Research Informed Teaching Assessing research mindedness in MA social work students

1. Research Informed Teaching – Assessing research mindedness in MA social work students Esther Coren (presenter) Jemeela Hutchfield, Janet Wiseman Bob Cecil and Anne Kelly Presentation for JSWEC July 2009

2. Outline Background and context of project Methods Defining research mindedness Assessment Later stages....

3. Background to project: national picture 2007/8 at project start Various current national initiatives/concerns to develop research capacity in social work academic community and also research uptake / interest in social work workforce ESRC has social work as priority research area Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and Joint Universities Council on Social Work Education Committee (JUCSWEC) prioritising – supported by various publications Ongoing discussions about practitioner researcher initiatives…

4. CCCU Social Work Team strategy Commitment to training research minded practitioners and to working to an evidence based teaching and learning strategy Teaching to support this in BA and MA programmes More embedded in MA programme

5. Aim of RIT project To investigate the impact of our teaching on research mindedness in practice, the project is designed to assess research mindedness in MA2 practice placements. Aim explicitly not to assess students, but to evaluate teaching to enable future teaching and curriculum development to build on lessons learned, taking an evidence informed approach.

6. Stakeholder involvement Staff input from social work team from perspectives of the MA programme overall (programme director), practice development (practice placement coordinator), overall learning and teaching strategy (professional lead), and research processes (EC – PI and team). Involvement also sought from practice learning facilitators (placement supervisors) (PLFs)

7. Methods Stages of work 1. Defining research mindedness 2. Sampling 3. Ethical approval and discussions with students 4. Data collection and analysis

8. Defining research mindedness: existing definition (SCIE/SWAP) (resmind) Research mindedness in social work practice has been defined as: a faculty for critical reflection informed by knowledge and research; an ability to use research to inform practice which counters unfair discrimination, racism, poverty, disadvantage and injustice, consistent with core social work values; an understanding of the process of research and the use of research to theorise from practice. http://www.resmind.swap.ac.uk/content/02_what_is/what_is_02.htm

9. Defining research mindedness Input sought from PLF colleagues on appropriateness of the existing SCIE/SWAP (Resmind) definition: At a specific meeting called for the purpose At another existing workshop event for PLF training Via the PLF newsletter

10. Defining research mindedness Research mindedness in social work practice can been defined as: a faculty for critical reflection informed by knowledge and research. A practitioner must be able to refer to and apply research findings and integrate them in to their skills base. an ability to use research to inform practice which counters unfair discrimination, racism, poverty, disadvantage and injustice, consistent with core social work values. an ability to select the right research to inform their practice, selecting well conducted research which is consistent with the social work code of research ethics and reflects social work values more generally. an understanding of the process of research and the use of research to theorise from practice. adapted from http://www.resmind.swap.ac.uk/content/02_what_is/what_is_02.htm

11. Sample Total cohort of 34 students completing MA year 2 Original intention to seek consent from all and randomly sample 15 students for APT assessment Consent forms returned by post after time to consider 13 forms returned so this is the default sample Possibility of some systematic bias in this group

12. Ethical considerations Ethical approval sought from (H and SC) Faculty Research Ethics Committee (FREC) Granted approval though several iterations Students given project information sheet containing description and explanation and had opportunity to discuss Student information sheet and consent forms mailed with sae for return

13. Particular ethical issues Students assured that they are under no obligation to participate Assurance that the RIT data collection and analysis is disconnected from pass/fail assessment Anonymity – APTs anonymised and demographic information extracted by an administrator not involved in teaching or rating Students encouraged to take consent forms away and think about participation before completing Awareness of power issues

14. Developing assessment process Intention to not add to the onerous task of student placement assessment Original plan to assess aspects of APTs (assessment of practice teaching tool) using qualitative data analysis Following later review agreed to undertake less complex and time consuming quantitative assessment

15. Assessment Development of ‘Likert’ scale to assess students’ demonstration of research mindedness according to the definition Also aims to capture quality and consistency of the research mindedness demonstrated using guidance Tool piloted using anonymised ‘old’ student APTs - both to ensure usability and also consistency of application between raters Tool revised following pilot

16. Quality assurance and consistency Two raters assessed first two APTs and compared assessments 100% agreement at this stage 20% to be ‘moderated’ by a third rater

17. Tool Student details Code number…………………........................................……………………….…………………. Gender…………........................................………………………………………….…….………….. Home/EU/ international……………………………......................................………………… First degree………………………………………..........................................…………………….. Any other degrees/postgraduate qualification…………………………………………………..

18. Tool Placement details Statutory Children and Families……………………………………. Adults………………………………………………………….. Mental health…………………………………………….. Other setting (please specify)…………………………………..

19. CRITICAL REFLECTION The ability of students to critically reflect on their work is an essential part of their development on the programme. However, for this critical reflection to be informed by research, students need to be able to make use of a wide range of sources and to use them effectively to inform reflection on their practice. This may be differentially evidenced in the APT by the use of occasional references, the use of key text books and one or two articles, the occasional use of a wide range of literature or the consistent use of a wide range of literature. Please circle the answer that you think most closely applies to this APT:

20. Student’s critical reflection is informed by research

21. Tool Student demonstrates use and application of appropriate research when describing social work skills used in practice Student adopts a critical approach to research informed practice Student uses research that informs and is informed by social work values

22. Tool Student demonstrates recognition of how practice can inform research Student demonstrates recognition of how practice can inform theory development Where using literature, student applies critical evaluation of relevance and quality

23. Analysis Demographic data and data from likert scale will be entered into SPSS and analysed using basic cross tabulations and frequency counts Intend that quality criteria will be used to further develop the analysis Data will be presented in headings according the scale and evidence of quality criteria Implications for programme development

24. Next steps Data collection and quality assurance ongoing Analysis over the summer Consider use of findings to inform future teaching – use for team away day in new academic year Consider possible BA/PQ roll out and implications for practice learning

25. Dissemination Further conference submissions 2010 when results and future plans known and clarified Paper(s) to be written based on conference presentations and results of study Publication in social work education literature – also Community Care (practitioner periodical) Input to SW team development and development of PLF training