Professor Bernard Moss

1. Professor Bernard Moss • Professor of Social Work Education and Spirituality • Senior Fellow & National Teaching Fellow, Higher Education Academy • Director: Centre for Spirituality and Health

2. Teaching the un-teachable? Introducing social work students to the concept of spirituality

4. Setting the scene • Spirituality is a relative newcomer to the social work scene • In the UK at least there is a degree of scepticism, even hostility • Fears : religion through the backdoor • We fought hard for our professional academic integrity and we have no intention of losing it

5. Teaching the un-teachable? • Happy? • Uncertain? • Bewildered? • Hostile?

6. Setting the scene • Internationally, there is a somewhat different ‘feel’ to it • Admittedly some major cultural differences exist between UK and USA for example • BUT international social work has begun to take the issue seriously

7. Setting the scene • .. In October 2004 the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and the International Federation of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) held their conferences jointly in Adelaide. For the first time, a major stream of papers focused on the topic of spirituality.

8. In the same year, in its revised statement of principles, the IFSW affirmed that social workers should uphold each person’s ‘spiritual integrity and well-being’ (IFSW, 2004). In their jointly formulated global standards, both organizations insisted that spiritual issues are part of the knowledge base needed by social workers to understand human behaviour and development (IASSW & IFSW 2004)

9. Spirituality as a core theme for social work had arrived on the global social work agenda. • But not really in the UK, apart from a few pioneering colleagues

10. How to tackle the issue • Work was needed on two fronts 1) developing a theoretical framework 2) finding ways of putting onto the student agenda

11. The Student Agenda • in USA it was student pressure that was instrumental in getting spirituality into the social work curricula – they had felt ill-equipped to work in a multi-faith society • Some anecdotal evidence in the UK that students, especially those who belong to faith communities, were feeling short-changed

12. How to engage students • busy over-crowded curriculum • we tried some voluntary workshops – very powerful and much appreciated but it did not put the theme onto the curriculum in any formal way = minority interest • nor was it assessed - • “not assessed? then don’t bother!”

13. The cunning plan • One element of the Skills for Social Work module was a group presentation worth 30% of the final mark. * The presentation was designed to assess students’ group/team working skills, and their ability to make a formal presentation as a team

14. A PBL approach • Each group ( 24) was divided into sub groups of 8 • Each sub group worked together using the Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach • They had 5 weeks to research the presenting issue, and to prepare their presentation.

15. Scenario • You are members of a multi-disciplinary mental health team • The manager has received a complaint from a service user that his religious and spiritual needs were being ignored by his worker. • The team manager has tasked this team with preparing a report on this issue, and with producing some recommendations for action.

16. The team was required to present their report to the team manager and a couple of his colleagues on an agreed date. • The panel assessing each presentation consisted of the module leader (team manager), a mental health practitioner, and a service user.

17. The PBL process • Each group was independent • Each member had to contribute to the research and to the presentation • The essence of PBL was the thirst for knowledge and the process of finding out, reporting back and presenting what they previously knew very little about • Tutor’s role = encourage but don’t take over

18. Outcome • Because it was assessed they took it seriously. • Lot of enthusiasm and energy • They even bombarded their personal tutors about issues to do with spirituality and social work practice • They all prepared powerpoint presentations and did a lot of local research with local agencies.

19. Outcome • As a cohort they began to appreciate why spirituality has become important in mental health and the well-being agenda • They began to appreciate that whatever their individual ‘take’ on religious issues, the spirituality agenda tunes into the human agenda about who we are, what makes us ‘tick’ what our world-view is, and what gives us a sense of meaning and purpose

20. An untidy but valuable process

21. crucially • It put spirituality onto the student agenda and onto the agenda of the social work curriculum without peddling one particular ‘line’ or approach • It enabled all the student to begin to engage with it in an open dialogue • It enabled students from faith communities to begin to explore the implications of their faith to their social work practice • They all received a mark from their assessed presentations

22. Developing a theoretical framework • Alongside this PBL project it became possible to develop a theoretical framework to show ways in which spirituality could be understood as a lens through which social work education and practice can be understood.

23. Building on existing frameworks • Thompson’s PCS analysis is a familiar framework within social work education and practice for understanding discrimination and oppression • P – personal • C - cultural • S - structural/societal

24. S C P P - personal C - cultural S - structural / societal Source – Thompson N. (2006) 4th Edition, Anti-discriminatory Practice, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan

25. S S C P P - personal C - cultural S - structural / societal S - spiritual Source – Thompson N. (2006) 4th Edition, Anti-discriminatory Practice, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan

26. It can also provide a contextual backdrop for some of the major themes that are central to social work education and practice

27. Developing a new framework • to help appreciate how some of the great theme interlink for social work education and practice • Spirituality is not a minority interest but rather a lens through which human nature can be viewed and understood

30. Read more about it... • Holloway, M., & Moss, B. (2010) Spirituality and Social Work Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan Publication date Summer 2010

31. May the same not be said of you!

32. Teaching the un-teachable? The journey has just begun... travel well...

33. Thank you for listening...