Observation as a Social Work Tool and Skill

This assignment is going to look into observation as a social work tool and skill. Firstly, it is going to briefly describe the observation. Secondly it will analyse the interactions using a reflective approach. And finally, it will look into some relevant social work skills and values that relate to the discussed topic.

The observation exercise was carried out on the upper deck of a London Bus on a weekday evening and lasted approximately fifteen minutes. The subjects of the observation were a male in his late twenties that appeared to be of Afro-Caribbean origin and a female of a similar age with an Eastern European accent. The male was wearing a tracksuit and had a set of headphones hanging over his shoulders. The girl was dressed in smart-casual clothes. They were sitting next to each other and were having a conversation. At the time of the observation there were not empty seats on the bus. I carried out the observation from a relatively close distance, a couple of seats away from the observed individuals.

Due to the nature of what was being said, I learned that they did not seem to know each other. The observed male appeared to be confident and talkative. He seemed to lead the conversation by asking her a number of questions related to her background, marital status etc. He asked her: ‘where are you from?’, ‘How long have you been in London?’, ‘have you got a boyfriend?’ amongst other questions. The observed girl gave the opposite impression. The tone of her voice and her body language showed signs that lead me to believe that she was not entirely comfortable with the situation even though she did made eye contact with him and smiled on a couple of occasions.

From an observer perspective I felt a certain level of anxie...

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...eflective practice within the social work field.

Works Cited

Banks, S (2006). Ethics and values in social work. (3rd ed). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Briggs, S (1999). Links Between Infant Observation and Reflective social work Practice. Journal of Social work Practice. Volume 13, (number 2), p: 147-156

Coulshed, V and Orme, J. (2006). Social work practice. (4rd ed). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Dominelli, L (2004). Values ethics and empowerment in Social work theory and Practice For a Changing Profession.Uk: Policy Press

Tanner, K and Turney, D (2000). The role of Observation in Assessment of Child Neglect in Child Abuse Review. Volume 9, p337-348

Thompson, N (2009). Understanding Social Work (3rd ed ). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Trevithick, P (2005). Social Work Skills a practice handout. (2nd ed). Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.