Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
Key Situations in Social Work Model:
Professional Reflection and Knowledge
Management
Adi Stämpfli, Msc, Lecturer in Social Work,
Goldsmiths, University of London
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
Professional Reflection is a key
capability in social work
Critical Reflection & Analysis:
“Social workers are knowledgeable about and apply the
principles of critical thinking and reasoned discernment. They
identify, distinguish, evaluate and integrate multiple sources
of knowledge and evidence. These include practice evidence,
their own practice experience, service user and carer
experience together with research-based, organisational,
policy and legal knowledge. They use critical thinking
augmented by creativity and curiosity.”
The College of Social Work, Professional Capabilities Framework
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
Reflection enables the linking of
theory and practice “Relationierung”
Although reflective practice has
become a key paradigm in social
work, the ideas and practices
associated with its application are
not well defined operationally.
(Wilson, 2011; D'Cruz et al., 2007).
Reflection models are lacking clear processes of
how knowledge, values and practice can be related
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
Our Vision is ...
…. to build a platform and a
network for students,
professionals
organisations and
academics in social work,
which aims to support
reflection and discourse
on situations and to
support continuous
professional development
of social work practice.
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
http://it-runde.de/5609/gastartikel-soziale-netzwerke-gehoren-zu-unserem-leben
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Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
Model: Key Situation in Social Work …
• developed at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts,
Northwestern Switzerland for social work education
• offers a theoretical and a learning (individual and
organisational) perspective on how to relate knowledge,
practice and values
• can be applied in and across organisations such as
universities and practice organisations
• focuses i.a. on reflection and discourse in communities of
practice (CoPs) (Wenger, 1998)
• is currently being developed further (platform and CoPs) as
part of a funded 20 month project
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
5
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
Definition of „Key Situation“
• Key Situations in social work are situations which professionals
describe as important and reoccurring and which they need to
be able to manage in their professional practice.
• Although every professional situation is unique, there are
essential generalisable features.
• The number of such situations, as the situations themselves are
flexible and change over time in response to changing social
conditions.
• From the practitioners' perspective situations are experienced
as an uninterrupted course of action and as a symbolically
structured context of meaning.
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
The most influential theoretical
underpinnings of the model
•
•
•
•
•
•
Illeris (2009): Comprehensive understanding of learning
Jarvis (2009): Learning to be a person in society
Lave & Wenger (1991): Situated Learning
Wenger (1998): Communities of Practice
Dreyfus & Dreyfus (1987): Novice-Expert Model
Schön (1983): Reflective Practitioner: Reflection in Action, on
Action and on Reflection in Action
• Dewe (2012): Theory-Praxis "Relationierung"
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
7
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
Theoretical Premises
• Socio-Constructivist view: knowledge construction in
the human brain through assimilative and
accommodative learning in a process of socio-cultural
negotiation of meaning
 The best transfer of knowledge resources to new
situations is possible when knowledge has been
acquired in a self-directed problem solving or problem
based (social) process.
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
What I will talk about
• Professional reflection: Working with Key Situations
• Dialogue about professional practice: The Key
Situations Discourse Model
• Knowledge management in social work: online
platform and communities of practice
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
9
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
Professional Reflection
04/2014
Working with key situations:
a step by step reflection process
1. Describe a situation of your practice.
2. Split the situation into sequences and re-enact each
sequence in role play. Following this describe the
emotion of the social worker and the service user
and the thinking (reflection-in-action) of the social
worker.
3. Choose a heading (from the collection)
4. Determine typical characteristics of the situation
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
10
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
Professional Reflection
04/2014
Working with key situations:
a step by step reflection process
5. Research resources (theories, research, experiential
knowledge, skills, organisational, material and time
resources)
6. Define quality standards
7. Reflect on the situation using the quality standards
and
8. Develop alternative courses of action
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
11
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
Professional Reflection
04/2014
Conclusion 1: Knowledge, Practice and
Values are integrated in reflections
Social work
science
Social work
profession
Scientific knowledge
of social problems
Experiential
knowledge
Scientific knowledge
of interventions
Organisational and
contextual
knowledge
Ethical knowledge
Skills
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
Professional Reflection
04/2014
Conclusion 2: Continuous Professional
Development of Capability
Person
Knowledge, Skills, Dispositions, Values  individual
Performance
Situation 1
Situation 2 Situation 3 Situation 4 Situation 5
Reflection
Negotiation
of
Meaning
Professionalism
prof. Competence
prof. Identity in
Communities of
Practice
Action
Environment
Knowledge, Norms, Values, Context, Resources  social
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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Key Situations in Social Work - Model
documenting knowledge
Outcomes of Reflections are
seldom documented ....
Social work
science
Social work
profession
Scientific knowledge
of social problems
Experiential
knowledge
Scientific knowledge
of interventions
Organisational and
contextual
knowledge
Ethical knowledge
Skills
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
04/2014
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
documenting knowledge
04/2014
Online Plattform to document
situations as „boundary objects“
• The co-constructed reflections are documented on an online
platform and are thus made accessible to others.
• The Key Situation Model makes use of a Wiki (akin to
Wikipedia) where all 8 elements of a situation are
documented. Key Situations can thus be used as boundary
objects:
“When artefacts are seen as mediating tools
rather than reified knowledge, we come to recognise that
much of our knowledge lies in the discussions we have around
mediating artefacts rather than in the artefacts themselves.
This then creates opportunities for the re-creation of the
original artefact.”
(Eraut, 2013, p. 217)
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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Key Situations in Social Work - Model
documenting knowledge
Online Learning and Teaching OLAT
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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04/2014
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
documenting knowledge
Conclusion 3: Documentation makes
situated knowledge accessible
Social work
science
Social work
profession
Scientific knowledge
of social problems
Experiential
knowledge
Scientific knowledge
of interventions
Organisational and
contextual
knowledge
Ethical knowledge
Skills
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
04/2014
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
discourse
04/2014
Platform enables discourse on
documented practice and knowledge
“Social work researchers (...) argue that IT should be designed to
support the knowledge-sharing process rather than simply
supporting the mechanical process of information (...)”.
(Jang, 2012, p. 6)
• The platform based on situations constitutes an innovative tool
and can be used by the professional and scientific community
to access its situated knowledge. However, knowledge is
situated: bound by context and people and is fluid, flexible and
open to interpretation and change.
• Therefore, discourse aims to develop the quality of the
practice, knowledge and values documented in a key situation.
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
18
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
discourse
04/2014
Online Learning and Teaching OLAT
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
19
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
discourse
04/2014
Project #Key Situations
• Currently we are developing the platform as part of a funded
research and development project to make it more user
friendly and open it up to professionals and academics.
• We are planning to establish around 15 CoPs consisting of
practitioners and academics who will look after a range of key
situations in which they have expertise (Quality Assurance)
• We are testing different ways to access situations.
• The projects runs from February 2014 to September 2015. The
core team consists of three academics and an E-Learning
specialist.
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
20
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
discourse
04/2014
Key Situation Network: Members
•Students and qualified practitioners from practice and academia
can become members of the network. They can get access
through the platform.
•Collaboration in a thematic CoP is open to all members who
have an interest in the domain of the CoP, in virtual forms of
cooperation and who may wish to broaden their existing
networks across boundaries of academia and practice.
•Our network is currently being established. We have
practitioners, lecturers and students in Switzerland and Germany
who are already using the model and the platform.
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
21
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
discourse
04/2014
Conclusion 4: Discourse enhances
professional development
• In addition to reflection and documentation it is
essential that the professional and scientific
communities engage in a discourse on (situated)
knowledge and practice to foster the development of
shared understandings and to further develop hybrid
forms of professional knowledge.
• Key Situation network members can make
connections, communicate and meet in (virtual)
rooms through the platform.
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
22
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
knowledge management
04/2014
Innovative, situation-based knowledge
structure
• The underlying premise of the model is that every profession
can be described by its typical, reoccurring situations.
• A project team consisting of social work practitioners and
lecturers applied a modified “developing a curriculum”
methodology (DACUM) (Norton & Moser, 2008). They analysed
the fields of social work and social pedagogy in Switzerland and
produced a collection of professional key situations.
• The resulting 130 situations describe the typical activities that
social workers need to be able to manage.
• The term key situation was chosen in reference to key
competency and key role.
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
23
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
knowledge management
04/2014
Knowledge Management in Social
Work: Evidence Based Practice
• Knowledge management traditionally focuses on the
publication of research, theories and reports into specific areas
of practice (Jang, 2012). The problem of accessing this
knowledge is a challenge.
• Publication alone, even when suitable access is provided, does
not lead to its use in practice (Gray et al. 2009).
• Evidence based practice has its limitations and as a way
forward D’Cruz et al. (2009, p. 82) suggest a (....) approach that
allows engagement “with a material reality, while also
recognising the multiple (and relative) meanings possible for
these material realities”.
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
24
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
knowledge management
Intuitive, associative access to
knowledge
• Knowledge is memorised in situated connections and cannot
be transferred easily to new contexts or situations. However,
situated knowledge allows associations but needs to be
adapted to new situations.
• Through association, practitioners can easily identify relevant
key situations with the aid of the title. The platform supports
search function and multiple access routes.
• These can then be used in reflection processes to refresh
knowledge, to discuss in supervision, to comment on, to form
the basis for a reflection process in a CoP or in a team, .....
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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04/2014
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
knowledge management
Conclusion 5: Effective Knowledge
Management
• Effective knowledge management relies on
publication of knowledge and its use in professional
reflection and discourse.
• Situations offer an ideal way to structure knowledge.
Situation can easily be identified in associative,
intuitive ways and can than be used for reflection and
discourse.
• Situated knowledge is more easily transferrable
through association and adaptation to new situations.
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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04/2014
Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
Benefits of the Key Situation in Social
Work Model
1. The reflection process enables professionals to relate
knowledge to (their own) practice and to focus on quality.
2. The model, its platform and the contributions of the
network's members make diverse forms of knowledge
visible, tangible, accessible, understandable and
transferrable. Because knowledge is linked to specific
situations it becomes alive and relevant.
3. Knowledge can thus be shared and exchanged, which
4. Enables a discourse, a joint negotiation of its meaning in
relation to professional practice situations in social work and
fosters coproduction of new professional knowledge.
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
Application of the model
Can you envisage ways in which
this model could contribute to your
professional development, your
reflection and your practice?
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
Application of the model
• The model and the platform are currently used in pre- and post
qualifying social work education.
We envisage that it could be used ....
• in organisations to improve the quality of their practice
(knowledge management, professional reflection, prof.
development, induction).
• by Practice Educators to support students’ reflections & learning.
• by Researchers to support transfer of their (new) knowledge.
• by Lecturers to refer to practice situations.
Overall the network and the platform help to bridge the gap
between academia and practice, between theory and action.
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
Interested?
 www.schluesselsituationen.ch (German)
 Staempfli, Adi; Kunz, Regula & Tov, Eva (2012). Creating a
bridge between theory and practice: working with key
situations. European Journal of Social Education, 22/23, p. 6078.
 Tov, Eva; Kunz, Regula & Stämpfli, Adi, (2013)
Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit. Professionalität
durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of
Practice. Bern: hep
 [email protected]
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
Thank you for your attention!
Adi Stämpfli, Msc, Lecturer in Social Work,
Goldsmiths, University of London
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
References
D'Cruz, Heather; Gillingham, Philip & Melendez, Sebastian (2007) Reflexivity, its Meanings and
Relevance for Social Work: A Critical Review of the Literature, British Journal of Social Work,
(37), 73-90.
Dewe, Bernd (2012): Akademische Ausbildung in der Sozialen Arbeit – Vermittlung von Theorie
und Praxis oder Relationierung von Wissen und Können im Spektrum von Wissenschaft,
Organisation und Profession. In: Becker-Lenz, Roland/Busse, Stefan/Ehlert, Gudrun/MüllerHerman, Silke (Hrsg.): Professionalität Sozialer Arbeit und Hochschule. Wissen, Kompetenz,
Habitus und Identität im Studium Sozialer Arbeit. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 111–128.
Dreyfus, Hubert L./Dreyfus, Stuart E. (1987): Künstliche Intelligenz. Reinbek bei Hamburg:
Rowohlt.
Eraut, Michael (2013) Developing Complex Performance Through Learning Trajectories and Recreating Mediating Artefacts. In: Deitmer, Ludger; Hauschildt, Ursel; Rauner, Felix & Zelloth,
Helmut The Architecture of Innovative Apprenticeship. Technical and Vocational Education
and Training: Issues, Concerns and Prospects Volume 18, pp 207-218
Gray, Mel; Plath, Debbie & Webb, Stephen A. (2009) Evidence-Based Social Work. A Critical
Stance. London and New York: Routledge.
Illeris, Knud (2009). Contemporary theories of learning. Learning theorists ... in their own words.
Oxon: Routledge.
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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References
Jang, Kyeonghee (2012) An Understanding of Optimal Knowledge Management for Social Work
Practice: Based on a Process-Oriented Conceptualisation of Knowledge Integration. British
Journal of Social Work 1–20
Jarvis, Peter (2009): Learning to be a person in society. In: Illeris, Knud (ed.): Contemporary
theories of learning. Learning theorists … in their own words. London: Routledge, 21–34.
Lave, Jean/Wenger, Etienne (1991): Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New
York: Cambridge University Press.
Norton, R. E., & Moser, J. (2008). DACUM handbook (3rd ed.). Columbus, OH: Center on
Education and Training for Employment, The Ohio State University.
Schön, Donald A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner. How professionals think in action. London:
Temple Smith.
The College of Social Work (2012) Professional Capabilities Framework. www.tcsw.org.uk
Wenger, Etienne (1998) Communities of practice. Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge
University Press
Wilson, George (2011) Evidencing Reflective Practice in Social Work Education: Theoretical
Uncertainties and Practical Challenges, British Journal of Social Work, (Advance Access online),
1-19.
Tov, Kunz & Stämpfli (2013) Schlüsselsituationen der Sozialen Arbeit.
Professionalität durch Wissen, Reflexion und Diskurs in Communities of Practice. Bern: hep Verlag
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Key Situations in Social Work - Model
04/2014
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