Learning a shared language – theoretical concepts as tools for enhanced well-being in social work interventions

Figures & data

Table

The morning class starts at nine. The participants start to arrive shortly before nine. Some are short of breath as they enter, and they joke about the physical challenge of climbing the stairs – this is something that unites them. The classroom is on the fourth floor in an old building and the elevator is not to be used. The teacher welcomes the students and jokes about the importance of physical exercise, ‘if you want to work in eldercare, you need strong legs’. Six out of the twelve participants are in the room when the clock strikes nine. The class starts. It is Wednesday, and the participants have spent the previous two days at their field placements in care homes. The atmosphere is open and welcoming, the participants seem to know each other and the teacher, and they are chatting informally. The participants are asked to arrange themselves in a circle and the teacher takes the lead. She asks all the participants, one after the other, about their experiences from the two days in the field placements. One participant starts recounting her experiences. She is content and was able to assist staff by preparing breakfast for the elderly residents. This made her feel useful, she tells the group, and she is content with the feeling she gets from having contributed to the workplace The teacher and the other participants confirm these feelings. The participant goes on and explains that she has also been given the task of feeding the elderly residents. This triggers a discussion in the room. Several participants had been asked to do this during their placements, but feeding is not included in the tasks of a service assistant. The teacher listens and says that she has tried to convince the management that feeding should be included in the syllabus but without success. ‘However’, she says, ‘if you are ever in the situation where you do feed anyway you should think of the following (…)’. The teachers goes on to describe in detail how feeding should be performed. She explains that feeding can be risky, and feeding elderly people is different to feeding infants. She says that she does not want to scare them but explains that when feeding elderly individuals there is a risk of them choking. By explaining the feeding procedures, the teacher has clearly gone beyond the tasks assigned to her. However, instead of adhering to a strict interpretation of the syllabus, she confirms that the participants are capable of care constituting a range of tasks – not only those defined in the curriculum. Everyone was placed in the circle. All the participants were actively listening and taking in each other’s experiences, while also taking in the straightforward tips of the teacher.

Table

‘I have heard many words in the class – theoretical words – such as sense of coherence. These are new words for me. I have not been to school in Sweden. In my own country I would understand much more, but here I don’t. But right now, on this course, I have learned a lot. I have learned about special diets and theoretical concepts. I have learned new words, like “sense of coherence” and all these kinds of words. They are important to me, the theoretical words I learn on the course. I know that if you have worked with one thing in one culture and you go to another culture to work with the same thing you need to understand more. You need to learn more. And things differ between cultures. When we are done with this course, I will have so many words that I can use to work here’.

Table

Another participant tells us that only 12 out of 48 persons were selected to join the programme. She is very proud and happy that that she was one of them. She says that she wants to work, and that she has previously been part of many different programmes. She is in financial dept and has lived without a legal permit in Sweden with her children. She explains that this programme provides her with real work, and a salary, for an entire year. She is very hopeful that the programme will lead to a stable job, and she wishes to stay at the eldercare home where she is now placed; she wants to stay there for many years to come. On being part of the programme, she concludes: ‘I don’t know, but I think previously I have not had much luck (in life). But now – I have been very fortunate. And my SOC has increased a lot. I am lucky’.