The literature in this section provides insight into how experiential knowledge is theorised, and the range of different approaches that are used to frame and make sense of how experiential knowledge can be and is being used to achieve personalised and inclusive higher education. The literature provides a range of perspectives to understand the concept of integrating experiential knowledge in the training of social workers and nurses.
Adamson, K., Goulden, A., Logan, J. and Hammond, J. (2022) Service user involvement in social work education: a scoping review, Social Work Education, 43 (2), 373-392, https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2022.2097213
Abstract
Service user involvement in social work education is well-established in some regions and a new developing approach in others. For instance, since policy reform in 2002, it has been customary for service users and carers to be involved in critical aspects of professional social work education in the UK. Yet, expansion in North American contexts has been limited. The scope and extensiveness of service user involvement are increasingly varied, regardless of mandatory or voluntary educational standards. This scoping review mapped and synthesized literature from 2010 to 2018 on service user and carer involvement in social work education to identify innovative approaches and their effectiveness in practice. We used a scoping review protocol to select 35 studies and assessed the studies using a framework for the evaluation of educational programmes. Although most studies were published in the UK, there was greater representation from other regions than previously reported. The findings suggest that social work programs are adopting various approaches to integrate service users in social work education and innovative research methodologies for evaluation. The implications for social work education and practice are discussed.
Alford, K. R., Stedman, N. L. P., Bunch, J. J. C., Baker, S. and Grady Roberts, T. (2024) ‘Real-World Experiences in Higher Education: Contributing to Developing a Systems Thinking Paradigm’, Journal of Experiential Education, https://doi.org/10.1177/10538259241259626
Abstract
Background: Systems thinking has been proposed as a means to address complex and wicked problems. Systems thinking involves moving beyond looking at an issue from a static perspective and seeing interrelationships between parts and wholes. Students will be better prepared to handle the complexity of the world if they develop a systems thinking paradigm. Yet, little research exists on how individuals develop a systems thinking paradigm. Purpose: This phenomenological research study focuses on “What real-world experiences contribute to developing a systems thinking paradigm?” Methodology/Approach: Phenomenological interviews were conducted with 11 faculty affiliated with the University of Florida School of Natural Resources and the Environment. Data were coded using Colaizzi’s seven-step approach. Findings/Conclusions: The essence of the study was that real-world experiences contribute to developing a systems thinking paradigm. Fieldwork, laboratory, and research experience develop the knowledge needed to understand the concept of complexity. Immersive academic experiences create opportunities for people to interact with others who have varying perspectives. Nonacademic work in the real world gives people a holistic view of the system. Implications: It is recommended that faculty focus on incorporating real-world experiences into their pedagogy and obtain support to create these opportunities.
Biesta, G. (2020) ‘Risking ourselves in education: qualification, socialisation, and subjectification revisited’, Educational Theory, 70 (1), 89-104, https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.12411
Abstract
In previous publications, Gert Biesta has suggested that education should be oriented toward three domains of purpose that he calls qualification, socialization, and subjectification. Many educators, policymakers, and scholars have found this suggestion helpful. Nonetheless, the discussion about the exact nature of each domain and about their relationships to each other has been ongoing, particularly with regard to the domain of subjectification. In this article, Biesta revisits the three domains and tries to provide further clarification with regard to the idea of subjectification. He highlights that subjectification has to do with the existence of the child or student as subject of her or his own life, not as object of educational interventions. Subjectification thus has to do with the question of freedom. Biesta explains that this is not the freedom to do what one wants to do, but the freedom to act in and with the world in a “grown-up” way.
Dumitrache, S. D. and Lazăr, F. (2023) ‘‘I learned to better understand those around me and myself’: The impact of an elective course of self-reflection, personal and professional growth on social work students’, European Journal of Social Work, 26 (4), 721-733, https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2022.2128723
Abstract
Through this paper, we aim to emphasise the impact of a Self-reflection, personal and professional growth seminar on the personal and professional development of social work students (n = 110, from the third year of study). We invited the students to keep a diary during the semester in which they recorded their personal reflections and to provide feedback on the impact of the seminar at the end of this elective course. Based on a thematic analysis of their feedback notes and diaries, five main categories emerged as significant: self-reflection and personal development acquisitions; relevance of the seminar for the social work domain; seminar content; interest in the professor/trainer; and the question of whether they would recommend the seminar to others. At the end of the seminar, the participants showed greater awareness regarding their own strengths and capabilities and also with regard to the impact that their own personal life scenarios may have on their work. Our findings highlight the role of experiential self-reflection, personal and professional optimisation programmes in improving future social workers’ readiness to cope with the stress associated with their future work.
Freire, P. (1970) Pedagogy of the Oppressed, London, Penguin Random House.
Abstract
Arguing that ‘education is freedom’, Paulo Freire’s radical international classic contends that traditional teaching styles keep the poor powerless by treating them as passive, silent recipients of knowledge. Grounded in Freire’s own experience teaching impoverished and illiterate students in his native Brazil and over the world, this pioneering book instead suggests that through co-operation, dialogue and critical thinking, every human being can develop a sense of self and fulfil their right to be heard.
Karbouniaris, S., Abma, T., Wilken, J. P., Weerman, A. (2020) ‘Use of experiential knowledge by mental health professionals and its contribution to recovery: literature review’, Journal of Recovery in Mental Health, 4:1, 2371-2376
Abstract
Objective: This article explores the use of experiential knowledge by traditional mental health professionals and the possible contribution to the recovery of service users. Design and Methods: The review identified scientific publications from a range of sources and disciplines. Initial searches were undertaken in databases PsycINFO, PubMed, and Cochrane using specific near operator search strategies and inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: Fifteen articles were selected. These were published in a broad range of mental health and psychology journals reporting research in western countries. In the selected articles, a varying conceptualization of experiential knowledge was found, differing from therapeutic self-disclosure embedded in psychotherapeutic contexts to a relational and destigmatizing use in recovery-oriented practices. Nurses and social workers especially are speaking out about their own experiences with mental health distress. Experiential knowledge stemming from lived experience affects the professional’s identity and the system. Only a few studies explored the outcomes for service users’ recovery. Conclusion: A small body of literature reports about the use of experiential knowledge by mental health professionals. The mental health system is still in transformation to meaningfully incorporate the lived experience perspective from traditional professionals. There is little data available on the value for the recovery of service users. This data indicates positive outcomes, such as new understandings of recovery, feeling recognized and heard, and increased hope, trust, and motivation. More research about the meaning of experiential knowledge for the recovery of service users is desirable.
Kolb, D. (1984) Experiential Learning: experience as the source of learning and development, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall.
Abstract
Experiential learning is a powerful and proven approach to teaching and learning that is based on one incontrovertible reality: people learn best through experience. Now, in this extensively updated book, David A. Kolb offers a systematic and up-to-date statement of the theory of experiential learning and its modern applications to education, work, and adult development.
Laging, M., Heidenreich, T. (2019) ‘Towards a Conceptual Framework of Service User Involvement in Social Work Education: Empowerment and Educational Perspectives’, Journal of Social Work Education, 55 (1), 11-22, https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2018.1498417
Abstract
A topic that has recently gained widespread attention in social work education is service user involvement (SUI), a term denoting the call to include users of social work services in teaching social work students. Despite the widespread use of the term SUI, this label includes a wide variety of approaches with different aims and scopes. A conceptual framework that distinguishes empowerment from educational perspectives in current SUI approaches is proposed, and a number of elements that should be discussed in each of these perspectives are introduced: theoretical background, role and tasks of the institution, areas of implementation and role of service users, and effects of SUI and their assessment. Implications for further SUI projects and research approaches are discussed.
McLaughlin, H, Beresford P., Casey H, Cameron C and Duffy J (2021), The International handbook of Service User Involvement in Human Services Research and Education, Routledge, London.
Abstract
Worldwide, there has been a growth in service user involvement in education and research in recent years. This handbook is the first book which identifies what is happening in different regions of the world to provide different countries and client groups with the opportunity to learn from each other. The book is divided into five sections: Section One examines service user involvement in context exploring theoretical issues which underpin service user involvement. In Section Two we focus on the state of service user involvement in human services education and research across the globe including examples of innovative practice, but also identifying examples of where it is not happening and why. Section Three offers more detailed examination of such involvement in a wide range of professional education learning settings. Section Four focuses on the involvement of service users in research involving a wide range of service user groups and situations. Lastly, Section Five explores future challenges for education and research to ensure involvement remains meaningful.
Warren, K. and Mitten, D. and Loeffler, T. A. (2009) (Eds.), Theory and practice of experiential education (4th ed.), Association for Experiential Education.
Abstract
In the early days of the Association for Experiential Education, it was often noted that experiential education was experience rich but theory poor. In 1985, the Association for Experiential Education (AEE) published the first edition of this book to help rectify the dilemma. We are pleased to introduce the 4th edition of the original text, which has been re-titled Theory & Practice of Experiential Education. The relationship between theory and practice in experiential education rests on a profound creative tension. As we become more theory based in the application of experiential education, it is essential to maintain the delicate balance between theory and practice. Theory informs practice, while practice tests and refines theory. This book is an attempt to offer the richness of theory that clarifies practice. Since that first edition was published back in 1985, there have been some key developments in the theory of experiential education, and the editors of this volume have strived to make this edition reflective of that evolution. The classic chapters retained from previous editions give the reader a sense of both the timelessness and progression of ideas about experiential education. Some of the new chapters cover topics such as multiple intelligence theory, constructivism, brain-based learning theory, educational reform, and facilitation analysis. Yet others critique how experiential education is articulated and practiced, offering new theories and methods. The result is an excellent teaching resource for undergraduate and graduate courses about education theory and courses specifically in experiential education. It is the editors hope that educators will make this book their own by using the articles that work for their teaching style and students in an order that fits their course progression.