“…I actually felt it was my failing…” Why Practice Assessors’ Do Not Fail Students in Practice Learning Settings NOPT Conference 21 st and 22 nd June 2010 Jo Finch

Overview of Presentation Professional Context Brief Overview of Research Research Questions Methodology, Methods, Data Analysis and Theoretical Frameworks Brief Overview of Existing Literature The Stories Some Implications Possible Ways Forward Conclusions Questions

Professional Context Senior Lecturer in Social Work - University of East London Associate Lecturer - University of Sussex Freelance Practice Assessor and Mentor Former C&F Social Worker and Play Therapist

Brief Overview of Research Research undertaken as part of Professional Doctorate in Social Work (University of Sussex) Began …and was interested in something to do with practice teaching… …finally completed after 6 long years and a baby later!

Research Questions What are practice teachers/assessors experience of and understanding of the process/issues in the assessment of marginal or failing social work students? How do practice teachers/assessors effect their final recommendations? What might impact on the practice teachers/assessors’ decision-making process? On what basis do practice teachers/assessors choose to pass/refer or fail a student. Do practice teachers/assessors give marginal students “the benefit of the doubt”? Does the system of the assessment of social work students make fail recommendations rare/impossible/difficult?

Research Questions What are practice teachers/assessors experience of and understanding of the process/issues in the assessment of marginal or failing social work students? How do practice teachers/assessors effect their final recommendations? What might impact on the practice teachers/assessors’ decision-making process? On what basis do practice teachers/assessors choose to pass/refer or fail a student. Do practice teachers/assessors give marginal students “the benefit of the doubt”? Does the system of the assessment of social work students make fail recommendations rare/impossible/difficult? By end of the journey, this had changed to

Research Questions What are practice teachers/assessors experience of and understanding of the process/issues in the assessment of marginal or failing social work students? How do practice teachers/assessors effect their final recommendations? What might impact on the practice teachers/assessors’ decision-making process? On what basis do practice teachers/assessors choose to pass/refer or fail a student. Do practice teachers/assessors give marginal students “the benefit of the doubt”? Does the system of the assessment of social work students make fail recommendations rare/impossible/difficult? By end of the journey, this had changed to Why Do Practice Assessors Find it Difficult to Fail Students?

Methodology, Methods, Data Analysis and Theoretical Frameworks Qualitative (Ethnographic, narrative and life story, practitioner-researcher) Based on 20 in-depth interviews with practice assessors Data analysed using “Voice Centred Relational Method” Findings presented as “stories” Psychodynamic and Transactional Analytical Perspectives employed (i.e Klein, Bion, Berne, Karpman)

Brief Overview of Literature – PAs find it difficult/hard to fail students because: PAs not using competency model of assessment appropriately (Kemshall, 1993; Eraut, 1994; Shardow and Doel; 1996, Furness and Gilligan, 2004; Shapton, 2006) Role strain or confusion (Fisher, 1990: Proctor, 1993;Owens, 1995; Cowburn et al, 2000, Duffy, 2004) Procedures for dealing with placement issues, not being followed properly (Illot and Murphey, 1999; Burgess et al, 1998a, 1998b; Duffy, 2004; Vacha- Haase et al, 2004; Kaslow et al 2007) PAs not adequately supported by agency and/or HEI (Sharp and Danbury, 1999; Finch, 2004b; Vacha-Haase et al, 2004 ) Fear of litigation (Duffy, 2004; Cole, 1991; Cole and Lewis, 2003; Royse, 2000; Raymond, 2000; Vacha-Haase et al, 2004)s Rule of Optimism (Vacha-Haase, et al 2004; Finch, 2005) Hope that things “sort themselves out” without intervention (Good et al, 1995; Hoffman et al. 2004)

The Stories…..

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter THE ANGRY STORY The Dramatic Event Story The Guilty Story The Lack of Reflection Story The Internalising Failure so I Couldn’t Always Failure them Story The Idealised Learner Story The What is My Role/Assessment Story

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter THE ANGRY STORY “I was really pissed off with him….I felt angry”. (Claire) “I was just very angry at times….I was angry with the student.” (Jenny) “…and I did actually think the next time you shout at me, I might actually shout back at you because who the fuck do you think you are…” (Daisy)

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter THE ANGRY STORY So I went and had a meeting at the university after things had broken down to discuss it, they did not, they were only interested in what he [the student] had to say… (Katie) “Us and them” “A surreptitious discouragement of failure” Not being heard by the tutor Feeling intimidated by the university Why did the University send us such shit students? “Preserving its red brick status”

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter THE ANGRY STORY Creates parent-child dynamics Anger as a defence mechanism Transference – students pain Drama triangle Lack of containment – lose reflective ability Conflictual role of PA – cannot bring split together Increases feelings of guilt Angry that cannot “save” student It’s the HEIs “fault”.

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter THE ANGRY STORY Creates parent-child dynamics …he [student] took on the role of a child sometimes and puppy dog. I’m the weak one and you're the strong one and it will be in your hands and you’re the supervisor…[it] carried on, the puppy dog eyes.

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Dramatic Event Story Students being “caught out” – not visiting service users Staff saying “enough”. …what I was going to do was to ask for her placement to be extended a bit but when I tried to discuss it with her, she threw a hysterical fit…which I sorted with the ambulance being called…if it had been one of my clients I would have recommended a psychiatric assessment…she was hyperventilating and throwing herself on the floor…she was kicking the locker…

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Dramatic Event Story Can be “positive” – forces PA and/or HEI into action – anger can be legitimised Can be used as a justification to end the placement i.e tangible evidence But perhaps not managing difficulties appropriately leads to dramatic event What happens if dramatic event comes too early in the placement? Is dramatic event perceived by all as “dramatic”.

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Dramatic Event Story Can be used as a justification to end the placement i.e tangible evidence “…he stood in reception when other service users were around and he made a reference to bum- fucking…and I just said, enough, and I asked him to leave the placement”. (Lily)

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Idealised Learner Story Concern about “passive” learners “Learned Helplessness” Fantasy of student not realised I was thinking that…I am going to have a student who will take responsibility…that was my fantasy that I was going to have somebody that would just…kind of gel, adapt to the team…come with a variety of knowledge…up to date Good Learners and Bad Learners

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Idealised Learner Story How does the gap between expectation and reality about the student as a learner impact on the assessment? PA over compensates and focuses on forcing student to become the good learner? Which encourages further dependency and passivity in student? Student becomes angry if the PA withdraws “spoon feeding”?

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Idealised Learner Story How does the gap between expectation and reality about the student as a learner impact on the assessment? PA over compensates and focuses on forcing student to become the good learner? Which encourages further dependency and passivity in student? Student becomes angry if the PA withdraws “spoon feeding”? What happens if the student plays the game of a good student? Student may be labelled as “nice” Appears to acknowledge concerns but still does not actually address them. How much development over the placement is required?

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Idealised Learner Story How does the gap between expectation and reality about the student as a learner impact on the assessment? PA over compensates and focuses on forcing student to become the good learner? Which encourages further dependency and passivity in student? Student becomes angry if the PA withdraws “spoon feeding”? Student may be labelled as “nice” “…she was lovely and she was really willing but she just wasn’t very bright and she just couldn’t do it…she was not literate…She was very mumsy..and was well liked and the service users responded really well to her and we all responded really well to her…” (Lily) “…he [student] was poisonous…he was venomous…he was a flipping nightmare”. (Tim)

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Guilt Story “…and then the guilt really set in….the sacrifices she’s made…this is her livelihood, her career and its all my fault…what about her children…I felt like I am a rotten shit.” (Daisy) “it was the first fail, I felt terribly guilty, I felt really…I had sleepless nights, felt quite sick, I felt incredibly guilty….” (Claire)

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Guilty Story Ignore concerns? Do not address concerns in timely manner? Explains the feelings of anger? Result of role strain? Movement from good parent to bad parent? PA is hurting somebody, “ending their dream”? Student may have difficult circumstances?

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Guilty Story PA is hurting somebody, “ending their dream”? “…all I know is that everyone else in her [student] year were out on their placement and she’s not but at the end of the day it was her livelihood, her career, it could have been the end of her career, oh my god, what about her children”. (Daisy)

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Internalising Failure so I Couldn’t Always Failure them Story “I actually felt it was my failing because I wasn’t getting it [evidence] out of her….” (Martha) That was the issue I was struggling with through this whole thing. How much of her failure was my fault? (Terry) “I would say probably 90% of the time, if a student fails, there’s something wrong with the practice teacher”. (Terry) Ignored initial misgivings or gut feelings Discourse of “we” and “our work” emerges

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Internalising Failure so I Couldn’t Always Failure them Story My fault – could have done something differently. Recognition that perhaps did not manage situation effectively Lack of timely intervention Can not save student Waiting for bus – too much of self invested Ignored initial misgivings Over compensation Discourse of “we” or “our” work

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Internalising Failure so I Couldn’t Always Failure them Story Can not save student “…I still feel that I must have done something wrong with that one because I couldn’t enable him or work with him to see why his way of thinking was inappropriate in social work, never mind in society”. (Lily) “..I think the team just felt helpless in a way. They felt…they couldn’t see what they could do to turn it around.” (Tim)

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Lack of Reflection Story Transference/Counter transference Mirroring Parallel processes Projective Identification “…out of my depth…I felt really out of my depth…I was completely out of my depth at that point” (Lily) Lack of containment “A nameless dread”

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Lack of Reflection Story Lack of insight into the emotional aspects of teaching/learning relationship Did not acknowledge sources of intense feelings or use them to aid the student Instead, PAs internalised these uncomfortable feelings Lack of containment Unnamed fear of failing students with disabilities or from BME backgrounds Everyone in network looses reflective ability and engages in some degree of projective identification

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The Lack of Reflection Story Did not acknowledge sources of intense feelings or use them to aid the student Everyone in network looses reflective ability and engages in some degree of projective identification “I was incredibly confident with the successful engaged students but with the difficult students my confidence levels went down a lot…I was anxious…I was worried.” (Lily)

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The What is My Role/Assessment Story “…there was a clash for me between the facilitator of learning role and the kind of management roles.” (Lily) “…you can sometimes be drawn into that role, often as a rescuer…at the same time you can be perceived as a persecutor..I rely on my boundaries..establishing…you are not here to heal, you’re here to learn” (Andrew). “…there was almost like a maternal feeling about the facilitation of learning but the flipside of that was when I had to become the kind of teller-off or the person who was making judgments…I did struggle with that”. (Lily)

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The What is My Role/Assessment Story Lack of understanding about role Role strain/confusion Lack of explicit acknowledgment of gate keeping function Lack of theory to guide assessment work Lack of clarity about “what is good enough”. Shoehorning own implicit criteria about competency into key roles

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The What is My Role/Assessment Story Lack of clarity about “what is good enough”. I – So how might you identify a student at risk of failing? R - …I don’t know how to answer that one. Just real poor practice but then what is poor practice? You know I don’t know…I know it when I see it but I can’t put it into words.

The Stories – forms basis of my findings chapter The What is My Role/Assessment Story Gate Keepers? “I also feel as a practice teacher you also have some responsibility to…the people who are likely to be served by the students”. (Peter)

Other factors why PAs find it Difficult to Fail Disability Ethnicity Religion Gender, Sexuality, Class, Age What is “reasonable adjustment? Fear of failing student with a disability Fear of failing students from BME backgrounds BME PAs guilt at failing BME students Concern about disproportionate no.s of African students failing Difficulty reconciling religious beliefs with social work values Lack of information given by HEIs Professional Discourse v. religious discourse Needs further exploration

PAs who appeared to find process of failing students easier thus: 5/20 Explicitly acknowledged gate keeping role and implications. Acknowledged potential for role confusion, yet had brought “split” together. Clarity around boundaries and role of PA Expectations of student as an “adult learner” Clear differentiation between your work and my work Reflective approach – lack of drama – saw experience as a learning opportunity 4 of 5 were/had been ASWs

Some implications…. Assessment of a student and assessment of a service user, same or different? Are students being passed who should not? Yes How can practice assessors’ become reflective and self aware? Current PQ frameworks – opportunity or threat?

Some implications…. Are students being passed who should not? Yes In 2 cases, the evidence strongly suggested the students should fail, but they were passed 2 examples of students getting further opportunity to do a placement (refer) when evidence suggested they should be failed. 3 examples of students passing when evidence was suggestive of a refer. 6 examples, of PAs recommendations of Fail not upheld by HEI

Possible Ways Forward? Move towards team approach to assessment of students – away from singleton model. Mentor support for student in danger of “failing”? Real and meaningful support for PAs. CPD requirements for PAs? Disclosure of sensitive information protocols PAs reflective toolkit – pilot HEI/Role of tutor clarified

At last – conclusion PAs don’t fail students because: Get caught up in “drama” and loose reflective ability Lack of insight into dynamics Internalise students failing as their own Suffer from “role strain” Under-developed and under-theorised understanding of assessment process Do not acknowledge gate keeping role Own unacknowledged notions of competency, shoe horned into key roles

Any Questions

Thank you for listening Please feel free to me:

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