An investigation into courage in Social Care Work Education

This research sought to explore perceptions of courage, and courage education on Social Care Work courses in the Irish Technological University (TU)/ Institute of Technology (IoT) sector. An online survey was sent to Social Care Work Educators on state-approved Social Care Work courses in Ireland. Data was collected from 43 Faculty. Open-ended responses were examined using reflexive thematic analysis. Respondents felt that courage is an important attribute in Social Care Work. Six themes were identified within the survey data. These are: Diversity & Commonality; Overt absence; the CORU Hammer; Diverse methods; Modelling; and Change. Courage is highly valued in Social Care Work education. However, although concepts related to courage are routinely taught, the term courage itself is almost never used by educators. The State regulatory body for health and social care professionals, CORU, is seen as a blunt instrument enforcing minimum threshold standards of proficiency. A range of strategies are suggested to develop courage in Social Care Work students, including the explicit use of the term courage in teaching. Modelling by faculty is seen as a particularly important strategy to help teach courage to students.