Stories of Risk and Protection: A Turn to the Narrative in Social Policy Education

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of ‘story’ in social policy teaching within social work education. In particular, it uses the explication of two students' stories of their own experience to consider approaches to the concepts of risk and protection. The paper sets a scene whereby the roles of narrative, practitioner-wisdom (Phronesis) and personal experience need to be addressed within social policy education. Then, using stories generated by an educational intervention building on memory work, it illustrates how the ‘pragmatic eclecticism’ of narrative analysis can illuminate some of the complexities of social policy constructs. A range of analytical tools have been brought to bear on the stories, including the distinct but related concepts of ‘role’ and ‘performance’ and literary devices such as genre and plot, as well as a consideration of intertextuality. This is done to support the notion that social policy needs to broaden its methodological range.

Keywords:

• Social Policy
• Narrative Analysis
• Memory Work
• Phronesis
• Risk
• Protection

Acknowledgements

Thanks are offered for the support from colleagues and in particular my doctoral supervisors. I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers of this article, whose insightful comments have sharpened my commentary and introduced me to new resources. However, I am most indebted to the students who have worked with me on this project and whose stories continue to offer a wealth of data for myself, current and future students.