Questions

If you were Caitlin’s teacher, what would worry you most about this situation?
What concepts of human growth and development are relevant here?
Different professionals tend to notice different things, partly because of their different training and their different roles but partly because they actually see different things because of the contexts in which they work. Comparing this case study with the study of the whole Dudley family, what do you think Penny is in a position to see which a social worker (or indeed any professional whose work is based on home visits) is likely not to see? What are the advantages of Penny’s position as class teacher, in terms of understanding what is going on for Caitlin? And what are the disadvantages?
Looking at this now from the point of view of professionals (like social workers) whose knowledge is based on home visits, what are they likely to see that a teacher might miss? What are the advantages and disadvantages of their perspective?
You might like to consider also the perspective of other professionals too, for instance, a professional who, at some future point, saw Caitlin on her own in a clinical context.
You could also think about the aspects of Caitlin’s life that may be invisible to all professionals. How do you get a sense of them?
We know something of the personal backgrounds of Caitlin’s teacher Penny (see Sullivan family) and her social worker Tracey (see Tracey Green). How do you think their personal experiences may influence what they notice about Caitlin?