The literature in this section covers approaches to monitoring and evaluating the integration of experiential knowledge in social work and nursing education. This incorporates literature evidencing impact on students’ learning, on lecturers, and the service users and carers, and the development of inclusive education.
Happell, B., Platania-Phung, C., Scholz, B., Bocking, J., Horgan, A., Manning, F., Doody, R., Hals, E., Granerud, A., Lahti, M., Pullo, J., Vatula, A., Koski, J., van der Vaart, K.J., Allon, J., Griffin, M., Russell, S., MacGabhann, L., Bjornsson, E., Biering, P. (2019) ‘Changing attitudes: The impact of Expert by Experience involvement in Mental Health Nursing Education: An international survey study’, International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 28 (2), 480-491, https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12551
Abstract
Reform to nursing education is essential to ensure future generations of nurses are strongly positioned to value, know, and deliver strength‐based, recovery‐oriented mental health practice. A promising pathway to effectively drive reform is the coproduction of curricula by nursing academics and people with lived experience of recovery from mental distress referred to as Experts by Experience. The Co‐production in Mental Health Nursing Education (COMMUNE) project is an international collaboration for development and implementation of consumer coproduced curricula. This study evaluated the inclusion of Expert by Experience‐led mental health nursing education on nursing students’ attitudes to people labelled with mental illness, mental health nursing, and consumer participation. A repeated self‐report measure design was implemented in Australia, Ireland, and Finland to ascertain level of generalizability of consumer involvement within undergraduate nursing programmes. Data were collected from nursing students (n = 194) immediately before and after the education module, using three self‐report instruments on attitudes (Mental Health Nurse Education Survey, Consumer Participation Questionnaire, and Opening Minds Scale). Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Eighty‐nine per cent of the 27 points of change reflected more favourable and accepting attitudinal change. Of these, 41% were significant at Bonferroni adjusted alpha of 0.0025. There was a statistically significant increase in preparedness for practice in the mental health field in each of the three countries. The most pronounced change is related to the social and systemic inclusion of people with a diagnostic label and recovery‐oriented care more broadly.
Hatton, K. (2017) ‘A critical examination of the knowledge contribution service user and carer involvement brings to social work education’, Social Work Education, 36 (2), 154-171, https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2016.1254769
Abstract
Service user/carer involvement in social work education is supported by the Health Care Professions Council and currently, by the Department of Health. It is generally seen as beneficial but the reasons why this may be the case are often under-theorised and seen as un-problematic. This article seeks to provide a theoretical justification for an approach which values involvement as central to educational practice. It begins by looking at models of participation and how they can help us understand processes of involvement. It suggests that to move beyond tokenistic approaches we need to develop an approach which is based on equality and partnership. Drawing on European approaches to social pedagogy, particularly those utilising ‘the Common Third’, and debates around creativity and social power the article articulates an approach based on the co-production of curricula and assessment artefacts. This, the paper suggests, tests the students ability to empathise and communicate with people using services and utilises the latters’ personal expertise to bring the curricula alive. The article outlines a theory of creativity, inclusion and power which the author believes validates the approach developed and which provides a model for evaluating the real level of recognition given to the service user/carer voice within the educational process, particularly in social work education. It is suggested that such an approach is consistent with the social work professions’ commitment to the promotion of social justice and social change.
Irvine, J., Molyneux, J., Gillman, M. (2015) ‘’Providing a link with the real world’: learning from the student experience of service user and carer involvement in social work education’, Social Work Education, 34 (2), 138-150, https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2014.957178
Abstract
Social work has long placed an emphasis on involving users and carers in the education of practitioners, an emphasis driven by service users and carers themselves, the value base of social work, and by policy and legislation from successive governments and regulatory bodies. Recent changes in regulation and professional standards in social work suggest a continuing commitment to service user and carer involvement. This paper argues that in order to ensure a sustainable commitment, there needs to be greater evidence of the value and purpose of such involvement. Whilst there is a considerable body of literature on this issue in social work education, little focus is on any impact on current and future practice of social work students. The paper discusses a research project addressing this issue from the perspective of social work students. Findings suggest that the involvement of service users and carers in their training was perceived by students as overwhelmingly positive, should be enhanced and that they believed that these experiences were taken forward in their practice. The paper also identifies key points that could inform best educational practice.
Odejimi, O., Lang, L. and Serrant, L. (2021) ‘Optimising service user and carers involvement in nursing and social work pre-registration degrees’, Nurse Education Today, 107, 105-128, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2021.105128
Abstract
The awareness of the contribution of service users and carers’ involvement in nursing and social work pre-registration degree education continues to grow. This study explored ways of optimising its beneficial outcomes to students, service users/carers and academic staff. A phenomenology qualitative approach was employed. The study sample was drawn from service users/carers involved in students’ education, and adult nursing and social work degree students and academic staff. A total of 38 participants took part. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather views, which was then thematically analysed. This study identified factors that can optimise the beneficial outcomes of service users and carers’ involvement to students, service users/carers and academic staff in Adult nursing and Social work pre-registration degree. The findings of this study support the value of service users’ and carers’ involvement in undergraduate nursing and social work education and offer strategies which support best practice, and optimise and sustain the efficacy and benefits of this approach in a higher education setting. An understanding of issues related to optimising service user and carer involvement may assist in the development of strategies that continue to make service users and carers’ involvement in nursing and social work pre-registration degree effective and meaningful to students, service users/carers and academic staff.
O’ Donnell, H., Gormley, K. (2013) ‘Service user involvement in nurse education: perceptions of mental health nursing students’, Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 20 (3), 193-202, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2850.2012.01917.x
Abstract
Increasingly providers of mental health nurse education are required to demonstrate user involvement in all aspects of these programmes including student selection, programme design and student assessment. There has been limited analysis of how nursing students perceive user involvement in nurse education programmes. The aim of this study has been to explore mental health nursing student’s perceptions of involving users in all aspects of pre-registration mental health nursing programme. Researchers completed a number of focus group interviews with 12 ex-mental health nursing students who had been recruited by purposeful sampling. Each focus group interview was recorded and analysed using a series of data reduction, data display and verification methods. The study confirms many of the findings reported in earlier user participation in education studies. Three main themes related to user involvement have been identified: the protection of users, enhanced student learning and the added value benefits associated with user involvement.
Raikes, B., Balen, R. (2016) ‘The benefits of prisoner participation in interdisciplinary learning’, Social Work Education, 35 (8), 933-944, https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2016.1244261
Abstract
This paper considers the provision of an inter-disciplinary workshop day held for Social Work, Police and Nursing students at a UK university. The focus of the day was to give the students an insight into the reality of being a mother in prison, and the impact that having a mother in prison has upon children. A key feature of the day was the involvement of a group of imprisoned mothers from an open prison, who shared their experiences and engaged with students in small groups. The workshop allowed the stereotypes that the prisoners and student professionals held in relation to one another to be challenged. The planning, aims, process and outcomes of the day are considered along with feedback from those taking part. Students reported increased awareness of the stigma faced by this often overlooked vulnerable group of service users, an increased recognition of the needs of children with mothers in prison and an appreciation of the power of interdisciplinary working to deliver a good service. The imprisoned mothers welcomed the chance to educate the students about the issues faced by themselves and their children, and they found the experience of participating to be positive and empowering.
Rooney, J.M., Unwin, P.F., Osborne, N. (2016) ‘Gaining by giving? Peer research into service user and carer perceptions of inclusivity in Higher education’, Social Work Education, 35 (8), 945-959, https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2016.1227314
Abstract
Service users and carers (SUAC) have made significant contributions to professional training in social work courses in Higher Education (HE) over the past decade in the UK. Such participation has been championed by government, academics and SUAC groups from a range of theoretical and political perspectives. Most research into the effectiveness of SUAC involvement at HE has come from the perspectives of academics and very little SUAC-led research exists. This qualitative peer research was led by two members of the University of Worcester’s SUAC group. Findings were that SUAC perceived their involvement brought benefits to students, staff, the University and the local community. Significant personal benefits such as finding a new support network, increased self-development and greater confidence to manage their own care were identified in ways that suggested that the benefits that can flow from SUAC involvement at HE are perhaps more far-reaching than previously recognised. Barriers to inclusion were less than previously reported in the literature and the humanising effects of SUAC involvement are presented as a partial antidote to an increasingly marketised HE culture.
Tanner, D., Littlechild, R., Duffy, J., Hayes, D. (2017) ‘’ Making it real’: evaluating the impact of service user and carer involvement in social work education’, British Journal of Social Work, 47 (2), 467-486, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcv121
Abstract
Service user and carer involvement (SUCI) in social work education in England is required by the profession’s regulator, the Health and Care Professions Council. However, a recent study of 83 HEIs in England reported that despite considerable progress in SUCI, there is no evidence that the learning derived from it is being transferred to social work practice. In this article we describe a study that examines the question: ‘What impact does SUCI have on the skills, knowledge and values of student social workers at the point of qualification and beyond?’ Students at universities in England and Northern Ireland completed online questionnaires and participated in focus groups, spanning a period immediately pre-qualification and between six to nine months post-qualification. From our findings, we identify four categories that influence the impact of service user involvement on students’ learning: student factors; service user and carer factors; programme factors; and practice factors; each comprises of a number of sub-categories. We propose that the model developed can be used by social work educators, service user and carer contributors and practitioners to maximise the impact of SUCI. We argue that our findings also have implications for employment-based learning routes and post-qualifying education.
Tobbell, J., Boduszek, D., Kola-Palmer, S., Vaughan, J., Hargreaves, J. (2018) ‘Evaluating service user pedagogy in UK higher education: validating the Huddersfield Service User Pedagogy Scale’, Nurse Education Today, 63, 81-86, DOI: 10.1016/j.nedt.2018.01.014
Abstract
Background: There is global recognition that the inclusion of service users in the education of health and social care students in higher education can lead to more compassionate professional identities which will enable better decision making. However, to date there is no systematic tool to explore learning and service user involvement in the curriculum.
Objectives: To generate and validate a psychometric instrument which will allow educators to evaluate service user pedagogy.
Design: Construction and validation of a new scale.
Participants and settings: 365 undergraduate students from health and social care departments in two universities.
Results: A two correlated factor scale. Factor 1 – perceived presence of service users in the taught curriculum and factor 2 – professionals and service users working together (correlation between factor 1 and factor 2 – r = 0.32).
Conclusions: The Huddersfield Service User Pedagogy Scale provides a valid instrument for educators to evaluate student learning. In addition, the tool can contribute to student reflections on their shifting professional identities as they progress through their studies.
Unwin, P., Rooney, J., Cole, C. (2018) ‘Service user and carer involvement in students’ classroom learning in higher education’, Journal of Further and Higher Education, 42 (3), 377-388,
https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2017.1281886
Abstract
The following article presents a small-scale qualitative study in which the student learning experiences from service user and carer (SUAC) involvement in social work, mental health nursing and social welfare courses at an English university were evaluated for any effects on student perceptions, knowledge, skills and practice. Using focus group methodology, student participants reported positive outcomes from exposure to SUAC classroom inputs such as a greater valuing of SUAC knowledge as expert knowledge, help with the development of empathy and an appreciation of constructive challenges to mainstream curricular delivery. Notes of caution were identified, particularly in respect of the sometimes unexpected levels of emotion displayed by SUAC presenters. Recommendations for meaningful SUAC involvement in higher education are made regarding the need to involve SUACs across the whole duration of a course; the need for the preparation of both students and presenters regarding boundaries; the fit of presentations with intended learning outcomes; more partnership delivery in classrooms between academics and SUACs (possibly with a differentiation between theoretical and practice inputs); the opportunities for SUACs to present their own situations as real rather than hypothetical case studies for students and the possibilities that may result from introducing a ‘buddying’ system between students and SUACs throughout their studies. It is suggested that the insights from this small-scale study merit further exploration on a larger scale if policy and practice in the field of service and user involvement in higher education are to move forward in an inclusive manner.