scholarly journals Planning for learning and learning about planning in social work fieldwork

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-66
Author(s):  
David Hodgson ◽  
Heather Walford
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Field Placements ◽  
Learning Plan ◽  
Crucial Component ◽  
Conceptual Clarity ◽  
Learning Plans ◽  
Work Education

Fieldwork education is a crucial component of social work education. Many social work students regard their placement experiences as the most profound learning experiences of their studies. The students undertake their field placements in a diverse range of organisational contexts, and in so doing perform a myriad of tasks, adopt a variety of roles, implement a range of practices, and engage with numerous people. Needless to say, social work students have a rich set of learning opportunities within such diversity. An important part of the fieldwork process is the development of learning plans; these plans guide and direct the students’ roles, tasks and learning, and are often an important framework by which assessment of competency and learning takes place. However, learning plans presuppose a logical and conceptual clarity, which needs to be learned if they are to be functional and effective documents. This then poses many challenges in relation to how students might develop a learning plan for fieldwork. This paper explores some of the problems, and offers practical guidance, for students and fieldwork educators to develop rational learning plans in diverse and complex contexts.

scholarly journals What influences practice educators in determining appropriate learning opportunities for social work students on their final practice learning placement?

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-62
Author(s):  
Claire Bates
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Education Practice ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Work Education ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Practice Education

Abstract: Within social work education in the UK practice education has been subject to regular and substantive change and continues to have the potential to be fragmented as a result of practice learning taking place in a variety of organisations and settings as well as students having on site and off site practice educators. In this pilot research study individual semi structured interviews were used to gather data from 6 experienced practice educators who supervised students across both the statutory and voluntary sector, including those practicing independently as ‘off site’, to establish what influences practice educators when determining appropriate learning opportunities for social work students on their final placement. Findings indicated that practice educators draw on a variety of influences to determine appropriate learning opportunities for final year social work students, not relying on a single tool or mechanism. The research was undertaken in order to hear the voice of Practice educators and develop a better understanding of the process of supervising students on placement and to work towards enhancing future practice.Keywords: practice education; practice educator; social work education; placements; pcf; learning opportunities

scholarly journals From the Teachers Perspective: Exploring Ways to Navigate Transformative Dialogues about Microaggressions in Social Work Higher Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Allen Lipscomb ◽  
Wendy Ashley ◽  
Sarah Mountz
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Graduate School ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Social Justice Advocacy ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Field Placements ◽  
Reading Materials ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Work Education

Graduate social work education is a fertile context for microaggression encounters. Because a core concept of the discipline is social justice advocacy, social work pedagogy is steeped with instruction, reading materials, activities and dialogue regarding diversity, intersectionality, oppression, power, and privilege. Students enter graduate school from a plethora of backgrounds, maturity levels, and exposure to justice informed critical thinking. As a result, learning opportunities take place not only in classrooms and field placements, but also in social, interpersonal exchanges. Therefore, it is imperative that social work educators teach academic concepts while modeling and managing the process in which microaggressions proliferate. Drawing from auto-ethnographic data obtained through instructors’ observations of microaggressions occurring in social work classrooms, the authors posit that uncontained microaggressions can have a deleterious impact on students, faculty and the larger social work climate outside of higher education. Pedagogical tactics and strategies to navigate the nuances of micro, mezzo and macro microaggressions within the constructs of social work higher education are provided.

scholarly journals (Re)presenting the creative potential of learning plans

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-47
Author(s):  
Sabina Leitmann ◽  
Marion Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Field Education ◽  
Professional Activities ◽  
Learning Plan ◽  
Learning Plans ◽  
Learning Contract

Field education is central to social work education as it is here that students bring alive their classroom-based learning through supervised professional practice. An important part of structuring students’ learning on placement is the development of their learning plan. A learning plan links professional activities to be undertaken with learning outcomes to be achieved along with how these are to be assessed within a specific time frame. Whilst the benefits of a well articulated learning plan (sometimes referred to as a learning contract or learning agreement), for structuring teaching and learning on placement (practicum) are generally acknowledged, there is a paucity of research evidence of such benefits in the literature. This article reports on a small qualitative study undertaken with a cohort of fourth year social work students from a Western Australian university, who had completed their final placement. Utilizing a mixed method of textual analysis of student learning plans and focus interviews we sought to understand how students construct and utilise their learning plan in developing their knowledge, skills and values in and for professional practice. Drawing on the findings we conclude with ways to make learning plans a more effective tool for field education placements.

scholarly journals Learning ‘at work’ during social work education:

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 6-23
Author(s):  
Anette Bolin
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Situated Learning ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Learning At Work ◽  
The Social ◽  
Reflective Approach ◽  
Work Education ◽  
The University

The aim of this article is to describe and analyse the learning processes of Swedish social work students during and after periods of workplace-based learning. The article describes the process in which the practice learning opportunities that the students have been involved in are reflected upon, discussed, problematised and theorised, both in a series of workshops and via the process of the narrative description of critical incidents. Practice learning opportunities form an integral part of studies of social work in the Social Pedagogy program at the University West in Sweden, where a reflective approach to both campus and practice learning has been developed. In presenting the analysis of the reflective approach to studies of social work the article draws on both Scandinavian and international research and presents Säljö’s theory of situated learning and Nielsen & Kvale’s theory of Mesterlaerer in the analysis of the critical incident narratives of two individual social work students.

scholarly journals Ethical dilemmas in field placements: The experiences of social work students in Norway and possible implications for social work education

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. SA85-SA111
Author(s):  
Heidi Lie Eriksen ◽  
Mikhail Gradovski
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Dialogical Approach ◽  
Field Placements ◽  
Work Education

The study reported in this paper focuses on social work students’ experiences of ethical challenges, including dilemmas, during their field placements. Moreover, drawing on dialogical approach and the results of the thematic analysis, the authors discuss what ethical dilemmas the students experience during their in-field practice, and what implications the handling of these ethical dilemmas can have for the organization of social work education. The findings that are reported in this article are the results of the analysis of six sets of data collected with the help of interviews. The interpretive framework used in this study is a dialogical approach. The research strategy has been a qualitative approach, and the data collection has taken place in semi-natural settings. The thematic analysis of the data lead to four major themes of ethical challenges that the students experienced in their field placements. The first theme concerns structural conditions on a macro level that the students were confronted with when in practice. The second theme is about ethical challenges due to the students´ lack of knowledge and experience in the field. The third theme presents challenges in direct work with service users related to the students´ awareness of values and perspectives. The fourth theme concerns ethical challenges that occurred when students interacted with others in the organizations where the field placements took place. We argue that due to the fact that the authorial agency of any learner consists of personal attitudes, goals, values, knowledge, competences, and skills, it is important to organize supervision activities in a way that allows discussions in free and fearless environments so that the student could learn and unlearn knowledge and skills. This means that in-field placements should be viewed as learning arenas for various types of knowledge and skills, including knowledge on themselves, and not just places where the students can gain only strictly professional practical knowledge and try out their theoretical knowledge.

Students and Faculty as Co-Teachers: Processes of Self-Efficacy and Educational Empowerment

1996 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marceline M. Lazzari ◽  
Nancy A. Banman ◽  
Robert L. Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
Qualitative Research Study ◽  
Professional Experiences ◽  
Work Education

When students and faculty share teaching roles and responsibilities, an innovative and challenging learning environment emerges. This paper presents findings from a qualitative research study that sought to explicate the meaning of co-teaching from the perspectives of student co-teachers. Thirty-six undergraduate social work students were interviewed. Student co-teachers reported that their social work education, knowledge, values, and skills were positively affected and their relationships with faculty and students enhanced. The data hold relevance for all social work educators who are interested in creating learning opportunities that more closely replicate the world of practice. In so doing, it appears that processes of self-efficacy and educational empowerment become reciprocally engaged and result in personal/professional experiences that expand the boundaries of traditional educational approaches.

scholarly journals Finding the way forward

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-63
Author(s):  
Jean Gordon ◽  
Moira McGeoch ◽  
Audrey Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
The West ◽  
Combination Of Methods ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Work Education

Locating sufficient student practice learning opportunities (PLOs) has been a long-standing challenge in social work education. This article highlights key findings of a study carried out in the West of Scotland to inform a move from a reactive approach to regular crises in PLO provision towards the development of a long term strategic plan for social work practice learning in the region. The study involved a combination of methods, including literature review, local audit, focus groups and consultation with individuals and organisations in the West of Scotland and the rest of the UK. The study found local and national evidence of innovation in developing new models of practice learning to meet the demands of 21st Century social work in Scotland as well as a growing concern that an emphasis on finding sufficient PLOs should not compromise the quality of the learning opportunities available to social work students. Some of the study’s implications for practice learning in the West of Scotland and further afield are explored.

Social Work Students at Camp

Not Just Play ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 195-210
Author(s):  
Meryl Nadel
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Summer Camp ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Summer Camps ◽  
Field Placements

“Social Work Students at Camp: Field Placements and Service Learning at Summer Camp” explores two options for students to experience and learn about summer camp as a social work field of practice. The first part of the chapter identifies the myriad of learning opportunities found at summer camps. The benefits and obstacles to using the summer camp as an internship site are explored. In addition, professional social workers have recently integrated academic service-learning into camp programs. Camps that lend themselves well to service-learning components are typically one-week camps intended for vulnerable populations. At least two camps led by social workers have linked service learning and Positive Youth Development in sports-oriented camps. The greater flexibility of service-learning courses compared to field placements offers many opportunities for university–community partnerships. The authors recommend that both routes be considered. A first-person vignette concludes this chapter.

scholarly journals A Transformative Approach to Social Work Education

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liza Lorenzetti ◽  
Rita Dhungel ◽  
Diane Lorenzetti ◽  
Tatiana Oschepkova ◽  
Lemlem Haile
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Field Placements ◽  
Learning Framework ◽  
University Of Calgary ◽  
Preparatory Course ◽  
Transformative Approach ◽  
Work Education

The paper presents an overview of “The Journey Guides Program” - a mentorship and experiencial learning framework developed by the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary in Canada. This program was implemented in an Advanced Graduate Seminar, a preparatory course for graduate Social Work students prior to entering their field placements. This article begins by discussing critical pedagogy, the theoretical framework that undepinned the “The Journey Guides Program”, followed by a description of the eight-step process we adopted to implement this program. The authors conclude by discussing the benefits of the Journey Guides program, and plans for ongoing development and transferability of this model. Keywords: Journey guides, transformative learning; mentorship; social work

scholarly journals When is a personal care task not just a task?

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-36
Author(s):  
Jane Fenton ◽  
Linda Walker
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Relationship Building ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Personal Care ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Academic Knowledge ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Work Education

This small scale study examined social work students’ attitudes to undertaking personal care tasks whilst involved in practice learning opportunities (PLOs) in private sector residential care, mostly with older people. A rationale for placing students in residential settings, within the requirements of social work education in Scotland, and the value of this for their learning, is explored. The authors then examine why students should be involved in undertaking personal care. A literature review highlights the main areas of study, namely value-behaviour congruence, notions of professionalism and the interface with managerialism, and the importance of an ‘ethics of care’ approach.The main findings from the study centred around the process of attaining value-behaviour congruence, the transformation of students’ attitudes from negative to positive, the centrality of relationship building and explicit values, a generalised lack of acquiring or drawing on formal academic knowledge, and factors associated with an emergent social work professional.

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