The Impact of Emotions on Practicum Learning

Shape-shifter and Agenda Setter: The Influence of Emotion in Social Work Practice and Practice Education

“…Here attention falls to the motivational power of emotion, potentially driving adaptive behaviours, such as avoiding negative outcomes and promoting positive ones (Rowe et al, 2015, p. 2); a premise which extends to the notion of emotions providing guidance in decision making, perhaps motivating moral action (Keinemans, 2015). In recent years, what appears to have captured the attention of some is the role emotion plays in effecting motivation within a context of learning, an area of exploration supported by findings from research indicating that emotional responses can be considered as both outcomes and predictors of learning (Maidment & Crisp, 2011). This is particularly pertinent to social work, given the prevalence of emotional pressures faced by practitioners (Carpenter et al, 2012;Grant et al, 2014) and of particular interest in social work education and training given the practicum component of qualifying programmes.…”

“…The interplay of psycho-social worlds that are seen, felt and experienced (for example see Schofield, 1998) will produce a multitude of emotions, eliciting an array of differing responses, and so, as in practice, careful consideration should be given to the situated; learning; context (Maidment & Crisp, 2011). This is something made more salient given a concern that qualifying students are not always as well prepared for the emotional demands of the profession as they otherwise might be (Grant, Kinman & Baker, 2013, p. 3), coupled with encouraging approaches to understand why a case evolved the way it did and why particular 'routines of thought and action become established' (Fish, Munro & Bairstow, 2008, p. viii), especially when unfortunate outcomes prevail.…”

“…More generally, the impact of emotion in workplace learning (Sebrant, 2008) and learning within higher education (Rowe et al, 2015) illustrates that its effects are worthy of considerable attention, an observation supported by literature exploring the role of emotion in professional decision making; recent examples include Dore (2015) and Kirkman & Melrose (2014). Yet this appears to be a somewhat fledgling area of inquiry, particularly with regards to practice learning (Litvack et al, 2010;Maidment & Crisp, 2011). This paper seeks to explore further the impact of emotion on social work practice, giving particular attention to learning processes towards qualification.…”

“…Despite these various nuances, there is an emerging consensus relating to the links between emotions and cognition (Abe, 2011;Hascher, 2010;Rowe, Fitness & Wood, 2015) and emotions and motivation (Abe, 2011;Hascher, 2010;Keinemans, 2015;Maidment & Crisp, 2011;Rowe et al, 2015). Operating in conditions of complexity and uncertainty (Munro, 2011) the emotional demands on practitioners can be high, especially if inadequately supported, leading to emotional exhaustion and practitioner burnout (Carpenter, Webb, Bostock & Coomber, 2012), a phenomenon echoed in several studies that have identified higher rates of work-related stress in social work, compared to many other occupational groups .…”

“…What this entity looks and feels like is not entirely definitive, cloaked, as it is, with some definitional 'confusion' (Hascher, 2010, p. 13). Within the literature (Hascher, 2010;Keinemans, 2015;Litvack, Bogo & Mishna, 2010;Maidment & Crisp, 2011;Nguyen & Noussair, 2014) a range of perspectives and semantical positions abound, such that emotion resembles something a kin to a gelatinous mass: boundaried, detectible and recognisable, yet malleable, indeterminate and abstract. Lacking a clear-cut definition (Keinemans, 2015) and with terms such as feeling, mood and affect attracting similar associations (Hascher, 2010), emotions are, perhaps, better viewed as something more akin to nebulous umbrella constructs that are 'ultimately psychological terms describing profiles of physiological responses' (Nguyen & Noussair, 2014, p. 296).…”