Page 166 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Cooperation Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 166
one’s choices and decisions with the intention to persuade other team
members to also adopt them (Edwards & Daniels, 2012). Relational agency
is learnable and may be seen as some sort of ‘safety net’, providing the right
balance of expertise to accomplish the desired goals for professionals who
feel vulnerable and alone without the protection of their usual procedures
when acting responsively on tasks and projects (Edwards, Lunt & Stamou,
2010). In practice, relational agency can become visible when participants
build and implement a professional strategy or action that is connected to
the specific problem they are working on (Duhn, Fleer & Harrison, 2016).
To develop these concepts successfully, professional practitioners are
required to provide quality core expertise as a basis (Edwards, 2010), they
need to display openness, curiosity and respect towards the motivations
and perspectives of others (Ness & Reise, 2015) and to feel a sense of owner-
ship to the problem, specific practice or local community at hand (Duhn et
al., 2016).
The role of relational expertise in tackling ESL
Based on research conducted by Edwards (2005, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016) in
the fields of education and social care, we can identify three tools as be-
ing necessary for successful inter-professional work in these areas. In her
research, she highlights the need to build relational links among different
professionals and services to ensure the creation of child-centred systems
oriented to good outcomes for children, young people and their families
(Edwards, 2012). Relational tools have also proven to bring positive out-
comes for inter-professional collaboration among professionals in many
other fields, such as the hospital setting (Nuttall, 2013), participatory de-
sign setting (Dindler & Iversen, 2014), rural advisory setting (Phillipson,
Proctor, Emery & Lowe, 2016), innovation processes (Ness & Reise, 2015),
trainee teacher education (Kidd, 2012; McIntosh 2015) and in the genera-
tion of new learning environments (Chateris & Smardon, 2017).
Relational expertise is seen in the European Commission report (2013)
as a prerequisite for inter-professional cooperation that enables profession-
als to recognise and work with the expertise of others. They state that reduc-
ing ESL requires the active involvement of key representatives from various
fields and policy areas such as teachers, students, parents, governmental of-
ficials, social workers, school psychologists and other experts. Each of these
brings different and valuable perspectives that are needed to better under-
stand the ESL process. They can all add value by developing solutions and
166
members to also adopt them (Edwards & Daniels, 2012). Relational agency
is learnable and may be seen as some sort of ‘safety net’, providing the right
balance of expertise to accomplish the desired goals for professionals who
feel vulnerable and alone without the protection of their usual procedures
when acting responsively on tasks and projects (Edwards, Lunt & Stamou,
2010). In practice, relational agency can become visible when participants
build and implement a professional strategy or action that is connected to
the specific problem they are working on (Duhn, Fleer & Harrison, 2016).
To develop these concepts successfully, professional practitioners are
required to provide quality core expertise as a basis (Edwards, 2010), they
need to display openness, curiosity and respect towards the motivations
and perspectives of others (Ness & Reise, 2015) and to feel a sense of owner-
ship to the problem, specific practice or local community at hand (Duhn et
al., 2016).
The role of relational expertise in tackling ESL
Based on research conducted by Edwards (2005, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016) in
the fields of education and social care, we can identify three tools as be-
ing necessary for successful inter-professional work in these areas. In her
research, she highlights the need to build relational links among different
professionals and services to ensure the creation of child-centred systems
oriented to good outcomes for children, young people and their families
(Edwards, 2012). Relational tools have also proven to bring positive out-
comes for inter-professional collaboration among professionals in many
other fields, such as the hospital setting (Nuttall, 2013), participatory de-
sign setting (Dindler & Iversen, 2014), rural advisory setting (Phillipson,
Proctor, Emery & Lowe, 2016), innovation processes (Ness & Reise, 2015),
trainee teacher education (Kidd, 2012; McIntosh 2015) and in the genera-
tion of new learning environments (Chateris & Smardon, 2017).
Relational expertise is seen in the European Commission report (2013)
as a prerequisite for inter-professional cooperation that enables profession-
als to recognise and work with the expertise of others. They state that reduc-
ing ESL requires the active involvement of key representatives from various
fields and policy areas such as teachers, students, parents, governmental of-
ficials, social workers, school psychologists and other experts. Each of these
brings different and valuable perspectives that are needed to better under-
stand the ESL process. They can all add value by developing solutions and
166
