Geraldine Maughan
Limerick Institute of Technology, Ireland
Title: Personal development modules making a positive difference to learners and their clients
Biography
Biography: Geraldine Maughan
Abstract
Social care lecturing staff at Ireland’s Limerick Institute of Technology have devised a personal development curriculum and pedagogy for social care learners for each year of their study. This integrated model can be traced back to elements of psychology, sociology, and philosophy. The module aims to equip social care learners to work enabling adults and children in a range of social care settings, who are sometimes marginalized and vulnerable, to be empowered to recognize their own potential equivalent to how social care learners recognize theirs during their engagement with the personal development modules. Personal development is often a transformative process within the relationship dyad between lecturer and learner who co-create this pedagogical learning space. A person-centered methodology is at the heart of this teaching. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and relevance of this module for social care work graduates. The purpose of the research is to discover if personal development provides beneficial learning from the perspective of social care work graduates and their in-service supervisors. Engagement with new ideas and research findings throughout my Ph.D. study will facilitate curriculum evaluation and change if necessary.
Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: Stems from an Interpretive/constructivist qualitative case study research design. Preliminary findings from a pilot study outline learners’ positive experiences both professionally and personally with the module.
Conclusions: From the pilot study suggest continuing the study and recommendations to date advise continuing with interviews and solicited diaries but not focus groups.