Gautam Buddha University

Department of social work

Bachelors of Social Work

FIELDWORK

Submitted To:- Submitted By:-

Dr. Ronak Ahmed Samiksha Patel

(18/UBSW/010)
INTRODUCTION

Field work is important that students should be helped to develop the attitude of mind ideas them
to make connections between study & relief…it is needed vital that this should be done if
students are to become professional practitioners in the field rather than goods nature & amateurs
of techniques applying narrow skills by rule of thumbs method. (Robert, 1995) 
Field practicum is a dynamic course that challenges students to apply social work knowledge,
skills & values within an organizational context. It is a vital dimension of students graduate &
post graduate social work education. 

Importance of field work practice:

 
1. Through the field work, the students can learn how to apply social work methods in the
situation of given individuals, groups or communities’ problems. 
2. They are exposed to agency practice in which they are in systematically, preplanner
approach to solve problem process such as study, diagnosis & treatment. 
3. The students achieve self-awareness & discipline to use them as a helper & as agent of
change in an individual & group situation. 
4. The students develop facility in the use of organizational structure. They come to know
foster & use relationship within a structure & gain insight regarding his/her network of
relationship in the organization. 
5. It helps the students to apply the students to apply the theory & principle of social work
into actual practice. 
6. The students acquire social work knowledge & are given an opportunity to try variety of
social work methods, skills & technique. 
7. The students become familiar with administrative procedure & process. They learn how
to run an office, what kind of routine needs to be established, how to facilitate administrative
arrangement, relevant to the discharge of the responsibilities of their own assignment. 
8. The students have an opportunity to learn the organizational framework of services. They
understand structure & policy & how to facilitate such policy through practice. They become
familiar with difference institutional styles & tempos of agencies associated with various
field practices.
9. The students acquire significant substance substitute knowledge in the specified field of
practice characterized by the agency. They become acquire with causes of the problem &
with social welfare programs, agency structure, laws, & policies, related to its solution. 
10. The students acquire knowledge regarding community structure and process. They know
the kinds of formal & group & force that a community. They should have to ability to utilize
community resources in support of social welfare. 
Individualized Learning Plan

In addition to the goals and learning objectives of the Internship Practicum, it is very important
that each student be aware of and verbalize individual goals for field instruction which are
pertinent to personal learning needs and the particular field agency. Near the beginning of each
semester of placement, the student develops an individualized learning contract that includes
learning goals, objectives, activities/tasks, and evaluation measures that address areas of
professional knowledge and skills in need of development or improvement.

THE ROLE OF FIELDWORK IN SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION AND TRAINING

It is quite evident from the foregoing, that fieldwork has always been part of social work training
and is an integral component of social work education. As Hepworth and Rooney and Larsen
(2002) observe, fieldwork engages the student in supervised social work practice and provides
opportunities to marry theory and practice.

A widely used definition of fieldwork is one by Hamilton and Else (1983) who view it as, “a
consciously planned set of experiences occurring in a practice setting designed to move students
from their initial level of understanding, skills and attitudes to levels associated with autonomous
social work practice.”

As the social work curriculum is based on both theory and practice, the provision of sound
theory is critical as is fieldwork experience. It is critically important for social work students to
acquire, in a classroom environment, practice principles, values and ethics and the scientific
basis for practice. Equally important is the need to apply the theoretical content covered in the
classroom, to real life situations as part of a student’s preparation to become a professional social
worker. It takes more than academic fitness, but also evidence-based knowledge, field- tested
skills and a wealth of hands-on-experience to become a fully backed social worker. As Shardlow
and Doel (1996:6) observe,these two contexts for learning about social work practice, class and
fieldwork need to be integrated, complementary and mutually consistent”. They further point out
that the challenge for the student and agency supervisor, is to make this a reality”.

Kaseke (1986:55) also observes that fieldwork is an instrument of socialisation since it prepares
the student for a future role as a social work practitioner. He further asserts that, “a meaningful
fieldwork placement is one that enhances the students understanding of the social work
profession and the nature of the problems the profession addresses itself to”. Learning therefore
takes place at various levels, that is, intellectually, emotionally and practically.
Furthermore, fieldwork is an opportunity for aligning theoretical knowledge and learning, with
the needs of society and the market place. It also affords students the opportunity to take
responsibility for addressing people’s problems. Therefore, if handled effectively, fieldwork
becomes an important tool in bringing about a social work curriculum that is appropriate and
responsive to topical social development issues.

Fieldwork also develops in students, skills that will enable them to respond appropriately to the
needs of clients. Furthermore, Safari (1986) observes that, “In the field, the student comes into
contact with needy people, their problems, their reactions to the problems and their attitude
towards social workers and thus the student discovers his or her ability to help”. It is through
observation and doing the job and feeling responsible for the job of helping people to cope with
their problems, that social work students acquire skills. Likewise, fieldwork is designed to give
the student exposure and experience on the functioning of social welfare agencies and social
welfare provisioning.

The general purpose of fieldwork is therefore, to acquaint students with actual social work
situations, in preparation for professional social work practice. It is an instrument that is used to
initiate students into the profession through among others, inculcation and assimilation of social
work ethics, principles and values.

It is widely accepted that it is a basic requirement of all professions to have a knowledge base,
principles, values and ethics that guide and inform practice. Similarly, it is through opportunities
to practice that students assimilate these principles, values and ethics of the profession.

Challenges in the management of fieldwork

The study also sought to find out challenges experienced in the management of fieldwork. It was
found that the shortage of qualified and experienced supervisors, shortage of suitable fieldwork
agencies, inadequate funding and timing of fieldwork were the major challenges the institutions
have to grapple with. These challenges are examined below:

(a) Shortage of qualified agency supervisors

The shortage of qualified and experienced agency supervisors was found to be a common
problem. Invariably, qualified and experienced social workers should handle practical training in
social work. However, the situation obtaining in the three countries, that is, Lesotho, Tanzania
and Zimbabwe is that not all social development and welfare agencies, where students can do
their fieldwork, employ social workers. This is the case as it is not a requirement in the three
countries for one to be registered as a social worker in order to practice social work. Resultantly,
there is an infiltration of the profession as some of the social welfare agencies are employing
workers from other disciplines to carry out social work roles. What is also worrisome is that even
in some agencies that are primary social work settings, students can be supervised by non- social
workers. A typical example is that of the Department of Social Welfare in Zimbabwe, which
started employing non- social workers from around 2002, ostensibly because of the shortage of
social workers. Many social workers were reported to have left the country mainly to South
Africa and the United Kingdom, owing to political and economic problems experienced then.

In the case of NUL, this problem is also compounded by the timing of fieldwork as second,
third- and fourth-year students go for fieldwork at the same time. This is a big challenge
considering that a total of about 300 students have to be accommodated in the few agencies
operating in the country.

However, as social work is practiced in a variety of settings, it is inevitable that non- social
workers will have to supervise social work students. Furthermore, in spite of this crippling
shortage of qualified agency supervisors, it needs to be acknowledged that non-social work
agency supervisors have contributed significantly to the survival of the fieldwork programme at
institutions covered in the study.

(b) Shortage of suitable agencies for fieldwork

Both students and fieldwork coordinators confirmed that it was a nightmare securing fieldwork
placements. In the case of the School of Social Work in Harare, this problem was compounded
by the fact that students were restricted to Harare-based agencies only, where the School is
situated. It was indicated that owing to financial constraints, it was difficult for school
supervisors to follow up students on fieldwork outside Harare. Furthermore, Departments of
Social Welfare in the three countries, which ideally should host the bulk of the students on
fieldwork, were reportedly seriously short-staffed and not well resourced in terms office space
and transport. Resultantly only a limited number of students could be absorbed.

Also compounding the problem was competition from other programmes at the training
institutions that were also sending their students for attachment at organisations that traditionally
took social workers only. Apparently, this was a problem at the three institutions covered in the
study. Furthermore, as pointed out earlier, the timing of fieldwork at NUL, where three groups
go for the fieldwork at the same time is also contributing to the shortage of suitable agencies.
The challenge is placing about 300 students at one go.

Financial support for students on fieldwork

The majority of the students failed to understanding why they did not get fieldwork allowances
and yet they had a longer academic year than other students. While third- and fourth-year
students at NUL and at the ISW received allowances for fieldwork, the amount was considered
to be very little and not even enough to cover their transport costs. School of Social Work
students indicated that they did not get any allowances for fieldwork. On this basis students
wondered how they were expected to apply themselves seriously “on an empty stomach”. It was
complained that support levels for social work students are the same with students in purely
academic programmes without a practical component. This is also an anomaly, if one considers
that the academic year for social work students, unlike students in other programmes is extended
by two to three months and that they also have to contend with transport and subsistence costs
while on fieldwork
Importance of field work

It is quite evident from the foregoing that fieldwork has always been part of social work training
and it is an integral component of social work education. Field work experience plays a central
role in the curricula of social work schools around the world (Schmidt & Rautenbach, 2016).
During the field practicum, social work students are moving from class-based learning to
learning by doing, which marks their entrance into the world of the profession and the demands
of learning through practice. The centrality of field experience in shaping social work students
cannot be denied. Field work experiences play an important role in building the skills and
competence of social workers in various ways. These include:

 Providing an opportunity to social workers to put their theoretical knowledge into

practice during the period of training. This is done by utilizing different methods and
principles of social work which provide them with the opportunities to blend theory with
practice. In field practice, Field work practice in social work 111 students apply what
they learn in the classroom to real-life situations (D’Mello & Monteiro, 2016).
 Fieldwork experience also develops in social workers, skills that will enable them to
respond appropriately to the needs of clients by applying variety of social work methods,
skills and techniques.
 Through their practical experience, students will be able to work with actual clients,
interact with experienced social work staff and other professionals, and learn to develop
interpersonal skills with these various persons (Eleni, 2014).
 They are exposed to agency practice.
 It provides the opportunity for students to be guided and supervised by field supervisors
who are hands-on at the field.
 With field practice experience, social workers are opportune to work with varieties of
clients such as individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities as well as
people with different personalities, cultures, and philosophies, thereby applying social
work methods in intervention processes (D’Mello & Monteiro, 2016).
References

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