Relationship-based teaching

A relational ethics led approach to teaching social work

Bibliographic Data

ID12902121
AuthorsSharon Walker (0000-0002-0643-6265, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume9
Issue4
Pages394-402
Publication date2015-10-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthics and Social Welfare (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1749-6535 • E-ISSN: 1749-6543
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17496535.2015.1088703
OpenAlexW2174868239
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited11

Following a discourse in social work education in England about the need for social workers to develop effective relationships with service users and professionals, I made a relational ethical decision to teach social work students from a relationship-based approach. It was relationally ethical as my teaching would match the approach students were intended to practice from. The relationship-based model requires mutual engagement, mutual empathy and mutual empowerment within the student/teacher relationship (Edwards and Richards 2002 Edwards, J. B. and Richards, A. 2002. “Relational Teaching: A View of Relational Teaching in Social Work Education.” Journal of Teaching in Social Work 22 (1): 33–48. doi: 10.1300/J067v22n01_04[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). Mutuality implies reciprocity, yet it was not a decision agreed with the students to be taught from this approach, therefore is it ethical to expect a mutual response to an approach they have not made an informed decision to be taught from? I aim to explore the ethics of my decision to create mutuality with students who have not formally agreed to be taught from a model which requires them to give of themselves

Empathy · Empowerment · Mutual aid · Pedagogy · Political science · Reciprocity (cultural anthropology · Sociology · Work (physics · Interprofessional Education and Collaboration · Law · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work