15 Participatory pathways in social policymaking: between rhetoric and reality
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Peter Beresford
Abstract
Since the 1990s more attention has been focused on the ‘participation paradigm’ in the making of social policy (Carr, 2007). In existing research, the participation of people in poverty has been framed as a promising anti-poverty strategy, entailing explicit recognition of the voices and life knowledge of poor people in the realm of social policymaking (Beresford, 2001; Krumer-Nevo, 2005, 2008).1 It has been argued that ‘they have the capacity to place, and indeed sometimes to force, life knowledge on the political, professional, academic and policy-making agenda’ (Beresford, 2000, p 493). As a radical shift from the prevailing paradigm, in which poor people are predominantly treated as objects, this emphasis on their participation in social policymaking recognises them as subjects shaping their own lives (Lister, 2002). The question remains, however, whether this popular principle of participation has actually produced a democratic shift in power and contributed to a social justice agenda. Here, we accordingly engage in a critical investigation of the complexities at stake in ‘the politics of participation’, as many authors highlight the danger of participation being ‘tokenistic’ (Beresford, 2010), ‘more rhetoric than reality’ (Adams, 2008) or a mere ‘buzzword’ (Cornwall and Brock, 2005).
Our research study concerns two exemplary historical cases: the disabled people’s movement in the UK in the 1970s, and the fourth world movement in the 1990s in Belgium. Both zoom in on how the concerned people themselves, in a political dialogue with many other societal stakeholders, challenged the pejorative rhetoric on their impairment or their poverty towards a rhetoric of participation, equality and respect from a human rights perspective.
Abstract
Since the 1990s more attention has been focused on the ‘participation paradigm’ in the making of social policy (Carr, 2007). In existing research, the participation of people in poverty has been framed as a promising anti-poverty strategy, entailing explicit recognition of the voices and life knowledge of poor people in the realm of social policymaking (Beresford, 2001; Krumer-Nevo, 2005, 2008).1 It has been argued that ‘they have the capacity to place, and indeed sometimes to force, life knowledge on the political, professional, academic and policy-making agenda’ (Beresford, 2000, p 493). As a radical shift from the prevailing paradigm, in which poor people are predominantly treated as objects, this emphasis on their participation in social policymaking recognises them as subjects shaping their own lives (Lister, 2002). The question remains, however, whether this popular principle of participation has actually produced a democratic shift in power and contributed to a social justice agenda. Here, we accordingly engage in a critical investigation of the complexities at stake in ‘the politics of participation’, as many authors highlight the danger of participation being ‘tokenistic’ (Beresford, 2010), ‘more rhetoric than reality’ (Adams, 2008) or a mere ‘buzzword’ (Cornwall and Brock, 2005).
Our research study concerns two exemplary historical cases: the disabled people’s movement in the UK in the 1970s, and the fourth world movement in the 1990s in Belgium. Both zoom in on how the concerned people themselves, in a political dialogue with many other societal stakeholders, challenged the pejorative rhetoric on their impairment or their poverty towards a rhetoric of participation, equality and respect from a human rights perspective.
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
