Lecturer in Social Work

I qualified as a social worker in 1998 in Italy where, for several years, I worked with different roles in various Children and Families, Fostering, Child Protection and Adult settings. Prior to joining the University of Bedfordshire I worked as a Social Work Lecturer at Havering College for FHE where I taught on both undergraduate and post-graduate level.

I am particularly interested in the relationship between practitioners’ emotional experiences and their working environment, especially within the child protection arena. On this particular topic, I recently completed the Doctorate in Social Work at Sussex University where I investigated the way in which professionals mediated between the emotional demands of their work and the statutory duties and responsibilities of their role. The title of my thesis was: “‘It’s a shared responsibility’. The relationship between the working environment of child protection teams and practitioners’ emotionality and professional resilience: a psycho-social exploration”.

Qualifications

• DSW (Doctor of Social Work)  – University of Sussex
• PGDip in Teaching and Learning in Higher and Professional Education (TLHPE) – Institute of Education UCL London
• MA in Psychoanalytic Observational Studies – The Tavistock and Portman Clinic and UEL
• MA in Social Work – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore – Milan (Italy)
• Diploma in Social Work (3 years degree) – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore – Milan (Italy)

Research Interests

• Practice Education
• The use of theoretical perspectives in social work practice
• Role of emotions in child protection work.

Publications

• Finch J, Poletti A, (2016). Italian and English Practice Educators’ Experiences of Working with Struggling or Failing Students in Practice Placement in Taylor, Bogo, Lefevre & Teater (2016) Routledge International Handbook of Social Work Education, Routledge
• Poletti A (2014) Book Review: Practice Education in Social Work: Achieving Professional Standards, British Journal of Social Work, 44 (8), 2463-2466
• Finch J., Poletti A., (2014) 'It's been hell.' Italian and British Practice Assessors' Narratives of Working with Struggling or Failing Social Work Students in Practice Learning Settings, European Journal of Social Work, 17(1), 135-150
• Poletti A., Anka A., (2013), ‘”They thought I wasn’t good enough’ for social work practice”: The views of students who failed their practice learning opportunities. Journal of Practice Learning and Teaching, 11(3), 17-35

Recent Conference Presentations

• 18/04/2018 – ‘Social Work Practice Emotions and Child Protection Work in Italy and England: a complex Relationship’. European Social Work Research Conference  SIG Researching Social Work with Children and Families Across Europe – Edinburgh UK
• 25-26/05/2017 – ‘“Io vado a casa e vomito!” La complessita’ della relazione tra emozioni e servizi di tutela minori in Italia e Inghilterra. Uno studio comparativo: lo star male aiuta a lavorare meglio?’ Conferenza Italiana sulla Ricerca di Servizio Sociale, Torino (Italy)
• 3 & 19/05/2017 – ‘Resilience and AMHP (Approved Mental Health Practitioners) an ambivalent relationship’. Annual AMHP Conference – East London Partnership, Stratford
• 6/09/2016 – ‘The ‘uneasy relationship’ between child protection social workers’ emotional experience and the current general ‘emotional politics’ of child protection in England and Italy’. British Sociological Association - Welfare, Employment and Society Conference – University of Leeds
• 19/11/2012 “Mi e’ dispiaciuto…non e’ stato piacevole”:  A comparative study of Italian and UK practice educators experiences of working with failing social work students in practice learning settings. Research seminars – University of East London
• 10/11/2011 - Jo Finch and Alberto Poletti: “Who the f**k do you think you are?” – British and Italian Practice Assessors’ Anger and rage when (not) failing social Work Students in Practice Learning Settings. 4^th Conference of the Psycho-Social Studies Network – Affect, subjectivity and social order/disorder, Brighton
• 04/07/11 - Mary Smith, Sue West, Sarah Humphreys and Alberto Poletti: “Family support and child well-being - exploring practice” presented at the 5th Annual Social Work Conference Safeguarding Vulnerable Children and Adults at the Institute of Psychiatry, London
• 11/04/2011 - Alberto Poletti and Ann Anka: “They thought I wasn’t good enough for social work practice”: The Views of students who failed their practice learning opportunities – 9^th International Conference for Practice Teachers. University of Bournemouth.

Contact Details

T: +44 (0) 1582 489382
E: alberto.poletti@beds.ac.uk