‘This is my oasis’: an exploration of student hub support for social work students’ wellbeing

ABSTRACT

Emotional wellbeing is seen as a critical part of becoming a ‘professional’ and increasingly linked to suitability for the profession. With Social Work England’s clarity on student wellbeing as a university responsibility to enable and to assess, it is critical for social work education to consider innovative design in supporting professional and personal transformational learning. What is evidenced, is students’ mental health is poorer when compared to their non-student peers. What is less known, is the unique nature of mental health and wellbeing among those students studying for professional degrees, such as social work. A qualitative multiple-method research study explored the role of student hubs within a Social Work Teaching Partnership in England and examined whether they supported student social workers wellbeing. A three-stage approach involved semi-structured interviews with Practice Education Leads as facilitators of the hubs, a qualitative questionnaire and focus groups with student social workers. Thematic analysis of the findings created four major themes which have been developed into ‘The 4 Cs Model of Wellbeing Education’ involving Clarity, Community, Connections and Creativity. The research proposes learning and strategies that can be transferable to health, education and other professional degrees.

KEYWORDS:

• Wellbeing
• social work education
• student social worker
• student community
• teaching partnership

Acknowledgments

Our deepest thanks to the students and Practice Education Leads who gave their time freely. Without their involvement, this research could not have taken place. To us, you are ‘our oasis’.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aisha Howells

Aisha Howells started a career in social care as a residential worker working alongside young people. Following this, Aisha’s social work practice involved working within local authority children’s services and primarily across areas including child protection, children in care and children in need. Aisha became the Practice Education Co-ordinator for a local authority which involved the responsibility of developing, facilitating and leading the practice education programme and strategy across both Adult Social Care and Children & Families. Aisha is currently a Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Suffolk with interests in student wellbeing, practice education and research.

Caroline Bald

Caroline Bald is a qualified Social Worker and Practice Educator currently working towards a Professional Doctorate in Education exploring student wellbeing. She started her social work career as a probation officer working with adults then teenagers. Her practice experience has largely been in risk management, latterly reporting on Serious Case Reviews. Caroline is currently a Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Essex and Masters in Social Work programme lead. Her research interests are in wellbeing discourse, care experienced students and criminal justice social work education.