Care within care.

1
Care within care.

• How young people can empower younger people in
  care.

2
MCAST.

• MCAST was set up in 2000. It is the Malta College
  of Arts, Science and Technology and is the main
  provider of VET provision in Malta.
• Courses in Health and Social Care from first
  diploma level upwards are BTEC-MCAST certified
  and are offered at the Institute of Community
  Services.

3
Levels of Health and Social Care courses.

• Pre-foundation and Foundation level courses (NVQ
  level 1),
• First Diploma level courses (NVQ level 2),
• National Diploma level courses (NVQ level 3),
• Higher National Diploma (HND) level courses (NVQ
  level 4 and 5).
• A Top-up degree course (NVQ level 6) will be
  offered from 2011.

4
Health and Social Care courses.

• All have a theoretical and practical component.
• Placements can take place throughout the academic
  year (usually on a once-weekly basis) and/or take
  the form of block placements.

5
First Diploma Health and Social Care.

• All students carry out at least two placements in
  Health and Social Care settings during an
  academic year.
• Client-groups
• Elderly,
• Children (in care),
• People with special needs.
• In 2009-2010, there were five classes of students
  with roughly 25 students in each.

6
First Diploma in Care leads to

• A minority terminate their studies at this level
  and find employment.
• Others can choose between furthering their
  studies at MCAST in either child care, health
  care studies, or social care studies.
• They also have the possibility of furthering
  their studies abroad, or of attending the
  University of Malta (subject to their meeting the
  stipulated eligibility criteria) .

7
Participants.

• 20 students who are reading for their first
  diploma in Health and Social Care in the academic
  year 2009 2010.
• Age-range of participants 16-18 (standard age
  for students who take up this course).
• Completed either first or second placement with
  children in care.

8
What this research is about.

• 1. Students were asked to carry out a task as
  part of their assessed placement in order to
  engage younger people (children in care), aged
  12 to 14, in learning about a topic of these
  childrens own choosing.
• 2. They were asked to engage in a dialogue based
  on a Philosophy for Children methodology after
  having completed the task set.

9
Philosophy for children (P4C).

• This is an experiential teaching method that
  shares with philosophy reflection on such themes
  as
• What is justice?
• What is beauty?
• What is real?
• What is the right thing to do?
• How can I be sure of what I know?

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(P4C) focuses on aspects such as

• Ethical Wrong, good, duty, and compassion.
• Metaphysical Real, unreal, time.
• Logical Reasons, Cause/effect, if/then
  relationships.
• Epistemological Knowledge, opinion, truth.
• Political Fairness, justice, power, government.

11
Underlying tenets of this research study.

• 1. Research bridges youth work (and training in
  health and social care) with informal education
  and pedagogy.
• 2. Research adopts what could be called a young
  person to young person perspective since it is
  focused on appraising how 16 to 18 year olds (the
  students at MCAST) can empower children in care.

12
Methodology (1).

• My personal observation of students whilst on
  placement in a combined placement-tutor and
  researcher role.
• My carrying out focus-groups wherein the students
  assigned to children in care were asked to
  explore (1) whether they helped the children to
  interact and (2) the influence that these
  activities had on them.

13
Methodology (2).

• Focus groups were carried out at the end of the
  academic year. Two focus groups were held, one
  group with students from one class and one with
  students from the other.
• Two of the total of five classes reading for the
  first diploma in health and social care were
  selected to participate in this study (these were
  the classes I lectured to and for whom I carried
  out placement-visits).

14
Child-care settings in Malta.

• Run by the Church.
• Children are assigned to care for a variety of
  reasons including child abuse, parental neglect,
  poverty, and sometimes serious illness of the
  carer.

15
Examples of activities carried out.

• 1. Cutting out pictures from magazine that say
  something about a childs aspirations and then
  discussing them.
• 2. Cutting out pictures from magazines about a
  particular topic and then discussing them.
• 3. Giving each child a paper square, engaging
  them in making it into a windmill, attaching it
  to a stick, using pins and butterfly clips,
  drawing their own designs on it, and engaging
  them in discussing why water is important and why
  life is important.

16
Examples of activities carried out.

• 4. Cutting out pictures to form a thank-you card.
  Discussing what gratitude means.
• 5. Drawing of hands and names and discussing the
  meaning of identity.
• 6. Drawing pencil marks to divide a large paper
  into four parts and engaging the students in
  drawing something where the individual parts were
  complementary. Discussion on cooperation and
  teamwork.

17
Results (1).

• The students noted that the children sometimes
  had a different way of perceiving the world than
  they did. They noted that they had to make an
  effort to enter the childs world and to offer
  appropriate support and challenge. During my
  observations, I noted that this is helped along
  when the students and children manage to
  establish an effective working relationship with
  one another.

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Results (2).

• The students noted that a child needs encouraging
  words that are focused on a particular effort
  that s/he has made. They concluded that such
  words encourage the child to question what s/he
  has done right and to generate self-confidence
  and this allows him/her to open up more during
  discussions. During my placements, I observed
  that when feedback was specific, it was more
  likely to be appreciated and understood by
  children.

19
Results (3).

• The students noted that the children had a
  natural inclination towards fairness and social
  justice and would feel awkward if they were given
  more time and attention than their peers. During
  my observations, I noted that when the students
  were perceived as pleasant and loving, this
  serves to lead children to open up about issues
  that concern them.

20
Results (4).

• The students noted that when the children did
  something erstwhile for one another, they felt
  valued. Rather than wanting other people to do
  things for them, they sought to discover ways and
  means in which they could serve others besides
  themselves. During my observations, I noted how,
  these children readily shared things and also how
  they disclosed to one another thereby manifesting
  trust.

21
Excerpts from focus-group.

• When I explored the topic of life and death, one
  of the children who had never spoken up much,
  said that he associates life with hope, with
  never giving up, and with a better future. He
  said it was like an arrow going forwards all the
  time. I was struck by this childs maturity.

22
Excerpts from focus-group.

• When I explored with my group why changes are
  always happening, one child said that if there
  were to be no change, then there would follow on
  a loss of hope, since people constantly strive
  for change. I went home thinking about it and
  remembered St. Augistines words that my soul
  will never be at peace until it rests in Yee. I
  just thought it strange that this particular
  person would stimulate this reflection in me.

23
Conclusion.

• The students were motivated by their feeling
  involved and empowered in their care of the
  children.
• The children also felt highly involved as could
  be judged by their participation in the dialogues
  with the students about the range of topics
  raised.