Social Workers Writing for Publication: The Story of a Practice and Academic Partnership

Abstract

This paper outlines the processes, outcomes and lessons learnt from a collaborative writing project undertaken as a partnership between academics at the Open University and 11 social work practitioners from a variety of social work settings across the UK. This partnership successfully co-produced a book of social work stories using a critical best practice approach, which describes and analyses the realities of everyday social work practice. In a context where there still appear to be many barriers to the involvement of practising social workers in research and writing, we conclude that the project’s collaborative process facilitated the sharing of practitioner experience and expertise with the wider world. Drawing on lessons learned during the writing of the book, a number of practical ways of building on this initiative to support the development of practitioner writing are proposed.

Keywords:

• practitioner writing
• publication
• critical best practice
• partnership

Acknowledgements

Grateful thanks go to all the practitioner authors that contributed to the writing project, and to their employing agencies.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jean Gordon

Jean Gordon is a researcher, educator and writer in mental health, law and social work education. She has worked as a social worker, practice teacher and mental health officer in a range of hospital, community mental health and supported employment settings in Scotland. Recent publications have included ‘Social Work and the Law in Scotland’ and ‘Best Practice with Children and Families: Critical Social Work Stories’. She has also been involved in developing an Open Learn online course about personalisation and self-directed support in Scotland. See also: http://jeangordon.co.uk/

Andy Rixon

Andy Rixon has worked as a social worker with children and families and in staff training and development with a particular focus on post-qualifying education for social workers. He has been at the Open University since 2006 contributing chapters to several books including Critical practice with children and young people (2010) and co-edited Changing Children’s Services: working and learning together (2014) and ‘Best Practice with Children and Families: Critical Social Work Stories’ (2015). Correspondence to: Andy Rixon, Lecturer (Children and Young People), Faculty of Health and Social Care, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK. Email: [email protected]

Barry Cooper

Barry Cooper started as a social worker in 1980. He worked in mental health and child care in Kent, London and Bristol and spent many years in practice teaching and staff training positions throughout Avon before joining the Open University in 2004. He has published widely on social work practice and continuing professional development and co-edited Best Practice in Social Work: Critical Perspectives (2008) with Karen Jones and Harry Ferguson in the first volume to take a Critical Best Practice perspective to social work. Barry also worked as academic lead and social work consultant with the BBC on a TV series, Protecting Our Children, examining child care social work with Bristol City Council.