Personal and Professional Development (or Use of Self) in Social Educator Training. An Experience Based on Reflective Learning

• Published in: Social work education Vol. 32; no. 5; pp. 576 - 589
• Main Authors: Pallisera, Maria, Fullana, Judit, Palaudarias, Josep-Miquel, Badosa, Mercè
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Taylor & Francis Group 01.08.2013; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis LLC; Taylor and Francis
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Catalonia, Spain; College Students; Course Design; Description; Educació social; Education Work Relationship; Health staff related problems. Vocational training; Learning; Medical sciences; Personal and Professional Development; Professional development; Professional identity; Professional Training; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reflection; Reflective learning; Reflective teaching; Selfknowledge; Social education; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Social service; Social Work Education; Spain; Teachers; Training; Treball social; Work Experience; Europe; Spain; Human; University environment; Cognition; Reflection; Professional status; Student; Specialized educator; Learning; Personal and Professional Development; Social Work Education; Acquisition process; Course Design; Professional practice; Social worker; Occupational training; Judgment
• ISSN: 0261-5479; 1470-1227
• DOI: 10.1080/02615479.2012.701278

Working on use of self with professionals in social education from the initial training stage onwards is often deemed a necessary contribution to their personal and professional development. Despite this, it is difficult to find references to programs and experiences that have been undertaken from this perspective. In this article we present a recent experience from a university in Catalonia (Spain) which aimed to work on self-knowledge and professional identity through the implementation of the reflective learning model prior to students' practical work experience. The first section of the article is dedicated to contextualizing the experience of training social educators in Spain. A theoretical framework is then provided, including a description of course content, methodology and assessment, and finally the experience is assessed by noting strengths and weaknesses detected in the process.