Social Work Field Education

The basic component of field education is the daily routine, requiring social work students to use theory and research and demonstrate professional values and ethics. Field educators determine the scope and parameters of learning opportunities within the agency. In negotiation with their field educator, students are asked to produce a learning contract that will set out what they hope to learn, how this learning will happen and how, with their field educator, they will monitor and evaluate their learning.

Students begin their field education program in the third year of the BSW program.

There are two field education placements:

• FIRST PLACEMENT: 60 days, four days a week (Tuesday to Friday, July 24 - November 2 2007) in Third Year, and
• SECOND PLACEMENT: 80 days full-time (April 11 - August 2 2007) in Fourth Year.

A full copy of the 2007 Field Education Calendar is available here.

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If you would like to discuss possibilities for offering a field education placement, please email Ms Andrea Small.

Principles guiding social work field education at the University of Sydney:

• the field education program is theoretically grounded;
• the program is based on a learning philosophy in which the student is an active participant;
• students will be provided with diverse learning opportunities; and
• the program is consistent with AASW requirements.

AASW requirements for field education:

• students must spend at least 140 seven-hour working days (at least 980 hours) in at least two field placements;
• in every placement students must be supervised by a qualified social worker who has a minimum of two years’ full-time practice experience;
• students must undertake placements in at least two practice settings (e.g.: hospital, neighborhood centre, government agency);
• students must experience at least two fields of practice (e.g.: mental health, child protection, refugee settlement); and
• students must be able to practice using a diverse range of social work interventions, including casework, group work, community work, policy development, social action and research.

Objectives of the social work field education program at the University of Sydney:

• to complement class work in developing students’ professional identity and competence;
• to facilitate students’ developing understanding of the social, economic and political context of social work and critical analysis of the place of social work in society;
• to familiarise students with competing theories about the individual and society, and with tensions arising from these that are inherent in all social work intervention;
• to promote students’ competence to act in managing these tensions through the acquisition of social work skills and methods, including research;
• to facilitate students’ developing coherent practice which assists individuals and promotes social change; and
• to implement an educational philosophy promoting learning partnerships between students, field educators and staff of the Faculty.

The Faculty of Education and Social Work provides ongoing support to field educators in a range of ways, including providing free training in the supervision process.

Current field educators are also given substantial discounts to professional development courses which attract fees. These courses can include: professional supervision, action research and group work.

For more information about fee-attracting courses, please contact Ms Maxine Moore, Project Coordinator

To request that your name be added to the mailing list for information about occasional seminars and workshops of interest to social workers, please email Ms Andrea Small.

For information about social work field education at the University of Sydney please contact:

Director of Field Education
Ms Roslyn Giles

Field Education Officer
Ms Andrea Small

Coordinator of Field Education 2: 4th year students, April-August
Associate Professor Jude Irwin

Coordinators of Field Education 1: 3rd year students, July-November
Associate Professor Jude Irwin