Meaningfulness: the power behind resilience in social workers?
Sterre Hoenderop, a pedagogy lecturer and researcher, has received one of the 24 doctoral scholarships awarded biannually by the NWO (Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research). Sterre will research how meaning in work affects the resilience of students and early-career professionals in youth care over the next few years. She will then design an educational intervention with a working group to enhance that resilience.
Petra de Nooijer, editor HZ Discovery
The subject for her doctoral research did not come out of nowhere. Sterre spent two years of her high school time at the United World College in India - an educational institution based on the premise that education is the only way to create a world of peace. During her volunteer work in Indian orphanages, she saw how a simple act, her presence, or simply playing together brought a spark of more happiness to the lives of the - mostly disabled - children.
'Researchers need to be given confidence and enough air to develop'
It is no surprise that she later had her practice for parenting support and specialized in psychomotor child therapy. When she became a mother herself, she switched to a job as an ambulatory counselor. She saw many complex conflict situations in families, such as divorces. “That was intense,” she says candidly, “because how do you stay strong as a counselor when you have little influence on the circumstances? And the things we did; sometimes they helped, sometimes they didn’t.”
Wanting to know and theoretically underpin what works and what doesn’t became Sterre's driving force. That question only became more relevant, especially in youth care, where she saw many things go wrong since the 2015 transfer to municipalities. “Waiting lists emerged, and the corona pandemic added more pressure. Youth care professionals came under enormous stress, and that’s still the case.”
Personal story
In 2020, Sterre started working as a lecturer at HZ. After completing all the necessary courses to be well-prepared, she kept looking for new challenges. That recurring question of what works and what doesn’t had further developed. “In the entire social work field, we see many (beginning) professionals drop out within two years with a burnout. What can ensure these caregivers stay strong?” Based on research results among nurses and teachers, Sterre formed a hypothesis: if you pay attention to motivations and meaning from the education stage, you provide professionals with a strong foundation in the field. “Many people have a personal story about why they do the work. That personal story contains their motivation, where they draw energy. That allows them to sustain the work.”
‘Sense of coherence’
In Dutch, meaning is often associated with spiritual or religious matters. Sterre nuances this: “Yes, there is certainly a spiritual layer in that concept, we should not pretend it’s not there. But ultimately, it’s about meaning; in English, it’s simply ‘meaning.’” The formal definition of meaning involves developing your competencies from your inner values and having the space to make decisions in line with your personal goals. According to Sterre, being part of a larger whole is an important aspect of meaning in work: “Crucial is a ‘sense of coherence,’ the feeling that there is logical coherence in the different aspects of your life. That’s how you should see meaning: as a source of strength.”
'When you encounter adversity, you develop skills that make you resilient'
This has become the basis for her doctoral research, which will consist of four sub-studies. The first sub-study is a literature review. Her second sub-study is about how students and professionals in youth care experience resilience and meaning in their internships or work. Resilience is a broad and layered concept, Sterre explains: “Resilience is often seen as something you have or don’t have, but it’s a very dynamic concept. You experience it, it’s a process of bouncing back, adapting, and coping at a moment of adversity, fueled or hindered by the environment. And it’s not just about whether you stand strong during chronic stress; it’s also about experiencing personal growth. In short: when you encounter adversity, you develop the skills that make you resilient.” In the third sub-study, Sterre conducts participatory, design-oriented research to develop an educational intervention with a working group based on the first two sub-studies. In the fourth and final sub-study, she studies the effect of this educational intervention.
Theory and practice
“From two perspectives, I can develop a theoretically substantiated educational intervention and investigate whether it works.” And so theory and practice come together again. And Sterre’s motivation seamlessly returns to her work.
Now that the application for the NWO scholarship has a positive outcome, Sterre can officially get started. Sterre is not only grateful to NWO for this opportunity. She is also very pleased with the support from HZ and her direct colleagues.
HZ lecturers Patrick van Schaik and Olaf Timmermans will supervise Sterre as co-promoters during her research in the coming years. Gaby Jacobs from the University of Humanistic Studies will act as the promoter.