A Knowledge of Groupwork Theory - Essay Example

ASSIGNMENT WHAT IS MEANT BY GROUP DYNAMICS HOW CAN THE YOUTH AND COMMUNITY WORKER USE THE THEORY OF GROUP DYNAMICS TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE WITH THE PROCESS OF GROWING UP ASSESMENT CRITERIA 1. AN UNDERSTANDING OF GROUP DYNAMICS 2. A KNOWLEDGE OF GROUPWORK THEORY, ITS BASIC PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES 3. A PRACTICAL UNDERSTANDING OF HOW GROUPWORK CAN BE USED TO DEVELOP INFORMAL EDUCATION IN A SPECIFIC SETTING, GROUP OR STRUCTURE 4. A COMMITEMENT TO THE PRINCIPLES OF ANTI- DISCRIMINATION 5. THE APPLICATION OF RELEVANT READING KEY READING 1. Button, L., (1976), Developmental Groupwork with Adolescents 2. Doel, M., and Sawdon, C., C., (1999) The Essential Groupworker. Teaching and Learning Creative Groupwork. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 3. Douglas, T., (1993), A Theory of Groupwork Practice. 4. Preston Shoot, M., (1987) Effective Groupwork. BASW 5. Vernelle, B. (1994), Understanding and Using Groups 6. Heron, J (1990) The Facilitators Handbook kogan Page The term group dynamics implies the difference in individual behaviors depending on the connection, both present and prospective that the individual bears to the sociological group. Group dynamics is the field of study within the social sciences that focuses on the nature of groups. An individual's urge to belong or to identify may make for distinctly different attitudes. The influence of a group may rapidly progress to become strong, influencing and even overwhelming individual proclivities and actions. The group dynamics also influences changes in behavior of a person when he is represented before a group, the behavioral pattern of a person in relation to the group.Group dynamics forms the basis for group therapy. Group dynamics are increasingly becoming a topic of interest because of online, social interaction made possible by the internet. the 4-stage model proposed by Bruce Tuckman in 1965 states that the ideal group decision making process should occur in the following stages called Tuckman's Stages : 1. Forming which refers to pretending to get on or get along with others 2. Storming which is a stage which involves letting down the politeness barrier and trying to get down to the issues even if tempers flare up. 3. Norming refers to getting used to each other and developing trust and productivity and understanding. 4. Performing is the final stage and pertains to working in a group towards a common goal on a highly efficient and cooperative basis. Although this model refers to the overall pattern of the group,it should be noted that individuals within a group have distinct ways of working. If distrust persists, a group may never even reach the norming stage. Wilfred Bion performed a study on group dynamics from a psychoanalytic perspective and the results of his research were further modified by Tavistock Institute to be applied in theory and practices. Group-dynamic games are experiential education exercises which aid people in learning about themselves, develop and enrich interpersonal relationships, and assess how groups function from a group dynamics or social psychological point of view. Group dynamics can be understood as complex from an interpersonal relationships point of view because it may involve relationships between two people ,relationships between a person and a group or relationships between groups . Group-dynamic games are specifically designed for the purpose of furthering personal development, character building, and teamwork via a Group-dynamic milieu. The group leader may sometimes also be the game leader, or between peers, the leadership and game-rules can vary. Some games may require large spaces, special objects and tools, quietness or many before-game and after-game requirements. existing games may need modification when aged, frail or disabled people are involved. The use of group dynamic activities have been used for years in conflict resolution, anger management and team building and many other areas such as drug rehabilitation and drama therapy. The propensity of children for peer-group involvement has lead to the emergence of group therapy as a clinically-valued intervention modality for many youths with mental health problems over the past five decades. for children who have been victim to physical or sexual abuse, it has even become an empirically-supported treatment of choice. After reviewing the most frequently used models of long- and short-term group therapy, lesser known approaches, such as psycho educational, support, and parent groups, are depicted. Positive results and favourable outcome measures suggest that group methods are likely to grow in popularity and play a more important role in the healthcare field's current search for more pragmatic and cost-effective treatment measures. In the early 1900s, the Superintendent of French Schools proudly claimed that he knew exactly what subject was being taught to every student anywhere in the country and every hour of the school day. This type of rigid curriculum is now carried out in many school districts all over the United States. However many educators have now realised that learning in children is not influenced only by curriculum but is affected by a myriad of other factors . How and why children learn is influenced by relationships with parenting figures, emotional development, health, trauma, and group dynamics. Unfortunately these aspects are not being recognized and considered when the academic curriculum is being developed and implemented. Kubie (1960) has stated, "Both the intellectual development and creativity will continue to be seriously hampered unless we find out how to make emotional maturation a part of our education" (p. 242). Kubie further laid emphasis on what he called "the child's fifth amendment freedom, that the child has the right to know what he or she feels, but that does not mean he or she has the right to act impulsively on his feelings" (p. 242). The conspiracy of silence and not being allowed to talk about one's feelings must be replaced. Children must be encouraged and assisted in talking about love, hate, jealousy, fear, curiosity, and so on. As these issues of life are articulated and recognized, children will be better able to deal with the academics of their school lives. The pressure of internal needs and conflict will no longer be sabotaging their curiosity, creativity, and motivation.this will in turn their personal growth and development by boosting their confidence and making them more aware of their own feelings and emotions and also of others around them thus imbibing maturity to deal with worldly problems in them. Group process and group dynamic therapy have for long been perceived as the domain of clinicians in institutional settings or in private practice, but many of the theories in group practice can easily be transferred and utilized within the arena of educational settings to help children learn without undo conflict. Facilitating the dynamics occurring in the classroom would enable authorities to create a more successful educative process, academically and emotionally. Group therapy theory can play an effective role in understanding and resolving conflicts that have led to serious educational problems such as student dropout (Garnier, Stein, and Jacobs, 1977), inadequate handling of student diversity (Grossman, 1955), and delinquency (Downs & Rose, 1991). Sigmund Freud, in his introduction to Wayward Youth in 1935, theorized that the application of psychoanalysis to education was exceedingly important because dynamics is a medium through which teachers understand their students. Anna Freud, a trained teacher, also discussed the relationship between psychoanalysis and pedagogy by saying that this would help teachers to view educational methodology more critically in terms of both emotional and intellectual development. While all facets of children's minds, such as their need to explore, their creativity, and fantasy should be used, it is also necessary for the teacher to know where to create boundaries in order to allow maturation and appropriate behaviour to take place. The above tenets within a group dynamic model would help teachers to better understand their complex roles as well as the psychology of their students which would facilitate greater academic achievement (Slavin, 2000). Slavson and Schiffer (1975) have noted thatChildren along with their teachers spend more time in their schools than anywhere else except the home. For better or for worse, the school occupies the largest chunk of their daily lives. The school is not only advantageously situated with respect to the identification of developmental and relational problems, but also has the potential for carrying on preventive and rehabilitative programs. The students and teachers are in a better position to experience the effects of corrective measures in the same setting in which was instrumental in exposing their difficulties (p. 427). Early literature on group dynamics includes references to classes in which students were suffering from experiencing emotional or adjustment problems (Aichhorn, 1935; Long, Morse, and Newman, 1965) as well as dynamics within regular school settings and classes (Bany and Johnson, 1964). Hopkins, (1941) and Baxter & Cassidy (1943) focused directly on the class group and interaction in the classroom. Trow, Zander, Morse, & Jenkins (1950) concluded from their research that the conduct and beliefs of pupils were often influenced by small cohesive groups within the classroom, and that these groups demanded that their members conform to certain group standards. The more cohesive the group, the more power of influence it had over individual members. Passow and Mackenzie (1952) emphasized the need to recognize group dynamics because children are almost always taught in groups. They believed that classroom issues such as discipline problems, failure of well planned projects, and resistance of the class to change could stem from a misunderstanding of the group process in the classroom. Johnson and Bany (1970) and Slavin (2000) also postulated that some of the salient aspects included classroom climate, classroom management, and the use of peer groups to attain social adjustment and further academic achievement. On similar lines, Ettin (1999) delivered the concept of the "group-as-a-whole" as a shadowy phenomenon, lurking, hardly seen, yet ever in evidence, the grouping that provides the common ground in which individual members "give it an identity" (p. 148). This supposedly invisible group must express itself through its members, since by definition it has no means of expression on its own. Therefore individual members unconsciously take on the roles and voices of the collective group. Once teachers become sensitive and responsive to the non-verbal emotional signals of the classroom group, they are in a better position to communicate and make emotional contact with the class in a way that helps the group alleviate tension.. This would involve the teacher and students working together to develop methods helpful in alleviating their tensions. Moreover, in classroom environments where rule infractions are overly stressed, and the students are excessively criticized, a large amount of reporting and blaming others on the part of the students has been found to occur. The children also seem unable to work together collaboratively. In classes where the need for rules and regulations is discussed with the children, and the children are encouraged to understand why rules are needed and how they can help each other follow the rules, the incidence of scapegoating and tale-telling is significantly minimised. In order to be able to understand the importance of rules and follow them children have to cultivate a sense of responsibility which is a maturational task that includes emotional, social, and psychological growth. For students to work together in a group, they must first learn how to work together, set goals, and develop a sense of cohesion and respect for their peers and team mates. Developing a sense of responsibility is complicated process and largely dependent on the children's emotional growth (Mahler, Pine, & Bergman, 1975). The inability to accept responsibility would give children a difficult time making an adjustment to society, classroom and the school. From a dynamic stance, some of the areas necessary for the development of a sense of responsibility are: Ego development: The ability to differentiate between fact and fantasy, the development of perspective and judgmental skills (Blanck & Blanck, 1974); Superego development :The development of concepts of right and wrong, good and bad, and formation of ideals (Laplanche & Pontalis, 1973; Walrond-Skinner, 1986); Object relations Interaction with important others who may or may not show consideration for the growing child (Winnicott, 1965). Jean Piaget (1962) postulated that children's first sense of responsibility is to the instructions of their parents, that is, what parents declare to be right or wrong, good or bad, or important or meaningful. These perspectives tend to change as children get older and come in contact with other children and adults outside the family circle. While extra-familial experiences may broaden their views, they may also create conflict and confusion if these experiences deviate too much from those that the children have been taught to expect. Clinicians with group dynamic training and experience with support of the school administrator, are in an excellent position to work dynamically with school personnel to device methods to encourage a growing sense of responsibility in the students. Transference is a phenomenon that has been described by Freud (1921-1960) and other group and individual analysts like Scheidlinger (1980); Spotnitz & Meadow, (1976). This concept explains student's and teachers' reactions to new schools or classes, strange new teachers, students, administrators, and so on. In order to cope with newness and strangeness, every student or teacher would unconsciously look for characteristics of important people or familiar settings. Without conscious recognition, they would attempt to provoke others into behaving like important, familiar people, even when such behaviour would not be appropriate. Group and individual processes operate all the time, both in an out of the classroom setting and have a lasting effect on children's ability to learn, socially, emotionally, and intellectually (Bany & Johnson, 1964). Both these processes are the effect of past experiences and feelings toward new experiences (Ursano, Sonnenberg, & Lazar, 1991). No individual in void of psychodynamic processes engendered by previous experiences that have brought back fear associated with life threatening disasters or ongoing emotional traumas such as sexual abuse. Winnicott (1965) symbolized the school and the classroom as a holding environment or teh mother who acts as a holder for those feelings that threaten to overwhelm the immature baby. If the mother provides adequate protection, the child feels safe and is gradually able to take back and master his or her difficult feelings. Similarly, the holding environment is important to the psychological and emotional stability of all school staff, as well as that of the students. Yalom (1995) has given some therapeutic factors that would be valuable to both teachers and students if they were actualized in and out of classroom settings. They include: Installation of hope: Teachers should do everything possible to increase their students belief and confidence in themselves and in the help and support they will get from fellow students; Imparting and sharing information: This increases the horizons of the students and the teacher. New information may not seem meaningful right away, but may become significant at some other time; Altruism: Many students, because of previous experiences may feel they have nothing to offer others or may be so needy that they have a constant need to be fed or taken care of. Within the classroom, they can be encouraged to believe that they have something to offer others, and that they will receive something valuable in return. Development of socializing techniques: In the course of the term, students will learn which behaviours encourage harmonious interaction and which behaviours cause disharmony with peers. Imitative behaviour: Students tend to imitate the behaviours or attitudes of someone they admire or respect, so it is important to emphasize respect for each other in classroom settings. Bion (1959) also offers some valuable suggestions that could be adapted to school settings. Among them are the following that have been extrapolated for use in class settings. 1. Helping the class develop a common purpose. 2. Helping members of the class develop self image and set boundaries between ones self and others. 3. Helping class members become more comfortable with each other, 4. Recognizing the value of the contributions of each class member. 5. Helping each class member develop the capacity to face discontent and cope with it in the classroom. Children and teachers do not have much control over the strength of students in a class or placement of study. Cluster teachers are assigned an assortment of grades, several of which they may not want to teach. Students may be isolated from their peers which might make them feel unhappy and frustrated which is further aggravated by their personal perceptions about authority figures, individual needs, mandated assignments, and personal expectations. Under these circumstances, class cooperation and cohesion are difficult goals to achieve. There are multiple dynamic forces at work some of which have to do with appropriate classroom management that should be applied not for punishment, but for providing a stable, safe environment with specific parameters, in order to motivate and keep the attention of the students. Others have to do with the teacher's personal conflict regarding discipline and punishment, and involve the willingness and ability to develop basic trust and respect within the class setting. Both teacher and students would benefit from programs that encouraged group dynamics that foster positive interaction and cohesion. Despite the challenges and resistances , there have been many group strategies that have been successfully utilized and implemented within school settings. References Bion, W.R. (1961) Experiences in Groups. London: Tavistock Publications. Cano, D. (1998) Oneness and me-ness in the baG In Talamo, P., Borgogno, F. & Mercai, S. (eds) Bion's Legacy to Groups. London: Karnac. Follett, M.P. (1925) The giving of orders. In J.M.Shafritz and J.S.Ott (eds) Classics of Organization Theory (4th ed) New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Freud, S. (1922) Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. New York: Liveright Publishing. Klein, M. (1959) Our adult world and its roots in infancy. Human Relations 12 (4) 291-304. Reprinted in Colman, A. & Geller, M (1985) Group Relations Reader 2. Jupiter, FL: A.K.Rice Institute. Le Bon, G. (1896) The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind. London: Ernest Benn Limited. Lewin, K. (1947) Frontiers in group dynamics 1. Human Relations 1, 5-41. Lewin, K. (1948) Resolving Social Conflicts: Selected Papers on Group Dynamics. New York: Harper & Row. Mayo, E. (1933) The Human Problems of an Industrialised Civilisation. New York: Viking Press. McDougall, W. (1920) The Group Mind. New York: G.P.Putnam. Miller, E. (1989) The Leicester Model: Experiential study of group and organizational processes. (Tavistock Institute Occasional Paper No.10). London: Tavistock Institute of Human Relations. Turquet, P.M. (1974) Leadership: The individual and the group. In G.S. Gibbard, J.J. Hartman and R.D. Mann (Eds.) Analysis of Groups, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Five Decades of Children's Group Treatment-An Overview SalvatoreLomonaco1, SaulScheidlinger2 and SethAronson3 Read More