Field Educator: A Scholarly Journal from the Simmons University School of Social Work

We are delighted to contribute to the Field Educator! The Council on Field Education (COFE) is a council of the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Commission on Educational Policy; membership and leadership appointments are made by the President of CSWE for three year terms beginning in July of each year.

Nominations are being accepted by CSWE through April 16, for possible appointment to the Field Council as well as other Councils and Commissions. While the Field Council reviews nominations and makes a recommendation, please remember that the appointment is solely the responsibility of the President of CSWE. Self or other initiated nominations may be made directly to CSWE (Nicole DeMarco, [email protected]), and must include a cover sheet, letter of support and vita. Nominee information is then shared with both CSWE and the Field Council Nominating Committee for consideration and follow-up.

Under the outstanding leadership of Sandra Posada, the Field Council reports the following recent accomplishments: field director’s listserv, Field Director Developmental Institute, a transparent nomination process and New Field Directors’ FAIR. The listserv is managed by CSWE and has proven to be an effective means for field directors to talk to each other, much like the BPD and MSW listserv. If you are a field director and are not yet on the listserv, please contact [email protected]. The Field Director Developmental Institute mirrors that of the Faculty Development Institute at CSWE’s Annual Program Meeting (APM). Field Council members review the abstracts and choose two to be on APM’s schedule. As stated above, the Field Council has effectively made the nomination process transparent, with a goal of having two field educators represent each of the 10 CSWE regions as well as insuring diversity (as identified by CSWE). Field Council uses their “Connect Session” in a roundtable (FAIR) format.

This year’s APM Connect Session is titled: Connecting with Field Education: Sharing Best Practices. This session is a 90-minute event to which all field directors are encouraged to attend, and rotate through roundtable discussions on topics of current field education interests. Upon advisement of the date and time of the FAIR, we will broadcast that information through the listserv and this journal.

Goals for the coming year include:

1. Offer New Field Director Training at the 2013 CSWE Annual Program Meeting

2. Explore Emerging Field Issues particularly with regard to EPAS 2015

3. Increase Field participation within CSWE. Nominations for the Field Council, as well as possible representation on The Commission on Accreditation and other Commissions and Councils

The Field Council membership represents you and field education within CSWE. Like the Field Educator journal, we would love to hear from you about innovations, concerns, and anything related to field education!