Annette Coburn - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Annette Coburn
International Practice Development Journal, May 19, 2021
Background: Storytelling is an important tool for enacting relational approaches to Practice Deve... more Background: Storytelling is an important tool for enacting relational approaches to Practice Development in care homes. Using storytelling methods in Practice Development can enhance care home communities' capacity how this method can lead to enhanced practice. Methods: The method described in this article is the Learning and Innovating from Everyday Excellence (L.I.F.E) Session method developed as a culture change initiative by My Home L.I.F.E Facilitators in Scotland. L.I.F.E Sessions aim to take stories from everyday practice and use a structured format of 4 questions, to help people talk about the ideals collaboratively and practical ideas that can be taken forward to benefit those who live, work in or visit the care setting. Description and reflection on storytelling method using illustrative examples: Fourteen L.I.F.E (SnipChat) Sessions took place as part of a broader study exploring community in care home research study, the Kinections Project. Key reflections elicited using illustrative examples from 3 of these storytelling sessions are that the storytelling sessions (1) helped move stories from the specific (one resident) to the universal (practice development and culture change that can benefit everyone in the home) (2) involve a process which could in itself support development of connection among those involved in the session (3) inspired and encouraged people to feel confident to bring their learning and ideas into practice in a timely way. Conclusion: This article illustrates how the L.I.F.E Session method can be used to structure a discussion that uses a short everyday story as the route into a generative conversation, that can inspire innovation in practice. Implications for Practice: • L.I.F.E Sessions provide a format for illustrating the significance and potential for learning and development from ordinary, everyday experiences in care homes that can be facilitated reasonably quickly, with a wide range of people and across a wide range of topics. • L.I.F.E Sessions can facilitate generative experiences and encourage generative outcomes through those involved feeling inspired and enabled to take forward small, tangible ideas and actions.
The changing lives of young people provided the context for the Scottish Government to publish a ... more The changing lives of young people provided the context for the Scottish Government to publish a national strategy for youth work, which reported young peoples' aspirations to be treated equally and to know their opinions count. This article draws on research about the nature and purpose of youth work during this period of change and contributes to the debate that positions youth work as a catalyst for addressing the inequalities that young people experience. The study was undertaken in a purpose-built youth facility opened in 1970. Over 3 years, the project was visited 42 times, during which 24 interviews and 49 periods of observation were made. Using the findings of this research, the article proposes that youth work may be positioned as border pedagogy that offers opportunities for creation of a new knowledge through collaborations between young people and youth workers. The findings illustrate how youth work enabled young people to build social and cultural capital that enhanced their knowledge and understanding of the world and strengthened their social networks. It proposes youth work as a site of capital building, where cultural and social awareness is heightened, and young people are at the centre of processes that enhance their sense of well-being in terms of who they are or may become.
Clydebank Women's aid provides temporary accommodation and a safe place for women and their c... more Clydebank Women's aid provides temporary accommodation and a safe place for women and their children to stay, where the women have suffered abuse (mental, physical or sexual) in their home or within a relationship with a partner or family. Support is available on a daily basis and an emergency on-call is available at evenings and weekends. Further support and information is provided through the Out Reach Service and Rolling Programme to women in the community.
This subtitle draws on Phil Mizen’s book, ‘The Changing State of Youth’ (Mizen, 2004) that examin... more This subtitle draws on Phil Mizen’s book, ‘The Changing State of Youth’ (Mizen, 2004) that examined how changing state interventions and perspectives have impacted on the lives of young people in contemporary British society. This short paper asserts that youth work has also changed to accommodate oppressive state policies, interventions and adverse perspectives. These have resulted in the emergence of a form of youth work that is about controlling and containing young people rather than empowering and liberating them. The paper is optimistic that challenging current constructions of youth through a dynamic educational youth work sector may alter the prevailing discourse and strengthen the possibilities inherent in young people’s democratic and human rights. As academics, we are well placed to mount this challenge through dialogue with the Scottish Government.
Interest in territoriality and young people’s social use of public space has concentrated largely... more Interest in territoriality and young people’s social use of public space has concentrated largely on negative perceptions and has been mostly concerned with maintaining public order. Sustained through the stereotyped perception that young people hanging around on street corners are “up to no good”, there seems to be a perpetual moral panic about young people in public places and their perceived or reported engagement in crime, disorder and disruption (Brent, 2001: Waiton, 2000; Scottish Office, 1998; Drakeford and Butler 1998). Media interest has focused almost exclusively on young people as the perpetrators of crime with minimal exploration of young people’s experiences as victims of crime or of the experiences of the vast majority of young people who simply meet on the streets to socialise with their friends. Furthermore, the idea that territoriality is an experience that is common to large sections of society, regardless of age and social standing, is rarely acknowledged.
Educational Youth Work, as distinct from the provision of leisure activity, creates the possibili... more Educational Youth Work, as distinct from the provision of leisure activity, creates the possibility for young people being empowered and to make autonomous decisions about their lives. This paper reports on an ethnographic case study which examined perceptions and experiences of equality within one educational youth work setting. Research methods, including semi-structured interview, electronic diary and observation, were used to explore young people’s views and enabled them to reflect on their perceptions. The findings illustrate how the youth work paradigm facilitates the creation of a powerful learning environment. Young people’s experiences were interpreted, by themselves and by the researcher, as central to the construction of knowledge and understanding of equality. The young people reported on how their perspectives changed over time. Their considerations of the setting, illustrated how the youth work site enabled alternative educational processes through which young people can learn and flourish. There was evidence that the formation of trusting relationships, with other young people and youth workers, facilitated learning within this site. The findings also noted how such relationships, contributed to the creation of informal educational sites for, ‘experimentation, creativity and possibility’ (Giroux, 2005, p 151). The concept of critical pedagogy provided a framework for understanding educational youth work as both a social and a political process (Freire, 2004; Giroux, 2005; Kellner (2000). As a catalyst for social change, critical pedagogy is discussed within this paper in relation to the youth work curriculum.
Report focusing on community planning initiatives in South Lanarkshire Council
Aims to define well-being and explain how the feel good factor can help transform lives in the co... more Aims to define well-being and explain how the feel good factor can help transform lives in the context of youth work.
Paper explains how well-being and health can be promoted through youth work
We would like to thank everyone at 'The Street' for inviting us to experience this phenomena for ... more We would like to thank everyone at 'The Street' for inviting us to experience this phenomena for ourselves, and for permitting our access to the evaluative data that has informed this small-scale study. The report has been compiled by Dr Annette Coburn and Johanne Miller under the auspices of the Institute of Youth and Community Research, School of Education, University of the West of Scotland.
This thesis is the result of the author's original research. It has been composed by the author a... more This thesis is the result of the author's original research. It has been composed by the author and has not been previously submitted for examination which has led to the award of a degree.
Reflections on Scotland’s first experimental youth centre
This article discusses the importance and values of a peer education approach and argues that the... more This article discusses the importance and values of a peer education approach and argues that the theoretical underpinning, rationale and practice require a change in focus. Community based youth work can benefit from developments in Higher Education where peer education has become routine rather than exceptional practice. It is proposed that the value of this methodology lies in the enhancement of teaching and learning across formal and informal learning environments. In searching for definition and rationale, the article examines contemporary peer education approaches noting the persistent focus on delivery of credible, mainly health related, information. Workers spend time trying to measure recipient impact rather than focusing on the benefits of this approach as a teaching and learning strategy. In response, the authors have created a new peer education template that can be used by peer educators and learners to help track and plan their learning across various learning settings.
International Practice Development Journal, May 19, 2021
Background: Storytelling is an important tool for enacting relational approaches to Practice Deve... more Background: Storytelling is an important tool for enacting relational approaches to Practice Development in care homes. Using storytelling methods in Practice Development can enhance care home communities' capacity how this method can lead to enhanced practice. Methods: The method described in this article is the Learning and Innovating from Everyday Excellence (L.I.F.E) Session method developed as a culture change initiative by My Home L.I.F.E Facilitators in Scotland. L.I.F.E Sessions aim to take stories from everyday practice and use a structured format of 4 questions, to help people talk about the ideals collaboratively and practical ideas that can be taken forward to benefit those who live, work in or visit the care setting. Description and reflection on storytelling method using illustrative examples: Fourteen L.I.F.E (SnipChat) Sessions took place as part of a broader study exploring community in care home research study, the Kinections Project. Key reflections elicited using illustrative examples from 3 of these storytelling sessions are that the storytelling sessions (1) helped move stories from the specific (one resident) to the universal (practice development and culture change that can benefit everyone in the home) (2) involve a process which could in itself support development of connection among those involved in the session (3) inspired and encouraged people to feel confident to bring their learning and ideas into practice in a timely way. Conclusion: This article illustrates how the L.I.F.E Session method can be used to structure a discussion that uses a short everyday story as the route into a generative conversation, that can inspire innovation in practice. Implications for Practice: • L.I.F.E Sessions provide a format for illustrating the significance and potential for learning and development from ordinary, everyday experiences in care homes that can be facilitated reasonably quickly, with a wide range of people and across a wide range of topics. • L.I.F.E Sessions can facilitate generative experiences and encourage generative outcomes through those involved feeling inspired and enabled to take forward small, tangible ideas and actions.
The changing lives of young people provided the context for the Scottish Government to publish a ... more The changing lives of young people provided the context for the Scottish Government to publish a national strategy for youth work, which reported young peoples' aspirations to be treated equally and to know their opinions count. This article draws on research about the nature and purpose of youth work during this period of change and contributes to the debate that positions youth work as a catalyst for addressing the inequalities that young people experience. The study was undertaken in a purpose-built youth facility opened in 1970. Over 3 years, the project was visited 42 times, during which 24 interviews and 49 periods of observation were made. Using the findings of this research, the article proposes that youth work may be positioned as border pedagogy that offers opportunities for creation of a new knowledge through collaborations between young people and youth workers. The findings illustrate how youth work enabled young people to build social and cultural capital that enhanced their knowledge and understanding of the world and strengthened their social networks. It proposes youth work as a site of capital building, where cultural and social awareness is heightened, and young people are at the centre of processes that enhance their sense of well-being in terms of who they are or may become.
Clydebank Women's aid provides temporary accommodation and a safe place for women and their c... more Clydebank Women's aid provides temporary accommodation and a safe place for women and their children to stay, where the women have suffered abuse (mental, physical or sexual) in their home or within a relationship with a partner or family. Support is available on a daily basis and an emergency on-call is available at evenings and weekends. Further support and information is provided through the Out Reach Service and Rolling Programme to women in the community.
This subtitle draws on Phil Mizen’s book, ‘The Changing State of Youth’ (Mizen, 2004) that examin... more This subtitle draws on Phil Mizen’s book, ‘The Changing State of Youth’ (Mizen, 2004) that examined how changing state interventions and perspectives have impacted on the lives of young people in contemporary British society. This short paper asserts that youth work has also changed to accommodate oppressive state policies, interventions and adverse perspectives. These have resulted in the emergence of a form of youth work that is about controlling and containing young people rather than empowering and liberating them. The paper is optimistic that challenging current constructions of youth through a dynamic educational youth work sector may alter the prevailing discourse and strengthen the possibilities inherent in young people’s democratic and human rights. As academics, we are well placed to mount this challenge through dialogue with the Scottish Government.
Interest in territoriality and young people’s social use of public space has concentrated largely... more Interest in territoriality and young people’s social use of public space has concentrated largely on negative perceptions and has been mostly concerned with maintaining public order. Sustained through the stereotyped perception that young people hanging around on street corners are “up to no good”, there seems to be a perpetual moral panic about young people in public places and their perceived or reported engagement in crime, disorder and disruption (Brent, 2001: Waiton, 2000; Scottish Office, 1998; Drakeford and Butler 1998). Media interest has focused almost exclusively on young people as the perpetrators of crime with minimal exploration of young people’s experiences as victims of crime or of the experiences of the vast majority of young people who simply meet on the streets to socialise with their friends. Furthermore, the idea that territoriality is an experience that is common to large sections of society, regardless of age and social standing, is rarely acknowledged.
Educational Youth Work, as distinct from the provision of leisure activity, creates the possibili... more Educational Youth Work, as distinct from the provision of leisure activity, creates the possibility for young people being empowered and to make autonomous decisions about their lives. This paper reports on an ethnographic case study which examined perceptions and experiences of equality within one educational youth work setting. Research methods, including semi-structured interview, electronic diary and observation, were used to explore young people’s views and enabled them to reflect on their perceptions. The findings illustrate how the youth work paradigm facilitates the creation of a powerful learning environment. Young people’s experiences were interpreted, by themselves and by the researcher, as central to the construction of knowledge and understanding of equality. The young people reported on how their perspectives changed over time. Their considerations of the setting, illustrated how the youth work site enabled alternative educational processes through which young people can learn and flourish. There was evidence that the formation of trusting relationships, with other young people and youth workers, facilitated learning within this site. The findings also noted how such relationships, contributed to the creation of informal educational sites for, ‘experimentation, creativity and possibility’ (Giroux, 2005, p 151). The concept of critical pedagogy provided a framework for understanding educational youth work as both a social and a political process (Freire, 2004; Giroux, 2005; Kellner (2000). As a catalyst for social change, critical pedagogy is discussed within this paper in relation to the youth work curriculum.
Report focusing on community planning initiatives in South Lanarkshire Council
Aims to define well-being and explain how the feel good factor can help transform lives in the co... more Aims to define well-being and explain how the feel good factor can help transform lives in the context of youth work.
Paper explains how well-being and health can be promoted through youth work
We would like to thank everyone at 'The Street' for inviting us to experience this phenomena for ... more We would like to thank everyone at 'The Street' for inviting us to experience this phenomena for ourselves, and for permitting our access to the evaluative data that has informed this small-scale study. The report has been compiled by Dr Annette Coburn and Johanne Miller under the auspices of the Institute of Youth and Community Research, School of Education, University of the West of Scotland.
This thesis is the result of the author's original research. It has been composed by the author a... more This thesis is the result of the author's original research. It has been composed by the author and has not been previously submitted for examination which has led to the award of a degree.
Reflections on Scotland’s first experimental youth centre
This article discusses the importance and values of a peer education approach and argues that the... more This article discusses the importance and values of a peer education approach and argues that the theoretical underpinning, rationale and practice require a change in focus. Community based youth work can benefit from developments in Higher Education where peer education has become routine rather than exceptional practice. It is proposed that the value of this methodology lies in the enhancement of teaching and learning across formal and informal learning environments. In searching for definition and rationale, the article examines contemporary peer education approaches noting the persistent focus on delivery of credible, mainly health related, information. Workers spend time trying to measure recipient impact rather than focusing on the benefits of this approach as a teaching and learning strategy. In response, the authors have created a new peer education template that can be used by peer educators and learners to help track and plan their learning across various learning settings.