3 Power and critical practice in your workplace
You have now thought critically about the ideas expressed in Audio 1 by Raj and Peter. Power and authority was an important theme of their discussion. Additionally, Raj and Peter talked about how different ideas and terminology have become more, or less, important over time. This section looks at how ideas are shared and debated in practice settings and how structures in organisations relate to different kinds of power and authority.
Activity 3 Discussing structures and power in practice
This activity invites you to think about how some features of critical practice relate to your own practice setting.
- Where and how are different ideas about practice shared? This might include new research or changes to legislation and policy, and how these impact on social work.
- Thinking back to Audio 1 and the perceptions of the profession shared, how do you think the services provided in social care are seen by people using them?
- To what extent are people using services involved in shaping service provision? What structures are in place to promote this involvement?
- What processes exist for identifying and addressing discrimination in the workplace?
Discussion
Each social work setting is different, although there are likely to be some shared practices between similar agencies. For example, organisations may have self-organised or specific interest groups for staff, as well as processes by which these collective issues can feed into trade unions. Unions can then take up issues of discrimination at a structural level. You might find that new research evidence or other developments are discussed in team meetings or that other ways exist for disseminating new ideas. You will probably find a range of opinions about involving people with lived experience. You could evaluate the extent to which:
- involvement is seen as a continuous process and how feedback is responded to by the organisation
- people who use services and carers are involved in the development and provision of services in general.
This will also inform your understanding of how services are viewed by the people using them.
By now, you will be reflecting on how to take a critical stance towards any information you find out. The next section looks in more detail at how to involve people with lived experiences.