Running Head: REFLECTIVE JOURNAL 1

Reflective Journal

Kathryn Hall

Core 551: Social Role Valorization

Professor Forman and Hughson

September 30th 2016

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Introduction

Prior to participating in this course, I had a general sentience of the notion of Social Role

Valorization (SRV), but my exposure to the topic only came in succinct rushes. Until now, I had

been acting with the impression that SRV, like empowerment theories, is an ideology, based on

de facto religion, endorsing what a theoretician thinks should be (Forman & Hughson, 2016). I

have since been informed that SRV is an empiricism-based body of theory, that can make proper

assertions of what can be expected if a certain course of action either is, or it not taken

(Wolfensberger, 1995). As Wolfensberger states, SRV can only forecast strong likelihoods,

however he posits these probabilities not only have empirical validity, but in most cases can

even be well-buttressed by the corpus of published empirical research (1995, p. 164). Over the

past few weeks I have had the opportunity to dive into some of this published empirical research,

which has rectified the initial viewpoint I held that SRV was more of an overarching ideology. I

learned SRV has been largely accredited with being one of the most prevalent stimulus in

changing social and public policies towards more social integration and inclusion worldwide

(Kendrick, 1999). Seeing the large extent of empirical backing SRV has only affirmed my

reflections and beliefs walking away from this course, that there is such immense, life changing

prospects within SRV theoretical practices and applications. After being educated this theory is in

fact empirically based, and having collected specific instances of evidence that back up its

claims, I am able to promote with certainty SRV, and all the benefits it stipulates, when

implemented carefully and thoughtfully. These initial realizations only scratch the surface of

what I have learned. In the following piece I will reflect further on several key considerations I

have ruminated, my overall impressions of the content, and the personal impact the material has

had on myself.

Social Devaluation and Wounding

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Initially, when sizing up the course material, I questioned how the topic of devaluation

and wounding would require an entire 9-hour day to cover. Now I understand that such an in-

depth, lengthy overview of social devaluation and wounding was extremely warranted. An

extensive oration was needed, as it demanded our attention to the reality of this social process,

and solidified the fact in my mind that wounding is not only a common experience for devalued

parties, but also unfortunately a large fact of life, occurring ubiquitously. Professor Forman and

his colleagues pedagogical approach to this phenomenon coagulated just how injurious these

common wounds are. In deeply familiarizing myself with the phenomenon of devaluation and

wounding, I feel like I have been able to fashion a more adept appreciation for the significance in

socially valued roles for everyone in society. Moreover I have gained immense consciousness

around the fact that to be a competent practitioner, like I hope to be; I need to deliberately and

with intention craft measures to protect individuals from the plethora of bad things done to them

(Wolfensberger, 2000).

This course drove home the fact that despite wide denial of this phenomenon,

overwhelming evidence blatantly shows it occurs not only systematically, but also in sporadic,

personal ways. I unfortunately had my eyes opened to the fact that I have been culpable of

inflicting wounds and unconsciously devaluing people in my past. This realization made me

continue to think, that in general out in society, we need to immensely raise awareness and

initiate conversations on how easy it is to wound and devalue people, to hopefully get people

thinking, and to hold themselves more accountable (Armstrong, 2006). If we can only get people

to see how easily these wounds are applied to devalued parties, and that the social repercussions

can be wholly pervasive and impactful and actually devastate lives, maybe people will begin to

act more consciously and carefully.

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While we are all vulnerable to the depredations and valuations of others, the unfortunate

reality stands that the parties I intend to work with in my career are exquisitely more apt to

experience wounding, and social repercussions of massive proportions. Thus, I am ever grateful

to have been afforded the opportunity to begin familiarizing myself with the key principles and

procedures of SRV, and some ways to implement them in hopes of counteracting and minimizing

the wounding we see so prevalently in society today.

Importance of Socially Valued Roles

One of the biggest personal realizations I have come to in this course is that my identity is

intimately tied to the roles I hold. An extremely significant exercise for me in this course was

when we were simply asked to think of how we tend to define ourselves, and the ways in which

we would describe ourselves to others. Typically, if not always, I tend to always define myself by

the main roles I hold, namely my career title, my status as a student, and other titles I hold with

pride such as loving aunt, or athlete. This exercise reaffirmed the power and definitive nature

roles hold over every single one of us in society, and their influential nature in defining, by

societies standards especially, if we are successful or accomplished. Consequently, it also

determines if we are deserving of being treated well and having good things. This reflection

exercise was also extremely meaningful as it made me realize that just as I take air for granted

never really actively noticing its presence, I largely take for granted the valued roles I luckily

hold, but moreover the benefits I have derived from holding these roles (Wolfensberger, 2013).

There is a large corroboration of studies and evidence showing the accumulation of

valued roles is significantly beneficial to an individuals well being, based on the premise that

possession of valued roles can be a large counter force to peoples tendencies to devalue a party

(Thoits, 1991). The more positive roles attributed to a devalued party, the chances that role

avidity will come into play, or that devalued roles will invade, is substantially minimized I have
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learned (Thomas & Wolfensberger, 1999). The dissertations from the course lecturers reinforced

by resources we were provided, ascertain in my mind that the attribution of valued roles is

without a doubt the preeminent way to ensuring the valorization of individuals, but particularly

devalued parties (Lemay, 1999). Moving forward in my professional practices, I am going to

dedicate so much more of my time and efforts into specifically attending to and sustaining

socially valued roles for the devalued parties I work with, so as to optimistically increase the

likelihood that other societal members will want good things for them like I do (Wolfensberger,

2013). Obtaining the good things in life are contingent upon holding valued roles, and thus, I

make a promise to myself to do everything in my power to better my competencies in applying

SRV principles to assist devalued parties in attaining said roles.

Themes of SRV

Each of the themes covered over the duration of the week were equally beguiling,

however for the sake of the length of the reflection, I will touch on a few themes that commanded

deeper reflection on my part, and were supremely impactful personally.

Conservatism Corollary

Initially, the concept of conservatism corollary was admittedly confusing to grasp.

However, when the term was more informally translated into how one should bend over

backwards or consciously go the extra mile, I was able to understand this theme with more

clarity. I appreciated the ways Professor Hughson and Forman employed a pedagogical approach

to this theme, and used resources such as the visual of the bell curve to aid in our understanding.

Seeing this arc laid out visually showed that while statistically common, typical, and normative

measures still fall under SRV, the measures under the conservatism corollary, that I should

always strive to provide for devalued parties are the less common, highest valued options. I will

no longer settle for the easiest, or fall into applying the quickest fix currently available. I want to
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be the type of professional that shows my yearning to create meaningful opportunities and roles

for individuals by reaching beyond traditional services, and pushing myself to go that extra mile

to seek out innovative opportunities. I know it may sound clich, but I really do implore to be the

type of human being, who strives to provide the extraordinary, by going beyond the call of

duty. I think that if only a greater percentage of the population, especially human service

workers, became more knowledgeable about SRV, but especially the conservatism corollary, that

our world and our services would without a doubt be far superior, and correlate more directly

with what people truly need.

To answer the question of how I will specifically take this particular theme of SRV

forward with me, in every choice I make, I want the words prevent, remediate, compensate to

actively play over in my mind. In doing so, I hope this will constantly hold me accountable to

examine my actions through the eyes of conservatism corollary principles. By scrutinizing my

own actions, I will see if I have truly bent over backwards to the fullest extent, and ensure I am

providing the most optimal of opportunities for valorization (Forman & Hughson, 2016).

Power of Mindsets and Expectations

I believe it is a fact of life that human beings are naturally discerning and judgmental. We

tend to evaluate every individual we come across almost instantaneously both consciously and

unconsciously, myself included. The immense power of the mind, and our mindsets is

incalculable, and possesses the ability to control not only our expectations, but also our actions

and behaviors. If an individual begins with the mindset toward a devalued party that is negative,

or has low expectations for them, I have learned this discernably will translate directly into them

behaving in ways that reflect their internal negative mentality. I have been a firsthand witness to

these menaces, as throughout the years my four-year-old niece has been subject to low

expectancies placed upon her. My niece was born completely blind, and over the years has been
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largely underestimated and had opportunities withheld due to external parties fashioning

preconceived mindsets that her visual impairments renounce her ability to achieve what a

typical child can do. Countless times I have witnessed professionals, and strangers especially,

immediately, without any kind of substantiation, fashion a negative mindset of what is possible of

my niece. For instance, in her inclusive school classroom, instead of creating conditions and

opportunities to challenge her, or elicit performance and growth, teachers subject her to specific,

miniscule activities, different than those of her classmates. In attempts to counteract this injustice

she has experienced from external parties, my family makes it a point to never make assumptions

regarding my niece and what is possible. Never once have we diminished my nieces capabilities

or her ability to obtain any and all socially valued roles she wants in life. My family acts on the

presumption that the more encouragement of growth, and challenging opportunities we provide

her in life, the greater her competencies and own expectations she herself holds of her abilities

will grow and flourish. I have seen first hand the power in holding positive expectancies, as I

hold my niece to the highest of standards, and she continues to exceed expectations, and grow her

competencies in immense ways.

Symbolism and Imagery Use

Through this course, I was exposed to the myriads of ways and methods of working

toward the valorization of social roles and enhancement of a partys image. One of the most

paramount devices I have learned being the appropriate, deliberate use of positive imagery and

symbolism. The course discussions, and the symbolism and deviancy image juxtaposition

activities Professor Forman led us through reinforced in my mind that when meaning-laden

images, no matter how trivial, or covert they may seem, get juxtaposed to people, their meanings

get transferred. Furthermore, a number of messages are sent regarding the party, their roles, and

competencies. Every organization or service I work in in my future endeavors I want to speak up

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and stress the fact to my colleagues that all the imagery that could possibly be associated with, or

juxtaposed to socially devalued parties should be meticulously, thoughtfully considered by each

of us professionals to ensure they convey positively valued messages and meanings (Thomas &

Wolfensberger, 1999).

This course revealed to me that the personal appearance projected by a party just merely

scratches the surface of the symbolism and imagery conduits that convey messages. Gaining this

heightened awareness of how many millions of messages are conveyed through the language we

use, physical settings and appearances, social contexts, the everyday mannerisms we use and

activities we engage in has been eye opening to say the least. I never used to walk down the

street, or while sitting in various physical environments and actively think of how my mind was

constantly taking in information, and forming social constructions and judgments based on the

image and symbolism channels around me, until now. After the course concluded I took time to

reflect on and dissect the various symbolism and imagery examples that existed in my last place

of work at a group home. In this process, I became quite taken aback at the plethora of symbols

and images, and the absolutely negative messages they conveyed about the individuals I worked

with, that I had never before actively noticed. To begin with, the general physical appearance of

the house, and various juxtapositions around its externalities such as the plethora of staff

parking in a residential setting, and metal doors, made it quite clear this residence was different,

and sent out negative expectancies for those who lived within the home. I then thought of how

the social groupings and contexts the individuals always found themselves in out in the

community were not positive to say the least, and more than likely would have largely reinforced

any pre-existing negative mindsets or stereotypes in the minds of perceivers in the community.

This left me unbelievably saddened and shocked of the sheer amount of negative symbolism and

imagery the individuals I had worked with were subjected to. Further, how messages were sent
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out relentlessly from so many more channels that I had even knew existed. While I wish I could

change the past, and have noticed the imagery and its harsh implications around me sooner, I

cannot. Yet, I am forever grateful for having gained this newfound awareness, as I know it has

already heightened my perception skills of the juxtapositions taking place between various

entities constantly. I know that with continued practice my ability to juxtapose persons I support

with positively viewed and valued entities, objects, symbols, or whatever else it may be, will

improve, prevent, and in the end hopefully add value to how people are perceived (Forman &

Hughson, 2016).

Role Expectancies

Wolfensberger once stated that if role expectancy is as powerful as we believe we know

it to be then it should be manipulated consciously and/or systematically, rather than

unconsciously and/or haphazardly, as is typically the case now (1970, p. 104). Our expectations

of others can have such a powerful prevailing force, just as Wolfensberger states, which harness

the potential to initiate tumultuous negative feedback loops. If we allow beginning expectations

regarding a devalued party to be of a negative nature, then the party who is the object of those

expectancies is apt to perform negatively and internalize a negative role, only reinforcing those

inaugural expectations (Wolfensberger, 2013). Thus, if we want this powerful feedback loop to

be of a positive nature, and see the individuals we work with succeed and grow, instead as

professionals we must highly consciously prompt others to form positive judgments about a

person and the role they are in, potentially altering their overall outlook and acceptance of the

person.

At first I was largely uncertain how to go about shifting perceptions, or embedding good

things about others into the minds of perceivers, specifically regarding the roles they hold.

Professor Forman shared a story that shows how we in fact do have the potential to create
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positive role expectancies quite easily and shift the viewpoints intuitively of those around us.

Hearing Professor Formans story of his interaction with a stranger when he was with his

comrade Scott at an airport baggage carousel was extremely encouraging and rousing (Forman,

personal communication, 2016). His carefully thought out tactics exemplify beautifully the power

in changing and altering expectations people in society hold of devalued parties, and that even the

simplest of actions can make all the difference. This example given points directly to the major

implications of SRV, and how so authentically and in such quick-thinking natural manners, we

do have the power as human beings to alter our environments and the perceivers minds around

us.

It was truly invaluable to have the opportunity to learn and take in knowledge from

experts teaching this course, who have been first hand witnesses to the capacity this theory holds,

and have themselves correctly implemented its principles to transform the lives of people who

experience devaluation. I can only hope that in time I too will learn methods to create and

reinforce positive role expectancies, and harness its power to improve the likelihood that parties

will have greater access to a plethora of valued roles.

A New Approach

Human Service Delivery

In reading through the resource materials in our student package, one particular piece

resonated highly with me, mainly because of my recent connection in working within a group

home. Lees piece Diminishing the Dignity of Others (2000) is an unfortunately accurate

depiction of the dissonance and inattentiveness occurring in many human services between what

is provided, what people really need, or what would create the most valorization. Like the author,

in my time at the group home I too will never forget the dignity and tolerance shown by people

who were subjected to humiliation under the guise of a service (Lee, 2000). Like many of
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todays human services, my most recent workplace, and its overarching agency claimed

thoughtful allegiance to principles of normalization in their vision and practices (Wolfensberger,

1972). Many of the practices and services provided were regarded and veiled as being the best

practice or having been meticulously thought out with the individuals best interests in mind.

However, what I saw the majority of times were inconsiderate, hasty, and easy remedies masked

by pretenses that they were beneficial and the most favorable of options available for the

individuals. Reflecting on my own experiences in human service work thus far, coupled with

course discussions on the nature of human service provisions opened my eyes to the fact that

many services, even those with the best intentions, partake in the universal processes of social

devaluation and wounding. It is saddening that there still exists such a mediocrity in services built

upon the intentions of serving and facilitating devalued populations to experience greater quality

of life. I have come to unfortunately realize that all too often, the helping system hurts.

To answer the question of how I will implement what I have learned into my work, I plan,

and hope to begin by educating those around me and those I work with on SRV, promoting its

key principles, and showing them its power. I hope the organizations I am apart of in the future

listen to what I have to say, and respect my attempts to create and support socially valued roles

for the people we work with. More than anything, I hope to spread the message and factual basis

to fellow professionals how creating and fostering social roles is a primary means to increasing

the parties we work with access to the good things in life.

Everyday Living

In taking part in this week long course, I am unquestionably better informed, extremely

inspired, and feeling more challenged than before. If I had to encompass the whole process into

one word it would be transformative. As Professor Forman forewarned us, a lot of us were going

to walk out of the room and feel absolutely inspired to being our quest of changing the world
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with SRV (Forman, personal communication, 2016). I left that last day ready to take on social

devaluation headfirst, hoping to change the world by promoting SRV theory, dreaming of one

day seeing large scale transformation and improvements not only in the human service industry

but in society as a whole. That is the dream, and while it continues to be my dream for this

lifetime I live, I know I am only person, and cannot put that entire weight on my shoulders. I

knew it was nave to expect I could go into society, shouting from the rooftops so to speak of the

miraculous capacity of SRV, and expect people would automatically buy in and follow suit by

altering the way they view the world, and treat others. I came to the conclusion the biggest, and

perhaps most worthwhile thing I can do for now is to lead by example in my mannerisms,

disseminating SRV principles in my everyday life.

While it is uncomfortable to now know that ways I have acted unconsciously at times and

in the past attributed to the process of devaluing certain parties, it is unusually liberating in a

way. I think the liberation I feel comes from breaking down my inhibitions, to step forward and

confront the real possibility that some of my own past personal and professional practices were

harmful. I know I cannot change the past, but I do have complete control over my own actions

and mindsets from this point forward. By becoming a self-proclaimed advocate and exemplar of

SRV, I plan to lead by example in my expectancies of devalued parties, and my actions towards

them. I wholeheartedly believe this will transfer over in some capacity to shape and alter the

perceptions of societal members around me. A good of place to start as any is slowly but surely

shifting the perceptions in the minds of the perceivers, and that is exactly what I plan to do.

Desired Further Study Areas

While every piece of the course content was fascinating to say the least, I have not been

able to stop thinking and obsessing about the use of symbolism and imagery, and the underlying

messages they render. I have spent an absurd amount of time looking into semiotics and in doing
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so, realized semiotic investigation of social contexts and phenomena are inherently fascinating,

and I largely desire to study these processes further. The essence of semiotics, mirrors much of

what SRV promotes that human experience, and our judgments are actively created based upon

our construction of reality of the various signs in society (Chandler, 2014). In the future I

would love to take a professional development workshop or course on this school of thought, as I

highly believe it will further my competencies in analyzing the impacts and practices of human

services, as well as strengthen my abilities to improve the opportunities to attain valued roles, the

and life circumstances of societally devalued parties.

Another of my ambitions is to attend a PASSING workshop after hearing the encouraging

appraisals regarding its power. While this week long course provided me with immense insight

and knowledge, I believe learning more in-depth guidelines and practices to put my newfound

knowledge into action will be invaluable. I am particularly intrigued at having the opportunity to

learn from skilled evaluators, how to equitably examine and analyze the concrete quality of a

human service. As I learned in this course, there unfortunately exists this pervasive denial of

harm being down in human services by workers and their organizations (Forman & Hughson,

2016). The trap of detoxification many workers fall into is perhaps in my opinion one of the

biggest obstacles to SRV. Therefore, I am truly interested and impassioned to ascertain skills to

create consciousness and awareness in human service workers, and provide them with positive

recommendations for improvement. I know going forward that I will without a doubt need

immense assistance, and guidance with the actual application of this theory into my practice. The

challenge for all of us lies in taking the concepts we have become exposed to and learned over a

weeks time, seek out further opportunities for growth and practice, and use SRV principles in

meaningful ways with devalued parties towards the goal of achieving or attaining the good things

in life.
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References

Armstrong, J. (2006). The application of social role valorization in supporting people with an

intellectual disability an overview. Retrieved from

http://www.socialrolevalorization.com/images/documents/Articles-

resources/Armstrong2006-SRVandIntellectualDisability.pdf

Chandler, D. (2014). Semiotics for beginners. Retrieved from http://visual-

memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/sem01.html

Forman, B. & Hughson, K. (2016). Social Role Valorization Course. Presentation, University of

Calgary.

Kendrick, M. (Ed.). (1999). The impact of normalization and social role valorization in the

English-speaking world. In R. J. Flynn & R. Lemay (Eds.), A quarter-century of

normalization and social role valorization: Evolution and impact (pp. 425-436). Ottawa,

Canada: University of Ottawa Press.

Lee, B. (2000). Diminishing the dignity of others. Community Resource Unit Newsletter, 18(3).

Lemay, R, A. (1999). Roles, identities, and expectancies: Positive contributions of role theory to

Normalization and Social Role Valorization. In R. J. Flynn & R. A. Lemay (Eds.), A

quarter-century of Normalization and Social Role Valorization: Evolution and impact.

Ottawa, ON: University of Ottawa Press.

Thoits, P. (1991). On merging identity theory and stress research. Social Psychology Quarterly,

55(3), 236-256.

Thomas, S. & Wolfensberger, W. (1999). An overview of social role valorization. In R. J. Flynn

& R. A. Lemay (Eds.), A quarter-century of Normalization and Social Role Valorization:

Evolution and impact. Ottawa, ON: University of Ottawa Press.

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Wolfensberger, W. (1970). The principle of normalization and its implications to psychiatric

services. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 127(3), 291-297. Retrieved from

http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/ajp.127.3.291

Wolfensberger, W. (1972). The principle of normalization in human services. Toronto: National

Institute on Mental Retardation.

Wolfensberger, W. (1995). An if this, then that formulation of decisions related to social role

valorization as a better way of interpreting it to people. Mental Retardation, 33(3), 163-

169.

Wolfensberger, W. (2000). A brief overview of social role valorization. Mental Retardation,

38(2), 105-123.