Case discussion & collegial case consultation in political education
The setting of "collegial case consultation" is ideal for dealing with specific cases. The term collegial consultation describes a systemic consultation in which colleagues advise each other on challenging professional issues and key topics according to a predefined discussion structure and develop solutions together (see Tietze 2015).
Collegial counseling can be carried out without outside help. However, depending on the challenge and institutional involvement, it can also be helpful to expand this into supervision through external moderation.
In the following, we present abbreviated instructions for self-determined, rapid practical use. Careful moderation and implementation require a certain amount of practice. One of the principles of the method is to treat the cases brought in confidentially. In addition, the aim is to open up new and helpful perspectives on the problem for people who bring in cases so that they can make progress with their concerns. It is therefore not about finding the one, single correct solution or prescribing the views of the people providing advice, but about a process that is as constructive as possible and can provide important insights for everyone. In this respect, all participants are to be valued in their cooperation in the collegial consultation.
Phases of collegial case consultation
Preparation: case selection and moderation
The role of moderator is assigned in the group. They have the task of guiding the group through the phases of peer case consultation. In a first step, the participants now have the opportunity to bring in their own case. If the participants bring in several cases, they selesct the most interesting cases under the guidance of the moderator. We suggest a number of five to ten participants.
Phase 1: Case description
The first phase is about making the case understandable for the group. To do this, the person giving the case (case giver) describes their case in detail. Tools such as visualizations can be used for this. The aim is for the group to understand the case and the associated problem. The other participants listen to the explanations and are not allowed to interrupt the description. Finally, the case giver addresses the group with a task in which they seek support.
Phase 2: Questions about the content
After the description, the group has the opportunity to ask comprehension questions in order to clarify the content. Judgements, insinuations or assumptions must be left out. The moderator's task in this phase is to ensure that only informational questions are asked. Other questions and statements may and must be prevented by the moderator.
Phase 3: Reflection phase
The group now has the opportunity to exchange thoughts on the case. The moderator ensures that initially only explanations/hypotheses for the case are put forward. The group should then formulate various possible solutions. The moderator ensures that the proposed solutions do not contain any evaluations relating to the person presenting the case. The person presenting the case withdraws from the circle during the entire phase, listens to the discussion and is not allowed to participate. They make notes of their findings, feelings, etc.
Phase 4: Feedback
The person giving the case returns to the circle. They tell the group about their impressions and what they find useful, interesting and new about what they have heard. The group listens.
Phase 5: Sharing
An optional sharing phase can conclude the case consultation. All participants in the case consultation can briefly express their own involvement with the topic or what it has triggered in them.
ADAPTED TEXT EXCERPT FROM:
Behrens, Rico/ Besand, Anja/ Breuer, Stefan (2021): Political education in reactionary times. Plea for a steadfast school, Frankfurt/ M.: Wochenschau, pp. 323-325.
IN-DEPTH LITERATURE:
Tietze, Kim-Oliver (2015): Collegial counseling. Developing problem solutions together, Reinbek/Hamburg: Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag.