critical reflective practice social work essay

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Article Contents

Introduction, barriers to hearing children’s voices, the impacts of neoliberalism and managerialism on practice with children and families, the ecv research project, methodology, l.m.’s critical incident (pre-test data), l.m.’s critical incident (post-test data), analysis and further reflection, discussion and conclusion, acknowledgements.

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How Can Critical Reflection Improve Social Work Practice with Children and Families?

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Christine Morley, Lee Marshall, Chez Leggatt-Cook, How Can Critical Reflection Improve Social Work Practice with Children and Families?, The British Journal of Social Work , Volume 53, Issue 6, September 2023, Pages 3181–3199, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcad088

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The impacts of neoliberal managerialism mean that practitioners working in child protection programmes are often challenged to balance social work values, with formal compliance activities to reduce risk. Within this context, what are the possibilities for practitioners to creatively navigate complex practice environments to achieve better outcomes for children and families? And how might transformative research empower practitioners to improve practice by reconnecting their work with the emancipatory values of the profession? This article seeks to address these questions by showcasing key findings of a state-wide study focused on empowering children’s voices, through the presentation and analysis of a case study. The research used a pre-test/post-test design with critical reflection as a methodology to transform the practice of front line workers and managers who work with children and families in an Australian-based non-government organisation. The case study illustrates the conceptual and practical processes involved in achieving change in a way that can be replicated by others and transferred to other contexts. The findings of the research suggest that critical reflection can be effective to enable practitioners to improve practice with children and families. The article concludes by highlighting implications for organisations in supporting critically reflective practitioners.

The impacts of neoliberal managerialism on social work practice and organisations have now been well documented (e.g. see Hendrix et al. , 2021 ). Practitioners working in statutory child protection programmes often report feeling powerless in risk-averse and busy contexts and struggle to balance social work values with formal compliance activities designed to reduce risk (e.g. see Cree et al. , 2016 ). A key challenge for practitioners is to find ways to navigate these complex practice environments to achieve better outcomes for families and children.

This article discusses key findings of the final stage of a three-part Australian study: ‘Empowering Children’s Voices’ (ECVs), spanning from 2018 to 2022. This research used critical reflection as an educational methodology to transform practice with children and families in a Queensland-based, Non-Government Organisation (UnitingCare). The second author (L.M.), a participant in the research, presents her analysis of a case study from her practice to demonstrate the conceptual and practical processes involved in using critical reflection to achieve change. The first author (C.M.) was the Chief Investigator on the project and facilitator of the critical reflection workshops. The third author (C.L.-C.) is a research and evaluation advisor within UnitingCare and worked in partnership with C.M. to design and implement the research.

Despite an obligation and intention for practitioners to incorporate children’s insights into professional practice (e.g. see McCafferty, 2017 ; Stafford et al. , 2021a ; Toros, 2021 ), there are barriers to achieving genuine child-inclusive practice (e.g. see Harkin et al. , 2020 ; Morley et al. , 2021 ; Stafford et al. , 2021a , b ; Toros, 2021 ). These include: practitioners holding adult-centric perspectives ( McCafferty, 2017 ); a lack of expertise and confidence on the part of practitioners to work effectively with children ( McCafferty, 2017 ; Toros, 2021 ); protectionist discourses that position children as incapable and/or vulnerable ( van Bijleveld et al. , 2015 ; McCafferty, 2017 ; Harkin et al. , 2020 ; Toros, 2021 ) and a proclivity for child protection over child rights ( Rogowski, 2015 ; Holt, 2016 ; Toros, 2021 ).

Research suggests that children have ‘limited opportunities to participate in the decision-making process’ ( van Bijleveld et al. , 2015 , p. 133; see also Munro, 2011 ; Bastian, 2020 ; Stafford et al. , 2021b ) and ‘are infrequently being seen and heard’ ( Stafford et al. , 2021b , p. 12; see also Holt, 2016 ; Harkin et al. , 2020 ; Morley et al. , 2021 ; Stafford et al. , 2021a ; Toros, 2021 ). On the rare occasions when children are consulted, they report having ‘insufficient or inconsistent opportunity to express their views on matters affecting them while in care’ ( van Bijleveld et al. , 2015 , p. 133). Moreover, when asked, children can recall times when they were ‘excluded from decision-making and planning and were able to articulate how it felt when adults didn’t listen or act on what they had to say’ ( Morley and Leggatt-Cook, 2022 , p. 139); resulting in ‘a sense of being ignored or overlooked’ ( van Bijleveld et al. , 2015 , p. 133).

Neoliberalism and managerialism have become increasingly embedded in human service organisations over the last four decades (e.g. see Spolander et al. , 2014 ). Designed to increased management power and control through cost-cutting, standardisation of work risk management and the imposition of extensive accountability mechanisms for staff, managerialism diminishes professional autonomy and undermines relationship-based practice ( Weinberg and Taylor, 2014 ; Braithwaite, 2021 ). Directly affecting practice, managerialism has resulted in families affected by structural disadvantage (including experiencing problems that manifest as substance abuse, domestic violence, poverty, homelessness, mental health, etc.) being targeted ‘for pre-emptive action’ ( Braithwaite, 2021 , p. 56), leading to the caseloads of child safety workers ballooning.

Invariably, higher workloads and the move from professional practice (conceptualised as ethical practice to support a public good) to technical and proceduralised ways of working that emphasise ‘risk minimisation and performance management’ ( Hitchcock et al. , 2021 , p. 2362) have resulted in reducing social work ‘to a narrower, truncated role of rationing ever scarcer resources, assessing/managing risk and changing the behaviour and life styles of children and families often in punitive ways’ ( Rogowski, 2015 , p. 94; see also Bastian, 2020 ; Rogowski, 2021 ).

Robinson and Macfarlane (2021 , p. 444) argue that neoliberal managerialism renders practitioners ‘paralysed… concerned for our jobs, concerned for our professional integrity… and at a loss as to how to proceed.’ Greenslade et al. (2015 , p. 427) similarly describe the ‘current focus on risk management and compliance’ as undermining practitioners’ ‘ability to do their job’, whilst ‘excessive caseloads, insufficient resources, increased documentation requirements… seriously impaired their ability to practise’ effectively ( Greenslade et al. , 2015 , p. 427). Fenton (2014) likewise found that the less individually responsive, more risk-averse and less social justice value-friendly the organisation, the more neoliberal practice became and the more ethical distress (and powerlessness) practitioners experienced as a result.

Despite the current context, however, Rogowski (2015 , p. 107) argues a ‘more humane practice’ is needed. Elsewhere, he advocates ‘for a different child protection narrative; one that acknowledges the impact of poverty and inequality on children and families, and which interrogates the causes and consequences of deprivation’, noting the clear intersections between poverty/disadvantage and the ‘rates by which children being taken into care’ ( Rogowski, 2018 , p. 79). Rogowski (2015 , p. 107) also argues for ‘a genuine emphasis on family support as opposed to “intervention” which censures parents’.

UnitingCare is a non-government organisation operating in Queensland, Australia. UnitingCare’s ECV project arose from an identified need for children’s experiences to inform programmes that aimed to support their safety and well-being. Several factors prompted initiation of the project. First, in line with the shift towards earlier intervention with vulnerable families in other Western industrial countries (e.g. see Parton, 2006 ; Featherstone et al. , 2014 ), the (then) Queensland Government Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women had recently established a new early intervention programme. Intensive Family Support Services (IFSS) were designed to respond to families where children were deemed at risk of involvement in the statutory child protection system. IFSS supplemented the existing Family Intervention Service (FIS), which provided more intensive intervention and monitoring due to safety concerns, including assisting in reunifying children in out-of-home care with their families.

By 2017, cases were emerging across Queensland of children being harmed whilst their family was engaged with an intervention programme. In some cases, it seemed that a failure to involve children may have contributed to the harm that occurred. Further, the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2017) was encouraging renewed scrutiny of systems designed to protect children’s rights. The National Principles for Child Safe Organisations confirmed that children’s voices could be a powerful protector against harm (see Principle 2, Australian Human Rights Commission, 2018 , p. 6).

The ECV project commenced in 2018 with the aim of hearing from children and practitioners in UnitingCare’s eight FIS and five IFSS programmes about what needed to change:

In Stage 1, WorldCafé workshops with practitioners revealed that child-inclusive practice was occurring in pockets, but overall, intentional engagement with children was not consistent in family intervention practice ( Stafford et al. , 2021a ).

In Stage 2, participatory interviews conducted with children aged 6–17 years (whose families were current or recent clients of UnitingCare’s IFSS or FIS programmes) confirmed that they were largely excluded from decision-making and support planning ( Stafford et al. , 2021b ).

Stage 3 of the project was designed to support the development of new practice strategies for engaging children.

Given the findings of Stages 1 and 2, it was apparent that expanding child-inclusive practice would require thinking beyond existing practice approaches to envision other ways of working with children and families. Interpreting the findings of Stages 1 and 2 within a critical analysis of the impacts of neoliberal managerialism led the research team to understand that meaningful and sustainable change ‘would not be achieved by rolling out a new tool or training package or creating a child-friendly feedback process. Instead, the research demonstrated an overarching paradigm shift was required’ ( Morley and Leggatt-Cook, 2022 , p. 139). This recognition informed the development of Stage 3, which aimed ‘to build on and translate the research findings from Stages 1 and 2 into practice by devising new strategies to empower children’s voices’ ( Morley et al. , 2021 , p. 6).

Given the difficulties that practitioners’ identified, critical reflection was strategically employed to overcome barriers that practitioners face in seeking to meaningfully involve children in their practice. As a qualitative methodology, critical reflection strengthens the connections between theory and practice by recruiting research participants as co-researchers to determine new practice outcomes (e.g. see Morley, 2012 ; Allen, 2013 ; Hickson, 2016 ; Fox, 2021 ). Critical reflection is a transformative methodology that sits within critical and constructivist paradigms and shares similarities with participatory and co-operative inquiry approaches ( Morley, 2008 ; Fox, 2021 ). In this research, the aim was to address the gap between practitioners’ intentions to include children and their actual participation, and to contribute to an evidence base that supports practitioners to genuinely empower children’s voices and participation in practice.

Stage 3 of the ECV research project involved a pre-test/post-test design to measure the impact of the research intervention: that is, critical reflection workshops (3 days total involving 2 × 1.5 days of facilitated learning and reflection). Participants were required to submit a description of a critical incident from their practice to the research team, prior to participating in the workshops. These narratives about practice provided baseline data to understand a practitioner’s level of child-inclusive practice at the time, which was later compared with their post workshop reflections.

Beyond gathering narratives about the barriers to implementing child-inclusive practice, the critical reflection workshops aim to assist practitioners to reimagine their practice in ways that align with the espoused social justice value base of social work. The first half of the workshops involved participants learning about Fook’s (2016) model of critical reflection and presenting their own critical incidents, which were then subject to deconstruction. This involves identification of implicit (often hegemonic) assumptions, values and their unintended implications for practice. Having deconstructed unhelpful assumptions by reinterpreting practice situations within a critical theory framework, the second half of the workshops aimed to reconstruct practice; generating new possibilities for child-inclusive practice (e.g. see Fook, 2016 ).

Following completion of the workshops, participants were invited to share their overarching reflections in a focus group. These discussions, in which participants shared their learning gained from the workshops, and articulated shifts in their thinking and practice that had occurred as part of participating in the research, were recorded and transcribed. These data were also subject to critical analysis (e.g. see Morley, 2012 ; Fook, 2016 ). Formal ethics approval to undertake the research was gained through both QUT Human Research Ethics Committee and UnitingCare. All participants in the study gave written consent.

The first four deconstruction workshops occurred in 2020, with a maximum of twelve participants in each group. Whilst follow-up reconstruction workshops were planned to occur four to six weeks later, as recommended by Fook and Gardner (2007) , COVID-19 resulted in the reconstruction workshops being postponed for more than 12 months. By this time, only eight out of thirty-eight participants were able to continue their participation, following the lengthy break, which is a clear methodological limitation. However, the time in between workshops also provided an opportunity to more fully capture the changes. L.M. was one of the research participants who participated fully (prior to becoming a co-author when UnitingCare seconded her to specifically work on the ECV research). What follows is a presentation and analysis of her pre-test critical incident description, post-test critical reflection and the relevant contributions she made to the focus group discussion. C.M.’s analysis has also been included to transparently demonstrate the methodological process that enabled L.M.’s practice to become more child and family-focused.

Background/contextual information

This practice example is a family with three small children—eighteen months, six and seven years of age .

The family were a blended family with the two eldest daughters having a different father. The family had a significant child protection history including the mother having been a child in care with the experience of twenty-six separate placements in her childhood. The father had experienced a difficult upbringing, reporting being sexually abused as a child and tensions at home due to his parents being intoxicated and frequently fighting.

The current situation was characterised by domestic violence between the parents, substance abuse by both parents, with the father reporting using Ice—however this was not current (self-reported). There were also concerns about poor parenting and the mother being emotionally and physically abusive towards her children—poor attachment was observed and whilst the mother presented as being focused on parenting there had been limited opportunity to observe parenting interactions with the children.

The family had been a current case within the programme for over twelve months and whilst there had been some observable progress in addressing the goals (the house was cleaner and tidier, the older children were attending school regularly and the family were engaging with the service), the intervention felt controlled. The family seemed to be making progress because they felt they needed to change rather than really wanting to.

Critical incident

Recently one of the girls was severely injured by tipping a hot cup of noodles on her lap. This required two weeks in hospital where she received skin grafts. The incident occurred at the paternal grandparent’s home, despite a direction from Child Safety that the girls not be in the care of this grandmother (due to past injuries as a result of lack of supervision). In conversations with the mother about the incident, she did not appear concerned, was happy that the father (ex-partner) ‘was dealing with it’ and despite offers of support, refused to visit her daughter in hospital and preferred to have Facetime with her. In working with the mother, we discussed wound care for her daughter when she returned home and how this would work with transport home from the hospital. The mother had no engagement with the hospital and became aggressive when asked why she had not visited. There had been ongoing discussions about wound care, however the mother was adamant that this had not occurred and there had been no discussion about follow-up appointments. Concerns had been raised with Child Safety given the mother’s lack of attachment and her ability to meet the child’s high-level care needs upon discharge from hospital.

Initial reflection

I chose this scenario because I felt somewhat stuck in working with this family and worried that they may disengage from the programme as a result of my engagement around the most recent injury. There had been a lot of work done with both parents; however, there had been minimal opportunity to involve the children in direct observations and guidance. This was due to the parents’ refusal to have visits when the girls were at home after school. I felt that the children were not the focus of my intervention and I wanted to explore how I could engage them better—given the parent’s refusal to allow visits after school.

This case is important to me as I feel like the change that I have seen in the family has not impacted on the children—whilst they continued to benefit from a cleaner home and more support in attending school, there has been minimal change in the mother’s parenting and her connection/attachment to the children. I believe that both parents have learnt so much from FIS intervention and are now able to articulate their responses during discussions; however, they have limited ability/desire to translate these into practice.

I continue to be worried about the parent’s engagement and the impact of my engagement and work with the family. I hope to learn better techniques/strategies to engage parents to allow their children’s voices to come through. How can I capture their voices, engage and build rapport with children when we have parents that are not willing for this to happen?

C.M.’s initial reflections

Whilst there was nothing wrong or problematic about this practice, it became a critical incident for L.M. because she was feeling ‘stuck’ in working with this family and had developed a sense of frustration in relation to perceived blockages—especially those exhibited by mum. This led to a sense of disconnection from the children and a heightened sense of risk.

As with other practitioners who experience obstacles in their practice, critical reflection can be used to uncover alternative discourses that highlight new possibilities for action (e.g. see Alberti, 2000 ; Fox, 2021 ; Morley and O’Bree, 2021 ). It is from within these subjugated (often invisible) constructions/interpretations that new practice possibilities may emerge ( Morley, 2012 ). Such practice possibilities are available to all practitioners who are able to recognise their role in creating the knowledge that they use through the interpretations that they privilege (or dismiss). This process of deconstruction involves the ‘hunting’ of (hegemonic) discourses within one’s assumptions in order to recognise how these influence our thinking and action, so that alternative practice options can be created ( Morley, 2020 ). To facilitate this process, in response to L.M.’s critical incident data, I (C.M.) posed some questions to assist her to critically reflect on: her construction of the family; her use of language to describe family members and her interpretation of their behaviours (particularly the mother), amongst other things, in order to: (1) highlight how some of her assumptions might undermine her espoused intentions for practice and (2) elucidate some other possible interpretations of the situation. This connects with much of the literature that refers specifically to developing and utilising reflective perspectives in practice. A critical postmodern theoretical analysis was used to generate questions in relation to the case study, as it is the theoretical framework that underpins the model of critical reflection being used ( Fook, 2016 ). Critical postmodernism shines a light on the operations of power, as well as showing up the social processes and structures that create inequality, structural disadvantage and injustice ( Fook, 2016 ). Within neoliberal contexts, critical postmodern theory, when activated through critical reflection, is particularly useful for highlighting how practitioners might be complicit in hegemonic thinking that disadvantages families and/or blames them for the difficult circumstances they find themselves in. In this way, critical postmodern theory enacted through critical reflection has been asserted as ‘bolstering critical practices that are more aligned with protecting human rights, equity, democracy, social justice and other emancipatory goals of social work’ ( Morley and Macfarlane, 2014 , p. 338). The questions included:

Why have you chosen to emphasise the family’s ‘significant child protection history’ (rather than some of the recent positive changes that you have observed)?

How might shifting your narrative about the parents to incorporate their strengths (and the positive changes they have made) potentially change the way you see them, the situation (and your practice within it)?

What assumptions did you make about the mother’s behaviour? What other interpretations might be relevant?

What does your use of language to describe the mother’s behaviour indicate about how you perceive her? (i.e. ‘refused’ to visit; ‘mother became aggressive’, etc.). What purpose does the meaning you are imposing serve? Are there other terms that are less adversarial? What are some other interpretations of the ‘facts’ of this case? For example, is it possible that mum just doesn’t like hospitals? (or something else?), rather than ‘lacks attachment’?

If you continue to view the mother exclusively through a risk lens, how might this undermine your capacity to build a relationship with her (and ultimately reduce your opportunities to connect with the children)?

If you were able to build a supportive relationship with mum, how might this potentially reduce the risk—and/or your perception of it?

How might this enable you to reconstruct your practice towards being more child-inclusive?

Following the deconstruction workshop, I provided tailored, written feedback to each participant. Approximately twelve months later, I met with those continuing with the research in one-on-one meetings via zoom to revisit and reconstruct their initial accounts. Extracts from L.M.’s post-test reflection data are presented below.

Whilst the impact of COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the intended outcomes of our study, I feel that allowing the fullness of time to stand back and reflect has been extremely beneficial. At the point of introducing my family scenario, there was a sense of ‘stuckness’ in my practice:

I was making progress with the family—however, I did not move with their changes.

As a former government Child Safety Officer, I found myself still sitting in an investigative role rather than in the therapeutic space of the programme.

When I initially wrote the case scenario, the family were going through some really big changes that only became evident after the scenario was completed.

The father was participating in a men’s behaviour change programme and was struggling with the confronting nature of this perpetrator intervention.

Child Safety had also been in the process of removing the children due to the worries around the parent’s ability to make safe decisions and

There was ongoing domestic violence—however, it was unclear what the severity or frequency of this was.

Upon reflection on the feedback, I became aware that I was not focusing on the family’s strengths and had become stuck in a deficit-focused space where I was worried about safety—rather than looking for partnership.

As a result, I shifted my practice to a more strengths focused approach and started to support the mother by rewarding her for achievements—partnering with her.

Opportunities for one-on-one work became available and I spent some time with her whilst the children were doing after school sports—facilitating contact and spending time with the mother and her children.

Mum began to open up a lot and we started to talk about safe/challenging conversations she could have with dad to challenge his assumptions. This was very successful and mum started having more open conversations with dad—who by now was ready for these conversations after his work with the men’s behaviour change programme.

As mum became more confident, we continued our work on relaxation and self-care branching out to crafts, breathing techniques and delighting in spending time doing fun activities with her children and her partner.

As a result, the relationship really strengthened between the parents—mum became emotionally stronger and was able to manage her emotions better, becoming able to have calm conversations with Dad—who was now also in a space where he could listen to mum and respond calmly. This achieved safety for the first time in their relationship.

As we moved further along in the intervention, mum was able to establish stronger safety for herself and the children and their behaviour began to improve—mum began to connect and strengthen her relationship with her children and as a result became more in tune with their needs.

The family were now able to spend more time together doing fun things.

As I continued to strengthen my relationship with the mother, I was able to challenge her more and really focused on building her self-esteem and confidence as a parent and this was observed in the children.

As we moved towards closure dad became drug free and was able to get a job as a roofer (his trade). This resulted in more funds coming into the home and more time for mum to spend on her own, visiting friends, attending appointments or doing things around the house.

The youngest child started day-care and this improved his speech and development.

Mum became more proactive in her engagement with health professionals for her daughters.

Mum also began to take greater care of her appearance—doing her hair, wearing make-up and nice clothes and dad was no longer worried that she was ‘having an affair’—but rather just looking after herself.

The children had new clothes and the house became a home with mum decorating it was pictures and arts and crafts from the children. The family were able to afford some new furniture and had taken great pride in tidying up and decorating their home and

At closure the family expressed a sense of gratitude for pushing them further than they thought they were capable of—but also for listening to their troubles and challenging and supporting them without judgement.

Some weeks after closure dad flagged me down in the car park of the local supermarket—calling out my name from his car. He was genuinely excited to see me and chatted about how well the family were doing. The kids were in the backseat of the car—saying hello and chatting about school and the fun things they had been doing at home. Dad indicated that he was off the drugs now and still working and they were doing really well. Mum approached the car and said hello and advised that she was really happy and things had been going really well.

When I looked at this family scenario recently, I was able to reflect on my shift in engagement with the family and how this had changed the outcome for the family. I reflected on the thoughts that I had when I first read the feedback and some of the strategies I had used to turn the case around from when I had been stuck. I found this experience far more valuable than I had anticipated.

Through L.M. being prepared to consider alternative constructions of the parents, she developed a more engaged and trusting relationship with them, which enabled her to have far greater engagement with the children. Letting go of the risk-dominant lens and using a strengths-based approach permitted her to manage the risk, form a partnership with the family, whilst simultaneously developing opportunities to connect with the children. The children undoubtedly benefitted from L.M.’s work with the parents, as they became a key focus.

the difference that we made with that case was how we moved away from being focused on risk and started to change that intervention strategy to more partnering with mum .

Why would they give their trust to us if they see us as a statutory system like Child Safety? … We have to be mindful [when] walking into their homes … if you [the family] picked up that they [the practitioners] were judgmental about how you lived your life, about how you keep your home, about whether you’re drinking too much alcohol, or whether you’ve got a mental health diagnosis, it’s that kind of picture that they’re building about you as a bad parent . . I do understand why parents are protective of workers seeing their children. If you don’t feel comfortable with that person, why would you let your children engage with that person? I think that’s actually a strength of a good parent if they’re protective. It depends on the reason behind it, but we want our parents to ask questions about who engages with their children .

In adopting a more holistic and empathic perspective, and examining the complexities of the helping relationship, L.M. changed how she viewed the mother and started to trust her. As she observes: ‘I was focusing on what mum was saying, because she really did know what was going on, and once we strengthened that [our relationship] we were able to get to the bottom of what was happening.’

Shifting my perspective from constantly looking out for… the kids [being] unsafe …to actually, I wonder what mum really is thinking and feeling, and what does she really want here? Shifting that whole idea around… What would be her dream or her goal at the end of this intervention? By constantly listening and then coming back to her, and acknowledging what she said, and moving away from that [concern about], Child Safety jumping up and down on the side—going ‘Oh my God, oh my God, the risk is too high,’ and not getting sucked into that .

This research sought to explore how critical self-reflection on practice might assist practitioners to navigate complex organisational environments, dominated by neoliberal managerialism, to achieve better outcomes for children and families. Critical reflection has been an identified useful strategy for practitioners in this regard in other fields of practice (e.g. see Mueller and Morley, 2020 ; Morley and OBree, 2021; Morley and Stenhouse, 2021 ). It further sought to investigate how transformative research, using critical reflection as an educational methodology, might empower practitioners to improve child-inclusive practice by reconnecting their work with the social justice values of the profession, which have been marginalised by neoliberal managerialism (e.g. see McKendrick and Webb, 2014 ; Weinberg and Taylor, 2014 ).

Prior to collecting our reconstructed post-test data, our findings suggested that critical reflection could theoretically create ‘possibilities for practitioners to conceptualise practice differently and implement changes to practice . . that have potentially major implications for improving child-inclusive practice’ ( Morley et al. , 2021 , p. 14). Now that data collection is finalised, this article has presented one participant’s journey of critical reflection and practice transformation in its entirety. Whilst critically reflective research makes no claims about being generalisable ( Morley, 2012 ), the results of this process demonstrate that through engaging in critical reflection, the practitioner facilitated new opportunities for engagement with the family that resulted in her achieving critical outcomes with and for them.

I’ve learned, for example, from [a practitioner’s] example that she brought to our workshop, I’ve learned that if I ever go on a home visit again, I’m going to have eyes on the child, you know. I’ll never forget that . I will never not have my eyes on a kid. I’ll never not be in their bedroom on never not have a … conversation with them. Because I learned, you know, the importance of that and through other people’s experience and through my own experiences .

The unexpected time delay during the workshops due to Covid-19 and the associated lockdowns has been noted as a significant methodological limitation of this research. This was impactful, particularly for attrition associated with the study. That being said, at the conclusion of the research, more than fifty workers in the organisation, including front line practitioners and managers, as well as members of UnitingCare’s leadership team and others in strategic leadership roles had experientially participated in the critical reflection workshops. As one focus group member commented: ‘Having just had the critical reflections… has had ripple effects across the whole organisation and people have seen the importance… the work that came out of that, from all the practitioners … [was] phenomenal.’

At the time of submitting her pre-test data, L.M. indicated that she was feeling frustrated, concerned and ‘stuck’ due to not being able to form supportive relationships with the parents, and consequently even see the children, let alone engage with them. She was about to terminate her work with the family, as the risk was perceived as too great. This was common amongst research participants, who indicated that they were either considering case closure or had already closed the case at the time of submitting their pre-test data, due to their frustrations and/or concerns about risk within the family (for further case examples, see Morley et al. , 2021 ). This pattern is also acknowledged in the literature, as Bastian (2020 , p. 138) explains: ‘The closure of cases due to competing priorities is a legitimate and organizationally endorsed workload management tool in times of limited resources and high workload demands’. However, the findings of this research suggest that critical reflection can assist practitioners to continue working with the families despite perceived risks, and in doing so, may diminish actual risk for children and foster many positive outcomes that strengthen families (see also Morley et al. , 2021 ). Whilst the unplanned time delay between the deconstruction and reconstruction workshops provides the possibility that change identified in L.M.’s practice may have occurred in any case, she does not hold this view, and conversely sees the delay was an opportunity to demonstrate the full impact of the research intervention, which would not have been evident had the workshops progressed and data been collected in the planned timeframe.

This finding aligns with a Scottish-based project that employed critical reflection as a research strategy ‘to contribute to culture change in the children and families’ departments’ ( Cree et al. , 2016 , p. 548). The project similarly involved critical reflection training for practitioners and managers due to the ‘long-standing evidence show[ing] that these [workshops] provide an opportunity for practitioners to discuss their work in an open, non-blaming atmosphere’ ( Cree et al. , 2016 , p. 549) and the understanding that critical reflection can facilitate ‘improvements in professional practice’ ( Cree et al. , 2016 , p. 521). In documenting their experiences, the researchers similarly heard about the difficulties practitioners endure in responding to ‘the day-to-day impact of managerialism and public service cutbacks … and of a social work profession that felt undermined, undervalued and under attack, from government, the media, service users and the general public’ ( Cree et al. , 2016 , p. 553). They, too, acknowledged that the critical reflection workshops had revealed ‘that children and families’ social work practice … is still procedural, risk-averse and focused more on assessment of problems than on prevention or support’, which as one participant in their study pointed out ‘runs counter to relationship-based social work’ ( Cree et al. , 2016 , p. 552). In other papers, these same researchers concluded that critical reflection may offer some opportunities ‘to destabilise dominant practice orthodoxies and cultures and, in so doing, encourage culture change in organisations’ ( Smith et al. , 2017 , p. 973), as it has done it this study.

Ultimately, L.M.’s critical reflection demonstrates that despite the challenges of contemporary contexts, practitioners can (and do) continue to find opportunities to work in partnership with children and families. Analysis of this reflective case study provides an innovative, hopeful, practice-based research example that contributes evidence for informing ‘a transformative agenda in child protection’ ( Bastian, 2020 , pp. 141–142). L.M.’s practice affirms the importance of critical self-reflection in enhancing her relationship with the family (see also van Bijleveld, 2015 ) and also connecting her with concrete possibilities to challenge neoliberal managerialism by placing, in Rogowski’s words, more emphasis ‘on the caring side of social work, one which is more compatible with social justice and social change’ ( Rogowski, 2018 , p. 80; see also Rogowski, 2016 , 2021 ). This includes moving beyond ‘being competent technicians’ ( Rogowski, 2018 , p. 82) to a more critical understanding of what constitutes professional practice. Further, it is important to acknowledge that responsibility for driving change also sits with organisations, which directly influence practice by providing a collegial organisational culture, quality supervision, peer support and manageable workloads ( Hitchcock et al. , 2021 ; Waugh et al. , 2021 ). Given the findings of this inquiry, perhaps the challenge now is for organisations to expand the opportunities for child-inclusive practice by directly supporting and enabling practitioners to critically reflect on their practice.

Scholarly acknowledgements and thanks to Matthew Harcus and Kate Stewart of Queensland University of Technology who contributed to the library research that informed this article.

This research was funded by UnitingCare and funding for this submission was received as part of an industry grant via consultancy agreement. No grant/award number was issued.

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The Critical Blog

The home of critical thinking, observations and reflections on my first year placement.

This essay was written by Adrian Bloxham and was the winning social work entry in this year’s Critical Writing Prize 2019. Adrian is studying for an MA at Anglia Ruskin University and he was nominated by his lecturer Dr Wendy Coxshall.

I am currently on placement in a Supported Housing Hostel for adults in Cambridgeshire. This assignment is based on my work with one particular resident who I will refer to using the pseudonym ‘Alice’. The case study will explore core social work tenets including relevant knowledge and skills, critical reflection, processes of oppression and discrimination, communication and partnership working. I will seek to examine and reflect on my interactions with Alice, primarily by applying a reflective model to a ‘critical incident’. I will also attempt to view Alice’s life, and my professional relationship with her, from a broader social work perspective. My initial observations and impressions of the hostel were largely defined by the levels of socio-economic deprivation that dominate many of the residents’ lives. In virtually all cases the people that live at the project either have an underlying mental health condition or experience drug or alcohol misuse, often there are a combination of these factors. The very nature of this type of accommodation means that the population is transient.  This often means that residents have little consistency and no control over who they live with, resulting in an enforced togetherness that can lead to feelings of insecurity, anxiety and fear (Bengtsson-Tops, et al., 2014). I observed during my early conversations with Alice that she often seemed subdued and that her mood fluctuated unpredictably. As the initial phase of my placement progressed I became increasingly aware of Alice’s persistent and chronic low self-esteem and her tendency to depressive episodes. I noted this in my journal and tried to “…think, to be self-aware and to question…” as a first step towards reflecting on practice (Rutter & Brown, 2012, p. 30). My vague sense of unease and concern about Alice and her general well-being crystalized early one morning as I arrived at work to find Alice upset and in tears in the communal lounge. I now recognise the ensuing conversation as a ‘critical incident’ that changed my learning and the way that I thought about the staff and my placement setting. What qualifies as a critical incident is not rigidly defined but the event should be important or significant in some way to the practitioner and should offer the opportunity for professional learning (Fook & Gardner, 2007, p. 77). During the course of this exchange Alice disclosed to me that she felt trapped, bullied by a member of staff and other residents, and that she was feeling utterly powerless with no hope of moving on from the hostel. Alice showed me a scar on her right wrist and stated that she had tried to commit suicide in the past and was now experiencing suicidal ideation once again. This type of situation, with all its complexities and difficulties, is described in the seminal work of Schön (1983) as the ‘swampy lowlands’ of practice (Schon, 1983). In more recent times ‘reflective practice’ has been developed further into a concept of ‘critical reflection’ (Payne, 2014). The application of critical reflection challenges accepted modes of thought, social organisation, dominant discourses and assumptions (Graham, 2017; Savaya & Gardner, 2012; Thompson, 2010). The two-stage reflective model developed by Fook & Gardner (2007) seeks to examine power relations and structures of domination, which in turn intrinsically challenges oppressive and discriminatory thought processes and practice (Graham, 2017, p.49; Fook, 2012, p.47). As will become apparent, forms of oppression and discrimination are a vital aspect of Alice’s narrative, and for this reason I propose to apply Fook & Gardner’s (2007) model to my critical incident and the subject of my case study. Alice’s disclosure was deeply concerning and very challenging for a number of reasons. My inexperience, the fact that Alice has a diagnosis of schizophrenia and the gravity of what she was saying all contributed to a feeling of unease. The first ‘stage’ of the reflective model is designed to question the underlying structural and social assumptions of the practitioner and analyse how and why feelings of discomfort and concern have been generated (Fook & Gardner, 2007, p.92). Adopting this process has helped me to identify possible assumptions that I suspect I may have held. For example, could my knowledge of Alice’s dysfunctional relationships in the past have resulted in me making assumptions about inherent personality ‘traits’? Did I view her mood swings and depression as simply emanating from her diagnosis of schizophrenia? Did my upbringing, that instilled and encouraged a deference to authority and ‘professional’ figures, blunt my critical faculties in relation to the ‘care’ and ‘support’ offered by individual staff members? It would also be remiss to discount the influence of gender and class on the assumptions I may have held. A closer critical analysis of the factors and experiences that have shaped Alice’s life expose the fundamental flaws and prejudices in my misplaced assumptions. As I began to work with Alice it became increasingly clear to me that she had experienced discrimination and oppression throughout her life. I learnt that Alice had endured severe and multiple adverse childhood experiences. Both of her parents committed suicide, she was raped and endured physically abusive relationships with two consecutive partners. This culminated in Alice being admitted to various psychiatric institutions in order to treat her schizophrenia and personality disorder. Eventually Alice became homeless, living on the street and addicted to heroin. The physical scars on Alice’s body as a result of these experiences can be understood from a postmodern perspective as embodied manifestations of power and oppression (Tangenburg & Kemp, 2002). Taking a postmodern perspective that conceptualises the body as the site of power relations (Foucalt, 1977) leads to an understanding that “…the body is fundamentally implicated in mechanisms of domination and control.” (Tangenburg & Kemp, 2002). Postmodernism rejects overarching general theories, instead adopting an approach that acknowledges individual narratives, social context and recognises multiple identities that may intersect (Graham, 2017; Fook, 2012). The intersection of Alice’s gender, her adverse experiences both as a child and as an adult, her diagnosis of schizophrenia and the fact that she has experienced poverty for the entirety of her life has led to oppression and discrimination at multiple levels. A reliance on members of staff who are experienced as oppressive reinforces feelings of hopelessness, stigma, discrimination and disempowerment (Williams, et al., 2015). Alice has been exploited by fellow residents who target her on the days when she receives benefits, this form of oppression takes place at a personal level and is often experienced by adults with serious mental illnesses in the “…forced intimacy of supportive housing.” (Forenza & Bermea, 2017). Oppression and discrimination also takes place at a wider level. People diagnosed with schizophrenia are often stigmatized by a discourse of ‘otherness’ which portrays people with mental health challenges as a ‘problem’ who must be ‘controlled’ by bio-medical, biogenetic models (Beresford & Wilson, 2002). Despite the dogged insistence of the dominant ‘medical model’ discourse, contemporary evidence points to a causal link between social factors and a diagnosis of schizophrenia (Read, 2010). Typical triggers include poverty, adverse childhood experiences, rape and physical or psychological violence (Read, 2010; Burns, et al., 2014). It is essential that social workers acknowledge this increasingly influential discourse which suggests that schizophrenia and other forms of mental illness are bio-psycho-social manifestations of social conditions and health inequalities, not an inherent physiological condition (Bywaters, 2015; Karban, 2017; Friedli, 2009; Marmot, 2010; Read 2010). Revisiting the assumptions that I outlined above has helped me to explore how I experienced the initial incident. Firstly, I now believe that I saw and understood the situation in simplistic, binary terms. Identifying assumptions and binary thinking, regardless of how uncomfortable this may be for the practitioner, is crucial and demonstrates reflexivity (Fook, 2012, p.107). By ‘deconstructing’ and ‘resisting’ this binary thinking the practitioner can then go on to address how change might be achieved and what values and assumptions have been challenged (Fook & Gardner, 2007). Arriving at an understanding of the multiple levels of oppression and discrimination that have shaped and distorted Alice’s life has not only heightened my awareness in this particular case but it has also changed the way I will approach practice situations in the future. The importance of recognising multiple perspectives and social contexts in a non-linear, fluid and multifaceted way leads to more ‘bottom up’ practice that in turn empowers marginalised people by recognising and legitimising their experiences and voice (Fook, 2012; Graham, 2017; Parton & O’Byrne, 2000). Alice’s deteriorating mental health led me to conclude that her social worker needed to be informed of the situation. The worker expressed a great deal of frustration at the lack of inter-agency communication, written or otherwise, and a failure to disclose key pieces of information. This can often be attributed to a defensiveness on the part of housing organisations “…due to fear of damaging reputation…or fear of over-reaction” (Parry, 2013, p.19). As a plethora of Serious Case Reviews illustrate, clarity of inter-professional and interagency communication is vital for safe practice (Moss, 2017; Hall & Slembrouck, 2009; Flynn, 2010). In the case of Alice there are three primary agencies involved. In addition to this, Alice also has contact with a psychiatrist and regular medical reviews with her GP. The number of professions and agencies involved with this single client illustrates the multiple points of contact and potential challenges that operating in this contemporary inter-agency environment presents. Understanding the communication process requires an acknowledgement of the complexity and meaning of language itself. That is to say, ‘communication’ is not neutral and does not necessarily have a universal meaning to each element of the agency or profession (Hall & Slembrouck, 2009). ‘Communication’ can be seen as a process whereby “…information passes from one person to another and is understood by them.” (White & Featherstone, 2005, p. 214). This rather simple statement camouflages the multi-layered nature of the exchange which involves an array of subjective attitudes and feelings which are projected onto the communicated information both from the perspective of ‘sender’ and ‘receiver’ (Sarangi & Slembrouck, 1996). The diversity of roles within Alice’s network highlights the danger that various professions and agencies may assign different levels of priority or even conceptualisations to the arising issues (Hudson, 2015). This means that each communication is potentially ‘categorised’ differently and therefore there is a danger that co-agencies conceive of a given situation in completely different ways (Hall & Slembrouck, 2009). I continued to learn more about Alice’s life over the following weeks.  I observed the patience and empathy that Alice’s social worker demonstrated during the interview process. Often Alice would experience what appeared to be moments of psychosis during which she seemed to be transported back in time to a particularly traumatic event which resulted in repetitive phrases and sentences being used to describe what had happened. Although these moments appeared to be traumatic for Alice she said on many occasions that she wanted to speak about her past. I noted the way that Alice’s social worker handled difficult or emotionally salient passages during interviews (Goss, 2011), particularly the use of silence and the importance of being patient rather than asking superfluous questions to fill uncomfortable pauses (Trevithick, 2012). The importance of ‘iatrogenic health’, the process whereby possibilities and opportunities are acknowledged and explored, is part of a constructive narrative approach founded on a postmodern perspective (Parton & O’Byrne, 2000). The whole thrust of the conversations, whilst acknowledging the trauma of the past and the difficulties of the present, were very much focused on the aim of Alice moving-on in both a literal and metaphorical sense. The social worker talked through the steps that needed to be taken by Alice and the support that she would need in order to achieve this goal, a process referred to as the amplification of personal agency (Parton & O’Byrne, 2000, p.60). This relationship-based work (Woodcock Ross, 2011) with Alice highlights the importance of partnership working and emphasises the need to avoid ‘top-down’ structural models (Hudson, 2015, p.102). Whilst the idea of ‘partnership’ suggests equality and collaboration, practitioners should still manage power relations with service users carefully, especially where a lack of confidence inhibits the service user from taking on the responsibility of partnership (Dalrymple & Burke, 2006). This aspect of partnership practice was and is very pertinent in the relationship between Alice and her social worker. The asymmetry between the social worker and service user emphasises the need for the practitioner to be cognizant of the inherent power imbalance in the relationship (Leung, 2011). Even where social work is undertaken with the best of intentions, for example in anti-oppressive practice, there is a danger that the voice and knowledge of the service user is lost by the intervention of the ‘expert’ practitioner (Wilson & Beresford, 2000). The difficulties Alice experienced at the hostel which culminated in such a troubled state of mind calls into question the place of adult safeguarding both within the organisation and in the wider context. The implementation of The Care Act 2014 introduced new responsibilities and statutory duties on local authorities and partner agencies with an emphasis on moving away from process-driven practice (Cass, 2015). The new legislation was adopted into Company policy, statutory guidance makes it clear that there is an onus on employers to ensure that staff working in a housing environment are adequately trained in recognising signs of abuse or neglect, which includes self-neglect under the terms of The Care Act 2014 (Department of Health, 2014). At the time of my critical incident Alice was failing to attend to personal hygiene on a regular basis, frequently appeared to be experiencing low mood and would often break down in tears even when engaging in mundane, everyday conversation. Supported housing is often regarded as a positive environment that promotes recovery-oriented practice (Harvey, et al., 2012), but it can also be experienced as an oppressive and hostile setting where staff are at best indifferent to the needs of service users or can actively act as the oppressor (Bengtsson-Tops, et al., 2014). This is especially concerning when one considers that housing staff may be the only service that residents have contact with (Cass, 2015). Risk assessments are an integral aspect of work with vulnerable people (Parry, 2013). Yet risks remain, in essence, unpredictable phenomena that defy reliably accurate outcomes (Munro & Rumgay, 2000). From a postmodern perspective, practitioners should not seek to totally eliminate risk by a ‘scientized’, calculated approach because this is doomed to failure (Parton, 1998, p. 23). Instead, there should be an acceptance that uncertainty and complexity are inherent in human interaction and therefore consideration should be given not only to ‘negative’ risk but also to the benefits of ‘positive’ risk (Macdonald & Macdonald, 2010). Risk management can be seen as a continuum (Nolan & Quinn, 2012), so whilst service user vulnerabilities must be taken into account when assessing risks there is also a balance to be struck. Planned risk-taking can and should promote a good quality of life, develop new skills and expand life experiences (Barry, 2007). Alice wishes to live independently and this is the preferred option for the social worker. However, a judgment will ultimately need to be made as to whether the rights and needs of a vulnerable service user are best served by advocating for Alice’s wishes or actively encouraging another course of action that is ‘safer’ for Alice (Kemshall, et al., 2013). This case study has demonstrated the complexity and breadth of contemporary social work. Whilst there is not universal agreement (Ixer, 2016), the central importance of critical reflection to the profession of social work is widely accepted (Thompson, 2010, p. 183). The opportunity to work with Alice has provided much to reflect on and learn from. My work with Alice has taught me many things, most notably the impact of personal and structural processes of oppression and discrimination. 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Home » PCF 6: Critical Reflection & Analysis

PCF 6: Critical Reflection & Analysis

CRITICAL REFLECTION AND ANALYSIS – Apply critical reflection and analysis to inform and provide a rationale for professional decision-making.

Social workers critically reflect on their practice, use analysis, apply professional judgement and reasoned discernment. We identify, evaluate and integrate multiple sources of knowledge and evidence. We continuously evaluate our impact and benefit to service users. We use supervision and other support to reflect on our work and sustain our practice and wellbeing. We apply our critical reflective skills to the context and conditions under which we practise. Our reflection enables us to challenge ourselves and others, and maintain our professional curiosity, creativity and self-awareness.

More tools coming soon…

PCF 6: Tool 2 – Cake model for reflecting on an intervention/incident

PCF 6: Tool 3 – Suggested Critical Incident prompts

PCF 6: Tool 5 – Knowns / Unknowns exercise

PCF 6: Tool 6 – Template for Critical Incident Analysis

PCF 6: Tool 8 – Personal Reflective Model

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Reflective writing

You have now considered reflection as a way of thinking and learning. Now you will move on to think about reflective writing. Many of the expectations of reflective writing will be very similar to the kinds of writing you may already be used to, such as the requirement to acknowledge your sources by using references and using clear language that is easily understood by your reader. There are also, however, important differences which you will also need to think about, should you go on to study for the social work degree.

This is a photograph of someone writing in a notebook.

The questions may not require an ‘essay’ answer and may therefore need a different approach and structure from the conventional one of introduction, main paragraphs and conclusion.

While most professional writing (e.g. reports, records) are written in the third person, reflective writing requires that you write about your own experience and consequently the use of the first person (‘I’) is actually encouraged.

While you are still expected to use your reading or ‘theory’, this will need to be linked to your discussion of your own experiences and also what you have learned from these experiences.

If you already have experience of writing in higher education, reflective writing may feel odd at first. One social work student who was already a graduate commented that while her experience was that academic writing ‘is looking at writing in the third person’, reflective writing is about something different:

Well, you write that to your Auntie Jane, you don’t write it for a course, I’ve never written it for a course ... In this course you are going to be asked to write about yourself big style. You have got to be king. You have got to be in the centre.

Although reflective writing is not exactly like writing a letter to ‘Auntie Jane’ or a personal blog, this student was picking up correctly that reflective writing has something in common with writing a diary or journal (or blog) and that most academic writing does not encourage you to write about yourself and your own experiences.

Activity 13 Reflective writing

Spend 15 minutes writing as freely as you can about your thoughts on your learning so far. This writing is only for you to see, so don’t worry too much about how you organise your ideas or even about your language (words used, sentence construction, spelling, grammar, punctuation etc.). Just write from your own thoughts.

After writing for about 15 minutes, put your writing away somewhere safe.

Later, perhaps the next day, come back and re-read your writing. Note down your answers to the following questions:

• Did you enjoy writing in this way, or did it feel difficult?
• Did you feel able to forget about traditional expectations of ‘good’ writing and just let your thoughts flow?

Some people find this type of writing hugely enjoyable, as a way to put their feelings and thoughts on paper and even to develop creative ideas. For others this is an awkward, challenging and artificial task, particularly for people who would not commonly talk about themselves reflectively, never mind commit their thoughts about themselves to paper in this way. Some people also feel very inhibited by the thought of someone reading and judging their writing, which can get in the way of expressing themselves. Free writing can be a good way to overcome feeling anxious about expressing yourself. Free writing also has a lot in common with reflective writing, as the focus is on you, the writer, your thoughts and experiences as told in the first person. If you found this activity difficult in any way you might like to keep practising this free writing exercise. Remember, you can pick any topic, based on work or personal experiences and you can jot these down on paper, phone or computer or perhaps by using voice recording software.

• Reflection can enhance social work practice.
• Reflection involves drawing together your experiences, study and feelings to help you evaluate practice and think about intervention and outcomes.
• Supervision plays an important role in supporting reflection.