Abstract
Supervisors of qualified social workers and students are expected to provide
honest and constructive feedback on performance to their supervisees (Ofsted,
2012; TCSW et al, 2013; DfE, 2015). Pousette et al (2010) identify the
difficulties supervisors experience in giving feedback to supervisees which
may be perceived as negative. These difficulties mirror the concerns and
challenges regularly expressed by students on the post-qualifying supervision
and practice education courses which I lead.
This study sought to explore whether the use of Forum Theatre as a pedagogic
approach could in any way assist supervisors to address these challenges
and develop skills and confidence in giving supervisees feedback on
performance. Forum theatre (Boal, 2008) has been used as a tool in different
areas of health and social care education to explore aspects of practice that
students may find challenging (Middlewick et al, 2012). However the literature
evaluating Forum Theatre as a pedagogic approach remains limited.
Students were invited to take part in a three hour Forum Theatre workshop
which was evaluated using pre and post workshop questionnaires. Post
workshop questionnaires were administered immediately following the
workshop and again 3-4 months following the workshop. The workshop
was run on three occasions using the same poor practice scenarios. The
workshops involved a total of 29 participants who held roles as practice
educators, newly qualified social work assessors and line managers of social
workers.
Results from the evaluation will be presented and will specifically address:
- Participants views of Forum Theatre as a pedagogic approach
- The impact of the workshops in respect of participants confidence in having
conversations about performance with supervisees
- The impact of the workshops in relation to perceived skills development
- Transfer of learning from the workshops into the workplace
honest and constructive feedback on performance to their supervisees (Ofsted,
2012; TCSW et al, 2013; DfE, 2015). Pousette et al (2010) identify the
difficulties supervisors experience in giving feedback to supervisees which
may be perceived as negative. These difficulties mirror the concerns and
challenges regularly expressed by students on the post-qualifying supervision
and practice education courses which I lead.
This study sought to explore whether the use of Forum Theatre as a pedagogic
approach could in any way assist supervisors to address these challenges
and develop skills and confidence in giving supervisees feedback on
performance. Forum theatre (Boal, 2008) has been used as a tool in different
areas of health and social care education to explore aspects of practice that
students may find challenging (Middlewick et al, 2012). However the literature
evaluating Forum Theatre as a pedagogic approach remains limited.
Students were invited to take part in a three hour Forum Theatre workshop
which was evaluated using pre and post workshop questionnaires. Post
workshop questionnaires were administered immediately following the
workshop and again 3-4 months following the workshop. The workshop
was run on three occasions using the same poor practice scenarios. The
workshops involved a total of 29 participants who held roles as practice
educators, newly qualified social work assessors and line managers of social
workers.
Results from the evaluation will be presented and will specifically address:
- Participants views of Forum Theatre as a pedagogic approach
- The impact of the workshops in respect of participants confidence in having
conversations about performance with supervisees
- The impact of the workshops in relation to perceived skills development
- Transfer of learning from the workshops into the workplace
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
| Event | 6th European Conference for Social Work Research - Catholic University of Portugal, Lisbon, Portugal Duration: 30 Mar 2016 → 1 Apr 2016 |
Conference
| Conference | 6th European Conference for Social Work Research |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Portugal |
| City | Lisbon |
| Period | 30/03/16 → 1/04/16 |