, regulation, desire. London: Routledge. Lillis, T. 2003. Student writing as academic literacies: drawing on Bakhtin to move from critique to design. Language and Education 17, no. 3: 193207. Lillis, T. 2008. Ethnography as method, methodology, and ‘‘Deep Theorizing’’ closing the gap between text and context in academic writing research. Written Communication 25, no. 3: 35388. Lillis, T. 2011. Legitimising dialogue as textual and ideological goal in academic writing for assessment and publication. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education 10, no. 4: 40334. Lillis, T., and M.J. Curry. 2010. Academic writing in a global context. London: Routledge. Lillis, T., and L. Rai 2011. A case study of a research-based collaboration around writing in social work Across the Disciplines. 8, no. 3. http://wac.colostate.edu/atd/clil/lillis-rai.cfm (accessed October 28, 2011). Lillis, T., and L. Rai. Forthcoming. ‘Quelle relation entre l’e´ crit acade´ mique et l’e´ crit professionnel? Une e´ tude de cas dans le domaine du travail social. Pratiques. Lillis, T., and M. Scott. 2007. Defining academic literacies research: Issues of epistemology, ideology and strategy. Journal of Applied Linguistics 4, no. 1: 532. Lillis, T., and J. Turner. 2001. Student writing in higher education: Contemporary confusion, traditional concerns. Teaching in Higher Education 6, no. 1: 5768. Pare´, A. 2000. Writing as a way into social work: Genre sets, genre systems, and distributed cognition. In Transitions: writing in academic and workplace settings, ed. P. Dias and A. Pare´, 14566. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press. Pare´, A. 2002. Genre and identity: Individuals, institutions, and ideology in Coe. In The rhetoric and ideology of genre: strategies for stability and change, ed. R. Lingard and T. Teslenko, 5771. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press. Pare´, A., and C. Le Maistre. 2006. Active learning in the workplace: Transforming individuals and institutions. Journal of Education and Work 19, no. 4: 36381. Rai, L. 2004. Exploring literacy in social work education: A social practices approach to student writing. Social Work Education 23, no. 2: 14962.
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Rai, L. 2006. Owning (up to) reflective writing in social work education. Social Work Education 25, no. 8: 78597. Rai, L. 2008. Student writing in social work education. PhD diss., The Open Univ. Simon, B., and M. Soven. 1989. The teaching of writing in social work education: A pressing priority for the 1990s’. Journal of Teaching in Social Work 3, no. 1: 4763. Waller, M. 1996. Teaching writing in social work education: Critical training for agents of social change. Journal of Teaching in Social Work 13, no. 1/2: 4356. Waller, M. 2000. Addressing student writing problems: Applying composition theory to social work education. Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work 5, no. 2: 1616. Wehbi, S. 2009. Reclaiming our agency in academia: Engaging in the scholarship of teaching in social work. Social Work Education 28, no. 5: 50211. Whyte, D.A., J. Lugton, and T.N. Fawcett. 2000. Fit for purpose: The relevance of Masters preparation for the professional practice of nursing. A 10-year follow-up study of postgraduate nursing courses in the University of Edinburgh. Journal of Advanced Nursing 31, no. 5: 107280.
Teaching in Higher Education Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cthe20
‘Getting it Write’ in social work: exploring the value of writing in academia to writing for professional practice a
Lucy Rai & Theresa Lillis
b
a
Department of Social Work , The Open University , Walton Hall , Milton Keynes , MK7 6AA , UK b
Department of Communication and Languages , The Open University , Walton Hall , Milton Keynes , MK7 6AA , UK Published online: 17 Sep 2012.
To cite this article: Lucy Rai & Theresa Lillis (2013) ‘Getting it Write’ in social work: exploring the value of writing in academia to writing for professional practice, Teaching in Higher Education, 18:4, 352-364, DOI: 10.1080/13562517.2012.719157 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2012.719157
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Teaching in Higher Education, 2013 Vol. 18, No. 4, 352364, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2012.719157
‘Getting it Write’ in social work: exploring the value of writing in academia to writing for professional practice Lucy Raia* and Theresa Lillisb
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a Department of Social Work, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK; bDepartment of Communication and Languages, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
(Received 28 October 2011; final version received 2 August 2012) Writing plays a central role in social work practice and in the qualifying programmes studied by student social workers. The research on which this paper is based explores the value of writing undertaken in higher education to writing for professional practice in social work. Drawing on data sources from a ‘text oriented ethnography’, this paper explores the reflections of five recently qualified social workers making the transition from academic to professional practice. The significance of this study is heightened as social work practice and education are undergoing significant review at the time of writing. This review has identified the role of writing as important in both academic and practice domains. The paper suggests that there is currently no clear progressive link between academic writing in social work and the writing in practice required of graduate social workers. This paper offers some reflections on the implicit and explicit value of writing in an academic context to writing in professional practice. Keywords: social work; student writing; professional writing; higher education; ethnography
Introduction Social work is currently undergoing significant review. The role of writing has been identified as an important measure of competence of entrants and the effectiveness of professional writing (recording) in social work has fallen under scrutiny (Department for Children, Schools and Families/Department of Health 2009, 15; Department of Education 2011, 6). There are ongoing debates about the precise nature of the relationship between ‘academic’ qualifications and their value and relevance to professional practice in a range of professions (see also Cinebell and Cinebell 2008; Whyte et al. 2000). An emphasis on academic level as a lever to improve professional standards (Dillon 2011) raises questions about the explicit value of learning in the academic context to practice in the professional context. In our research we were interested in exploring in particular the nature of the link between academic learning and professional practice with regard to writing. Our interest in social work writing arose in part from such scrutiny of academic level in professional programmes of study, frequently focusing on literacy as a measure. More specifically we were interested in the value of the writing undertaken in *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] # 2013 Taylor & Francis
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higher education to professional practice and the extent to which academic writing, which was primarily driven by the priorities of assessment, prepared social workers for professional writing. We were also influenced by our respective previous research exploring the nature of student writing in social work education (Rai 2004, 2006, 2008) and on academic writing more generally as well as methodologies for exploring writing in professional contexts (e.g. Lillis 2001; 2008; 2011). We established a research project to explore the demands of writing in social work practice and practitioners perspectives on the extent to which qualifying education prepared them for such demands. A key goal in this research is to build understandings based on ‘insider/ outsider’ research perspectives (Jacobs 2005; Lillis and Rai 2011): an insider’s perspectives on the discourses and practices used on an Higher Education Institution (HEI) social work programme (Rai), the writing practices in everyday social work (participating social workers), whilst also adopting a critical stance arising from distance and unfamiliarity with the discourses and practices (Lillis). We suggest that academic writing in social work poses particular challenges to students and tutors due in part to the requirements to incorporate reflections on practice into academic assignments (see Findings section below). Theoretical context Two strands of literature have informed this study; firstly research which has developed and applied a ‘social practices’ approach to student writing in higher education, and secondly work focusing more specifically on writing in social work. A social practices approach to student writing, often referred to as ‘academic literacies’, recognises academic writing as an activity embedded in social and interpersonal ways of being (Lea and Stierer 2000; Lillis and Scott 2007; Lillis 2001; Lillis and Turner 2001; Lillis 2003). Much of this work has taken a critical approach to understanding disciplinary based institutional practices which are particularly relevant in the context of multi-disciplinary practice-based subjects such as social work. The second area of literature focuses more specifically on writing undertaken by social work students and practitioners. This area of study has received little scholarly attention in the UK and most publications emanate from the USA (Alter and Adkins 2001, 2006; Badger 2010; Horton and Diaz 2011; Leon and Pepe´ 2010; Simon and Soven 1989; Waller 1996, 2000) and Canada (Pare´ 2002, Le Maistre and Pare´ 2004, Pare´ and Le Maistre 2006; Wehbi 2009). This body of work is primarily concerned with supporting social work writers in their academic writing at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It does illustrate, however, similar concerns pertaining to the quality of social work students’ academic writing and the implications that this may have for the quality of their writing in practice. Of specific relevance to our research is the work of Leon and Pepe´ (2010) and Pare´ (2000; 2004) who, unlike others researchers cited above, have focused on the interface between academic and professional writing in social work. Leon and Pepe´ (2010) draw on an investigation into teaching ‘documentation’ to undergraduates through a triadic relationship between assessment, interviewing and documentation. They conclude that although a bespoke module on documentation was valuable, professional writing was complex and required more exploration. Pare´ ’s research in Canada suggests that such learning takes place during students’ field placements in the form of an informal and implicit apprenticeship (Pare´ 2000). This process
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involves students reading texts written by experienced social workers and then participating in writing gradually more complex texts on which they receive feedback from colleagues as a consequence of which the professional newcomer is introduced to regular textual practice and the ‘headset’ it promotes (Pare´ 2004, 85). The implication of his research is that students are not explicitly taught or assessed in professional writing and that there are no opportunities for them to critically evaluate or contest the writing practices that they are expected to adopt by experienced practitioners. Both Leon and Pepe´ and Pare’s studies recognise firstly that professional writing in social work is not traditionally taught through academic writing undertaken in the university and secondly that writing has a very important role to play in the quality of social work practice. In essence they identified that writing is social work practice and not merely a tool to convey information: In producing professional documents, social workers do more than record: they select, arrange, interpret, imply, hypothesize, infer, catagorize, simplify, and on and on. They do not merely relay information, they create re-presentations. (Pare´ 2004, 83)
In the UK, there has been little research specifically on social work writing apart from Rai’s work (2004, 2006, 2008), which explores the nature and role of reflective writing in social work education and suggests that the writing students undertake during professional training is particularly challenging due to the required integration of theoretical knowledge and experience. Our research aims to contribute to the limited work in this area, connecting in particular with debates around the value of making closer connections between academic and practice learning.
Student writing in social work education In common with most higher education programmes, writing plays a central role in the assessment of student social workers’ learning. The forms, purposes and domains in which social work writing takes place are varied. The domains can be broadly depicted as ‘academic’ and ‘practice’; ‘academic’ referring to university based writing and ‘practice’ referring to the domain of the social work agency in which students undertake their practice placements.1 Authority over the assessment of writing in both domains during the social work programme remains with the university. In broad terms students undertake three forms of writing across two domains (see Figure 1). Firstly ‘academic assignments’; these are assessed pieces of writing which are primarily based on academic learning and with criteria set and assessment undertaken solely in the academic domain. Although commonly referred to as ‘assignments’ these texts include, for example, essays, reflective writing, examinations and occasionally writing based on simulated practice such as role plays. Secondly ‘portfolios’, or writing which takes place in the practice domain and which assesses students’ competence against prescribed practice outcomes. This writing is carried out whilst the student is based on their practice placement but the criteria are set and the writing is assessed by tutors from both the university and social work practice domains. The third kind of student writing that also takes place in the practice domain is only indirectly assessed. We refer to it here as ‘routine’ or ‘everyday’ social work writing and it encompasses all the writing undertaken by students during the
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Academic assignments
Portfolios assessing practice placements
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Everyday social work writing
Professional domain
Figure 1. Writing in social work education programmes: writing across academic and social work practice domains.
course of their everyday social work practice whilst they are on placements such as case recording, professional letters, emails, reports and meeting notes. Although not formally assessed, the second and third category may overlap as authentic pieces of practice writing may be included in a portfolio of evidence. In our research we have begun to examine the significance of the domains relating to each form of writing and also the relationship between all of the forms of writing in the academic and the writing undertaken by qualified social workers in the professional domain (Lillis and Rai forthcoming). The study on which this paper is based This paper is based on a study which forms part of a larger research project exploring both student and professional social work writing. The methodology that we have adopted overall is what we call a ‘text oriented ethnography’ (see Lillis and Curry 2010). The authors and lead researchers, both based in a national UK university, have worked in partnership with seven social work agencies with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of authentic, everyday social work writing practices, and of exploring the links between writing carried out as part of the social work education curriculum. Data collection has involved shadowing, interviewing, diary keeping, programme documentary analysis and group discussions/workshops. All the data collection have been text-oriented, in other words texts have formed the basis for discussion and analysis. These texts have also been collected as data. In addition, data have been compiled from the social work programme studied. The specific study on which this paper is based involved a team made up of the authors working closely with five ‘co-researchers’ who were all recent graduates of the same qualifying social work programme. Data were drawn from social workers with texts and diaries being collected over a period of 4 weeks, summarise in Table 1. Although there are some institutional differences across social work programmes, the common regulation and curriculum governing social work education in England lead us to suggest that the nature of the writing demands on this programme and the experiences of our co-researchers have broader significance. Focusing on data from social workers in the workplace provided an important opportunity to make visible
356 L. Rai and T. Lillis Table 1.
Summary of data collected.
Data from academic programme Module A (practice learning module)
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Module B (level 1 foundation course) Social work programme Study support Data from social workers Texts Diaries Group discussions Individual interviews Workshops discussing and categorising the data collected
Course readings, assignment book, assessment guide Course readings, assignment book, assessment guide Programme guide Websites and paper guides 200 20 days 4 60 minutes 5 4060 minutes 3 day
potentially hidden experiences of recently qualified social workers transferring their learning to professional practice. Student data provided perspectives as qualified social workers in practice reflecting back on writing during their qualifying programme; the reflections of the academic insider provided perspectives on the underlying intentions behind the teaching of writing and tasks included in the programme. Analysis of data was an iterative process with the co-researchers contributing through working with their texts during the workshops, drawing on themes identified by the lead researchers.
Findings This paper focuses on the following two questions:
What learning experiences do social workers identify as being useful in the development of their professional social work writing? What connections do social workers identify between the academic writing undertaken and professional social work writing?
Programme documentary data Programme documentary evidence included all available teaching and guidance materials (such as assessment and study support guides). All references to ‘writing’ in these materials were noted. Guidance provided information to students on issues such as objectivity, use of evidence, referencing and structure of writing. Additional ‘programme specific’ study guidance was provided on reflective writing which was provided as the University wide generic study advice on academic writing was unhelpful for students writing in this particular genre. For example in the generic guidance, students were advised to avoid the use of ‘information from your own experience’ (Online study support guidance) while in the programme guidance students are advised: While there is still an expectation that your writing remains objective and that your discussion provides evidence and is not just based on personal opinion, you
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will need to write more about yourself and your ideas than in essays for other modules.
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Assignment book, practice learning course. Although writing was acknowledged as an important practice skill, there was very little guidance or teaching on writing in practice writing. The following extract is from the assignment guide for the practice learning course and illustrates the recognition of writing as relevant to both academic and practice domains: Writing is an essential skill in social work, and your writing skills will be assessed in several contexts during the Programme. Writing is a practice skill and social workers’ competence in writing has been a concern in evaluating the quality of social work education which led to the diploma qualification becoming a degree. It is essential, therefore, that you appraise your own writing skills and, if you think there are areas in which you need to improve or develop, that you make your tutor aware that you need support.
Assignment guide. Beyond this general comment about reflection, there are very few explicit references in the programme materials to writing in practice or ways in which academic writing on the programme is intended to prepare students for practice writing after they have qualified. Although explicit advice is given on who should provide support with practice the following advice is given to tutors on the same programme which indicates that tutors should be helping students gain awareness not only of academic texts but also practice texts: Part of your function is to help students to develop their writing skills and write with an awareness of the purpose of each text. This will include being mindful of the differences, for example, between an essay for K101, a reflective assignment for K113, a professional report and case recording in practice. Students are expected to continue developing these skills (to the appropriate level of academic work) as they move through the Programme.
Tutor guide. A reference is made here to ‘professional reports’ and ‘case recording’, both of which are text types which students and qualified social workers are commonly required to undertake in practice but versions of these text types are not set as academic assignments.
Social worker perspectives The perspectives of the social workers can be mapped onto three area:
The demands of academic writing in social work. The relationship between academic writing and practice writing. Self-positioning in reflective and practice writing.
The demands of academic writing in social work education. All of the social workers, referred to here by pseudonyms, had some experience of academic writing prior to
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enrolling on their social work programme and only two of the five spoke of any lack of confidence in their ability to write an academic ‘essay’.2 Both of the less confident social workers reported gaining confidence in their essays; Dale as a result of tutor feedback and Sam as a consequence of gaining satisfactory marks. A common but unexpected challenge for all of the social workers, however, was the variety of writing demands that were made of them. In response to a question about the writing on the programme, Lorna said: Well obviously the majority of it was essay based, but with the reflective component which was sort of different from the other courses really. . . . So they were quite distinct in terms of the writing. It was very different from one course to the next. So you had to kind of get your head into so of what style of writing you would need for each essay. Even though you were trying to study both courses alongside each other. Working at placements which run at the same time, so it was quite challenging.
Here Lorna illustrates the complexity of her writing experiences, engaging with several different ‘writing styles’ at the same time in both the academic and practice context. Chris found the reflective writing very different from the relatively impersonal academic writing he had encountered in a previous degree: I’ve done a degree before . . . and I’ve always written in the third person, that’s how to me, how you write a kind of an academic type of an essay. So I found it quite uncomfortable in, for the sort of practice learning courses, writing in the first person. So to begin with I didn’t do that, so obviously the feedback I got was that I needed to take ownership for some of my comments. So where I would probably write ‘ it could be argued that’ and then it was I, ‘ I would argue that’ you know? And so point of view is very narrow or something, so that was kind of difficult.
Moving between courses was a challenge in itself, but all the social workers in this study identified the reflective writing in particular as less familiar and more challenging than the ‘essays’.3 It was in the reflective writing that students were expected to write about their own personal and practice experiences which required them to adapt the academic writing that they were more familiar with, for example writing about themselves in their texts. Fran stated: Writing in a reflective way was really difficult I felt . . . difficult in terms of what I’d done in previous learning. I never kind of wrote about myself and that’s sort of the key aspect of anything really, so that was kind of, at first it was really difficult just to kind of get the balance between writing about yourself and bringing in sort of the theory, the theory aspect into it. (Fran)
One of the common difficulties identified with the reflective writing was the expectation to write about yourself whilst also including theoretical discussion: The difficulty with the reflective writing as well, is that although you had to reflect we still have to analyse the course material even if you left the course, so you had to integrate academic stuff within the reflective writing. I think sometimes trying to merge the two was quite a challenge. (Lorna)
Sam identifies that she would have liked an exemplar of the reflective writing to clarify the differences from the more familiar essays:
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It would have been quite helpful, say in first year [to be] sent a dummy essay as to what how they would like how they would like the reflective writing set up because it was kind of complete contrast to the sort of academic sort of essay, but we didn’t we didn’t have that.
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The relationship between academic writing and practice writing. Despite finding reflective writing being more difficult than essays, social workers did recognise its value as part of their professional training. For example the social workers were able to make links relatively easily between reflective writing and reflective practice. Chris commented: I suppose the reflective writing sort of helps you understand what reflective practice . . . I think it was definitely valid and definitely gets you into the mind set of understanding what reflective practice is and kind of get comfortable I suppose at analyzing your work and being able to say I didn’t do that very well or, you know, I learnt from these so yes it’s definitely valid and worthwhile.
This view was shared by Lorna: I can definitely see the reason for including it [reflective writing]. I would say that I am quite a good reflector . . . And I think for me I think I could do it quite well, at the time I think I can do it, but I struggle more to put it on to paper and, I don’t know, I just always found it more challenging . . . I don’t think I ever quite mastered it.
Sam was clearer that reflective writing supported not only her reflections in practice but also putting reflections on paper: I find that I actually utilise it [reflective writing] all the time . . . even unconsciously throughout you know, well you know so far throughout all of my practice I automatically start to reflect and then when . . . because I’ve had to write my reflections for the programme it helps me in my analysis.
Social workers identified a number of ways in which academic writing enabled them to develop their practice writing in discrete and specific ways such as learning to be more selective and concise in preparing essays and reflective assignments had direct parallels when writing case notes or reports. For example, Dale suggested that one of the benefits of encountering different kinds of academic writing was that it prepared students for the range of texts that they would be expected to write in practice: Yes, definitely adaption is key, and I think from the variety of the writing skills throughout the three year programme. If there’s something I’ve taken from it is having that variety of writing skills and being able to, to use that in practice.
Sam also identified that she had been able to transfer her learning from the academic to the practice context through developing her ability to focus on a particular point from essay writing to report writing: I’m really sure that having to sit down and agonise over those essays has helped me but I can’t identify or pinpoint exactly where. But it has to have helped me because I do all sorts of reports for work and although it’s nowhere near like writing an essay I think the
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fact that you have to focus on a certain point and draw out the significance of it helps you somewhere.
Despite the fact that the social workers could recognise the value of undertaking academic writing (and reflective writing in particular) in relation to their practice, they also reported that they received very little explicit or direct support with their practice writing. Where this was received, it was not from academic tutors but from senior social work practitioners, either on their practice placements or subsequently in professional practice. This support included team support where colleagues commented on each others’ drafts (Lorna and Sam), line managers (Fran and Dale). Chris did not mention any direct support and none of the social workers identified having received support from the practice assessors, who are responsible for their learning during their practice placements: There’s nowhere on the degree programme or practice learning that covers the actual work that we do. Meeting with the family, working along with the children [and] other professionals. When you come down to it it’s producing the report using the information we get from the children and families and writing the statutory report required of us and it’s nowhere in the degree or placement where they look at those reports. (Chris)
Self-positioning in reflective and practice writing. One of the most significant differences encountered by students in undertaking reflective writing was the move from writing in the third person to, at least in parts, the inclusion of the first person to enable the author to write about their personal and practice experiences, values and reflections. The inclusion of the self, or self-positioning in texts was also an issue in practice and professional writing where, in dependant on the context, writers needed to express their own views or those of the employing agency. Lorna stated: I mean if you think about the reflective bit though, writing in the first person, I don’t hugely, did I do that? (pause) I suppose I do a little bit, but more, I think I’d be writing more of a (pause, sigh) not necessarily 3rd person but more kind of objectively. So you would take your own, you take out some of your own, own emphasis away from, and often I think maybe some if this is because I’m writing with regard to looked after children, so often I’m writing about the children and the children’s needs, rather than my views about the children’s needs.
In this extract Lorna is really puzzling over her professional writing and her learning in relation to the use of the first and third person as well as the balance between objectivity and the expectation that she present an argument based on her own professional judgement. In the following extract she reflects on her use of argument and analysis, a required element of both essays and reflective writing, in her professional writing: In intake and assessment you might write more around, you know ‘I was concerned about XYZ’ so, that is a little bit different. I think (pause) I think the level of analysis is, is not there in our practice writing and very, very, very rarely do we, do I ever have the opportunity to use any kind of theory or evidence to illustrate my argument. I might write something about my suspected observations about why a child might be behaving in a particular way. You know, maybe kind of a alluding to something like an attachment style. Very rarely within reports is it common for us to use, to kind of
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reference that in a way we might do with essays. Although that surprises me in some ways because I actually think we ought to be doing that.
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Insider academic-researcher reflections From the perspective of the academic insider, that is the social work educator, academic writing and reflective writing in particular, implicitly offered writing development opportunities to students and so had the potential to develop their practice writing as well as their reflective practice. One of the reasons for teaching and assessing reflective writing was to encourage students to write in the first person. The intention of this, in addition to demonstrating the ability to reflect, was to confront them with the need to reposition themselves in their texts by encouraging writers to move from the third person to the more involved but still objective first person. In the context of professional social work, writing practitioners are frequently required to write their professional judgement using the first person, so this move from an objective third person to a first person with an evidence based, informed judgement was considered important. Lorna’s comment above could be interpreted as suggesting that through developing an awareness of the requirements of reflective writing, she had been indirectly introduced to thinking about how she positioned herself, or her voice in relation to her audience in the text. From the perspective of the academic insider this comment was surprising as during the first year students were provided with six reflective writing teaching exercises, intended to introduce them to the key features of reflective writing, spread through the year, four of which were submitted to a tutor for feedback. These were ‘mini’ assignments both in that although they were graded (as this was required by the university) the weighting was very low. The purpose of these activities and assignments was specifically to enable students to develop an awareness of the difference between reflective writing and the essays they were undertaking on other courses and more importantly to provide a low stakes space where they could practice reflective writing and receive feedback. The student’s comment above highlights that there was a discrepancy between the intentions of the teaching team and the experiences of at least some of the students.
Conclusion and implications for educators As indicated in the literature cited above, there is always a difficult balance in practice-based education between the academic and practice domains. Social work, as a discipline, has long struggled to establish its scholarly worth (see, for example, James 2004; Flexner 2001) but is also deeply embedded in practice through partnerships with practice agencies. Although the social workers in this study reported some challenges in negotiating the expectations of academic writing, they represented a relatively confident and successful group of academic writers. This was unsurprising as they had volunteered to participate in research into student writing and had the confidence to talk about their experiences. Consequently this group were not necessarily typical graduates but their experiences were very similar to those of
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362 L. Rai and T. Lillis students in a previous study (Rai 2006, 2008) who also found reflective writing challenging and programme guidance contradictory, In addition, however, this study illustrated that the social work graduates did not feel well prepared for undertaking professional writing. Where individuals were assisted in developing their professional writing this seemed to take place serendipitously arising from the interest of a line manager or support from a team member. Despite the practice placements taking place under the auspices of the university, social workers reported no systematic involvement or direction from the faculty in relation to teaching professional writing. The implication of this is that the direct teaching of professional writing during practice placements is at best random and sporadic and arose due to the interest of a particular individual in writing rather than being considered a core role in relation to student social workers and was not considered to be a central role of the practice assessor. The fact that the social workers did not identify any specific places where the programme taught practice writing is not surprising as, based on the programme materials, there was no evidence of any systematic teaching of practice writing, any direct links made between academic and practice writing or even clear indications of who should support students in this area of their learning. Despite this lack of a clear link between academic and practice writing, the social workers valued the learning that they gained from the academic assignments. Both essays and reflective writing required rigour, planning and scholarly skills which social workers valued and, in many cases, recognised as contributing to their professional writing. The transfer of learning was not necessarily explicit for social workers, but experience in thinking critically about changes in how they positioned themselves in the text (reflective writing) and the use of evidence (both essays and reflective writing) to build an argument appeared to be relevant and valuable to their professional writing. The value of reflective writing was explicitly identified and discussed by social workers, in part due to the challenge that it posed them. While its value in developing their ability to reflect critically on their practice was evident, it was less clear whether this necessarily transferred to any specific areas of professional writing. Notes 1. Practice placements are periods of learning during which students undertake supervised professional practice which is assessed by an experienced social worker in the role of a practice assessor. 2. ‘Essay’ was the word used by co-researchers to refer to those academic assignments which did not (in their view) require ‘reflective writing’. 3. This is consistent with findings reported in Rai (2006).
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