An Exploration of Care Leavers as Experts by Experience in Social Work Teaching in the UK and Epistemic Exploitation

OBJECTIVES: This paper explores the participation of care leavers in social work education, possible links with epistemic exploitation, and how to alleviate these. THEORETICAL BASE: This paper sets theories of epistemic exploitation within the context of oppression in the UK, identifying care leavers as a marginalised group and considering their experiences of oppression. METHODS: This paper uses a mixed methodology approach with elements of appreciative inquiry, participatory observations and reflective accounts from an educator’s perspective working with care leavers as experts by experience within social work teaching. OUTCOMES: Experts by experience in social work education are a crucial part of student learning, bringing several benefits and developments to social work practice. Care leavers bring a nuanced position from lived experience and can offer insight into children’s social work. There is potential for this involvement to become exploitative if there is insufficient preparation and a lack of meaningful understanding for the students, the EbE’s, and educators. SOCIAL WORK IMPLICATIONS: This paper offers a different lens when considering EbE involvement in social work education, inviting the reader to consider the role of EbE’s, how this is developed within education, and to provoke consideration of the meaning behind this practice, to ensure that there is purpose and reduced tokenism or exploitative consequences.