Sosyal Hizmet Öğrencilerinin Merceğinden Beden Farkındalığını Keşfetmek: Cinsiyet, Farkındalık-Algı ve Bedensiz Eğitim
Year 2025,
Volume: 22 Issue: 3, 550 - 561, 31.05.2025
Sara Nilgün Aldoğan
,
Özlem Cankurtaran
Abstract
Sosyal hizmet disiplininde bedenin gerek teorik olarak gerekse uygulama ve eğitim bağlamında dışarıda bırakılan bir konu olduğu tartışılmaktadır. Bu eksikliğin sebeplerinden birinin sosyal hizmet disiplininde beden farkındalığına dair yeterince araştırma yapılmamasından kaynaklandığı sosyal hizmet literatürü incelendiğinde görülmektedir. Bu bağlamda bu araştırma, sosyal hizmet disiplininde beden farkındalığının eksik olduğu savını ele alarak, sosyal hizmet lisans öğrencilerinin beden farkındalığına dair düşüncelerini ve kişisel deneyimlerini sosyal hizmet eğitiminde bedenin yeri bağlamında ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Nitel bir araştırma olarak gerçekleştirilen bu çalışmada, araştırmacılar realist ontolojik yaklaşım benimsemiş ve katılımcıların beden farkındalıkları ile ilgili yazılı metinlerini tematik analiz yöntemiyle incelemiştir. Araştırma, sosyal hizmet lisans 3. ve 4. sınıf öğrencilerinden oluşan amaçlı örneklemle yapılmıştır. Veriler, katılımcılara yöneltilen açık uçlu sorular aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Analiz sonuçları şu temaları ortaya çıkarmıştır: “Beden farkındalığını tanımlamak, beden algısı ile beden farkındalığı karmaşası, toplumsal cinsiyetin beden farkındalığındaki etkisi, sosyal hizmet eğitiminde ve meslekte beden farkındalığı. Öğrencilerle yapılan bu araştırmanın en önemli bulgusu sosyal hizmet eğitiminde beden farkındalığına yönelik bütüncül ve sistematik bir anlayış olmadığıdır. Bu araştırma sosyal hizmet eğitiminde beden farkındalığı kazanmanın kişisel ve mesleki bakımdan önemli bir unsur olduğunu ortaya koyarak beden farkındalığının sosyal hizmet eğitimi içine sistematik biçimde entegre edilmesine dair öneriler sunmaktadır.
References
- Alibali, M. W., & Nathan, M. J. (2012). Embodiment in mathematics teaching and learning: Evidence from learners’ and teachers’ gestures. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 21, 247–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2011.611446
- Attepe Özden, S. (2018). Sosyal hizmet eğitimine ilişkin yaklaşımlar [Approaches to social work education]. In Sosyal hizmet eğitimi (pp. 11–55). Gece Kitaplığı.
- Bartky, S. L. (1988). Foucault, femininity, and the modernization of patriarchal power. In I. Diamond & L. Quinby (Eds.), Feminism and Foucault: Reflections on resistance (pp. 61–86).Northeastern University Press.
- Boldi, A., & Rapp, A. (2022). Quantifying the body: Body image, body awareness and self-tracking technologies. In K. Wac & S. Wulfovich (Eds.), Quantifying Quality of Life (pp. 189–207). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94212-0_9
- Bordo, S. (1993). Unbearable weight: Feminism, Western culture, and the body. University of California Press.
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/-1478088706qp063oa
- Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. Routledge.
- Cash, T. F., & Pruzinsky, T. (1990). Body images: Development, deviance, and change. Guilford Press.
- Cameron, N., & McDermott, F. (2007). Social work & the body. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Caroll, C. A. (2020). Can yoga help make the world a better place? [Doctoral dissertation, Lesley University]. https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/-education_dissertations/169/
- Creswell, J. W. (2017). Araştırma deseni: Nitel, nicel ve karma yöntem yaklaşımları [Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches]. Eğiten Kitap.
- Crowder, R., & Sears, A. (2017). Building resilience in social workers: An exploratory study on the impacts of a mindfulness-based intervention. Australian Social Work, 70(1). https://doi.org/-10.1080/0312407X.2016.1203965
- Damasio, A. (1999). The feeling of what happens: Body and emotion in the making of consciousness. Harcourt.
Dijkstra, K., & Post, L. (2015). Mechanisms of embodiment. Frontiers in psychology, 6, Article 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01525
- Dominelli, L. (2002). Feminist social work theory and practice. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Feruglio, S., Pansiti, M. S., Crescentini, C., Aglioti, S. M., & Ponsi, G. (2023). Training the moral self: An 8‐week mindfulness meditation program leads to reduced dishonest behavior and increased regulation of interoceptive awareness. Mindfulness, 14, 2757–2779. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02233-1
- Gibbs, A. (2001). Social work and empowerment-based research: Possibilities, process and questions. Australian Social Work, 54(1), 29–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/031240701084152-62
- Grogan, S. (2016). Body image: Understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women, and children (3rd ed.). Routledge.
- Kabat-Zinn, J. (2009). Neredeysen orada ol [Wherever you go, there you are]. Kuraldışı Yayınları.
- Kerr, S. B. (2024). For a carnal social work: A review of the body in social work literature. Qualitative Social Work, 23(1), 85–102. https://doi.org-/10.1093/bjsw/bcae153
- Knott, C. (2010). Reflective practice revisited. In C. Knott & T. Scragg (Eds.), Reflective practice in social work (pp. 3–12). Learning Matters.
- Levine, P. A. (1997). Waking the tiger: Healing trauma. North Atlantic Books.
- Maddock, A., & McCusker, P. (2022). Implementing the learning mindfulness-based social work and self-care programme to social work student practice during COVID-19: A qualitative study. The British Journal of Social Work, 52(8), 4894–4913.
- Maxwell, J. A. (2012). A realist approach for qualitative research. SAGE.
- Mehling, W. E., Wrubel, J., Daubenmier, J. J., Price, C. J., Kerr, C. E., Silow, T., Gopisetty, V., & Stewart, A. L. (2011). Body awareness: A phenomenological inquiry into the common ground of mind–body therapies. Philosophy, ethics, and humanities in medicine, 6(6). https://doi.org/10.1186/1747-5341-6-6
- Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C. (2006). Trauma and the body: A sensorimotor approach to psychotherapy. W. W. Norton & Company.
- Rajan-Rankin, S. (2014). Self-identity, embodiment and the development of emotional resilience. British Journal of Social Work, 44(8), 2426–2442. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bct083
- Shapiro, S. L., & Carlson, L. E. (2009). The art and science of mindfulness: Integrating mindfulness into psychology and the helping professions. American Psychological Association.
- Tangenberg, K. M., & Kemp, S. (2002). Embodied practice: Claiming the body’s experience, agency and knowledge for social work. Social Work, 47(1), 9–18. https://doi.org/10.1093-/sw/47.1.9
- Thompson, J. K., & van den Berg, P. (2002). The media and body image: If looks could kill. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 21(3), 314-338. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.21.3.314.22203
- Valente, V., & Marotta, A. (2005). The impact of yoga on the professional and personal life of the psychotherapist. Contemporary Family Therapy, 27(1), 65–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/-s10591-004-1971-4
- Van Der Kolk, B. A. (2020). Beden kayıt tutar: travmanın iyileşmesinde beyin, zihin, beden [The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma] (12th ed.). Nobel Yaşam.
- Wacquant, L. (2004). Body & soul: Notebooks of an apprentice boxer. Oxford University Press.
- Wang, D. S., & Tice-Brown, D. (2021). “It helped, the mindfulness, … so let me help”: High school students developing social work values through yoga. Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 18(1),49-59. https://doi.org/10.55-521/10-018-107
- Wong, Y. L. R., & Vinsky, J. (2021). Beyond Implicit Bias: Embodied Cognition, Mindfulness, and Critical Reflective Practice in Social Work Austuralian Social Work, 74(2), 186–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2020.1850816
Discovering Body Awareness Through the Lens of Social Work Students: Gender, Awareness-Perception, and Disembodied Education
Year 2025,
Volume: 22 Issue: 3, 550 - 561, 31.05.2025
Sara Nilgün Aldoğan
,
Özlem Cankurtaran
Abstract
It is widely acknowledged in the field of social work that the body has been marginalized both theoretically and in educational and practical contexts. One significant reason for this exclusion appears to be the lack of research addressing body awareness in the discipline. In this context, this study explores the argument that body awareness is underdeveloped within social work and aims to present undergraduate social work students' reflections and personal experiences regarding the place of the body in social work education. Conducted as a qualitative study, this research adopts a realist ontological perspective and analyzes participants' written reflections using Braun & Clarke's thematic analysis method. Data were collected from 61 students in their 3rd and 4th years through open-ended questions. The analysis revealed five key themes: defining body awareness, confusion between body awareness and body image, the impact of gender on body awareness, the role of bodily practices, and body awareness in social work education and practice. The study found that body awareness is not addressed in a systematic or holistic manner within social work curricula. The findings emphasize the need for the structured integration of both theoretical and experiential components of body awareness into social work education, given its critical role in professional competence and the quality of client relationships.
Ethical Statement
Bu çalışmanın, özgün bir çalışma olduğunu; çalışmanın hazırlık, veri toplama, analiz
ve bilgilerin sunumu olmak üzere tüm aşamalarından bilimsel etik ilke ve kurallarına uygun
davrandığımı; bu çalışma kapsamında elde edilmeyen tüm veri ve bilgiler için kaynak
gösterdiğimi ve bu kaynaklara kaynakçada yer verdiğimi; kullanılan verilerde herhangi bir
değişiklik yapmadığımı beyan ederim.
References
- Alibali, M. W., & Nathan, M. J. (2012). Embodiment in mathematics teaching and learning: Evidence from learners’ and teachers’ gestures. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 21, 247–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2011.611446
- Attepe Özden, S. (2018). Sosyal hizmet eğitimine ilişkin yaklaşımlar [Approaches to social work education]. In Sosyal hizmet eğitimi (pp. 11–55). Gece Kitaplığı.
- Bartky, S. L. (1988). Foucault, femininity, and the modernization of patriarchal power. In I. Diamond & L. Quinby (Eds.), Feminism and Foucault: Reflections on resistance (pp. 61–86).Northeastern University Press.
- Boldi, A., & Rapp, A. (2022). Quantifying the body: Body image, body awareness and self-tracking technologies. In K. Wac & S. Wulfovich (Eds.), Quantifying Quality of Life (pp. 189–207). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-94212-0_9
- Bordo, S. (1993). Unbearable weight: Feminism, Western culture, and the body. University of California Press.
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/-1478088706qp063oa
- Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. Routledge.
- Cash, T. F., & Pruzinsky, T. (1990). Body images: Development, deviance, and change. Guilford Press.
- Cameron, N., & McDermott, F. (2007). Social work & the body. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Caroll, C. A. (2020). Can yoga help make the world a better place? [Doctoral dissertation, Lesley University]. https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/-education_dissertations/169/
- Creswell, J. W. (2017). Araştırma deseni: Nitel, nicel ve karma yöntem yaklaşımları [Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches]. Eğiten Kitap.
- Crowder, R., & Sears, A. (2017). Building resilience in social workers: An exploratory study on the impacts of a mindfulness-based intervention. Australian Social Work, 70(1). https://doi.org/-10.1080/0312407X.2016.1203965
- Damasio, A. (1999). The feeling of what happens: Body and emotion in the making of consciousness. Harcourt.
Dijkstra, K., & Post, L. (2015). Mechanisms of embodiment. Frontiers in psychology, 6, Article 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01525
- Dominelli, L. (2002). Feminist social work theory and practice. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Feruglio, S., Pansiti, M. S., Crescentini, C., Aglioti, S. M., & Ponsi, G. (2023). Training the moral self: An 8‐week mindfulness meditation program leads to reduced dishonest behavior and increased regulation of interoceptive awareness. Mindfulness, 14, 2757–2779. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02233-1
- Gibbs, A. (2001). Social work and empowerment-based research: Possibilities, process and questions. Australian Social Work, 54(1), 29–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/031240701084152-62
- Grogan, S. (2016). Body image: Understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women, and children (3rd ed.). Routledge.
- Kabat-Zinn, J. (2009). Neredeysen orada ol [Wherever you go, there you are]. Kuraldışı Yayınları.
- Kerr, S. B. (2024). For a carnal social work: A review of the body in social work literature. Qualitative Social Work, 23(1), 85–102. https://doi.org-/10.1093/bjsw/bcae153
- Knott, C. (2010). Reflective practice revisited. In C. Knott & T. Scragg (Eds.), Reflective practice in social work (pp. 3–12). Learning Matters.
- Levine, P. A. (1997). Waking the tiger: Healing trauma. North Atlantic Books.
- Maddock, A., & McCusker, P. (2022). Implementing the learning mindfulness-based social work and self-care programme to social work student practice during COVID-19: A qualitative study. The British Journal of Social Work, 52(8), 4894–4913.
- Maxwell, J. A. (2012). A realist approach for qualitative research. SAGE.
- Mehling, W. E., Wrubel, J., Daubenmier, J. J., Price, C. J., Kerr, C. E., Silow, T., Gopisetty, V., & Stewart, A. L. (2011). Body awareness: A phenomenological inquiry into the common ground of mind–body therapies. Philosophy, ethics, and humanities in medicine, 6(6). https://doi.org/10.1186/1747-5341-6-6
- Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C. (2006). Trauma and the body: A sensorimotor approach to psychotherapy. W. W. Norton & Company.
- Rajan-Rankin, S. (2014). Self-identity, embodiment and the development of emotional resilience. British Journal of Social Work, 44(8), 2426–2442. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bct083
- Shapiro, S. L., & Carlson, L. E. (2009). The art and science of mindfulness: Integrating mindfulness into psychology and the helping professions. American Psychological Association.
- Tangenberg, K. M., & Kemp, S. (2002). Embodied practice: Claiming the body’s experience, agency and knowledge for social work. Social Work, 47(1), 9–18. https://doi.org/10.1093-/sw/47.1.9
- Thompson, J. K., & van den Berg, P. (2002). The media and body image: If looks could kill. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 21(3), 314-338. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.21.3.314.22203
- Valente, V., & Marotta, A. (2005). The impact of yoga on the professional and personal life of the psychotherapist. Contemporary Family Therapy, 27(1), 65–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/-s10591-004-1971-4
- Van Der Kolk, B. A. (2020). Beden kayıt tutar: travmanın iyileşmesinde beyin, zihin, beden [The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma] (12th ed.). Nobel Yaşam.
- Wacquant, L. (2004). Body & soul: Notebooks of an apprentice boxer. Oxford University Press.
- Wang, D. S., & Tice-Brown, D. (2021). “It helped, the mindfulness, … so let me help”: High school students developing social work values through yoga. Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 18(1),49-59. https://doi.org/10.55-521/10-018-107
- Wong, Y. L. R., & Vinsky, J. (2021). Beyond Implicit Bias: Embodied Cognition, Mindfulness, and Critical Reflective Practice in Social Work Austuralian Social Work, 74(2), 186–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2020.1850816