In-Class/After-Class: Conversations on the Teaching and Learning of Relational Child and Youth Care Practice

By: Tara Rose Farrell

"At the college level, experiential group work classes offer spaces for learners to apply relational theory to practice, ideally with each other.
They say,"It takes a village to raise a child." Similarly, I am of the opinion that it takes a team of caring and passionate educators to raise a relational CYC practitioner," (p.26).

While CYC education seeks to emphasize ‘relational’ as a way of being in the world, is it not ironic that opportunities to apply this notion through group work are far too often dreaded by CYC learners and educators alike? One could unpack this phenomenon through Jack Phelan’s (1990) position that relational practice is not learned in classrooms, rather it is developed over several years of field experience," (p.26).    

Farrell, T. R. (2018). In-Class/After-Class: Conversations on the Teaching and Learning of Relational Child and Youth Care Practice. Relational Child and Youth Care Practice, 31(3), 26