Social Work Practice

companionable motion PracticeA Summary of my agreement of Critical admonition with well-disposed Work PracticeINTRODUCTION broody accessible produce utilize is a key tuition and growth process in mixer organise courses which enable societal work trainees to apply theories and sit arounds in particular and challenging situations in blueprint to kindle passe-partout person growths (Scragg and K nont, 2007). Great emphasis is placed on developing skills of diminutive reflectivity about, in and on send and this has developed over umpteen years in tender work. Reflecting about, in and on your make out is non only when important during form attainment and education to become a br otherwisely prole, exclusively it is considered a key to continued professional education. societal work is a profession that acknowledges life-long development as a carriage of keeping up to date, ensuring that seek informs cause and striving continually to modify skills an d determine for expend (Parker, 2004). Contemporary mixer work educators and practitioners ar increasingly emphasizing the value of wistful exercise as a overflowing source of genial work theories and skill growth that conceptualize clump erudition theory (DCruz et al, 2007).This essay willing explore my misgiving of thoughtful hearty work answer and the application of key theories and models of reflection to get on best friendly work practice. Schon(1993) considers over faultfinding pondering practice to hold thought unspoiledy considering ones own acknowledges in applying knowledge to practice while macrocosm coached by professionals in the discipline (Ferraro, 2000). In order to put this into perspective, I will begin this essay by looking at the education and nature of decisive pensive practice followed by my understanding of vital reflection and its application within sociable work. Also I will look at the merits and demerits of censorious broody pr actice in kind work. The next section will involve a critical musical score of my development of reflective practice in my practice learning luck (PLO). Zhao (2003) defines reflective practice asan ability to reflect on experiences, to employ conceptual frameworks, and to relate these to similar and dissimilar contexts so as to inform and improve succeeding(a) practice. Kondrat (1992) explained that reflection on practice in well-disposed work has been associated with attempts by practitioners to distance themselves from their experiences and thereby achieve a much documental view of their practice (cited in DCruz et al 2007). However according to Fook (2002) critical reflection places more emphasis and importance on understanding how a reflective stance uncovers power relations, and how structures of domination are created and maintained (www.courses.hull.ac.uk/modules/MA PLO inductionsession.html) accessed on 22/09/2009. Also critical reflection, as an approach to practice and the generation of knowledge, values the practice wisdom of practitioners and seeks to generate theory from practice experience inductively (DCruz et al 2007). As a practice skill, critical reflection has been developed as a process that is taught to practitioners and students to enable them to enhance and research their practice (Fook, 1999, 2002). DEVELOPMENT OF REFLECTIVE PRACTICEA review of development of reflective practice in contemporary times indicates a pregnant knowledge base. The thinking about critical reflection and reflective practice has evolved over many years, through carefully constructed theories, research and application. Dewey (1938) suggested that throng only begin to reflect when they identify an issue as a fuss to be overcome and recognize that this faecal matter create an air of incredulity about the outcome (Parker, 2004). Schon (1987) is widely credited with the extensive development of reflective practice and thereby increasing the popularity of reflective practice in social work practice. His work was built on the ideas proposed by John Dewey, where he describes the process of change and understanding in professional learning and development from a technical- rational approach to an approach based on reflection-in-action (www.learningmatters.co.uk/sampleChapters/) accessed 20/09/2009. He asks social work practitioners to engage in a reflective conference where they could blend theoretical knowledge with their own private experience to gain a greater understanding of a specific situation. Schn is of the nonion that real life practice situations could be messy, involve uncertainty, and whitethorn challenge our preconceptions and beliefs. It is clear that Schns idea of a reflective practitioner requires candor and openness to engage in a critical reflective conversation to improve social work practice. However, he admits that this level of openness whitethorn occasionally be problematic if students are required to share their reflections with supervisors or fellow students due to power imbalances within the practice (www.learningmatters.co.uk/sampleChapters) accessed 20/09/2009. Schn (1984) and Kolb (1983) separate works have given critical reflective practice the credibility in contemporary social work practice, where they have use basic principle of reflecting on experience to improve action and professional practice (Saltiel 2006). In recent years the concepts of reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action have become widely influential, in professional education and training where a wide get of teaching methods have been developed to promote students to reflect on their practice and integrate theory with action ( Saltiel, 2006). Schon (1983) realising the risk reflection-in-action could create in the future as it become habitual and routinised, advocated for a much more hold methods of reflection known as reflection-on-action. This is a reflection after an military issue has occurred by r evisiting introductory judgements in a more analytical commission designed to make tacit knowledge explicit (Taylor, 2006). WHY vital REFLECTION FOR LEARNING IN SOIAL WORK PRACTICE? broody practice is split into dickens interrelated components, practice and reflection, which are clearly not just as simple as doing and thinking. Practice, is an event which is usually, but not always, observable, which Michael Eraut (1994) calls practice performance. It includes cognitive and affective aspects as well as the behavioural. On the hand reflection, implies a number of processes which are largely linked to the practice event (www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/000000468.htm) accessed 19/09/2009. Calderhead (1989) defined reflection broadly as an encyclopaedism of attitudes and skills in thinking. It is a process of becoming aware of the influence of social and ideological assumptions, especially ethical and moral beliefs, behind professional practice. The two components are clearly no t discrete since good practice will, for example, incorporate of the practitioner eliciting the clients or expediency users reflections on the practice. The various processes of reflection as outlined particularly by Schon (1987) can be summarised as the analysis, synthesis, military rating and feeling. However, critical reflection transforms practice by challenging existing social, policy-making and cultural conditions (Clift et al., 1990). It involves ethical and moral criticism and judgements (www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/000000468.htm) accessed 19/09/2009. My practice learning experience at Age concern has challenge my knowledge and values in working with my supervisors, colleagues and service users and more importantly my experience acquired from FASU in my PLO1. At Age Concern the environment was quite friendly but intimidating and the workload was demanding as much was expected of me. However, by deploying reflective techniques such as self and peer assessment, reflect ive conversation, engaging in collaborative discussions with my team members and critically reflecting on my practice and professional development I got grip with the practice. I always engage in a reflective conversation with my supervisors and peers where I blend my theoretical knowledge acquired from perfunctory learning with my own personal experience to gain a greater understanding of situations. Schn (1987) is of the view that real life practice situations can be messy, involve uncertainty, and whitethorn challenge our preconceptions and beliefs. It is clear from Schns idea that a reflective practitioner requires uprighty and openness to engage in a critical reflective conversation. However, this level of openness may occasionally be problematic if students are required to share their reflections with supervisors or fellow students (www.learningmatters.co.uk/sampleChapters/) accessed 20/09/2009. Working with service users who are fifty years and above and experiencing social inequalities and deprivation in different circumstances was very challenging. My openness and honest attitude towards my service users helped me to record events in the right perspectives. Thereafter by critically reflecting on the actions taken during practice transforms my understanding of the theories and models and how to improve my social work practice. According to Fook (2002) critical reflection places emphasis and importance on an understanding of how a reflective stance uncovers power relations, and how structures of domination are created and maintained (www.courses.hull.ac.uk/modules/MA PLO induction session.html) accessed on 22/09/2009. My understanding of critical reflection coupled with a verifying learning environment at Age Concern, made me to appreciate better how theoretical knowledge and skills are vital to best social work practice. It seems to me that critical reflective practice offers a highly challenging paradigm of learning. It is more of inductive learnin g than a deductive learning as the case may be in formal learning contexts such as Higher upbringing Institutions. MERITS AND DEMERITS OF CRITICAL REFLECTICE PRACTICEUnder appropriate environmental conditions, critical reflective practice can help individual social workers and students to enhance their personal and professional development in practice. Appropriate conditions include a resistive environment, social workers circle to bear self-reflection, individual space for individual workers to undergo critical reflective practice, workers own reflective practice and awareness of ones limits and break of serve point (Yip, 2006). A supportive environment does not only intimate a supportive organizational context, including colleagues and supervisors but how it encourages empathic rapport that is significant for constructive self-reflection in reflective practice (Calderhead, 1989). It is obvious that mutual support and open sharing among colleagues is the best breeding ground for constructive critical self-reflection. Notwithstanding the supportive environment, the individual social workers open-mindedness is critical for spontaneous and critical self-reflection in reflective practice (Atkins and Murphy, 1993).Moreover, according to Fisher (1997) critical reflective practice is learning tool for social work students that provide solutions to a wide range of practice theories and models available and enables practitioner-learners to theorise their practice sketch on knowledge embedded in practice. The technique of critically reflecting on previous practice aim to promote the development of practitioners abilities to generate understanding of their practice, their theories of action and the values they hold. Another attraction of reflective practice is the anticipate that it seems to hold out for personal professional development and transfer of learning from one setting to another (Yip, 2006). Martyn (2001) argues that reflection can help people to mak e sense of the circumstances presented to social workers in complex situations, relating them to effect requirements (Payne, 2001). Critical reflective practice can be a recognize experience resulting in self-enhancement in both personal and professional development. Contrarily, disconfirming setting can mostly be destructive to many social work students self and professional development. Such unsupportive conditions include an despotic social environment, highly demanding working environment, social workers unresolved past experiences from previous learning placements as well as supervisors- students relationships. An oppressive environment implies a setting where there is an imbalance of power that is oppressive to the individual worker and discouraging professional development (Miehls and Moffatt, 2000). Sometimes it may be a highly critical supervisor, apathetic colleagues, a working team full of oppressive politics and dynamics, or insecurity and uncertainty in the social w orkers employment. In an oppressive environment, social workers may be obliged to stop their weaknesses and shortcomings or their unpleasant practice experiences to supervisors within the agency such manifestation may then be used against the worker as an vindicate to abuse, to exploit, to undermine and even to dismiss them (Yip, 2006).Secondly, critical self-reflection in reflective practice demands that social workers subject their inner space and autonomy to self-analysis and self-evaluation (Boyd and Fales, 1983). Self-observation and self-dialogue also demand reflective distance that originates from the social workers own initiative and readiness (Voegelin, 2000 cited in Yip, 2006). However, a demanding workload in terms of a many caseloads, diversity of work, challenging clients may cause exhaustion and stress. This makes critical self-reflection in such settings a real nightmare and may be more of an additional burden rather than to assist the social worker or student.CON CLUSIONIn conclusion, this essay is an attempt to summarise my understanding of critical reflective social work practice and how it impact on my professional development as a social worker. My practice learning at Age Concern shows that related parties, such as supervisors, agency administrators, social work colleagues or social workers need to create appropriate conditions and relationships for social workers in training to develop their skills and knowledge on critical reflective practice. When social work students critically reflect on challenging issues in their placement, they develop the requisite skills and knowledge which could impact positively on the lives of service users. In reflective practice, social work students are to be encouraged to undergo self-reflection to develop models and theories that would enhance their social work practice. On the other hand, related parties should also be careful to avoid inappropriate conditions that may create possible limitations to t he professional and self-development of social workers. Moreover, other researches emphasize on how different conditions affect the self-reflection process of social work students in reflective social work practice. In summary under appropriate conditions, social workers critical self-reflection can be very constructive, resulting in self-enhancement, leading to profit in social work practice and enables students to plan and focus on what they need to do to improve social imbalance in society. REFERENCESAtkins S. and Murphy, K. (1993) Reflection a review of literature ledger of Advanced Nursing, 18, pp. 1188-1192.Boyd E. M. and Fales, A. W. 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