Page 164 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Cooperation Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 164
Relational expertise
Relational expertise is the first tool needed to develop the professional ex-
pertise that is crucial for successful collaboration among members of in-
ter-professional teams (e.g. Edwards, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016; Edwards &
Daniels, 2012; Hoopwood & Edwards, 2017; Ness & Reise, 2015). It is de-
fined as expertise that complements existing knowledge through the recog-
nition of other professionals’ standpoints (Edwards, 2005). All stakeholders
bring their own resources and perspectives into the aforementioned in-
teractions that, if properly acknowledged and incorporated, can enhance
understanding of the problem for all involved, leading to more success-
ful responses. Therefore, professionals must attain additional expertise that
enables them to collaborate with others. This expertise includes profession-
als’ ability to recognise their own specialist expertise and respond to the
resources others have to offer. To achieve that, there must be a willingness
to get to know each other as a professional, especially when the profession-
als come from dissimilar professional fields or work in different services
(Edwards, 2010). Professionals who possess strong relational expertise are
sensitive to the cultural landscape of inter-professional settings, allowing
them to strategise which aspects of their core expertise should be brought
into play at different times with different people. At the same time, they are
capable of showing respect for the core expertise of others, develop oppor-
tunities for them to apply that expertise, and are ready to work coopera-
tively through creative engagement to expand the object on which they are
working (Edwards, 2012). In that way, the employment of relational exper-
tise leads to a coordinated response of different practices; e.g. in ESL mul-
ti-professional teams the teacher downplays the demands made in the cur-
riculum in order to accommodate the support of the social worker.
Common knowledge
Edwards (2010, 2011) argues that, at the boundaries where practices meet,
resources and perspectives from different practices are brought together to
expand the understanding of the problem being worked on – this refers to
the second tool – common knowledge. It is through cooperation that pro-
fessionals become aware of the motivations that other professionals or cli-
ents (Hoopwood & Edwards, 2017) bring to situation while working on a
problem and it is through this that common knowledge is built. The pro-
cess of learning in these spaces is not about learning ‘how to do the work’
of others but more to do with learning about ‘what matters’ for others. The
164
Relational expertise is the first tool needed to develop the professional ex-
pertise that is crucial for successful collaboration among members of in-
ter-professional teams (e.g. Edwards, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016; Edwards &
Daniels, 2012; Hoopwood & Edwards, 2017; Ness & Reise, 2015). It is de-
fined as expertise that complements existing knowledge through the recog-
nition of other professionals’ standpoints (Edwards, 2005). All stakeholders
bring their own resources and perspectives into the aforementioned in-
teractions that, if properly acknowledged and incorporated, can enhance
understanding of the problem for all involved, leading to more success-
ful responses. Therefore, professionals must attain additional expertise that
enables them to collaborate with others. This expertise includes profession-
als’ ability to recognise their own specialist expertise and respond to the
resources others have to offer. To achieve that, there must be a willingness
to get to know each other as a professional, especially when the profession-
als come from dissimilar professional fields or work in different services
(Edwards, 2010). Professionals who possess strong relational expertise are
sensitive to the cultural landscape of inter-professional settings, allowing
them to strategise which aspects of their core expertise should be brought
into play at different times with different people. At the same time, they are
capable of showing respect for the core expertise of others, develop oppor-
tunities for them to apply that expertise, and are ready to work coopera-
tively through creative engagement to expand the object on which they are
working (Edwards, 2012). In that way, the employment of relational exper-
tise leads to a coordinated response of different practices; e.g. in ESL mul-
ti-professional teams the teacher downplays the demands made in the cur-
riculum in order to accommodate the support of the social worker.
Common knowledge
Edwards (2010, 2011) argues that, at the boundaries where practices meet,
resources and perspectives from different practices are brought together to
expand the understanding of the problem being worked on – this refers to
the second tool – common knowledge. It is through cooperation that pro-
fessionals become aware of the motivations that other professionals or cli-
ents (Hoopwood & Edwards, 2017) bring to situation while working on a
problem and it is through this that common knowledge is built. The pro-
cess of learning in these spaces is not about learning ‘how to do the work’
of others but more to do with learning about ‘what matters’ for others. The
164
