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Teaching Through The Tension

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Title: Teaching Through The Tension


1
Teaching Through The Tension An Approach To
Resolving Schism In The Classroom
  • Dr Janet Melville-Wiseman
  • Principal Lecturer in Social Work
  • Canterbury Christ Church University

2
Problem
3
Context
  • Divisions
  • Society
  • Anglican Communion
  • University
  • Social Work education
  • Approach to discrimination
  • Evidence of anti-discriminatory practice
  • Suitability for Social Work
  • GSCC Code of Practice
  • Equality Act 2010

4
Theoretical considerations
  • Professional Ethics
  • Banks and Gallaghers professional ethics in
    practice
  • Norms of right action
  • Character and values
  • Social and moral philosophy
  • Judith Butlers rejection of a binary approach
  • Teaching
  • Knowledge versus skills
  • Regulation/Legal
  • Absolutist principles

5
Rejection of a binary approach
  • Butler (1998) argued against a binary approach to
    gender and sexuality
  • However, we seem to adopt a binary approach in SW
    education
  • Social work binaries whereby people are
    congregated and segregated e.g.
  • Mental health needs
  • Physical disability
  • Ageing

6
Human considerations
  • Acknowledgement
  • That these issues are difficult to think about
    and difficult to speak about
  • Open and respectful debate is a key dimension of
    learning prior to reflection
  • Students are on a learning journey
  • So are we

7
Further background
  • Early in the programme
  • Team divided
  • Invocation of conduct/suitability procedures
  • Fear of getting it wrong
  • Low expectations of students ability to
    demonstrate anti-discriminatory practice
  • Whatever else we could not avoid the need to
    teach through this tension

8
The teaching session
  • Setting the scene
  • Thoughtful approach
  • Request that students listen before taking
    questions or discussion
  • Clarify aims i.e. To resolve tensions
  • All have something to learn

9
Rejection of an absolutist approach
  • No-one in our profession can claim to be devoid
    of discriminatory attitudes or discriminatory
    behaviour
  • The development of professional values from
    personal values requires that everyone embarks on
    a journey that is characterised by
  • The need to be open about the individual personal
    starting point
  • Reflection
  • The most worrying values are hidden values

10
Application to social work values
  • It is not a social work task to discern the
    meaning of religious or faith based texts
  • It is a social work task to work with people who
    share your personal values and to work with
    people who have conflicting values
  • Social workers will almost never work with
    anyone who has identical personal values to their
    own

11
Establishing professional values
  • Professional values are characterised by
  • Shared
  • Defined through a common process
  • Difficult to teach and difficult to learn
  • Have been established over time to protect
    vulnerable people and the honour of the
    profession
  • Some people have a longer journey than others in
    order to reconcile conflicts and tensions between
    personal values and professional values

12
Laying down the challenges
  • This part of the process was designed to
  • Establish shared challenges to becoming a
    professional social worker
  • Recognise the diversity of people they will work
    with
  • For example asking questions such as
  • How do you work with someone if they are
    homophobic?
  • By agreeing/disagreeing with their position?
  • By refusing to work with them?
  • By becoming upset?
  • By using self?
  • By withholding self?

13
Spirituality and social work
  • The spiritual needs of vulnerable people are
    often marginalised
  • Thinking about the spiritual needs of vulnerable
    people can often make a substantial and positive
    difference
  • A growing area of interest in social work
    research
  • It is an offence to treat people unfairly because
    of their religious beliefs and social workers
    need to know how to challenge discrimination on
    the grounds of religion/faith

14
Helping students understand the risks
  • If you express a value judgement about sexuality
    or religion/faith in certain circumstances you
    may risk
  • Causing distress to anyone in earshot
  • Being perceived as discriminatory
  • Being seen as possibly not suitable for social
    work
  • In breach of student codes of conduct
  • In breach of GSCC codes of practice
  • Being subject to legal proceedings
  • If you make assumptions about certain faiths and
    their views/position on sexuality or about people
    who are lesbian or gay and their religion or
    faith you risk
  • Being wrong (inaccurate)
  • Causing distress
  • Not understanding the nature and extent of
    homophobia and heterosexism and where it exists

15
Concluding statements
  • Learn how your personally held views conflict
    with social work values/the law and plan your
    learning journey in this regard
  • Your tutor/lecturers will help
  • You have two years to resolve these issues
  • You may decide that social work is not for you
  • We may decide that you are not for social work
  • In addition if
  • You target any discriminatory attitudes
    personally to an individual here (staff or
    student)
  • You may be subject to the university conduct or
    GSCC suitability procedures

These issues take courage but you need that
anyway to be a good social worker
16
References
  • Banks, S and Gallagher, A. (2009) Ethics in
    Professional Life. Palgrave MacMillan.
    Basingstoke.
  • Butler, J. (1990) Gender Trouble. Routledge
    Classics (2008 edition). Abingdon.

17
Context
Anti-gay Christian couple lose foster care case
http//www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/feb/28/chri
stian-couple-lose-care-case
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