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Big claims have sometimes been made for social work. For example, leading up to the creation of large local authority social services departments in the UK in the early 1970s, it was suggested that it could have a major impact on poverty (Seebohm 1968). In the event, instead of the community-based, family social work that was hoped for, these hierarchical departments marked the beginning of the large-scale bureaucratisation of local state social work which has accelerated under the political New Right and neoliberal politics that have dominated in the intervening years. In England and Wales, we now have state social work that is tightly regulated and shaped by central government, where, as numerous reports have testified, the day to day social work task is dictated more by ‘the bottom line’ and the managerialist surveillance of social workers than by any independent social work values, ethics or discretion (Social Work Task Force 2009). During this period social work has essentially been a marginalised and residual service, working primarily and often only with people seen as the most disadvantaged and marginalised. In their efforts to demonstrate the specific and unique role and tasks of social work, unintentionally or otherwise, policy makers and formal social work leaders have tended to emphasise its specific and control functions (Beresford 2007). While many of social work’s formal leaders seem to have both advanced and supported this view of the profession, the aim of this discussion is to look more carefully at the assumptions that this is based upon and to critique how helpful they may be to social work, service users and the rest of us for the future.
Social work is under unprecedented pressure as a result of funding cuts, political interventions, marketisation and welfare transformations which, combined, are dramatically reshaping the relationship between individuals and the welfare state.
A wide range of distinguished academics provide a comprehensive analysis of the evolving challenges facing contemporary social work, reflecting on both the existential and ideological threats to the profession. As well as the chief practice areas of child protection, adult care and mental health, contributors also examine practice issues surrounding older people, neoliberalism, neo-eugenics and the refugee crisis.
This book offers concrete policy proposals for the future of the profession alongside valuable solutions which students and practitioners can action on the ground.
From the reflective journal of the author of this book:
February 21st . This morning I received an email from a student of mine asking whether the mark I had already registered and signed in the university system was correct or I considered the result of the exam she sat 17 days before but not the paper she sent me in December. I double-checked and she was right: I gave her 26 instead of 27, that is closer to the maximum of 30. I was upset: how did I make such a silly mistake? I am working hard and always try not to make any mistake that can damage my students. By the way, two weeks before the registration I wrote a notice on my bulletin board and asked the students to write to me within 5 days if they did not accept their mark. In that notice there was also the list of the students who had sent me the paper above and whom I had to add one mark to. But I did not include her name in the list by mistake! Why did she not tell me before? I heard that the procedure to correct it is complicated and I have to involve even the Rector.
I hate to show my mistakes, especially to the Department Secretary who is always so strict with the teaching staff. I have even thought to write back to the student that I had already added the additional mark and that the correct sum is 26 or that I cannot make any change because she did not write to me before and the rules of our university do not allow any change now.
So far, learning from error has been seen as an activity people carry out through moments of reflection mostly in solitude or, in quite rare and lucky circumstances, with ‘reflective friends’. However, social workers do not act alone but are included in networks of relationships with other professionals both inside and outside the organisations where they work. In addition, individual learning is part of a wider process producing organisational learning that is not the simple sum of what individuals know but includes the additional knowledge produced by exchanges and interactions between people.
This last chapter is focused on tools and strategies available in order to improve the quality of reflection and reflective practice in cooperation with colleagues or the entire organisation where social workers are employed. So the following pages are centred on some areas where reflection together with other people is especially fruitful: criticisms between colleagues and organisational processes like, for example, those involving risk management.
In every workplace there is a certain amount of criticism among colleagues and this is often seen more as a problem than an opportunity. In fact criticism is nothing more than a form of feedback, aimed at reporting an error made by one person to another, even if unfortunately it is seen more often as an unfavourable judgement on the whole person. What is felt as an attack often leads to a defence reaction that, on the other side, is seen as an aggression requiring a reaction and so a symmetric exchange of aggressive communication continues, leading, in some cases, to an escalation that is dangerous for the maintenance of peace in the workplace.
If you make a mistake and do not correct it, this is called a mistake. (Confucius)
‘Seeing the world as it is not’ is pretty much the definition of erring – but it is also the essence of imagination, invention, and hope. (Schulz, 2010, pp 22–3)
How to introduce a book on mistakes without making mistakes? It is a question that could block anyone. Failing to write an effective introduction has a cost (the reader could decide not to continue reading this book) but postponing day after day the writing of these lines because of an impossible search for the perfect start also has a cost (the author will never finish the book and send the manuscript to the publishing company). What to choose? It is a dilemma. Social workers have to face similar dilemmas everyday. But in their case the costs are higher, much higher, because the lives of their service users are at stake. And in many situations these are fragile lives.
‘Doing no harm’ is one of the overarching principles mentioned in the very recent update of the ‘Global definition of social work’ and related commentary (IFSW and IASSW, 2014). It is clear that nobody likes to talk about his or her own mistakes because of their negative implications for service users and the professional life of any social worker. In the publishing arena of social work books and journals reflective practice is considered, mistakes are rarely a topic, and the combination of reflective practice together with mistakes is not present at all.
Reflective practice is an essential skill across the helping professions, but what is it? This chapter will introduce and define reflectivity and reflective practice, presenting the key ideas from leading theorists, including Schön, Dewey, Kolb, Rogers and Habermas. From different perspectives (philosophical, psychological, educational, sociological) they have given the theoretical background for understanding how human beings can learn while doing.
The so-called experience–reflection–action (ERA) cycle is examined in its three components and their mutual interactions: experience (what happens to people), reflection (all the processes enabling people to learn from these experiences) and action (undertaken because of the newly gained perspective). Reflection, as a process towards a deeper understanding and awareness, constantly feeds action and deeper focused thought towards becoming a more competent professional in the interest of the service users. Using Goodman’s levels of reflection (first, description and evaluation; second, conclusions transferrable to other situations; third, acknowledgement of the wider context and influences the event under scrutiny is connected with), it is possible to lead reflection towards different depths of understanding.
Decision making is also involved in this topic, and how the human mind assesses and makes decisions, combining the contribution of intuition and reasoning, using the two-systems model of Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman. These two systems process the same contents (concepts) but in two different ways described by the dichotomies fast–slow, parallel–serial, automatic–controlled, effortless–effortful and others.
In this chapter metaphors are proposed to help bring theory to life, allowing readers to understand the issue in full: in the first section, voices; in the second, cycle and iceberg; in the third, exploration by diving and walking; in the fourth, Mr Spock and Charlie Brown and; finally, in the fifth section, ghosts talking to a scared child as in the film The Sixth Sense.
The last two chapters of this book are focused on tools and strategies that are available in order to improve the quality of reflection and reflective practice. This chapter presents some techniques and strategies helpful at an individual level (or in a dyadic situation) and the final chapter presents tools to be used in cooperation with other people or the entire organisation where the social workers are employed.
The quantity of tools and strategies available in literature is really huge. The ones presented here have been selected with a special focus on mistakes and failures in social work and according to their capacity to improve professional practice.
The role of questions is vital in any process of reflection. When people reflect they are doing nothing but asking questions of themselves. Choosing the appropriate questions is of great importance to orientate the eyes of the mind in the most fruitful direction and consequently bring the person’s attention to some selected and crucial aspects of the event under scrutiny.
As the Nobel Prize winner for literature Naguib Mahfouz is reported to have said, ‘you can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions’ (Gelb, 1996, p 96). So, since the ‘right’ questions are so important for learning from experience as well, and it is not easy to formulate them, there are a lot of frameworks developed with the purpose of making reflective practitioners ‘wiser’, that is to say, to enhance and deepen their reflection.
What is a mistake in social work and how can we turn it into a positive learning experience? Simply going over the events of the day is often not enough and can become overwhelming.
Learning from professional errors is, however, vital for successful reflective practice. This important book presents a theoretical framework that underpins this learning, along with a series of strategies for social workers to use either by themselves or as part of a group. These include creating questions and narratives to enhance learning, assertive techniques for receiving and offering criticism and organisational learning from mistakes.
With plenty of practice examples and questions for reflection, this is essential reading for both social work students, and practitioners and managers at all stages of their career.
Concepts from the previous two chapters are combined in this central part of the book, which is focused on the opportunities and the risks of any learning process based on reflection on mistakes in social work. The two main questions in this context are:
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why do social workers ‘need’ to make mistakes or, to say it better and since everybody fails from time to time, why do they need to be more aware of their mistakes?
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what are the limits set by ethical and professional responsibilities?
The metaphor of Columbus who, as already mentioned in this book, accidentally discovered America while looking for a quicker route to India and its markets rich in spices and other precious goods, drives the explanation of the positive effects of mistakes, if (and only if) they are recognised promptly so as to minimise their negative effects and avoid repeating them in the future. Serendipity as a fortuitous discovery of something good is the basis of many important scientific innovations in medicine and other fields. It is better to be aware of mistakes and try to make the best of them since it is impossible not to make mistakes. The awareness of this simple truth may help to make the emotional experience of being wrong less unpleasant. Moreover, doing nothing just to avoid mistakes is an even bigger mistake when inaction means potential danger or harm for vulnerable people, including those who often need the help of social workers. And, if errors are inevitable, it is possible to make them ‘smart’, that is to use them to explore and find the way to solve problems with new solutions when the old ones do not work.
Reflection can be carried out on any kind of experience, but reflection on mistakes is more fruitful because the unexpected failure of an action, or a series of actions, creates uneasiness in its author. These uncomfortable feelings may prompt you to look for answers to questions like “What happened? What went wrong? What did I do wrong?” in order to eliminate or reduce the discomfort that you are feeling. At the same time, reflection on mistakes is important in order to understand how to reduce the damage produced by them and to avoid repeating the same error in the future. Learning from mistakes is also ethically important on the difficult path towards the full realisation of the ‘doing no harm’ principle that, according to the most recent ‘Global definition of social work’ (IFSW and IASSW, 2014), is one of the overarching principles of social work, together with respect for the inherent worth and dignity of human beings, respect for diversity, and upholding human rights and social justice.
In this chapter a mistake is defined as a reality of any human activity, including social work. In everyday language a mistake is an action, statement or belief that unintentionally deviates from what is correct, right or true. Then more precise and scientific definitions are given in connection to the ideas of failure and experience of error. However, who decides what is right and what is not? In fact it is common to find divergent answers to this basic question since a number of different subjects (social workers, service users, organisations, communities) are involved in social work interventions and might have different opinions from their particular perspective.
