Connecting worlds: social work educators’ perceptions on the role of lived experience in pedagogic practice

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study explores social work educators’ perceptions on the role of lived experience in teaching within undergraduate and postgraduate social work education programmes across universities in Britain. Thirty-five semi-structured online interviews were conducted with social work educators from 27 universities across Scotland, Wales and England. Findings were that educators indicated specific ways that people with lived experience (PwLE) can transform student learning. They give an opportunity to expose students to different perspectives, challenge stereotypes about people who access services, help students reflect on their own personal and professional values, demonstrate that the curriculum is connected to and grounded in the real world, and provide crucial preparation before practice. While the extant literature highlights the positive benefits of PwLE involvement in higher education programmes, ongoing work is required to support PwLE involvement consistently and sustainably, and to ensure more diverse representation of PwLE in order that students are exposed to a broader, real world understanding of practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Social work education
• lived experience
• qualitative methods
• pedagogy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

All data, stimuli and analysis scripts belonging to this research are available through the APA repository in the Open Science Framework via the following link: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1212328

Open Scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open Science badge for Preregistered. The materials are openly accessible at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1212328

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, School for Social Care Research, UK.

Notes on contributors

Suzanne Sayuri Ii

Suzanne Sayuri Ii is a Qualitative Researcher in the Medical Sociology & Health Experiences Research Group (MS&HERG), in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford. Her research interests include issues in social care, knowledge mobilisation, mixed methods, and patient and public involvement. She received her BA (Cum Laude) from CSU, Fresno, her MA from Stanford University, MSc from University of Oxford, and PhD from King’s College London.

Hannah Jobling

Hannah Jobling is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of York. Her research interests include the policy-practice relationship; mental health policy and practice; and social work with young people. She received her BA (Hons), MRes and PhD from the University of York.

Kelly Devenney

Kelly Devenney is a Lecturer in Social Work at the University of York, previously lecturing in Childhood and Youth Studies at York St John University. Her research interests are the areas of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people, refugee and migrant youth, and care leavers. She received her BA from the University of Bradford, and MRes and PhD from the University of York.

Sue Ziebland

Sue Ziebland is Professor of Medical Sociology and Co-Director of the Medical Sociology & Health Experiences Research Group (MS&HERG), in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford. She is an NIHR Senior Investigator emerita since 2021 and has served as Programme Director for the NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Programme (RfPB) since 2017.