2 The gap-mending concept: theory and practice
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Cecilia Heule
Abstract
To reflect upon what causes gaps between people is a challenge that should involve social workers and service users in social work practice, education and research. Within the PowerUs network, gap-mending practices have been developed whereby more reciprocal relationships are aimed for between social work students, teachers and service users in joint development projects.1 The principles of these practices are similar to those found in research about so-called strength-based social work, which emphasises the importance of enabling niches rather than placing an emphasis on categorising and diagnosing personal problems (Healy, 2014, p 166).
In this chapter we will write about a gap-mending course at Lund University in Sweden in which social work students and students from user organisations study together. The following chapter will explore how ‘mend the gap’ has been introduced in the UK. Together these chapters will demonstrate the strength of the approach and the diverse contexts in which it has been applied. In the Swedish example, marginalised and discriminated groups have been invited to study a 7.5-credit course together with social work students. The external students were recruited from different service-user organisations and have a background of drug abuse, mental health problems, homelessness, physical disabilities or a combination of these problems. Most of the external students can be considered to be far from the labour market. The work with the so-called Mobilisation course has continued, and the course ran for the 25th time this fall of 2019. In total, over five hundred social work students and 250 service-user students have participated in the course. The results of our research show that the participation in the course strengthens social work students as well as service-user students. Many of the service-user students continue on to further studies or work opportunities.
Abstract
To reflect upon what causes gaps between people is a challenge that should involve social workers and service users in social work practice, education and research. Within the PowerUs network, gap-mending practices have been developed whereby more reciprocal relationships are aimed for between social work students, teachers and service users in joint development projects.1 The principles of these practices are similar to those found in research about so-called strength-based social work, which emphasises the importance of enabling niches rather than placing an emphasis on categorising and diagnosing personal problems (Healy, 2014, p 166).
In this chapter we will write about a gap-mending course at Lund University in Sweden in which social work students and students from user organisations study together. The following chapter will explore how ‘mend the gap’ has been introduced in the UK. Together these chapters will demonstrate the strength of the approach and the diverse contexts in which it has been applied. In the Swedish example, marginalised and discriminated groups have been invited to study a 7.5-credit course together with social work students. The external students were recruited from different service-user organisations and have a background of drug abuse, mental health problems, homelessness, physical disabilities or a combination of these problems. Most of the external students can be considered to be far from the labour market. The work with the so-called Mobilisation course has continued, and the course ran for the 25th time this fall of 2019. In total, over five hundred social work students and 250 service-user students have participated in the course. The results of our research show that the participation in the course strengthens social work students as well as service-user students. Many of the service-user students continue on to further studies or work opportunities.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Acknowledgements xix
- Introduction 1
-
Collaborative models in social work education
- The gap-mending concept: theory and practice 11
- Mending gaps in social work education in the UK 23
- Service users as tandem partners in social work education 35
- Service users as supervisors in social work education: mending the gap of power relations 49
- Involving students with mental health experience in social work education 61
- The Living Library in social work education 73
- Creating a platform together for the voice of the service user: inspiration for organising an event together with service users 85
- Reflections on inspiring conversations in social work education: the voices of Scottish experts by experience and Italian students 97
- Joint workshops with students and service users in social work education: experiences from Esslingen, Germany 109
- Service users, students and staff: co-producing creative educational activities on a social work programme in the UK 117
-
Collaborative models in research and policy
- The co-researcher role in the tension between recognition, co-option and tokenism 133
- Community of development: a model for inclusive learning, research and innovation 145
- Dialogue, skills and trust: some lessons learned from co-writing with service users 158
- Participatory pathways in social policymaking: between rhetoric and reality 170
- Experiential knowledge as a driver of change 183
-
Reflective chapters
- Experiences matter equally 199
- Ethical issues in the meaningful involvement of service users as co-researchers 209
- Involving service users in social work education and research: is this structural social work? 224
- Index 238
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Acknowledgements xix
- Introduction 1
-
Collaborative models in social work education
- The gap-mending concept: theory and practice 11
- Mending gaps in social work education in the UK 23
- Service users as tandem partners in social work education 35
- Service users as supervisors in social work education: mending the gap of power relations 49
- Involving students with mental health experience in social work education 61
- The Living Library in social work education 73
- Creating a platform together for the voice of the service user: inspiration for organising an event together with service users 85
- Reflections on inspiring conversations in social work education: the voices of Scottish experts by experience and Italian students 97
- Joint workshops with students and service users in social work education: experiences from Esslingen, Germany 109
- Service users, students and staff: co-producing creative educational activities on a social work programme in the UK 117
-
Collaborative models in research and policy
- The co-researcher role in the tension between recognition, co-option and tokenism 133
- Community of development: a model for inclusive learning, research and innovation 145
- Dialogue, skills and trust: some lessons learned from co-writing with service users 158
- Participatory pathways in social policymaking: between rhetoric and reality 170
- Experiential knowledge as a driver of change 183
-
Reflective chapters
- Experiences matter equally 199
- Ethical issues in the meaningful involvement of service users as co-researchers 209
- Involving service users in social work education and research: is this structural social work? 224
- Index 238
