Professional Development and Reflective Practice

This analysis explores the concept of professional development and reflective practice in relation to the area of social work looking at key debates and relevant theories. It will examine how reflective practice can be used to aid and develop professional social work particularly in the form of ‘supervision’ taking on board criticisms that have been made of reflective practice along the way.
When once asked about his mistakes, the comedian Peter Cook was heard to say ‘I have definitely learned from my mistakes …and I could repeat all of them exactly again’. Gould (1999) This could be said to sum up the problem which has been addressed in recent years by a large body of writing describing the need in social work to develop forms of professional learning that have helped practise move beyond mere routine towards creative and critical problem solving. Much of this research has fallen into the branch of theory known as ‘reflective learning’, drawing on the work of Schon (1983; 1987) and also informed by other areas of critical theory.
‘There is always the danger that a concept such as reflective learning will become little more than a slogan’. Gould and Taylor (1996) Some may argue that it already has, but there is no denying that within social work, reflection has become an established part of professional discourse.
Failure, or fear of it, can be a powerful catalyst for change. Many of us have a predisposition to more readily reflect on past problems and failures because these are the things we feel we need to prioritise and ‘fix’. We have a natural tendency to want to troubleshoot; a desire to break down the ambiguity, resolve any paradox, achieve more certainty and get back to our comfort zone. These ‘failings’ may indeed need our urgent attention. In certain circumstances this may be perfectly justified. One great influence on many of the practices of reflection reinforces this point. For example, Dewey (1933) stated that a function of reflection is:
‘…to transform a situation in which there is experienced obscurity, doubt, conflict, disturbance of some kind, into a situation that is clear, coherent, settled, harmonious. Ghaye (2005)
Interestingly, some have argued that failure stimulates a greater willingness or readiness to consider alternatives. It can encourage us to be more critical of current working practices. Alternatively it can be associated with responses of denial and avoidance. Past failures and ‘near misses’ can be powerful catalysts for learning. Ghaye (2005)
Failures are only one kind of motivation for change. Another is to learn from successful and current ‘best’ practice. A central question is, ‘What constitutes success?’ Supportive of this are questions like, ‘What does success look like here, in this place?’ and ‘In what ways did those involved feel that progress was being made and things were moving forward?’ Like failures, successes should not be left unchallenged and certainly not unexamined. Success is situated in time and place in a particular work environment. It may also be limited to a particular work group, product or process. Additionally we must bear in mind that learning to learn from success is a complex process. For example, Sitkin (1996) suggests that success can lead to actions that preserve the status quo, an avoidance of risk taking, an over confidence from practitioners and possibly actions where practitioners become blind to even more effective ways of doing things. This is potentially dangerous.
Through the practice of reflection we can learn to appreciate the successful aspects of our work, no matter how small and the practical wisdom that has led to them. This often goes unnoticed. If recorded in some way, these successes can create positive staff memories. These can balance feelings derived from conversations dominated by frustration and a sense of helplessness to change things for the better. Learning to learn from reflections on success is a good preparation for learning from ‘failures’. Ghaye (2005)
The nature of the debate over whether reflections actually make a difference has changed radically in recent years. Central to this change are debates about the nature of evidence, their use in private and public sector work and the call for evidence-based practice and development Exworthy and Scott (2004). Expectations are now so high that any claims that reflection is good, useful, essential for learning and therefore justifiable, must be grounded in evidence. For some, these claims also have to be theoretically informed. The importance of reflective practices can no longer simply be juxtaposed with notions of greater staff-centeredness and bottom-up empowerment processes. Neither is reflection some kind of alternative to a top-down, management-led modernisation. Modern forms of reflective practices blur this separation in a number of ways. An example of this is when reflective practices become more inclusively participatory. Another is when reflection broadens its agenda to include issues of organisational governance, thereby linking the individual with the collective and with improvements of policy as well as practice. In turn these shifts in attention invite us to engage with wider debates. Ghaye (2005)
Professional and management discourses often share a similar feature in that they take a largely prescriptive approach to practise. It can be argued that educating for professional practice involves socialising people into methodologies and technologies of practise. A recurring theme is the gap between theory and practice in other words the given theory on a correct way of operating and what is actually ‘workable’ on a day to day basis. Jones (1999)
The construction and development of knowledge and expertise has become the central focus of organisational development and learning in post modern society. This is opening up a new role for professional supervision, especially in the field of social work. Our understanding of knowledge and knowledge creation is changing. In social work the shift towards constructive expertise equals the need to cope with the ever changing complexity that arises in every day scenarios within the profession. Erasaari (2003)
In social work, supervision uses traditions of reflexive knowledge creation and learning. Coping with uncertainty is built into the very essence of social work as a profession dealing with people and problems every day. The new feature of ‘Expert knowledge being involved in social life and appropriated within everyday life itself’ Erasaari (2003) is a basic element of social work. Today, supervision and other methods of supporting individual and organisational reflection and learning are becoming more and more important to professional development, having previously been contained largely as methods of administration.
Social work can be defined as a profession that brings about change in social life or social order, offering opportunities of dignity and choice to individuals. Karvinen (1999) Professional social work practice in post modern society can be described as more reflexive than ever before, as social workers now have to be flexible and quickly think of solutions ‘on their feet ‘ instead of relying on existing professional methods. Satka and Karvinen (1999) Social work is highly challenging in that you are expected to cope with change and uncertainty, treating cultural and gender differences in a respectful, sensitive manner.
Supervision in social work with its pioneering role in human services can contribute to organisational learning and provide the theoretical grounds for promoting critical and ethically sustainable professional development and creative knowledge production. Banks (1999), Traditional expertise that institutions such as social services have relied on in the past, based on the three pillars of its constitution – scientific knowledge, professional agency and tradition- is in crisis due to rapid change and growth, uncertainty and ambiguity in post modern societies. The nature of knowledge and the generation of knowledge are being questioned. There is presently a need for lifelong learning and professional development that is located in the form of open and reflexive expertise. The importance of supervision in professional development can be seen in the emphasis on learning from experiential knowledge and also in the function that supervision has to look after practitioners in stressful work conditions providing a feeling of partnership, trust and support. Baldwin (2000)
For social work, a great deal of professional practice involves generating new ways of working. The foundations of these innovative processes can be found in the day to day experiences of social workers and their clients. A key element of developing social work lies in supporting these processes and much of this is dependent on reflexive practice and innovative personal development work. Gould (1999) However, the merits of critical reflection are not universally supported. Ixers critique (1999) suggests that it is a slippery notion, hard to identify if it is actually happening and is extremely hard to evaluate.
Effective services require social workers who know what they are doing. A key debate in social work practice is the nature of that knowledge, where it comes from, how it is learnt and how it is developed. Gould (1999) The notion of reflection as adult learning has been frequently written about but more recently it has focused on professional learning.
Kolb (1984) is perhaps the most quoted advocate of the cycle of learning, in which learners pass through a reflective stage in the process of learning through experience. With this model, learning is active and is the responsibility of the individual. What we learn becomes our body of knowledge that we draw on in future reflective observations. The difficulty with Kolb’s model is the focus on the individual and its lack of criticism; it assumes learning is a lone activity. Argyris (1999)
Schon (1983) has added important aspects to the model of reflection for learning. Schons concept of ‘reflection-in-action’ brings theory and practice together. Reflections at the time and after the event are key parts of professional practice and development, where the process by which we engage with colleagues and service users constructs practice and our relationships. Schon also speaks of the ‘uncertainty principle’, which involves the ever changing world of social work relationships. Trying to cope with this by some outdated theory is unlikely to produce effective practice. Where as experimenting, intuition and thinking on your feet ‘knowledge in action’ is likely to produce better results.
A broad concept of culture helps us to understand our world that we share with others. There is huge diversity in the ways of understanding what goes on around us. There are many cultures that are marginalised through processes of disability, racism, sexism, ageism etc. Through reflecting critically upon what we know in professional practice it is useful to keep a broad concept of culture in mind. To fail to understand another person’s perspective (for instance a non-disabled social worker assessing the needs of a disabled client) will result in an ineffective assessment. Critical reflection is thus a key part of developing effective services.
It has also been argued that reflective social work can challenge dominant power structures. Critical reflection which examines power relationships can be relevant in professional life, since much of organisations workings can be analysed and explained in terms of power. Once a worker understands how their position, role and practice are affected by power relations and their ability to act upon this, there is then potential for change. Fook (1999)
One of the perceived disadvantages of the reflective process is that it can appear to be ‘a practice in search of a theory’, in that a reflective process can potentially unearth any assumptions about anything. However, this can be a potential advantage in that hidden assumptions can be found and addressed. Reflection can have many different outcomes depending on the perspectives of the participants involved. An additional concern is that reflective practice seems to fly in the face of current managerial and cost cutting trends. It can be argued that it takes too much time and its outcomes are unpredictable, when organisations value planning and precise budgeting. Supporters of reflective practice argue that organisations would welcome the expertise that comes from reflection, as there is a need for organisations to be adaptable and flexible, given the conditions that they work in are continually changing. Hess (1995)
In the UK recently, the learning agenda has placed more emphasis in social work on learning in, from and through work. Workers are increasingly expected to complete a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) for example. However, the notion of the self aware ‘reflective practitioner’ is still far from reality. Mission and policy statements may promote work based learning, but for many the pressures of daily work and the lack of opportunity to engage with others means that the chance to learn from experience is frequently lost. Thomas (2004), Reflection is a catalyst for learning and a response to learning. Much depends upon who is involved and why. The challenge is to develop the ‘right’ reflective processes with the right people at the right time and with the right purposes in mind.
To conclude, we have explored reflective practice and professional development in general and specifically in terms of the social work profession, including how it might be used to aid practitioners and develop the profession itself. As reflection itself is still a relatively new concept it is understandably met with some wariness and suspicion by some and welcomed by others. It would seem that when carried out in the correct manner it certainly would not be detrimental for practitioners to have the opportunity to discuss theirs and other colleagues experiences, whether they may be positive or negative. However, those such as Ixer (1999) would still argue that the notion of reflective practice is problematic and more research, clarity and consensus are needed before it can be justified as useful, effective and worthwhile.