“It’s a whole orchestra”: what are the instrumental elements in quality field education?

Making sense of the social work field education liaison role and impacts of neoliberalism: An invitation to reflect and reimagine!

“…In the field, the managerialist approach of funding cuts and high workloads has placed constraints on availability of appropriate field educators and placement agencies (Guransky & Le Sueur 2012;Hay, Dale, & Yeung, 2016;Hosken et al, 2016;Zuchowski 2015). The pressures on both the university and field have increased existing tensions with the university reliant on the good will of the field to support student placements (Hay et al, 2016).…”

“…In the field, the managerialist approach of funding cuts and high workloads has placed constraints on availability of appropriate field educators and placement agencies (Guransky & Le Sueur 2012;Hay, Dale, & Yeung, 2016;Hosken et al, 2016;Zuchowski 2015). The pressures on both the university and field have increased existing tensions with the university reliant on the good will of the field to support student placements (Hay et al, 2016). This is occurring in the context where student numbers have increased and placement opportunities have decreased or become more competitive due to high numbers, limited places and paid placements (Cleak et al, 2015;Crisp & Hosken 2016;).…”

“…This is occurring in the context where student numbers have increased and placement opportunities have decreased or become more competitive due to high numbers, limited places and paid placements (Cleak et al, 2015;Crisp & Hosken 2016;). Yet, the field is also reliant on the university system to provide well trained social 13 workers to employ (Hay et al, 2016). As such, Guransky & Le Sueur (2012) express concern that this symbiotic relationship between the field, university and the student leave all susceptible to collusion.…”

Transforming Social Work Field Education

“…Furthermore, ethical standards, engagement protocols, student evaluation parameters, and reporting are also included in the field education manual. Hay et al (2016) stated that field instructors are important sources of mentorship, education, and evaluation. further noted that field education also helps field instructors learn new skills in the process of mentoring and teaching students.…”