Rethinking, Reshaping, and Reducing Barriers for Field Students: An Ethical and Social Justice Issue

Overview: This workshop will consider the social injustice and privileges associated with traditional field education. Participants will be asked to explore and dismantle the traditional field education framework and consider new models that reduce inequity and financial barriers to field education.Proposal text: Field education, as the signature pedagogy of social work education, plays a critical role in the development of skills for future practice (CSWE, 2015). Students “learn to integrate and apply theory to practice, and to examine, critique, and test out in action the knowledge, values, and principles studied in academic courses” (Bogo, 2006, p.164). This retrieval and linkage of knowledge and application help to solidify core competencies that are necessary for competent ethical practice post-graduation (Bogo & Vayda, 2004).
Specific field education requirements are regulated by each university under the guidance of CSWE (CSWE, 2015). Aside from hour requirements for baccalaureate and master candidates, the specific details of the field experience are left to program discretion. Despite this, many programs across the country have similar requirements that have remained unchanged over the years. The continuous evolution of social work education to include campus-based, hybrid, and online options for students, in addition to societal changes and challenges question whether or not traditional field education models are currently meeting the diverse needs of students.
Social work students are often engaged in multiple roles as they navigate academic responsibilities while also fulfilling their role as an employee, parent, partner, child, etc. (Rogerson & Anderson, 2020). Non-traditional students are more likely to regularly engage in multiple roles and responsibilities (Davis, 2014). Female graduate students report challenges establishing a work-family balance (McCutcheon & Morrison, 2017). Over 1/3rd of social work students in 2019 were enrolled part-time, 85.6% were female, and 61% age 25 years plus (CSWE, 2019). Non-traditional MSW students have identified multiple barriers to field education including the employment needs and caregiving responsibilities which conflict with the responsibilities of school (Davis, 2014). This, in addition to the challenges presented by the pandemic and ethical responsibility to minimize inequities, can be the catalyst for programs to consider new models for field education to better align with student needs.
The pandemic has offered an opportunity to evaluate and challenge traditional field education structure and explore innovative ways social work programs can meet the needs of students. This interactive workshop looks to engage the audience in an opportunity to dismantle the traditional privileged structure of field education and explore ways to build innovative, student-centered field experiences that maximize competency proficiency. The workshop will discuss the history of field education, will identify barriers in completing field placements, and consider the vast array of student needs. The facilitators will then engage the audience in interactive group activities and provide ideas of new models for participants to consider. We will ask field educators to step outside of current traditions to explore new possibilities. Participants will work together to consider, suggest and build innovative solutions that would mitigate identified barriers while maximizing competency proficiency. This workshop will offer a new framework for rethinking and reshaping field education to reduce social injustice and economic barriers for students.