9.5 Competency And The Developmental Model

(Personal Competence Enhancement And The Developmental Model)

ESSENTIAL SRV: Competency And The Developmental Model

Competencies are necessary for entering most roles.

Competencies are often denied to devalued people.

Enhancing competency relies on a belief in the developmental model- that people are always able to change, learn and adapt. If we do not believe in this, then competency enhancement becomes difficult if not impossible.

We should always be aware of how societal response (a service) may inhibit or encourage personal competence enhancement, especially whether it promotes the developmental model.

REWRITE USING RACE AND WOLF

9.5.1 Introduction To The Theme Of Competency And The Developmental Model

Previous Coverage

The basics of this has been covered in the earlier text.

9.5.2 The Psychology And Sociology Of Competency And The Developmental Model

9.5.3 Competency And The Developmental Model And SRV

Note: Personal competency enhancement is dependent on the developmental model and on role expectancies.

Why Is Personal Competency Important

Personal Competency is highly valued in Western Society. Conversely, incompetency is despised and sanctioned.

Personal Competency Enhancement is a natural growth mode and is valued in itself. It does not need to lead to a particular useful goal to be highly valued.

SRV promotes Personal Competency Enhancement because if Persons-at-Risk are seen to be incompetent, they will be further harmed by society.

A basic belief of SRV is that most persons-at-risk are capable of learning, developing, improving and changing and that people have the right to do this. It is a basic human faculty. However, this basic right is often denied to people-at-risk.

Competence Is Important For The Following Reasons

Competency is necessary to perform many valued social roles. People who develop one additional competency are more likely to learn others.

Competence can help overcome functional impairment.

The more competencies a person has, the more negative roles and images they will be able to bear without further losses.

It should be noted that people who once held valued roles or competencies will continue to be valued even after they lose them.

Next to the sheer maintenance of life, a developmental approach/model is probably the most important requirement of a human service.

Finally, competency enhancement is often in the mission statements of human services and should be carried out assertively.

Stratagems For Maximal Competence Development

The Earlier The Better

Generally, the earlier in life competencies are learnt, the better. This is because growth potential is higher in early life and progressively declines with age.

This is important to all service provision, not just education. It is appropriate for residential, habilitational, rehabilitational, residential, medical and correctional services.

As Soon As Possible

Competency enhancement should begin as soon after onset of an impairment or vulnerability as possible. This is often not the case with people-at-risk; their needs for competency development are often put after the desires of more valued people.

On The Most Severely Impaired First

If resources are limited, they should be used on severely impaired people before mildly impaired ones, not only as a matter of justice, but also because this is the optimal use of those resources. Unfortunately, services for people-at-risk often concentrate their energies on those least at need because the outcome is so much more pleasant for the deviancy managers.

In An Optimal Social and Physical Milieu

If relieved from fears, insecurity, anxieties, and other personality constrictions, handicapped people can show dramatic gains, even in measured intelligence. People should be afforded the least restrictive structure; i.e. neither more nor less structure should be applied than the person needs.

Using The Most Powerful Intervention Available

Vastly more knowledge and technology exists about how to advance people toward their potential than is known by, or utilised in any one service; therefore, no matter how good any service/agency is, there exists a better way.

Implications That Flow From An Acceptance Of The Assumptions Of The Developmental Model

The assumptions and implications of the developmental model are of universal relevance to:

a/ people of all ages and degrees of ability

b/ all types of services: educational, habilitational, residential, medical, correctional

Because developmental potential is more often underestimated than overestimated, one should always be aggressive in one’s expectations of what a person can learn, achieve, become.

The Importance Of Relevance And Potency

There are two major measures of Development of Personal Competencies- Relevance and Potency. This is covered under the earlier theme of Relevance, Potency and Model Coherency. Unfortunately many programs which claim to develop competency are in fact neither relevant nor competent.

Broad Areas of Personal Competence

1/ Bodily integrity and health, and the capacity to protect and maintain these

2/ Bodily Competence

3/ Self-help skills

4/ Communication

5/ Intellectual ability, skills, habits and disciplines

6/ Motivation, initiative, drive, persistence

7/ Competent and responsible exercise of personal autonomy and control

8/ Confidence, self-possession

9/ Social and Relationship competency

10/ Expression of Individuality.

Efforts need to be made in each of these areas to maintain and encourage competence.

What Is Needed For Effective Competency Enhancement

If people are to have their competency enhanced, they require opportunity, time, encouragement, educational facilitation and tools appropriate to the task. For instance, if someone is to learn the competence of social functioning, they will require the opportunity to observe competent social functioning; they will require support from someone possibly more skilled than they are in the field; they will need time to do this and encouragement from people who value them and are valued by them; finally they will need appropriate tools, which would include appropriate dress, money, and any props necessary for carrying out the actions that go with the competence.

Next to sheer maintenance of life, a developmental approach/model is probably

the most important requirement of a human service.

Social Role Valorisation is one of a number of embodiments of the developmental model, and is probably the most systematic of these.

Two Major Broad Strategies For Enhancing The Competencies Of A Person

Reducing the obstacles to the expansion of the behavioural repertoire, as by:

A/ Structuring the environment so as to enable or facilitate behaviour

A1/ The Physical Environment (e.g. Braille on lift buttons)

A2/ The Social Environment

B/ Reducing bodily obstacles to the acquisition or

exercise of competencies

C/ Applying/Supplying prosthetics to the person

D/ Activating the person’s motivation

2/ Enlarging the person’s functional repertoire

A/ Knowledge and Skills

B/ Habits and Disciplines

Programmatic Issues That Will Need To Be Fine-Tuned For Competency Enhancement

Bodily and Mental Competence

Certain Issues of Interpersonal Interactions

Competency Related Issues of Individualisation

Certain Autonomy and Rights Issues

Certain Issues of Age- and Culture- Appropriate socio-sexual identity

Many physical environment issues related to competency- ease of access, availability of resources, comfort, challenge, individualisation.

Personal material supports and equipments

Certain grouping issues: not too small as to be ineffective, nor so large as to be counter-productive,

Intensity and efficiency and use of time.

Competencies are necessary for entering most roles.

Competencies are often denied to devalued people.

9.5.4 Summary Of The Theme Of Competency And The Developmental Model