Applying Computers in Social Service and Mental Health Agencies: A Guide to Selecting Equipment,Procedures and Strategies

Abstract

Students' perceptions of their field placements rarely are taken into account in the literature on field practicum and supervision. This survey of MSW students at a southern university examines factors associated with student satisfaction with field agency, field instructor, and field learning. The survey covers student and agency characteristics, learning goals and structure, supervision, and school-agency linkages. Students associated the quality of supervision and relevance of learning most highly with satisfaction in their placement experiences. Being treated as a professional in the agency, school-agency linkages, student characteristics, and amount of time engaged in specific social work activities were found not to be major factors in student satisfaction with field work.     

Community college field placement internships: supervisors’ perspectives and recommendations

ABSTRACT

Community College human services students represent the future social service workforce. The defining feature of their training is 250 h supervised field placement internship. Despite burgeoning research describing best practices for supervision of Bachelors of social work (BSW) and Masters of social work (MSW), there is no research aimed at supervision for community college students, leaving a gap in our understanding of best practices for supporting community college students’ pedagogy and sustaining partnerships with agencies. This exploratory study offers recommendations for best practices supported by our discovery of the benefits, challenges, and strategies involved with offering community college student internships in New York City human services agencies. We analyzed data from semi-structured interviews with 30 field supervisors through qualitative content analysis. Community college students and agencies both benefit substantially from the field placement, however agencies identified significant social and structural challenges specific to working with community college students that require interventions for both field supervisors and students alike. Suggested interventions aimed at improving supervisor training, procedures for focusing goals of supervision sessions, assisting students in meeting their academic and social needs, as well as supporting supervisors’ professional goals to promote best practices are proposed.     

Do We Need More “Doing” Activities or “Thinking” Activities in the Field Practicum?

How do MSW students learn new professional skills in the field practicum? Does students' reflection affect the use of other learning activities during the field practicum? Students in field practica participate in activities that involve observation, doing (participatory), and conceptual linkage. In this study of MSW students, conceptual linkage activities represent students' overall reflective capacity to integrate classroom theory and field practice. The results indicate that conceptual linkage activities are more strongly related to learning outcomes than observation or participatory activities. There is also a significant interaction effect between participatory activities and conceptual linkage activities when students' satisfaction is considered. Discussion includes suggestions for increasing students' reflection to integrate classroom and field.     

The Process of Field Instruction

This article reports on the results of two surveys that asked BSW and MSW students to evaluate the supervision provided by their field instructors at two points during their practicum. Students responded to a variety of questions pertaining to the supervisory assignments and activities of their field instructor. The author discusses the relationship between supervisory skills and students’ perceptions of enhanced learning. Early in the practicum, activities reported as most helpful to students were those that introduced them to the agency and clarified expectations of their performance. At the end of their experience, students perceived as most helpful those activities which helped them to be self-critical and to link classroom and field learning.     

Training fieldwork supervisors of social work students at a South European University: evaluation of the effectiveness of a relational psychodynamic model

This case-study adopts a mixed research methodology in order to evaluate the process and the effectiveness of a psychodynamically informed training seminar for field supervisors of undergraduate social work students, at a South European University. At the beginning of the seminar, an anonymous questionnaire gathered information on the supervisors’ demographics, preferred supervision style and expectations from the training. The training consisted of four sessions involving analysis of (1) student process-recorded interviews with clients, (2) the relationships formed between the student, the supervisor and the field practice manager, (3) brief virtual scenarios (vignettes) of field practice problems and (4) a videotaped supervision session. At the end of the training process, a follow-up questionnaire researched the satisfaction of supervisors with the training, their confidence to conduct supervision, and their satisfaction with the instructor's teaching. Overall, the training has been satisfactory for the trainees and increased their competence to supervise.     

Field Practica in Social Work Administration: Tasks,Auspice, Selection Criteria and Outcomes

Abstract

This evaluative study of the field practicum in one MSW program in social work administration is based on data collected over a period of ten years on tasks performed by students, auspice of field placement agency and student prior experience in relation to outcomes of student performance and satisfaction. The findings revealed that better outcomes are associated with tasks performed on upper organizational levels, working with line staff, performing interactional tasks, interorganizational functions, in agencies under voluntary auspices. Data on age and prior experience of students indicate no support for using these criteria for selection of students for this type of education. The policy implications for social work education are discussed.     

Promoting Cognitive Development Through Field Education

This article reports results from a study examining the effects of field education on cognitive development. BSW students enrolled in either a semester-long practicum/field seminar or prepracticum courses completed pretest and posttest measures of cognitive complexity to assess cognitive development. Results indicated that field practicum students made significantly higher gains in cognitive complexity than prepracticum students even when controlling for age and ethnicity. The research suggests that field education, that is, working with actual clients under the supervision of more senior members of the profession, and participating in a field seminar course with other social work students have important implications for enhancing cognitive development.     

Effects of an Integrative Field Seminar for MSW Students

Integrative field seminars can help students with the difficult task of integrating learning between field and class. Are the seminars effective? We compared one cohort of MSW students who were required to attend an integrative field seminar (n = 101) with another cohort that was not offered a seminar (n = 147). We questioned each cohort at the end of the generalist practicum about skills and attitudes we thought the seminar would enhance. Students who attended a seminar reported better critical thinking, more identification with the profession, and more satisfaction with their field education. However, they were similar to students without a seminar on 10 other skills, including evaluations by their field instructors.     

Emerging Social Work Field Education Trends in China

MSW field education in China has been adopting Western models. However, this adaptation cannot address all educational and professional training needs in China. This study used an exploratory qualitative study design and interviewed 54 MSW students regarding their field experiences at a university in Shanghai. Results revealed six key themes: field education curriculum design’s influence on student field experiences, faculty advisers’ influence on student field experiences, field agencies’ expectations toward MSW intern performance, field agencies’ capacity to host MSW interns, student perceptions of their professional competencies, and students’ coping strategies to manage challenges in field practicum. Competency-based social work field education is a potential solution to address the current social work field education challenges in China.     

Social Constructionism and Supervision: Experiences of AAMFT Supervisors and Supervised Therapists

A phenomenological research process was used to investigate the supervision experience for supervisors and therapists when supervisors use a social constructionist perspective. Participants of the one‐to‐one interviews were six AAMFT Approved Supervisors and six therapists providing counseling to individuals, couples and families. The findings suggest supervisors were committed to their self‐identified supervision philosophy and intentionally sought out congruence between epistemology and practice. The shared experience of therapists indicates they associated desirable supervision experiences with their supervisors’ social constructionist perspective. Our findings also indicated that supervisors’ and therapists’ understanding of social constructionism included the more controversial concepts of agency and extra‐discursiveness. This research has taken an empirical step in the direction of understanding what the social constructionist supervision experience is like for supervisors and therapists. Our findings suggest a linkage between epistemology and supervision practice and a satisfaction with the supervision process.     

Pathways to social work supervision

ABSTRACT

Social work research and literature in the area of supervision tends to focus on the supervision of field education students. Less attention is given to the supervision of social work practitioners and there is almost no information that examines how social workers become supervisors. This exploratory study interviewed 27 practicing social work supervisors across different fields of social work practice in Western Canada. The participants included 15 supervisors with a graduate degree and 12 supervisors with an undergraduate degree. The supervisors completed a brief questionnaire that was followed by a structured interview. Supervisors were asked how they came to be social work supervisors. Thematic analysis of the supervisors’ responses revealed three pathways to supervision: task exposure, supervision by happen chance, and deliberate decision. The responses suggested that additional focus on supervision might be included in undergraduate education and that universities, professional associations, and employers pay more attention to succession planning.     

Field Note—From MSW to J-O-B: Using Field Seminar to Prepare Students for Employment

ABSTRACT

Social work field education is expected to help students transition from the classroom to the practice setting. Yet, few social work programs adequately provide career development support to increase students’ employability. This Field Note presents practical, relevant and immediate strategies for implementing the MSW to J-O-B curriculum innovation in the field practicum seminar. The purpose is to help students clarify professional goals and successfully obtain employment or career advancement opportunities following graduation. Formative evaluation results for this professional development curriculum are presented.     

Exploring gaps between MSW students’ experiences and expectations of field supervision in a Chinese setting

The quality of field supervision is essential to prepare social work students for professional practice. This qualitative study explored the experiences and expectations of 22 MSW students who received their field supervision at social work professional organizations in mainland China. Findings indicate that there are significant differences between the actual supervision that students received and their expectations with regard to the structure and content of supervision. This study contributes to the literature by clarifying further what the lack of time for supervision and the lack of professional supervision mean in China’s context.     

Introduction to the Special Issues on the Supervision of Staff and Field Education of Students

Two Special Issues of the Clinical Social Work Journal have been dedicated to building on the social work discipline’s tradition and commitment to the supervision of staff and field education of students. These issues bring together contemporary theorizing, clinical supervisory and field education practice experience and wisdom, and research studies to contribute to the knowledge base for practicing supervisors and field educators. As the first of the Special Issues, this issue has been dedicated to the supervision of staff. In this Introduction, we share the salient aspects of the articles published, as they relate to contemporary social work supervision, relational considerations within the supervisory dyad, models of supervision for fields of specialization, as well as measurement and evaluation. Implications are shared, with highlights and connections for practicing supervisors made throughout.     

Retention and job satisfaction of child welfare supervisors

Supervisors play a vital role in workplace productivity and organizational health, and are at the forefront of improving the capacity of the child welfare workforce. Yet there is limited research about their organizational longevity and satisfaction compared with child welfare caseworkers. This study uses data from 85% of supervisors statewide in a child welfare organization to describe intent to leave, supervision provided and received, and job qualities. Questions are: (1) what are the personal and job qualities of child welfare supervisors? (2) To what extent do supervisors report receiving and providing supervision, and (3) what personal and job qualities predict intent to leave among supervisors? Using bivariate and multivariate analyses, results showed that supervisors who receive more frequent supervision report lower levels of job stress and time pressure and more positive perceptions of organization leadership. These supervisors also reported providing more supervision to caseworkers. Greater time pressure predicted intent to leave among supervisors, indicating that there is an important balance between workload and resources in efforts to maintain quality supervisors.     

Preparing for Child Welfare Practice

Summary

Specialized child welfare MSW programs and stipend support for child welfare MSW students have been developed in several states through the Federal Title IV-E program. Thirty-seven focus groups conducted over four years with approximately 550 Title IV-E MSW students in California were submitted to qualitative thematic analysis. The intense emotional challenge of child welfare work emerged in the focus groups. A three stage cognitive-affective model of student development is proposed. This exploratory study suggests several hypotheses for further research: that students at more advanced cognitive-affective levels should be less prone to burnout, better able to make the difficult value-based decisions demanded by child welfare work, and more likely to integrate and use the emotions of themselves and others. Implications are explored for graduate programs, professors, and supervisors.     

What Changes MSW Students' View on the Mission of Social Work?

Little is known about how professional social work education affects students' view on the social work mission. Using a secondary analysis of larger longitudinal data collected from masters in social work (MSW) students in California, USA, this study sought to explore the relationship among the students' demographic characteristics, their primary reasons for pursuing an MSW degree, and their view on the mission of social work at the time of entering an MSW program, whether the students' view on the mission of social work changed in the course of an MSW education, and factors contributing to a change of MSW students' view on the social work mission—individual adaptation vs societal change—between the beginning and the end of the MSW program. The results showed that students' degree of social action involvement, type of field practicum, and ideological variables predicted students' view changes or adherence between entering the MSW program and graduating.     

Students’ views on thesis supervision in international master’s degree programmes in Finnish universities

This paper employs an intercultural perspective to examine students’ views on master’s thesis supervision and the roles and responsibilities of supervisors and students. The 302 respondents who answered the online questionnaire were enrolled in international master’s degree programmes in four Finnish universities. The study revealed asymmetric views by students regarding the division of responsibilities between themselves and their supervisors. It was found that very few students and supervisors discuss the differences in study cultures between Finland and students’ countries of origin, their cultural backgrounds or the aspects of Finnish society that students do not understand. The research suggests that supervisors and students need to conduct early discussions on supervision and culture.     

A Study of MSW and BSW Students' Perceptions of Their Field Instructors

In the study reported here, BSW and MSW students in field placements and a group of recent MSW graduates were surveyed to assess the impact of personal attributes, supervisory characteristics, and 11 instructional skills on their evaluation of their field instructors. Results indicated that the most influential variables were those representing task-oriented, educational aspects of field instruction. In addition, field instructors' availability, their use of process recordings, and the amount of supervision they gave students also influenced respondents' evaluations.