Published October 2015
by Ines Zuchowski, PhD
James Cook University
Abstract: The importance of field education in preparing social work students for professional practice is globally acknowledged. At times considered less desirable than placements with internal supervision, current workplace and tertiary education contexts see an increase in field education with external supervision. This paper reports on qualitative research that explored the experiences of key stakeholders in social work field education with external supervision in Australia. Findings highlight that field education with external supervision, like other social work practice learning opportunities, is focused on learning about practicing social work. Potential and inherent challenges of placements with external supervision are discussed.
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Published October 2015
by Elisa M. Martin, PhD
Siena College
Toni-Marie Ciarfella, LCSWR
Marist College
Abstract: The study is a content analysis of twenty undergraduate field education manuals from one northeast state using NVIVO, a qualitative data analysis software. The authors examined how the manuals’ content supports program transparency in gatekeeping into the profession and the roles of faculty field liaisons and agency field supervisors. In the transition to the 2015 Council on Social Work Education Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (CSWE EPAS), the authors also examined the incorporation of the EPAS competencies. The manuals showed some consistency but also variation of content and detail.
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Published April 2015
by Brian Christenson, PhD
Capella University
Tobi Delong-Hamilton, PhD
University of Utah
Patrick Panos, PhD
University of Utah
Kathryn Krase, PhD
Long Island University, Brooklyn
Victoria Buchan, PhD
Colorado State University
Dorothy Farrel, PhD
Colorado State University
Tameca Harris-Jackson, PhD
Texas A&M University
Ruth Gerritsen-McKane, PhD
University of Utah
Roy Rodenhiser, EdD
Boise State University
Abstract: This manuscript reports on the development, piloting and validation of the Field Placement/Practicum Assessment Instrument (FPPAI). The FPPAI is a measure of student attainment in social work field practicum/placement under the 2008 Education Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) of the Council on Social Work Education. The tool is designed for use by field instructors in undergraduate and foundation year graduate social work programs. Competency of 457 students from 19 undergraduate social work programs, across 18 states, was measured over three years. Analysis supports the reliability, validity, and utility of the FPPAI as an outcome measure of the 2008 EPAS competencies, and related practice behaviors.
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Published October 2014
by Laurel Iverson Hitchcock, PhD
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Abstract: The author, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Social Work, shares her experience of assigning social media projects to her social work students, including the use of micro-blogging site Twitter. She shares resources and stories of Twitter in her classroom and seeks to continue the conversation about Twitter in social work through the social media platform.
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Published October 2014
by Paul Freddolino, PhD
Michigan State University School of Social Work
Sheryl Groden, LCSW
Michigan State University School of Social Work
Julie Navarre, LMSW
Michigan State University School of Social Work
Jo Ann McFall, LMSW
Michigan State University School of Social Work
Amanda Toler Woodward, PhD
Michigan State University School of Social Work
Alisson Jahr, BASW
Michigan State University School of Social Work
Abstract: Although many programs utilize field education outcomes in their overall assessment plan, there are few models for how to use these data for continuous quality improvement, especially when benchmarks have been met. This article presents a model for developing a field-based intervention to improve the incorporation of policy-related content in field. It is grounded in one school’s experience with the 2008 EPAS policy competency, which outcome data showed to be among the lowest competencies over several years in this school’s BASW and MSW programs. Implications for enhancing curriculum content and improving the connection between classroom and field are considered.
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Published April 2014
by Dianna Cooper-Bolinskey, MSW
Indiana State University
Angela M. Napier, PhD
Indiana State University
Abstract: Field education is recognized as the signature pedagogy in social work education. In this article, we acknowledge the inherent support for using the competencies and practice behaviors set forth by the 2008 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) for evaluating student performance as well as social work curriculum. However, we propose challenges to adopting field education ratings from field instructors as one of two means for evaluating the social work curriculum at both the individual and programmatic levels. With the 2015 EPAS currently in draft stages toward adoption in June 2015, this article underscores points of consideration.
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Published April 2014
by Katherine Selber, PhD
Texas State University, San Marcos
Nancy Chavkin, PhD
Texas State University, San Marcos
Abstract: This article reports on the development and implementation of a campus-based, faculty-supervised field unit used to train Bachelor’s and Master’s-level social work students to work with military personnel, veterans, and their families. The model starts with working inside the campus environment by using services to student veterans to both respond to needs of the student veteran population and to teach competencies for serving the veteran population outside of the campus in community veteran service organizations. It discusses the lessons learned from student outcomes and program outcomes over the past three years and implications.
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Published October 2013
by Kirsten Havig, PhD
University of Oklahoma - Tulsa
Abstract: This qualitative study examines field instructors’ perceptions of social work practice that promotes social justice. The author conducted 17 in-depth interviews with qualified field instructors using grounded theory methods to elicit perceptions of the meaning of social justice among field instructors and pedagogical strategies related to empowering students in the promotion of social justice. Findings reflect field instruction goals and tasks based on the lived experiences of social work practitioners providing the practicum experience. This study offers a framework for social work field instruction that employs exposure to diverse clients and manifestations of injustice, focused discussion, and role modeling as educational strategies. It also provides a theoretical frame, rooted in empowerment, for field instruction that centers on student values socialization, validation through experience, building critical thinking skills, and emphasis on the reflexive action.
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Published April 2013
by Lori Messinger, PhD
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Abstract: Over the last twenty years, social work literature on practice with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations has grown, and research has begun to emerge about challenges faced by LGBT social work students and practitioners in the field. Using the author’s reflection on her own field experiences as a lesbian social work student almost twenty years ago, this article reviews the ways in which social work education and practice have changed to support these students’ unique concerns, and it details the places where educators and field instructors fail to meet LGBT students’ needs. The author also provides suggestions about ways that the profession can move forward to maximize students’ learning experiences.
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Published October 2012
by Page Walker Buck, MSS, PhD
Assistant Professor & Chair of Field Education Curriculum, Graduate Social Work Department, West Chester University
Janet Bradley, MSS, MLSP
Director of Field Education, Undergraduate Social Work Program, West Chester University
Lydia Robb
Director of Field Practicum, Graduate Social Work Program, West Chester University
Rachel Shapiro Kirzner
Director of Social Services, Specialized Health Services, Public Health Management Corporation
The changing demographic, economic, academic, societal, and political contexts of field education in social work have been topics of much discussion and scholarship since the mid-1990s. Recent additions to this changing context include the elevation of field education to the “signature pedagogy” of social work education and the pervasiveness of commercialization within higher education. This study explores the realities of these contexts through the lens of the Field Director. Findings from fifteen in-depth, qualitative interviews suggest that Field Directors experience a complex set of competing demands at a time when needs, requests, and requirements from students, university administrators, and accreditors are on the rise, while resources in the field are diminishing.
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