Care within care.

1. Care within care. How young people can empower younger people in care.

2. MCAST. • MCAST was set up in 2000. It is the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology and is the main provider of VET provision in Malta. • Courses in Health and Social Care from first diploma level upwards are BTEC-MCAST certified and are offered at the Institute of Community Services.

3. Levels of Health and Social Care courses. • Pre-foundation and Foundation level courses (NVQ level 1), • First Diploma level courses (NVQ level 2), • National Diploma level courses (NVQ level 3), • Higher National Diploma (HND) level courses (NVQ level 4 and 5). • A ‘Top-up degree course’ (NVQ level 6) will be offered from 2011.

4. Health and Social Care courses. • All have a theoretical and practical component. • Placements can take place throughout the academic year (usually on a once-weekly basis) and/or take the form of block placements.

5. First Diploma Health and Social Care. • All students carry out at least two placements in Health and Social Care settings during an academic year. Client-groups: Elderly, Children (in care), People with special needs. • In 2009-2010, there were five classes of students with roughly 25 students in each.

6. First Diploma in Care leads to … • A minority terminate their studies at this level and find employment. • Others can choose between furthering their studies at MCAST in either child care, health care studies, or social care studies. • They also have the possibility of furthering their studies abroad, or of attending the University of Malta (subject to their meeting the stipulated eligibility criteria) .

7. Participants. • 20 students who are reading for their first diploma in Health and Social Care in the academic year 2009 – 2010. • Age-range of participants: 16-18 (standard age for students who take up this course). • Completed either first or second placement with children in care.

8. What this research is about. • 1. Students were asked to carry out a task as part of their assessed placement in order to engage younger people (children in care), aged 12 to 14, in learning about a topic of these children’s own choosing. • 2. They were asked to engage in a dialogue based on a Philosophy for Children methodology after having completed the task set.

9. Philosophy for children (P4C). • This is an experiential teaching method that shares with philosophy reflection on such themes as: • What is justice? • What is beauty? • What is real? • What is the right thing to do? • How can I be sure of what I know?

10. (P4C) focuses on aspects such as: • Ethical: Wrong, good, duty, and compassion. • Metaphysical: Real, unreal, time. • Logical: Reasons, Cause/effect, if/then relationships. • Epistemological: Knowledge, opinion, truth. • Political: Fairness, justice, power, government.

11. Underlying tenets of this research study. • 1. Research bridges youth work (and training in health and social care) with informal education and pedagogy. • 2. Research adopts what could be called a young person to young person perspective since it is focused on appraising how 16 to 18 year olds (the students at MCAST) can empower children in care.

12. Methodology (1). • My personal observation of students whilst on placement in a combined placement-tutor and researcher role. • My carrying out focus-groups wherein the students assigned to children in care were asked to explore (1) whether they helped the children to interact and (2) the influence that these activities had on them.

13. Methodology (2). • Focus groups were carried out at the end of the academic year. Two focus groups were held, one group with students from one class and one with students from the other. • Two of the total of five classes reading for the first diploma in health and social care were selected to participate in this study (these were the classes I lectured to and for whom I carried out placement-visits).

14. Child-care settings in Malta. • Run by the Church. • Children are assigned to care for a variety of reasons including child abuse, parental neglect, poverty, and sometimes serious illness of the carer.

15. Examples of activities carried out. • 1. Cutting out pictures from magazine that say something about a child’s aspirations and then discussing them. • 2. Cutting out pictures from magazines about a particular topic and then discussing them. • 3. Giving each child a paper square, engaging them in making it into a windmill, attaching it to a stick, using pins and butterfly clips, drawing their own designs on it, and engaging them in discussing why water is important and why life is important.

16. Examples of activities carried out. • 4. Cutting out pictures to form a thank-you card. Discussing what gratitude means. • 5. Drawing of hands and names and discussing the meaning of identity. • 6. Drawing pencil marks to divide a large paper into four parts and engaging the students in drawing something where the individual parts were complementary. Discussion on cooperation and teamwork.

17. Results (1). • The students noted that the children sometimes had a different way of perceiving the world than they did. They noted that they had to make an effort to enter the child’s world and to offer appropriate support and challenge. During my observations, I noted that this is helped along when the students and children manage to establish an effective working relationship with one another.

18. Results (2). • The students noted that a child needs encouraging words that are focused on a particular effort that s/he has made. They concluded that such words encourage the child to question what s/he has done right and to generate self-confidence and this allows him/her to open up more during discussions. During my placements, I observed that when feedback was specific, it was more likely to be appreciated and understood by children.

19. Results (3). • The students noted that the children had a natural inclination towards fairness and social justice and would feel awkward if they were given more time and attention than their peers. During my observations, I noted that when the students were perceived as pleasant and loving, this serves to lead children to open up about issues that concern them.

20. Results (4). • The students noted that when the children did something erstwhile for one another, they felt valued. Rather than wanting other people to do things for them, they sought to discover ways and means in which they could serve others besides themselves. During my observations, I noted how, these children readily shared things and also how they disclosed to one another thereby manifesting trust.

21. Excerpts from focus-group. • “When I explored the topic of life and death, one of the children who had never spoken up much, said that he associates life with hope, with never giving up, and with a better future. He said it was like an arrow going forwards all the time. I was struck by this child’s maturity.”

22. Excerpts from focus-group. • “When I explored with my group why changes are always happening, one child said that if there were to be no change, then there would follow on a loss of hope, since people constantly strive for change. I went home thinking about it and remembered St. Augistine’s words that “my soul will never be at peace until it rests in Yee.” I just thought it strange that this particular person would stimulate this reflection in me”.

23. Conclusion. • The students were motivated by their feeling involved and empowered in their care of the children. • The children also felt highly involved as could be judged by their participation in the dialogues with the students about the range of topics raised.