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You may also find that it lends itself to other areas of study, like psychology, social policy or sociology, ND hopefully, as you gain experience in workplaces, you will benefit from understanding how theories and class work relate to actual real-life work. It will challenge your thoughts and experiences, help you to analyses your own understanding of the world around you, and hopefully encourage you to consider the nature of your own opinions.
This is a challenging area of study; Social Care Theory should enhance your analytical skills and while it may not make you change your mind about some things, it should help you to understand your own views and the views of others. This chapter aims to explain the main incepts relating to the central themes of the unit in a step-by-step way. However, in any work setting, you should be mindful of individual policies and procedures, team structures and mission statements which relate to some of the areas mentioned.
Certainly, as an area of study, Social Care Theory for Practice is aptly named: it aims to help you to understand some of the broad themes in the huge field of social care and equip you with enough underpinning knowledge to practice safely, ethically and responsibly. It will also give you a degree of factual knowledge in relation to theories on teams, management styles and communication. It should also give you a an insight into the sometimes daunting area of legislation, covering major Acts which impact upon a social care worker’s role, responsibility and duty. Social care theory provides ample food for thought.
On completing this unit you should be able to explain how social care values and principles influence practice; understand the care planning process; be aware of a variety of social care intervention models; evaluate and describe types and models of teams and team working. While every study centre will have its own methods of assessment, as this is such a broad area, it is likely that you will be expected o produce evidence of a significant level of knowledge through essay, case study exercise and/or presentation. Wherever and however you complete this complex unit, your tutor will keep you informed of assessment processes and detail.
Key terms Intervention to get involved; to interfere with events or processes Knowledge awareness and understanding Of concepts and facts Methods a way of doing something, especially systematic Principle a rule of conduct or expected practice Process routine way of dealing with something Skills capacity to do something – demonstrated ability to do something Values the worth we place upon someone or omitting Values and underpinning care principles Through general discussions and perhaps through prior learning, you may already have quite a fixed idea of what values may mean.
We talk a lot about ‘respect’, ‘individuality, ‘equality’ or ‘diversity in social care. This chapter aims to challenge and unearth a deeper comprehension Of values and look at wider social issues which may influence our understanding of what is ‘right or ‘wrong, ‘good’ or ‘bad’, in Social Care. Values are about ethics, moral dilemmas, challenges and cultural awareness; they reflect our own personal belief systems, backgrounds and solicitation and hey can, and probably will, change!
You not only have to consider your own value-base, but also the values of those around you – team members, other professionals and people who use services for example. Our first area to consider is very simple -?? what exactly is a value? Ethics moral principles or a recognition of right and wrong In this chapter you will learn: Values and underpinning care principles: This area challenges assumptions, helps you to analyses your own thoughts and understand how values underpin all elements of practice.
The care planning process: This part introduces some common models of are planning and considers the diversity, and evolution, of the care planning process as a tool of care delivery Methods and models of social care practice: This part explains a variety of interventions and introduces a broad range of skills considered to be central to successful practice in the care sector Effective team working: This section introduces some of the many theories and concepts around effective teamwork and encourages you to evaluate teams and consider some of the complexities involved in team working. Chapter 1 Social care theory for practice Different values In our culture, widely speaking, we have many influences placed upon us – some are rather more obvious than others; some we feel we can control or ignore, and others are deep rooted and intrinsic. Generally, in wider society, you may recognize that we value money, possessions, family, friends, status, celebrity, popularity or beauty. The list goes on and on. Equally, in wider society, you may recognize that we do not value deceit, dishonesty, the unemployed, or people with disabilities.
It is important to recon sis that, at this point, we are considering society in its widest sense – try to put aside your already formed ‘social card values and consider how he media portrays certain societal groups, for example. You could pick up a ‘popular’ magazine and look at adverts or articles, counting the number of different social ‘groups’ portrayed. This may help you to grasp the very fluid meaning of values. In simple terms, a value is the worth we place upon something or someone.
Culture a recognized and shared way Of doing things or belief systems common among a group or society Values, in society, may include a variety of areas like cultural values – respecting dress code, or specific rituals at certain times; personal values – recognizing self-esteem and confidence; social aloes – manners, etiquette, choice of language; ethical values -?? moral boundaries and a sense of what is right and wrong; spiritual values – a sense of faith or belief. Later we will look at some examples of social care values and demonstrate that indeed, they are often linked together.
Consider this You are on a rescue mission: a building is ablaze and you know, from officers at the scene, that three people are trapped. You have enough oxygen in your breathing apparatus to enter the inferno only Once. The three people trapped are: a single, elderly male, who suffers from Alchemist’s and is already debilitated by heroic emphysema an active middle-aged female, who is employed as a specialist heart surgeon and married with two young sons a 23-year-old female, who is HIVE positive.
She is an unemployed single-parent, with a five-year-old daughter. You can carry only one person out! You have to decide who it is. 1. Who would you rescue? 2. What influenced your decision? 3. Would that decision be popular, obvious, understandable or surprising to others? 4. Do people you know agree with that decision? Of course, this is a very basic exercise, but it should illustrate that values are complex and often difficult to identify; sometimes we act or exact in an instinctive way or do things because they ‘feel right’.
However, by studying values, you should come to understand their origins and limitations; there are many issues which bring our values into scrutiny. You should be aware that a professionals role can often be a powerful one. While you may not consciously enter into a relationship with a person who uses services with power on your mind, you are potentially able to exercise a relatively high degree of control in a situation.
French and Raven (1959) identified five types of power: ; Reward Power – based upon the perceived ability to guarantee positive consequences Coercive Power – based upon the perceived ability to ensure negative consequences ; Legitimate Power – based upon the perception that someone has the right to expect certain behaviors (sometimes called position power) ; Referent Power – based upon the desire of subordinates to be like leaders they believe have desirable characteristics ; Expert Power – based upon the perception that a leader has expert knowledge the subordinates don’t have (sometimes called information power).
Thinking about the suggestions of types of power above, can you think of examples where you have come across these? Have you consider a type of power others may see in yourself or identified a type of power another person has had over you? Personal values As individuals we are laden with values and opinions, and sometimes also prejudices and stereotypes, as products of our lives, interaction and experiences.
It is crucial that we consider how we might influence others and take stock of our own beliefs and by doing this we must consider our own personal viewpoints. Our personal values also cover a range of areas and can even be contradictory. Within a social group, shared values (positive or negative) may bind people together. Pressure groups, like Greenback; or charitable organizations like Save the Children, for example, aim purposefully to capture a particular value base among society.
Conversely, extreme movements like the UK Klux Klan also ‘tap’ into a very different set of values. HEN in Social Care 3 In social care, as a sector, the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 , led to a clear set of standards being published, and expected of workers. Buying into these standards is non-negotiable, and if we are brutally honest, may pose challenges for some. However, aspiring to those standards, which we look at later, can only safeguard and enhance the care experience of many individuals.