This experiential learning course combines sound social theory, action research and direct involvement in the work of voluntary and statutory services to provide students with a unique learning experience – and provide those they serve with the opportunity to undertake work they would otherwise be unable to do.
The UK is at a crucial point in deciding the future for Charities, Self Help and Community Organizations. The 2010 Coalition Government, under the heading of “The Big Society,” handed over services that were public / state funded to charity and community organizations, with the aim of empowering communities and giving more control of their own lives to individuals and families.
This change in funding highlights the ideological conflict between the concept of a “Welfare State” and self-sufficiency that has been an undercurrent of political and social life in the UK since the creation of the National Health Service and other key elements of social and financial care in 1948.
Students will, therefore, have the opportunity to further develop on-going work with both statutory and voluntary sector organizations in London, and experience firsthand the impact of a change in political culture on communities and the service agencies.
After 12 weeks in London, students travel to Kingston, Jamaica for field studies, continuing the coursework at the University of the West Indies School of Nursing, Mona and engaging in a practicum at comprehensive community health clinics in Kingston.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
Analyze the ideology of and developments in service and welfare in the UK
Compare social welfare policy in the UK and US.
Describe key elements of health care policy in Jamaica in the context of the country’s social welfare policy.
Develop and apply skills and training in research, including data collection, interviewing, observation, data processing and presentation.
In addition, all students will provide a baseline from which to measure their development through the course. This measurement will be in the form of a Service Learning Contract, which will include the student’s previous experience and personal aims and goals. An end-of-experience form will give the student, Instructor and IES Abroad a picture of development through the London placement.
Academic Component:
The classroom and off-site work will be grounded in theory and the examination of policy. In coming back into the classroom each week, students have an opportunity to reflect on and resolve any problems or issues they are experiencing at their placement site.
The course will draw primarily on a social psychological exploration, with political sociological underpinnings (for example, when looking at the ideology of service).
Practical Component:
The provision of information resources and research can be a valuable service for statutory and voluntary services and their clients. The focus of the students’ involvement in the agencies will be on developing, guided by the agency staff, a viable research and/or action project. A guiding principle of placements will be to match the specific knowledge and background of the students with the needs of the agency.
Students will be supported in developing skills in research, and utilizing personal attributes such as openness, commitment, the ability to empathize, tact, fascination with the other – and an inquisitive nature. Students, the instructor and the placement staff will work together to formulate a plan of action which will provide the host organization with a piece of work that is of value to them, and the students’ with a learning experience, and skill development.
Each session will include a group supervision component, supporting students in their placement, and sessions 1-3 will include skill development.
Method of presentation:
In-class discussions, lectures, skill development exercises, other media such as film and documentaries. In addition, students will provide a plan of action for their placement work. The Instructor will supervise the project and final report from the placement, and co-ordinate with the on-site supervisor / manager in London.
Required work and form of assessment:
A learning journal will be completed weekly, providing reflections and analysis of both the academic and practical elements of the experience. This will count for 30% of the final grade. Class and on site attendance will make up 10% (poor attendance and lack of punctuality will reduce the final grade). On site assessment will contribute 20% of the final grade – and 40% of the final grade will rest with the final research / project report.
Contact hours: Seminar, London and Kingston: 40 hrs; community placement, London and Kingston, 120 hrs.
content:
Week 1:
Introductions to the concepts of service and learning, and to the basic theoretical concepts to support the practical and the academic components - the Welfare State as a social and political entity; community psychology; social stratification; social identity; helping behavior; need; state, voluntary and private service. Differences between London and the rest of the UK will be highlighted during the course.
Part One Research Methods: data collection, observation, interviewing and surveys in research; research ethics and informed consent
Reading – Thane part 2; Theory Pack One; Research Methods Pack
Week 2:
Symbolic Interactionism and Group Formation; inter and intra group interaction; social identity related to the service interaction roles.
Part Two Research Methods: Communication skills – listening, feedback, support – action and participant research, when to be a researcher and when a participant.
Reading – Lindesmith, Strauss and Denzin chapter 1; Research Methods Pack
Week 3:
Social Ecology, social hierarchy and The Concept of Service - its differing manifestations – The British class system, castes and other cultural meanings relevant to London.
Part Three Research Methods: Formative research, and working for and in a group environment. There may also be specific skills or processes that the organization or group would want included. Students should be embedded in their placement by week 2.
Reading – Theory Pack Two; Macionis and Plummer chapters 8 and 10, Research Methods Pack.
Week 4:
On Being Served – the impact of vulnerability or need on people of different gender, ethnicity, age, and disabilities, social policy as a response to the perception of need. Relating the work covered in this class to the work of the placements and formulating the Action Plan.
On being of service – the psychology of helping – empathy, altruism, helping and co-operation
Placement supervision
Reading – Argyle Chapters 1-3, Macaulay (pp. 1-59; 103-151) l
Week 6:
Communicating Worth – a vital part of any organization’s work is the communication of its worth to society – or at least to potential patrons. This class will look at the role of communication and media, with examples from state, voluntary and private organizations
Involving people – who gets involved and why? The hypothesis will be that individuals have to have a sense of hope and their own worth to get involved
Placement supervision
Reading: Hall Chapter 15, Baldock Chapter 4
From this mid-semester point forward, each class will allow some time for working together on the analysis and presentation of the research / action project.
Week 7:
The social ecology of Service - The Big Society and Political Ideology on Service – what is happening on the streets and in the Communities?
Placement supervision and project
Reading – A file on impact of and responses to the current economic and political process. There will also be access to relevant documentaries and commentaries.
Week 8:
Alternatives to a Hierarchical Service System - Self help, Protest, Issue Politics. This week will explore how the placement organizations fit into the overall spectrum of services, and examples of a variety of responses to perceived need.
Reading – biographies of key figures and histories of agencies in the development of services and copies of The Big Issue (a magazine written and sold by the Homeless)
Week 9:
Addressing the students’ questions and applying theoretical constructs.
Reading – Jarvis et al Chapter 7
Weeks 10-12:
Final Projects – the presentation of final project reports should be made on site.
Weeks 13-14:
The University of the West Indies School of Nursing, Mona Lectures:
Introduction to Health Care Policy and Practice in Jamaica
The role of PAHO/WHO
Overview of Nursing Education in Jamaica
Healers and alternative medical practice
Placements: Duhany Clinic, St. Andrew’s; Comprehensive Clinic, Kingston
Reading: A reading packet will be distributed in Kingston.
Required readings:
Argyle Michael; Cooperation The Basis of Sociability (Taylor Francis 1991)
John Baldock et al. Social Policy. (Oxford University press, 2003. Second edition).
Mcauley, Altruism and helping behaviours (Academic press, 1970). Pp 1-59; 103-151 Hall Peter; London Voices London Lives (Policy Press 2007)
Heller Agnes; The Theory of Need in Marx (Allison and Busby/Spokesman Books 1976)
Jarvis Matt; Russell J; Flanagan C; and Dolan L: Angles on Psychology (Nelson Thorns 2001)
Macionis J and Plummer K; Sociology A Global Introduction 4th Edition (Pearson 2008)
Orford Jim; Community Psychology Challenges, Controversies, and Emerging Consensus (John Wiley and Sons 2008)
Thane Pat; The Foundations of the Welfare State 2nd Edition (Pearson 1996)
The Theory and Research Methods Pack will be available electronically on Moodle, and will contain hand- out summaries, and chapter sections from a variety of sources, including either copies of, or references to, journal papers.
A reading packet will be distributed in Kingston.
Recommended readings:
National and Local newspapers
Sinclair Ian: Hackney that Red Rose Empire (Hamish Hamilton 2007) – an evocative account of the author’s life in and observations of a London Borough
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Dr. Cinzia Pezzolesi holds a first degree in Psychology and a Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Urbino, Italy. She also holds a PhD in “Human Factors in Healthcare” and has done significant research looking at the quality and safety of medical behaviors in secondary care.
Dr. Pezzolesi is currently a lecturer and researcher at the University of Hertfordshire where she teaches in psychology, patient safety, mental health and research methods modules. In her research role, she is conducting studies on the quality and safety of NHS services, and in particular, on doctor team behaviors. She is also delivering professional trainings on Human Factors in secondary care, well being and personal development. From 2005 to 2007 she worked as a clinical psychologist and counselor with adolescents and pre-natal mothers.
Social Welfare Policy In The United Kingdom And Jamaica: A Service Learning Perspective And Practicum
This experiential learning course combines sound social theory, action research and direct involvement in the work of voluntary and statutory services to provide students with a unique learning experience – and provide those they serve with the opportunity to undertake work they would otherwise be unable to do.
The UK is at a crucial point in deciding the future for Charities, Self Help and Community Organizations. The 2010 Coalition Government, under the heading of “The Big Society,” handed over services that were public / state funded to charity and community organizations, with the aim of empowering communities and giving more control of their own lives to individuals and families.
This change in funding highlights the ideological conflict between the concept of a “Welfare State” and self-sufficiency that has been an undercurrent of political and social life in the UK since the creation of the National Health Service and other key elements of social and financial care in 1948.
Students will, therefore, have the opportunity to further develop on-going work with both statutory and voluntary sector organizations in London, and experience firsthand the impact of a change in political culture on communities and the service agencies.
After 12 weeks in London, students travel to Kingston, Jamaica for field studies, continuing the coursework at the University of the West Indies School of Nursing, Mona and engaging in a practicum at comprehensive community health clinics in Kingston.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
In addition, all students will provide a baseline from which to measure their development through the course. This measurement will be in the form of a Service Learning Contract, which will include the student’s previous experience and personal aims and goals. An end-of-experience form will give the student, Instructor and IES Abroad a picture of development through the London placement.
Academic Component:
The classroom and off-site work will be grounded in theory and the examination of policy. In coming back into the classroom each week, students have an opportunity to reflect on and resolve any problems or issues they are experiencing at their placement site.
The course will draw primarily on a social psychological exploration, with political sociological underpinnings (for example, when looking at the ideology of service).
Practical Component:
The provision of information resources and research can be a valuable service for statutory and voluntary services and their clients. The focus of the students’ involvement in the agencies will be on developing, guided by the agency staff, a viable research and/or action project. A guiding principle of placements will be to match the specific knowledge and background of the students with the needs of the agency.
Students will be supported in developing skills in research, and utilizing personal attributes such as openness, commitment, the ability to empathize, tact, fascination with the other – and an inquisitive nature. Students, the instructor and the placement staff will work together to formulate a plan of action which will provide the host organization with a piece of work that is of value to them, and the students’ with a learning experience, and skill development.
Each session will include a group supervision component, supporting students in their placement, and sessions 1-3 will include skill development.
In-class discussions, lectures, skill development exercises, other media such as film and documentaries. In addition, students will provide a plan of action for their placement work. The Instructor will supervise the project and final report from the placement, and co-ordinate with the on-site supervisor / manager in London.
A learning journal will be completed weekly, providing reflections and analysis of both the academic and practical elements of the experience. This will count for 30% of the final grade. Class and on site attendance will make up 10% (poor attendance and lack of punctuality will reduce the final grade). On site assessment will contribute 20% of the final grade – and 40% of the final grade will rest with the final research / project report.
Contact hours: Seminar, London and Kingston: 40 hrs; community placement, London and Kingston, 120 hrs.
Week 1:
Week 2:
Week 3:
Week 4:
Week 5:
Week 6:
From this mid-semester point forward, each class will allow some time for working together on the analysis and presentation of the research / action project.
Week 7:
Week 8:
Week 9:
Weeks 10-12:
Weeks 13-14:
The Theory and Research Methods Pack will be available electronically on Moodle, and will contain hand- out summaries, and chapter sections from a variety of sources, including either copies of, or references to, journal papers.
A reading packet will be distributed in Kingston.
Dr. Cinzia Pezzolesi holds a first degree in Psychology and a Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Urbino, Italy. She also holds a PhD in “Human Factors in Healthcare” and has done significant research looking at the quality and safety of medical behaviors in secondary care.
Dr. Pezzolesi is currently a lecturer and researcher at the University of Hertfordshire where she teaches in psychology, patient safety, mental health and research methods modules. In her research role, she is conducting studies on the quality and safety of NHS services, and in particular, on doctor team behaviors. She is also delivering professional trainings on Human Factors in secondary care, well being and personal development. From 2005 to 2007 she worked as a clinical psychologist and counselor with adolescents and pre-natal mothers.