The Field Placement Survival Guide

Field placement is one of the most exciting and exhilarating parts of a formal social work education. It is also one of the most challenging. It allows you, the student, to put into practice the concepts, theories, and skills learned in the classroom. It puts you in the position of practicing with live clients. It gives you room to explore and grow as a budding professional. More than anything else, it requires you to look inside yourself to examine yourself, your abilities, your reactions, and your suitability as a social worker. It can be invigorating, and it can be extremely difficult. Field placement regardless of the setting or time involves universal issues for all social work students. Those issues are reflected in THE FIELD PLACEMENT SURVIVAL GUIDE. This collection of articles from THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine addresses the multitude of issues that social work students in field placement face, including choosing a placement, getting prepared, using supervision effectively, working with clients, copies with challenges, and moving on to a successful social work career. This collection is a goldmine of practical information that will help social work students take advantage of all the field placement experience has to offer. Each chapter (many written by seasoned experts in field education; others by students) presents a different aspect of the practicum and offers students insight into the importance of both the challenges and the joys of this unique learning experience. This second edition includes 9 new chapters. This book is part of the BEST OF THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER(R) book series.

Despite the critical role that community-based supervisors play in the training of social work students, there has been no comprehensive resource for core information—until now. This is a sage, practical guide for social work field instructors who want to provide expert guidance to their students in the field and in the classroom. It helps field educators to impart the knowledge, skills, and values of the social work profession and to assist students in translating classroom knowledge into effective practice in realworld settings. The book helps instructors to master the nuts and bolts of field education by delineating how to orient students to field work and supervision, monitor cases, evaluate student performance, navigate professional ethics, comply with CSWE practice competencies, and fulfill all requirements of a social work practicum. The authors, who are seasoned social work practitioners and veteran field instructors, distill years of hard-earned wisdom regarding all components of the field education process. They describe how to recruit practicum students and facilitate positive collaboration between school and field agency. The chapters outline dos and don’ts of supervision, learning assessment planning and agendas, evaluation plans and techniques, how to integrate theory and practice, and how to best assist students who are struggling. Plentiful examples from social work programs and field agencies clearly illustrate the challenging process of providing field instruction to both graduate and undergraduate social work students. KEY FEATURES: Provides comprehensive, practical guidance for all aspects of social work field education Includes helpful strategies regarding challenging aspects of field education Addresses student orientation, evaluation, professional ethics, supervision dos and don’ts, integrating theory and practice, and much more Guides field instructors in complying with CSWE practice competencies Helps field instructors clarify the expectations of a social work practicum and stay connected with their students’ schools

This practical, down-to-earth practice-based book helps students move from the world of the classroom, textbook, and theory to the world of real practice. In the Field: A Real-Life Survival Guide for the Social Work Internship by William Danowski helps students prepare for entering their first field placement, and enforces the fact that coworkers, supervisors, and life experiences have much to offer. Practioners preparing for their first field placement will see in this guide that going into a new and unknown environment can result in missteps or mistakes, but this text's ideas, examples, and orientations can serve as a guide to beginning a rewarding and successful career.

First Published in 2010. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book takes a unique, practical, hands-on approach to the everyday activity of work integrated learning, addressing the topic through both direct instruction and case studies derived from actual experience.

This Handbook provides an authoritative account of international fieldwork education in social work. It presents an overview of advances in research in social work field education through in-depth analyses and global case studies. Key features: * Discusses critical issues in teaching social work and curriculum development; health care social work; stimulated learning; field education policies; needs, challenges, and solutions in fieldwork education; reflexivity training; creativity and partnership; resilience enhancement; integrated and holistic education for social workers; student experience; practice education; and ethical responsibility of social work field instructors. * Covers social work field education across geographical regions (Asia and the Pacific; North and South America; Australia and Oceania; Europe) and major themes and trends from several countries (U.S.A.; Canada; Australia; China; Hong Kong; Sweden; Aotearoa New Zealand; England; Ukraine; Spain; Estonia; Italy; Ireland; Slovenia; Poland; Romania; Greece; Norway; Turkey; and the Czech Republic). * Brings together international comparative perspectives on fieldwork education in social work from leading experts and social work educators. This Handbook will be an essential resource for scholars and researchers of social work, development studies, social anthropology, sociology, and education. It will also be useful to educators and practitioners of social work in global institutions of higher studies as well as civil society organisations.

Social Work Practice synthesizes the latest theories and research findings in social work and related fields and demonstrates how this information is used in working with clients. Because the interview is the medium in which much of social work practice takes place, learning the processes and skills to conduct a productive interview is a critical part of social work education.