Poetic Pedagogy: A Reflection on Narrative in Social Work Practice and Education

Poetry has been used in professional practice and education to highlight clients' experiences, explore ethics and professionalism, and illuminate practice tensions. In this Ideas in Action paper I weave together a story from my own practice, a poetic account of an ethical dilemma written by a practitioner/scholar and reflections on the place of poetry in social work education. I invite practitioners and educators to consider the unique role of poetry in social work training to honour the relational aspects of practice and explore the complexity and ambiguity of day-to-day practice.