CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CRITICAL

ANALYSIS IN ASSESSMENT

Collection of information

Supporting judgements

Making decisions

Good assessment: unfocused, directionless, potentially dangerous practice

Processing information, i.e.SynthesisingAnalysingEvaluatingConcluding

WHAT IS THE ASSESSMENT FOR?

Provide an understanding of why the assessment is being done and what you’re expecting to get out of it

(- your aims and objectives).

Be specific about the child’s needs

Be clear about the consequences or risks if the child’s needs are not met

WHAT IS THE STORY?

Demonstrate an understanding of the family’s history and context

Include an account of what you don’t know yet

Adopt an open mind and questioning approach – uncertainty

WHAT DOES THE STORY MEAN?  Show your working out ( - assessment tools)

Make sure the assessment is structured in such a way that the recommendations follow on clearly from the information obtained

Be succinct, concise and relevant 

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WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN?  Be clear about your concerns and the

reasons behind your concerns

Make explicit the underpinning knowledge and evidence that have informed your argument and decisions

Be clear about whether judgements are based on your own observations or research evidence, or both

Be clear about the short- and long-term risks for the child if identified needs are not met

HOW WILL WE KNOW WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS?

 

Outcomes and changes should be visible

VALUES - Balance of rights and needs; awareness of discrimination

REASONING SKILLS – critical reflection; appraisal of risks and benefits

EMOTIONAL WISDOM – emotional impact of work on self and others

PRACTICE WISDOM – wisdom-informed skills from day-to-day experience and training

FORMAL KNOWLEDGE – law, theories, policies, procedures, research evidence

SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES

curiosity open-mindedness manage uncertainty and not knowing question one’s own as well as others’

assumptions hypothesise self-awareness observation skills problem-solving skills synthesise and evaluate information from a

range of sources creativity present one’s thoughts clearly, both verbally

and in writing

TYPES OF INFORMATION THAT INFORM ASSESSMENT

Vivid rather than dull

Concrete rather than abstract

Emotional-laden rather than neutral

Recent rather than in the past

First impressions

video

INTUITION: ‘Immediate apprehension/insight without reasoning’.

ANALYSIS: ‘The resolution or breaking up of anything complex into various simple elements’.

(Oxford English Dictionary)

‘Examination of an issue, problem, topic or situation that goes beyond describing it and includes (one or more of) theories, thoughts, opinions and judgements’.

(Oxford Dictionary of Social Work)

INTUITIVE THINKING ANALYTICAL THINKING

Quick Slow

Reactive Deliberate

Unconscious Awareness of thinking

Thinking widely about

a lot of information

Concentrating on a few key issues

TOOLS TO ASSIST IN ANALYSIS

Chronologies

Genograms

Cultural review tool

Culturagrams

Decision trees

Critical decision tool

Resilience and vulnerability matrix

Discrepancy matrix

Signs of safety

CULTURAL REVIEW TOOL

What do I know about individuals and families with this particular cultural background or life experience? Where does my knowledge come from? What prejudices may I hold (positive or negative)? What do I know about/expect of children of these ages, their lives and needs? What might surprise me about this family and why would it be a surprise? How might this family/parent/children perceive me? How might the assessment and my agency be perceived? What impact might the assessment have on the family's life? What agency norms and practice do I take with me on an assessment? (For example, thresholds of 'good enough parenting‘)

CULTURAGRAM

What decision is to be made?

What options are there?

What information is needed to help me make the choice?

What are the likely/possible consequences of each option?

How probable is each consequence?

What are the pros and cons (desirability) of each consequence?

The final decision.

DECISION-MAKING TREE

CriticalDecisionTool

Resilience/VulnerabilityMatrix

5 types of discrepancy

Informational: there is contradictory information about a child/parent from different agencies.

Interpretative: different conclusions are drawn from the same information by different professionals.

Interactive: the parents’ declared intentions are contradicted by actions.

Incongruent: the parental manner or the way they talk about their child is inconsistent, contradictory or incoherent.

Instinctual: the worker’s gut feeling suggests that something is wrong but they cannot specify what.

Indications or clues about the existence of such discrepancies can occur at organisational, inter-agency, family and practitioner levels.

DISCREPANCY MATRIX

Critical, Analytical And Reflective Thinking In Assessment

 Rigorous and systematic thinking;

Range of resources and approaches

Procedures and toolkits are not a substitute for thinking and professional judgement;

Individual /personal factors can constrain thinking and impact on decision-making;

Systemic factors can damage the ability of the individual practitioner to think

Good supervision can support the development of analytical, critical and reflective thinking in practice