Planting a seed: encouraging service users towards educational goals

Abstract

Some interventions by social workers, teachers and parents take time to develop but can produce, in the longer term, powerful and unexpectedly positive results. We were reminded of this in 2013, when we undertook a small qualitative study where we used feminist memory work to explore the experiences of 11 women from low socio-economic backgrounds studying social sciences at an Australian university. Of the eleven participants, seven were from social work. When asked to remember their journey into tertiary education, the women revealed memorable encounters with social workers, teachers and parents, the impact of which had lasted well into the future. We use the gardening metaphor of ‘planting a seed’ to refer to interventions that may not blossom in the short term but can bear fruit months or years later. Yet, we also note that ‘seeds of doubt’ can be planted too. We conclude by suggesting that planting seeds of possibility is a worthy but potentially overlooked professional activity. Yet, since ours is a small study, further research is warranted to explore the influence of social workers who plant seeds of possibility and whose actions help to recruit and retain socially disadvantaged students in higher education.

Keywords:

• Longer term interventions
• Feminist memory work
• Working-class women in higher education
• Student poverty

Notes

1. These debts are accrued through the Australian Government’s Higher Education Contribution Scheme, also known as HECS, where students pay zero up-front fees and begin repaying their debt once they earn over $50,000AU: http://www.highered.gov.au/hecs.