Playing its part: An evaluation of professional skill development through service user-led role-plays for social work students

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the findings of a UK-based evaluation of service user-led role-play interviews for social work students. Skill development relating to ‘procedural competencies’ (relationship forming, communication skills) and ‘meta-competencies’ (linking theory to practice, reflection) is explored using a mixed-method repeated-measures design. Assessment feedback from student self-ratings (N = 32), as well as service user (N = 7) and practice educator (N = 4) ratings were compared at two time points. An overall improvement of the students’ professional skills was identified, with a notable divergence regarding what had improved: students focused on procedural skills, practice educators on cognitive skills, whereas service users focused on relational/embodied aspects . Moreover, what counted as ‘improvement’ varied between the groups: when considering ‘problem-solving’ students and practice educators were emphasizing the importance of not rushing to resolutions, whereas service users were praising students who were proactive and solution-focused. The findings assert the value of service user-led educational activities not only as contributing to the improvement of social work students’ skill development but also as providing a perspective that may challenge the dominance of professional narratives in social work education. The findings have specific implications for curriculum development and evaluation of service user-led activities.

KEYWORDS:

• Social work skills
• service user involvement
• readiness for direct practice
• role-plays
• meta-competencies

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all those students, service users and carers and practice educators who participated in the role-plays and contributed data for this evaluation. We would also like to thank Professor Alisoun Milne for her feedback and guidance on this paper.

Disclosure statement

No financial interest or benefit has arisen from the direct application of this research. No conflict of interest was present in the study.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Kent Faculty of Social Sciences Learning & Teaching Enhancement Fund.

Notes on contributors

Eleni Skoura-Kirk

Eleni Skoura-Kirk is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Kent. She qualified as a Social Worker in Athens, Greece in 1994 and completed her PhD at the University of Kent in 2002. Her research focused on youth homelessness and social citizenship in the UK and Greece.  She has worked in the field of homelessness in the late 1990s-mid 2000s and as a Lecturer in social work since 2006. Her pedagogical and research interests centre on service user and carer involvement in social work education, as well as applying and evaluating Video Enhanced Reflective Practice (VERP) approaches in the classroom.

Sarah Brown

Sarah Brown is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Kent. She qualified as a social worker in 1999 from Cardiff University. She carried out her MA dissertation research project on the impact of gender on youth justice outcomes. She was employed as a social worker for 11 years in the field of youth justice but with more recent experience as a Family Group Conferencing Coordinator. Sarah started teaching for the Open University in 2007 and has over 10 years' experience as a Practice Educator. Her pedagogical and research interests relate to Readiness for Direct Practice and Family Group Conferencing.

Rasa Mikelyte

Rasa Mikelyte is a Research Associate at the Centre for Health Services Studies at the University of Kent. She has a PhD in Social Policy, an MSc in Social and Applied Psychology, a BSc degree in Applied Psychology with Clinical Psychology, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Methods of Social Research; all at the University of Kent. Her principal research interests are in dementia care and policy, long-term care in later life, and end of life care. Her current research projects include a national evaluation of Hospice at Home services for end of life care in England, an evaluation of the New Models of Care national Vanguard programme, research on optimising the depression pathway enabled by novel digital assessment technology, perceptions of a good death among people living with dementia, and others. She has guest lectured on social work programmes since 2012.