Relevance of Social Role Valorization

As I mentioned, Kate is a student who I felt is devalued because of the fact

that she is low cognitively. It is obvious to many that Kate has assumed two rather
negative roles related to being devalued, being an object of pity to her peers and
the role of eternal child.
Wolfensberger (2013) states that the key premise of SRV is that peoples
welfare depends extensively on the social roles they occupy: people who fill roles
that are positively valued by others will generally be afforded by the latter the
good things of life, but people who fill roles that are devalued by others will
typically get badly treated by them. It was shortly after learning exactly what
Social Devaluation was and after reading about the SRV Theory, Kate was the first
student that came to mind.
Although Kate held negative roles, she also held the positive role of athlete.
I wanted to not only help create new positive roles but also to strengthen the
positive role that she already held, especially seeing as her role as a skilled athlete
could act as a natural lead up to the other two roles I had in mind, mentor to
young athletes and friend. My thoughts were reinforced when I read
Wolfensberger (2000) state that holding one valued role often leads to others, a
small valued role can sometimes serve as a springboard to a bigger or larger one
(p. 120).
I was encouraged to follow Wolfensbergers (2000) Practical Step-wise
regimen for applying Social Role Valorization measures which is outlined below:
1. Becoming familiar with a partys wounds
2. Knowing a partys risk factors
3. Inventorizing a partys current roles
4. Expliciting a partys current societal standing
5. Reviewing certain practical realities about image versus
competency measures
6. Identifying the currently held, or desired, roles that one
wants to valorize or change to a partys advantage
It was while working through these steps that my plan started to change
and evolve. I knew that Kates wounds included being treated like a kid by most
of her peers and some adults. I wanted to create a mentor role for Kate. I also
became familiar with the fact Kate had very few, if any, friends. She was often the
object of pity and so was seldom alone at school, but she was not hanging out
with friends. This became a part of our plan.
I also took Wolfensbergers (2000) Pointers about the Pursuit of Any of the
Role Goals very seriously. One of the pointers that stood out to me was the fact
that it is crucially important that the positive roles that a person holds are made
known, or better known to others. After all, the benefits of SRV depend first on
how other people perceive a party, and derivatively, based on these perceptions,
what they decide to do to and for that party. Throughout the last couple of
weeks, Kate has been recognized at school wide assemblies as well as a
community ceremony. She was thanked publicly by the grade 5 basketball team
that she helped to coach and was called up to be presented with a certificate. A
video of Kate competing and doing very well at Special Olympics events was
shared at a school-wide assembly. Last but not least, Kate was a part of a small
group of grade 9 students presented with citizenship awards at our Grade 9
Farewell ceremony.
As we worked through this plan for Kate, a common question kept coming
up from Kates parents and our resource team and that was What happens when
she leaves this school?. I explained that we are creating these roles with the
hope that Kate will be able to maintain her positions and that wont happen
without support from us and from others at the high school. I wanted to create
positive roles for Kate that could be lifelong. Lutfiyya and Updike (2013) state that
encouraging exploration of, and participation in recreational and leisure
activities during childhood and adolescence also increases the likelihood of
meaningful leisure pursuits in adulthood. I like to think that by setting some
ground work with Special Olympics and mentorship that Kate will have a
community that she can be a positive asset to for many, many years to come.



References
Lutfiyya, Z. & Updike, M. (2013). EDUA 5600 Study notes unit 17. University of Manitoba,
Distance Education.

Wolfensberger, W. (2000). A brief overview of Social Role Valorization. Mental Retardation,
(38)2, p. 105-123.