11 Service users, students and staff: co-producing creative educational activities on a social work programme in the UK
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Kieron Hatton
Abstract
From limited beginnings service-user/carer involvement has become central to the accreditation and validation of social work programmes in the UK (Hatton, 2015). The extent and depth of service-user/carer involvement varies widely across the country and in many, but not all, cases focuses on the involvement of service users/carers in the traditional elements of the programme – admissions interviews, guest teaching and as expert speakers. This chapter suggest that if we are to make service-user/carer involvement meaningful, we need to develop a more holistic and complex way of understanding how service users/carers can contribute to social work education. This will involve seeing service users/carers as co-producers and partners in the educational experience rather than seeing their involvement as a way of legitimising our commitment to inclusion. To achieve this, this chapter argues that we need a more developed analysis of power, agency, imagination and creativity. The chapter uses the phrase ‘service users/carers’ for clarity, although it fully recognises that: a) service users/carers are not a homogenous grouping, and b) the very words are themselves contentious (McLaughlin, 2009). In current discourses, service users/carers are more often referred to as experts by experience or people with lived experience (PWLE). The authors also recognises that service users/carers have multiple identities beyond their status as service users/carers, and that many of these roles intersect (Hill Collins and Bilge, 2016) and cause contradictions/conflicts. This is the content of a recently published companion piece (Hatton, 2020).
Over the last 20 years, service users/carers have at last been recognised as having a significant role in the delivery, management and development of welfare services.
Abstract
From limited beginnings service-user/carer involvement has become central to the accreditation and validation of social work programmes in the UK (Hatton, 2015). The extent and depth of service-user/carer involvement varies widely across the country and in many, but not all, cases focuses on the involvement of service users/carers in the traditional elements of the programme – admissions interviews, guest teaching and as expert speakers. This chapter suggest that if we are to make service-user/carer involvement meaningful, we need to develop a more holistic and complex way of understanding how service users/carers can contribute to social work education. This will involve seeing service users/carers as co-producers and partners in the educational experience rather than seeing their involvement as a way of legitimising our commitment to inclusion. To achieve this, this chapter argues that we need a more developed analysis of power, agency, imagination and creativity. The chapter uses the phrase ‘service users/carers’ for clarity, although it fully recognises that: a) service users/carers are not a homogenous grouping, and b) the very words are themselves contentious (McLaughlin, 2009). In current discourses, service users/carers are more often referred to as experts by experience or people with lived experience (PWLE). The authors also recognises that service users/carers have multiple identities beyond their status as service users/carers, and that many of these roles intersect (Hill Collins and Bilge, 2016) and cause contradictions/conflicts. This is the content of a recently published companion piece (Hatton, 2020).
Over the last 20 years, service users/carers have at last been recognised as having a significant role in the delivery, management and development of welfare services.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Acknowledgements xix
- Introduction 1
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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
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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
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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
