“…It’s Just Very Hard To Fail A Student…” Decision-Making And Defences Against Anxiety – An Ethnographic And Practice-Near Study Of Practice Assessment Panels

Article


Finch, J. 2016. “…It’s Just Very Hard To Fail A Student…” Decision-Making And Defences Against Anxiety – An Ethnographic And Practice-Near Study Of Practice Assessment Panels. Journal of Social Work Practice. 31 (1), pp. 51-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2016.1158156
AuthorsFinch, J.
Abstract

The practice learning site is an important place of determining suitability for social work practice and as such is a key site of gate keeping. Research, both international and multi-disciplinary have consistently highlighted the challenging emotional processes involved in failing a student in a practice learning setting. This research has largely focused on practice educators. What has been not been explored however, are wider decision making processes about students who have failed the placement, namely what is known in the UK as the Practice Assessement Panel (PAP). The paper thus documents findings from an ethnographic study of four PAPs in England, utilising a practice-near analytical approach. Findings centre around three key themes, the deferring of difficult decisions, powerful voices and the unacknowledged emotional climate. The paper concludes that the PAP can be theorised as a powerful projective field and suggests possible ways forward in light of the themes to emerge.

JournalJournal of Social Work Practice
Journal citation31 (1), pp. 51-65
ISSN1465-3885
0265-0533
Year2016
PublisherTaylor & Francis
Accepted author manuscript
License
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2016.1158156
Publication dates
Print25 Apr 2016
Publication process dates
Deposited21 Dec 2016
Copyright informationThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Social Work Practice on 25.04.16, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/02650533.2016.1158156.
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