The Successive Government Child Care Policies

The Successive Government Child Care Policies Successive governments have refined both legislation and policy, so that in general, the legislative framework for protecting children is basically sound. I conclude that the gap is not a matter of law but in its implementation. (Lord Laming, 2003, p. 7) The name social policy is used to apply to the policies which governments use for welfare and social protection and the ways in which welfare is developed.   Social work practice is not only about individual needs, it also considers social context. This social context includes the range of inter-professional agencies contributing to packages of care and protection, as well as the relationships between service users and their families, friends and communities. REF current UK social policy is the restructuring of public services in order to get them to achieve the goals of grater economy, efficiency and effectiveness, and closer links between the public sector and other providers of welfare. (2010, p.13) This essay will look at some of the key legislations and policies aimed to protect children from any type of maltreatment. Firstly, I will give a definition of child abuse and before discussing the question posed on this essay, I am going to outline some of the key legislations, policies and guidelines concerning child protection, as well as brief description on each. I will then go on to discuss some of the outlined legislations and policies and their impact on social work practice and also if they have been helpful in protecting children in the UK. Finally, the last part of this essay will be a conclusion on the arguments that have been unfolded on the essay. Child Abuse Prevention Report (2002), defines child abuse as constituting all forms of physical and emotional ill treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm in the childs health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power .?! England has a long history of child protection laws dating back to 1889 with the Childrens Charter. Since then, England has passed many laws and policies as a result of death inquires. Following the death of Dennis ONeill in 1946, the Curtis Committee was set up to examine the conditions of children deprived of a normal family life which later on resulted in the Children Act 1948 (Hill, 2003). The main principles of the Act included establishing Local Authority Childrens departments, promoting foster rather than residential care and where possible rehabilitating children back to their families (Hendrick, 2003) full ref. As a result of many other subsequent inquires carried out in the 70s and 80s, as well as a need for clearer guidance in laws relating to children, the Children Act 1989 (CA89) was implemented. Its fundamental principles were that it addressed the balance between child protection and family support services introducing the concept of a child in need, it also emphasised parental responsibility rather than focusing on parental rights. The Act introduced a range of new orders including here the; Child Assessment Order, Family Assistance Order, Specific Issue Order, Prohibited Steps Order, and Educational Order) as well as extended the circumstances in which Interim Orders could be made. (Jowitt OLoughlin, 2006).full Since the CA89, many new laws have been passed to strengthen the ways in which children are protected. Victoria Climbie aged eight, died from no less than 128 injuries, in February 2000. The subsequent inquiry into her death chaired by Lord Laming was the first inquiry to include all 3 key agencies, Local Authority, Health Services and the Police. The inquiry made over 100 recommendations for restructuring child protection services, largely focussing on the responsibilities of individuals and agencies to children and families, and on service co-ordination. The Governments response to the Laming Enquiry was almost immediate through the production of the green paper Every Child Matters, 2003 (ECM) which focused on four key themes. These included supporting families where a need is identified and early intervention in relation to child protection. In conjunction with ECM came the Children Act 2004 (CA04), the Act encompasses several components based on recommendations from the Laming Report (Allen, 2008) The reforms presented by the ECM agenda and CA04 aimed to improve multi-disciplinary working and integrated service delivery and increase accountability. I am in no doubt that effective support for children and families cannot be achieved by a single agency acting alone. It depends on a number of agencies working together. It is a multy- disciplinary task (para. 130) The Children Act 2004 however, does not introduce a range of new child protection powers, Bammer explains the CA04 as ..setting the foundations for good practice in the use of existing powers through a holistic integrated approach to child care (Bammer, 2010, p.182) CAF is one of the many changes introduced in the Children Act 2004 and plays a major part in improving services to children and families in line with the government Every Child Matters agenda. CAF will play a key role in improving outcomes for children and young people by ensuring services are timely and responsive and based on consistent assessment of their individual needs. Some of the benefits to children, young people and their families are: Assessments using CAF are de-stigmatising, as they look at the whole child and take account of family strengths as well as their needs. CAF assessments are undertaken in partnership with families, and enable them to take the lead in identifying needs. CAF assessments are shared, with consent, between agencies so families will no longer have to repeat their information again and again to different agencies and service providers. CAF assessments will support and enhance effective communication between agencies, enabling them to work together more effectively in order to meet the needs of children, young people and families. This is where the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) comes in. The CAF is being introduced in all LEAs between April 2006 and December 2008. You may be familiar with the process because your school may already be piloting it. We all want better lives for our young people and we know that some pupils dont thrive either in or out of school or get support until it is too late. The CAF will help identify them earlier, before things reach crisis point. The easiest and most consistent way to do this is to make sure that every person whose job involves working with young people is prepared and able to help if something is going wrong. The CAF is a tool that will help identify needs for all services, including health, social services, police and schools etc. The extend of the failure to protect Victoria was lamentable. Tragically, it required nothing more than basic good practice being put into operation. This never happened. Lord Laming (2003, para.1.17). Another key element of the ECM strategy is the introduction of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) which was introduced by the CA04. CAF focuses on early intervention for children in need and although consent driven, can be initiated by any professional concerned about a child. A single lead professional would be nominated by the child or family and would be responsible for putting together a package of services to meet the childs needs. The lead professional would also decide whether concerns by other practitioners along with information gathered warranted intervention and would be responsible for the sharing of information between all persons involved on a need to know basis (Parton, 2006). CA04 reforms also implemented Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB) as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦statutory successors of Area Child Protection Committees (ACPC), (Parton, 2006, p.159). LSCBs were set up in 2006, when strategy plans for children and young people were published. Some of the tasks that the LSCBs are required to perform include, agreeing how different organisations in their local area co-operate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, provide single and inter-agency training and guidance for recruiting people applying to work with children, (Department of Health, 2006. Section 3.3). Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) were established under the Children Act 2004 and have the responsibility for co-ordinating and ensuring the effectiveness of the work of partner bodies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (Children Act 2004, Section 14). Changes to the child protection register where also implemented following Every Child Matters. The child protection register was abolished in 2008 as a result any child previously included on the register is now known as A Child who is subject to a Child Protection Plan. Case conferences and Core Groups are still being held for children who are at continuing risk of significant harm, however, discussion are no longer in favour for or against registration, but if the child should remain subject to a Child protection Plan (Oldham LSCB, 2006 FULL). The plan should outline what needs to change, how this will be achieved and by who, with realistic timescales to implement changes and a contingency plan should this fail (DOH Working Together, 2006. Section 5). Further amending legislation such as the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 have been introduced and in the aftermath of the well-publicised Baby P case we may see more legislative activity. Discussion! Over the last forty years, reform after reform has been intended to improve the quality of the protection provided to children and young people and compensate for failures in practice. Many of these reforms were a response of evidences from numerous inspections and high-profile reviews into childrens deaths, (Apendix 1) Recently, the circumstances around the death of Baby Peter led to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. The Coalition Government has already endorsed the work of the SWRB has following the recommendations of the Social Work Task Force and within weeks of its formation the new Government has proceeded with further reforms including new statutory guidance on the publication of SCRs. The many changes have been most striking in relation to social work practice, an area where it can be argued there was most need for improvement. While in the 1970s there was relatively little guidance on dealing with child abuse and neglect, social workers now have a range of assessment and decision making tools, access to research evidence, and software programmes that shape, often in unintended ways, how a case is managed. The 1989 Children Act was described by the then Lord Chancellor as the most comprehensive and far reaching childcare law in living memory (Hendrick, H, 2003, Child welfare, pg 96.) It promoted the welfare of the child as being paramount. This meant it was the first piece of legislation that put children at the forefront of its agenda. According to Hendrick (2003) although rights for children had been advanced, it did not consult any children in the process of the forming of the Act and it is stemmed from Government authorities. The Children Act 2004 introduced a foundation for good practice, however, section 58 of this Act as it currently stands legitimises the use of physical punishment: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it has long been recognised by the law that a parent or person with parental authority may use reasonable punishment to correct a child. This is the defence of reasonable chastisement or reasonable punishment (CA 2004, s. 58, paragraph. 237). The FPI believes that giving people who are smaller and weaker fewer rights to protection in this regard is unacceptable. The argument that parents have a right in their own home to discipline their children as they choose, in other words that parents have proprietorial rights over children and a consequent right to hit them, recalls arguments that were once used in relation to husbands and wives. There is also an issue of discrimination in the use of visible marks as a measure of the acceptability of physical punishment. This will give less protection to babies and children whose skin is not white. Something about risk assessment and how we can not be sure that the child is fully protected as a result of this assessment. Disabilities on Act 1989à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. LCB Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) are the current statutory mechanism through which the partners in local areas agree on ways to co-ordinate their safeguarding services. Their statutory functions include: developing and agreeing local safeguarding policies and procedures; providing training; making assessments about the impact and effectiveness of local safeguarding arrangements; and undertaking serious case and child death reviews. However the current coalition government is focusing the early intervention on the first years of a childs life pretending that this way they will assure that they are going to be brought up without abuse. Young teenages! initial assessment from 7d to 10d! In April 2008 the Public Law Outline (PLO), a new approach to case management, was introduced to reduce delay in care proceedings. It is too soon to be clear about the impact of the introduction of the PLO, and in particular whether or not it has increased workloads and added to delays in the process. There is currently conflicting evidence, for instance, whilst a number of contributions to this report raised concerns about the impact of the PLO, in London, the number of care proceedings cases being completed in under 40 weeks in care centres has risen from 22 per cent to 36 per cent when comparing the data for the quarter before the introduction of the PLO with the latest data following its implementation. Conclude Social policy is There are a collection of legislations, policies and guidelines that social workers must have knowledge of when practicing their profession. Lord Laming argues in his last report that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦further legislative change is not what is needed to protect children à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it is vital that all professionals à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦fully understand the legislative framework in relation to safeguarding and child protection, and have a clear understanding of their responsibilities in the process (2009, p.78). A common theme throughout all is the desire to protect and promote the welfare and safety of children. A sad reality is that some children will always need the statutory services and intervention of local authorities and the courts as parents are not always able to make the changes required to safeguard their children. Every Child Matters is, in some ways, a refreshing and radical reform in the ways public services are expected to work with children, young people and families. On the other hand however, it also to some extent offers a sweeping vision about children and young peoples entitlements whilst delegating full accountability for the delivery of the services that enable children, young people and their parents/carers to local public services. What cannot be rejected however is the importance of the document to get agencies who work with groups of young people to develop more effective ways of working together and creating an arena of more accountability. In the construction of Every Child Matters as a favoured way of thinking, politicians and civil servants have aggressively projected individual collective and national anxieties and insecurities onto diverse, dynamic, complex and uncertain fields of practice where managers and practitioners work closely with many of Englands most vulnerable, troubled / troublesome children, young people and families. In conclusion, the social policies, legislation and organisational context of social work are important factors that go towards the whole process of social work. It is important to know the skills and knowledge in law and policy, but also to have the knowledge and skills in interpreting and applying social work law to practice and emphasising the role of law in promoting social work values and purpose. As stated within the essay, this is part of the challenge of social work, certain laws and policies conflict with other laws, including policies of multi-professional organisations, and where ethical issues come into place allowing the social worker to draw on knowledge and life experience, empowering the service user by using the skills knowledge and values, which will help in challenging inequality, oppression and discrimination. There is also the requirement of the GSCC framework that social workers must be able to work in accordance with statutory and legal requirements, and carry out their work with professional conduct within multi-professional organisations and to be accountable if they fail to do so. Baby peter and the cuts! Jonathan Dickens sees social work poised between the four points of a diamond its duties to the state, its obligations to service users, its responsibilities to its own professional standards, and its accountability to organisational imperatives (2010, p.11) The aim is to make it harder for people to do something wrong and easier for them to do it right. US Institute of Medicine (1999, p.2) Word Count: Bibliography References Allen, N. (2008) Making Sense of the Children Act 1989, 4th ed. West Sussex: John Wiley Sons. Corby, B. (2006) Child Abuse, Towards a Knowledge Base. Berkshire: Open University Press. Department of Health (DOH) (2006) Working Together To Safeguard Children, Every Child Matters, Change for Children. London: SO Every Child Matters (2006) [online] Available at: http://education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/CM5860.pdf [Accessed: 11/1/2011] Hendrck, H. (2003) Child Welfare, Historical Dimensions, Contemporary Debate. Bristol: Policy Press. Hill, M. (2003) Understanding Social Policy, 7th ed. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Jowitt, M. OLoughlin, S. (2006) Social Work with Children Families. Exeter: Learning Matters. Laming, L. (2003) The Victoria Climbià © Inquiry. [online] Available at: http://www.sunderlandchildrenstrust.org.uk/content/laming%20report%20summary.pdf (Accessed: 11/1/2011) Parton, N. (2006) Safeguarding Childhood, Early Intervention and Surveillance in a Late Modern Society. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Walsh,M. Stephens,P. Moore,S. ((2000) Social Policy and Welfare. Cheltenham: Stanley Thorne Publishers. RSPCA (2008) [online] Available at: http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RSPCA/RSPCARedirectpg=about_the_rspca [Accessed: 11/01/2011] Children Act (1989), [online] Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/contents [Accessed: 11/01/2011] Children Act (2004), [online] Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/31/notes/contents?view=extent[Accessed: 11/01/2011] Lord Laming, The Protection of Children In England: A Progress Report, (2009), [online] Available at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/resources-and-practice/IG00361/ [Accessed: 11/01/2011] US Institute of Medicine (1999), To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, Washington D.C., National Academic Press, [online] Available at: http://www.iom.edu/~/media/Files/ReportFiles/1999/To-Err-is-human/To Err is Human 1999 report brief.pdf [Accessed: 11/01/2011] Parton, N. (2010), The Increasing Complexity of Working Together to Safeguard Children in England The Munro Review of Child Protection Part One: A Systems Analysis, (2010) [online] Available at: http://www.education.gov.uk/munroreview/downloads/TheMunroReviewofChildProtection-Part one.pdf [Accessed: 11/01/2011] London Safeguarding Children Board Overview Panel Procedures, [online] Available at: http://www.londonscb.gov.uk/files/resources/cdop/overview_panel_procedure.pdf[Accessed: 11/01/2011] Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010), [online] Available at: http://www.education.gov.uk/publications//eOrderingDownload/00305-2010DOM-EN-v3.pdf [Accessed: 11/01/2011] Being a Parent in Real World, [online] Available at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/familyinformationdirect/downloads/BeingParentinRealWorldbkt.pdf [Accessed: 11/01/2011] Children are Unbeatable, [online] Available at: http://www.childrenareunbeatable.org.uk/pdfs/newsletters/CAU-Issue01.pdf[Accessed: 11/01/2011] Social Work Reform Board (SWRB) Serious Case Overview Report Relating to Peter Connelly (2009), [online] Available at: http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/s/second [Accessed: 11/01/2011] Nick Allen, 2005, Making Sense of the Children Act 1989 [online] Available at: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fWx4kUsXbhUCpg=PR4dq=making+sense+of+the+Children+Act+1989+and+related+legislations+for+the+social+and+welfare+system+2005hl=enei=P4g5Td_YF8WwhQfk8MnJCgsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=4ved=0CD0Q6AEwAw#v=onepageqf=false [Accessed: 11/01/2011] Dickens, J., 2009, Social work and social policy: an introduction, Taylor Francis, [online] Available at: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UOcJ8B98Gl8Cprintsec=frontcoverdq=Social+work+and+social+policy:+an+introductionhl=enei=y0Q-TfTYB5Tw4gb0jPWNCgsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=1ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepageqf=false [Accessed: 11/01/2011] DoH, Home Office, D of E, (2000) The Framework for Assessment for Children in Need and their Families [online] Available at: State Profession Service Users Organisation Figure 1.1 The social work diamond State: Social policy, social work and other social professions as parts of the machinery of state support and control. Key factors: Roles of central government and local authorities. National policies, legislations, taxation and government spending. Roles of the Parliament, courts, regulatory bodies. Overlaps and tensions between these different parts of the state. Political conflict about the proper role of the state. Profession Social policy, social work and other social professions as top-down, expert-led activities. Key factors: Professional: Professional attributes such as training and expertise, standards and skills, service ethics, self-regulation, But there are criticism of elitism, self-interest and status, and the disabling effects of professionals. Service users Social policy, social work and other social professions as bottom-up, user-led activities. Key factors: Roles of individuals, families and neighbourhoods; campaign groups and self-help groups. Concepts of participation, inclusion, empowerment, control. But there are tensions between different service users, and questions about how much power and choice they really have or should have. Organisation Social policy, social work and other social professions as activities that shaped by their organisational setting. Key factors: Type of organisation statutory (e.g. local authority), Voluntary or business. Inter-agency working. Processes for user involvement. Bureaucracy, regulation and managerialism. Budgets and profits. (Dickens, 2009 p.12-13)

Promote Equality and Inclusion

Promoting Equality And Inclusion I am writing this booklet to inform all members of staff, adult carers, children and young people about supporting understanding and to raise awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion. Equality and inclusion are moral and legal obligations. As a practitioner you have a role in ensuring that in all aspects of your work every personas given opportunities to thrive and prevent any barriers that may stop them from reaching their full potential. Equality and inclusion are moral and legal obligations.As a practitioner you have a role in ensuring that in all aspects of your work every personas given opportunities to thrive and prevent any barriers that may stop them from reaching their full potential. Diversity. Diversity means difference. People are different in values such as race, religion, beliefs, disability, sex and values. Even though people are different this doesn’t mean they are excluded from society, everyone has similarities such as c ommon interests. ‘Diversity refers to the differences in values, attitudes, cultures, beliefs, skills and life experience of each individual in any group of people. ’(Meggit, C. 011, Page 27) Equality ‘Equality is about creating a fairer society, where everyone can participate and has the opportunity to fulfill their potential’ (London deanery, 2012). Equality does not mean that everyone has to be treated the same. People have different needs and ambitions, every person should have equality of opportunity. Promoting equality should remove discrimination in all of the areas of bullying, harassment or victimization. Inclusion ‘Inclusion is a term used to describe the process of ensuring the equality of learning opportunities for all children and young people, whatever their disabilities or disadvantages. (Meggit, C. 2011, page 27). Children and young people should be able to have the opportunity to do well. This is the opposite to discrimination. Discri mination Discrimination is not treating people equally based on personal characteristics, such as race and colour. Discrimination is usually based on prejudice and stereotypes. A prejudice is a pre-conceived opinion or in favour of something. It is prejudging someone knowing little about them but jumping conclusions because of a characteristic such as their appearance. A stereotype is a person or thing that conforms to an unjustifiably fixed, usually standardised, mental picture.The most common stereotypes are: sex and gender, racial origins, cultural or social background, disability and age. There are two types of discrimination : direct discrimination- This is when a child is treated less favourably than others for example being bullied is direct. ‘Indirect discrimination-this is when a condition is applied that will unfairly affect a particular group of children or young people’. (Meggitt,C (2011) p. 29) Potential effects of discrimination Discrimination prevents chi ldren and young people from developing a feeling of self-worth or self-esteem.Being discriminated against can last the whole child’s life. This means that they may not be able to fulfill their full potential maybe in school and in life they will find it hard to form relationships with others such as teachers and friends this is down to the lack of confidence they have from the discrimination and also lack of self-esteem and self-worth. They will eventually believe the stereotype or label they have being given from the discrimination against them and behave in accordance to others expectations and accordingly to the stereotype.The child or young person may feel like they are to blame for their unfair treatment and so withdraw themselves; this may lead to aggression and will prevent children and young people from interacting cooperatively with other children and young people. H ow inclusive practice promotes equality and supports diversity ‘Inclusive practice is term used within education of ensuring equality of learning opportunities for all children and young people whatever their disabilities or disadvantages. ’ (Meggit,C,2011, page 30).We have a diverse population and some of this diversity brings with it a range of social and educational issues that practitioners will need to recognise, understand and work with. All practitioners must work in a way that supports equality of opportunity and promotes diversity and inclusion. This means breaking down barriers that prevent children and young people from fulfilling their full potential. You must challenge all discrimination and follow the laws and policies set in your workplace.Differentiate all activities set to enable all children take part and achieve this is promoting equality, also promote all positive attitudes towards diversity by making sure all that the materials, toys, books and displays reflect the diverse society that we live in. Practitioners Bibliography London deanery available at http://www. faculty. londondeanery. ac. uk/e-learning/diversity-equal-opportunities-and-human-rights/what-is-equality-and-diversity (accessed on the 4th October 2012) Meggit,C. Kamen,T. Bruce,K. Grenier,J. (2011)children and young people’s workforce. 1st edition. London;Hodder Education.

Creativity or Conformity? Building Cultures of Creativity in Higher Education Essay

Permission is granted to reproduce copies of these works for purposes relevant to the above conference, provided that the author(s), source and copyright notice are included on each copy. For other uses, including extended quotation, please contact the author(s). Abstract Whatever else it may be, creativity is intriguing; this view appears to be shared by the literature on the subject and by popular culture. While there is little agreement about the exact nature, processes and products of creativity, there seems to be a fascination both with its complexity and the sheer impossibility of providing clear explanations for it. This paper does not attempt to generate yet another explanation, but instead offers a framework for exploring creativity in the context of teaching and teacher education. The nature of creativity in teaching is usually evidenced by its products: innovative curriculum design or original students’ work. The focus of this paper, however, is on developing opportunities for teachers to understand, explore and express their identities as creative practitioners. These opportunities are offered in the form of â€Å"creative reflection†, a framework of creative methodologies for engaging teachers individually and collectively in identifying and expanding their creativity practices. The notion of creative reflection challenges the action-reflection dichotomy of reflective practice and extends reflection beyond cognitive, retrospective models to encompass the exploration of possibility through play, image-making, writing, action methods and storytelling. The paper offers examples of and reflections on these methods from the author’s use of creative methodologies in a teacher education programme at Queen’s University Belfast. Creative Reflection, Creative Practice: Expressing the Inexpressible The concept and practices of creative reflection have been developed in a teacher education programme at Queen’s University Belfast to enhance the model of reflective practice on which the programme is based. Creative reflection is a framework of creative methodologies whereby teachers explore their practice and the liminal spaces between action and reflection. This work is a response to the need in teacher education for â€Å"the development of more complex models of reflection, related to purpose, which take greater cognisance of existing knowledge from other disciplines, particularly those aspects of psychology concerned with cognitive processes including problem-finding, insight, wisdom, creativity† Leitch and Day (2000: 186-187). Creativity itself is an elusive concept; the literature on the subject incorporates a range of perspectives and dichotomies, raising a number of questions. Those pertinent to this paper include: – is creativity a cognitive process, or is it socially constructed? – is creativity to do with outcomes, or with processes and qualities such as fluency, imagination and originality? – what are the conditions which support the development of creativity? – what is the nature of creativity in education, and does it have a place in teacher education? One of the assumptions on which this paper is based is that teachers are creative; by extension, teacher education should therefore provide them with opportunities to identify themselves as creative and to enhance their creativity. Craft (2001: 48) suggests that teachers are highly creative: Certainly some of the characteristics of high creators (childlike qualities, feeling under siege, being on the edge, high energy and productivity) which Gardner identifies in Creating Minds (1993), also emerged as a characteristic of ‘ordinary’ educators in one of my research projects (Craft, 1996a; Craft and Lyons, 1996). Craft’s allusion to productivity is complemented by Eisner’s exploration of the processes, the â€Å"artistry† and the â€Å"craft† involved in teaching (2002). Both facets of creativity, product and process, are incorporated into the framework for creative reflection. Details follow as to how participants engage in process activities as well as in deliberation on the outcomes of these processes. The process of creativity, mysterious as it is, has long been a source of fascination and speculation. Helmholtz’s classical model, developed in 1826, includes the stages of saturation, exploration and incubation; Poincare added to these the aspect of verification (Balzac, 2006). The four-phase model developed for this study incorporates and elaborates on these stages: Model for Creative Reflection Phase 1: Preparation This aspect of creative reflection recognises that the creative process involves uncertainty and possibility and that participants need preparation to access that state of receptivity, or Keatsian Negative Capability, which Keats defines as â€Å"when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason† (Buxton Foreman, 1895). In this phase of creative reflection, threshold activities are offered to enhance possibility and to free the imagination. One of the most successful of these threshold activities has been the invitation to participants to select images and quotations on a relevant theme: teaching, learning or creativity itself. This activity is based on the notion of â€Å"stepping stones† into a liminal world of exploration, as in Progoff’s system for entering the â€Å"twilight world† of process meditation (Progoff, 1980). While participants are in the process of choosing images and quotations which engage them, music is played in the background to enhance relaxation and stimulate intuitive rather than rational decision-making. The activity is conducted without discussion to encourage focus and a connection with the unconscious. Another threshold activity is that of visualisation: for example, individuals are asked to imagine their learning about their practice as a journey and to articulate this in the form of images or writing. The sharing of the results is part of the process of synthesis described in the final phase of this model. Threshold activities are directed at the group as a whole as well as at individuals: for example, participants are asked to imagine an ideal space for teaching and learning and to suggest in turn something which they might like to include in this space. Offerings range from comfortable chairs to the location of this space at the seaside and the presence of flowers and music centres. This activity generates ideas about inclusiveness and introduces into the discussion metaphors and symbols which enhance the learning process. The idea of bringing an ideal situation or world into the realms of possibility through group visualisation is based on the process of reflective meditation in psychosynthesis (Ferrucci, 1982; Assagioli, 1999). Phase 2: Play This phase is based on the assumptions that a good deal of learning happens through play, that play is an essential aspect of cultural development (Huizinga, 1970), and that a group can create meaning, possibility and new insights through the processes of play. Play is also important because it has the potential to free participants from external concerns so that they may enter the state of â€Å"flow†. According to Csikszentmihalyi (1991, 1997) this is an optimum state in which the person is fully focused and immersed in what he or she is doing, usually with a successful outcome. The activities in this phase are conducted quickly; their purpose is to generate energy, enjoyment of the group process and a range of new ideas. The processes involved provide opportunities for divergent thinking; they include mind mapping, creative thinking and brainstorming. The brainstorming methods in this model of the creative reflection are informed by Kelley and Littmann’s (2002) methods for enhancing fluency of ideas and innovation within the context of team-building. Phase 3: Exploration This aspect of creative reflection is active, with the purpose of creating a product. The processes involved may include creative writing, storytelling, or the use of art materials, or action methods based on psychodrama to concretize the experience (Moreno, 1994). The exploration phase may be individual or collective: it may take place in pairs or small groups. In one particular activity, an individual selects one of his or her identities as a teacher from a list; this list includes the more obvious identities such as mentor, helper and instructor, as well as more metaphorical ones as foot soldier, sower or bridge. The individual then elaborates this identity through writing and art, imagining in detail, for example, what this identity might look like, its voice, its tools and how it engages in relationship. The image below depicts the process of exploration on both individual and group levels. Participants, given the task of expressing their understandings of themselves as reflective practitioners, arranged together the quotations, images and artefacts which they had chosen as individuals to express this notion. The circle of people made from tissue paper was created as a collective piece for the final image; this suggests that the group product extended beyond that of a loose arrangement of individual ideas to a creative collaboration of knowledge and understanding. [pic] Phase 4 Synthesis In the final phase of creative reflection, which is akin to the verification tage of the Helmholtz/Poincare model, participants present and reflect on their ideas, stories and collective images. In this phase, which is adapted from McNiff’s process of â€Å"dialoguing with the image†, participants engage with and reflect on the artefact engendered by the creative process (McNiff, 1992). Through this process, the experience and learning are synthesised into new understandin gs, or the identification of new questions which might be raised about professional practice. The image below represents the world of reflective practice as created by a group of practitioners through the use of props. pic] Discussion about this image revealed that each of the scarves, which are circumscribing and containing the world of reflective practice, represents a strength owned by one of the practitioners, while the Russian dolls and the teddy bear on the edge of the circle symbolise those learners who exclude themselves from learning. The act of dialoguing with the image engendered ideas amongst the participants for engaging those who are currently on the outside and who have not yet found a satisfactory means of expression. In many ways, the process of writing this paper has been a struggle to express that which is inexpressible; it is challenging to articulate the complexity of the spaces between reflection and practice, as well as the complexity of creativity itself. It is hoped that further research will indicate whether the processes of creative reflection can take sufficient cognisance of these complexities to support teachers in recognising and expressing their creativity. References Assagioli, R. (1999) The Act of Will: A Guide to Self-Actualization and Self-Realization, Knaphill, David Platts Publishing Company Balzac, F. (2006) ‘Exploring the Brain’s Role in Creativity’,Neuropsychiatry Reviews, Vol. 7, no. 5, May 2006. http://www. neuropsychiatryreviews. com/may06/einstein. html Accessed 14/11/2006 Buxton Foreman, H. (1895, Complete revised edition) The Letters of John Keats, London : Reeves & Turner Craft, A. (2001)’ â€Å"Little c Creativity†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, Craft, A. Jeffrey, B, and Leibling, M. (eds. ), Creativity in Education, London and New York, Continuum, pp 45-61 Craft, A. (1996a) ‘Nourishing educator creativity: a holistic approach to CPD’, British Journal of In-Service Education, 22 (3), 309-322. Craft, A. and Lyons, T. (1996) Nourishing the Educator, Milton Keynes: The Open University Seminar Network Occasional Paper Series Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997) Creativity. Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York, HarperPerennial. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1991) Flow: the psychology of optimal experience. New York : HarperPerennial Eisner (2002) ’From episteme to phronesis to artistry in the study and improvement of teaching’, Teaching and Teacher Education, Volume 18,  Number 4, May 2002, pp. 375-385 Ferrucci, P. 1982) What we may be: techniques for psychological and spiritual growth. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam Gardner, H. (1997) Extraordinary minds: portraits of exceptional individuals and an examination of our extraordinariness New York : BasicBooks Huizinga, J. (1970) Homo Ludens: a study of the play element in culture, London : Maurice Temple Smith Kelley, T and Littman, J. (2002) The Ten Faces of Innovation: Ideo’s Strategies for Be ating the Devil’s Advocate & Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization London: Profile Leitch, R. and Day, C. (2000) ‘Action research and reflective practice: towards a holistic view’, Educational Action Research, Vol 8, 1 pp179-193. McNiff, S. (1992) Art as medicine: creating a therapy of the imagination Boston, MA. : London: Shambhala Moreno, J. L. (1994, Fourth Edition) Psychodrama and Group Psychotherapy, Mental Health Resources. Progoff, I (1980) The Practice of Process Meditation: The Intensive Journal Way to Spiritual Experience, New York: Dialogue House Library.

Solving the Foreclosure Crisis - 1332 Words

The images of the foreclosure crisis are startling: families forced out of their homes, bank executives begging Congress for bailouts, government officials scrambling to put the nation’s financial system back together. Such disarray, however, arises from a very simple moment – when a hopeful family sits down with a loan officer at their local bank. In that moment, the collective fates of the family, the bank and national financial system are sealed. For better or worse, the outcome of the meeting determines the fates of all involved. The family can embark on a path of either independence and homeownership or ruin and dislocation. The bank can either invest in the community or partake in its unraveling. The national financial system can†¦show more content†¦Alternatively, a borrower educated in the procedures and perils of mortgages may be more likely to take out a reasonable home loan and successfully avoid foreclosure. By incentivizing borrowers to take this c ourse, regardless of their income level, society will benefit from lower foreclosure rates across the socioeconomic spectrum. A second component for borrowers is a web site that helps borrowers calculate key aspects of the mortgage transaction. It would request information very similar to that requested by a loan officer at a bank such as household income and expenses, current debt burden, employment status and credit history as well as information about the home in which they are interested, including price, minimum down payment and location. Then it would provide users with an interactive timeline, allowing users to project futures based on potential changes in employment or income, changes in family composition, and changes in interest rates or home value. Based on all this information, the website could offer rough estimates of the viability of the home purchase, when the mortgage would be paid off and what circumstances might result in foreclosure. This website would not be intended to replace consumer education programs but could provide a more accessible alternative. The Lenders To avoid offering potentially dangerous mortgages, lenders need to be bound by socially optimal incentives. Short of changing the lawsShow MoreRelatedSolving the Foreclosure Crisis 1107 Words   |  5 PagesSolving the foreclosure crisis is not an easy quest. In order to solve the crisis, it will take everyone getting involved. The banks and other lenders need to be willing to work with people who have been in their homes and need to have their loans restructured or refinanced. There should not be any more QUICK FIXES. Too many of the lending institutions are trying to put a bandage on an open wound. Instead of working with the homeowners, they are willing to put the residents out of the homes and thinkRead MoreSolving the Foreclosure Crisis 972 Words   |  4 PagesIn order to solve the foreclosure crisis, first we must identify and examine the reasons why people are going into foreclosure. The unstable economy which has led to the loss of thousands of jobs is the most obvious reason that people are foreclosing their homes. Without a stable and sufficient source of income, it is virtually impossible to pay back mortgage lenders. The first step we should take to solve the foreclosure crises is to create more jobs so that people can pay their mortgages on timeRead MoreSolving The Foreclosure Crisis Essay985 Words   |  4 PagesHome foreclosures have been a hot topic in recent months as the economy has been in a serious downfall with a very slow recovery process. There are many different philosophies and many people truly feel that we can recover from this. We can alter the foreclosure status by giving serious consideration to the economic times and the types of mortgages that are available. Buyers must become more educated on the additional costs when getting a mortgage such as taxes, insurance, etc. The governmentRead MoreSolving the Foreclosure Crisis 1156 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Foreclosure filings were reported on 336,173 U.S. propert ies in June, the fourth straight monthly total exceeding 300,000†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Brooklyn, NY – December 30, 2009 Foreclosures continue to rise drastically across the United States due to the recession, and have effected, and continue to affect thousands of families and individuals every day. One aspect we must take into consideration is that most people are not informed of what foreclosure means, or the process, even those who are homeowners.Read MoreSolving The Foreclosure Crisis1012 Words   |  5 PagesThe current foreclosure crisis is affecting everyone in this nation. If people are not experiencing the crisis firsthand, they hear about it through family, friends, and their other social networks. Nonetheless, it is impossible to escape because the media is constantly showing coverage about it. People are becoming more aware and seeing how expansive the impact is through television, internet, print, and radio. Americans are quickly realizing the impact the foreclosure crisis is having on theRead MoreSolving the Foreclosure Crisis 979 Words    |  4 PagesOne way to solve the foreclosure crisis is to actually foreclose on every homeowner’s home loan, including the homeowners in bankruptcy, pre-foreclosure and post-foreclosure. The credit report of these homeowners should read as a recession in 2009 and it should not lower their credit scores. The banks should then match the previous interest rates to the interest rates of today and appraise each home and property at the value that it was assigned by its local tax assessor. By doing this it willRead MoreSolving the Foreclosure Crisis 1578 Words   |  7 Pagespotential loss breaks down as follows: Loss from sales price: $200,000.00 5% Commission: $10,000.00 3% closing cost credit: $6,000.00 Repair credits: $1,000.00 Foreclosure fees: $50,000.00 Total loss $267,000.00 Case number one: For those whose income has not had any major variations from the time they initiated their mortgage, but are finding themselves unable to continue their payments because of anRead MoreSolving the Foreclosure Crisis Essay1092 Words   |  5 PagesThe foreclosure crisis was one of the harbingers of the coming economic recession. This was the issue that shifted the focus of the 2008 presidential election from the Iraq War to the economy. As one can imagine, many individuals and families are currently hurting as a result of this foreclosure crisis. High unemployment rates and lack of job creation leave very few options for already struggling homeowners. Because the housing industry composes such a large part of the American economy and affectsRead MoreEssay on Solving the Foreclosure Crisis 969 Words   |  4 PagesThe current foreclosure crisis that our nation is experiencing has become a great hardship on many people in America. People that have lost their jobs due to cut backs, people with families for whom they need to provide shelter, people who are otherwise very responsible but have been put in a position from which they cannot escape, these are the people that are suffering. Normally if one could not afford to make payments on their mortgage, there would be ways for them to refinance their mortgageRead MoreThe Solving The Foreclosure Crisis933 Words   |  4 Pages The foreclosure crisis, which tragically happened several years ago, stole away the homes from countless Americans and left them high and dry. These Americans were not even neglecting to pay for their mortgage on purpose; the economy took a drastic downfall and took all of those unshielded Americans with it. Now, these Americans are left with many questions that are unanswered – until now. They still have the chance to improve their credit, test out their dream home, and thrive in the current reasonable