Service users and carers as co-educators of social work students

This paper considers issues related to the requirement by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and the Scottish Government that service users and carers are partners and stakeholders in social work education. This requirement is one of many used by the SSSC in the approval of Scottish universities to deliver social work courses. This paper explains and reflects on the experiences of including service users and carers as co-educators with the social work courses at the Robert Gordon University (RGU) making particular reference to one module. It examines the issues around the process of their involvement with the education of social work students, and considers student evaluations of this module. Lastly it discusses the broader implications for partnership working in relation to the education and training of students for professional practice. The focus is on the role that service users and carers can play as partners in the classroom through the use of personal narratives. The experience of presenting as a service user or carer is discussed and the contributions highlight how such presentations can heighten student awareness as to the lived experience of a disability or a mental health problem.