| Abstract: | Practice learning is central to the changes in social work educationin the UK but the evidence-base indicating why this should behas not been rigorously examined. Studies of effectiveness conductedto date centre predominantly on the satisfaction of participants,relationships between teachers, supervisors or fieldwork educatorsand students, educational opportunities and developing aspectsof competence. This paper explores the concept of perceivedself-belief or self-efficacy as an indicator of developmentof competence during practice learning, examining whether self-beliefsin student competency do increase during placement and consideringhow this might be harnessed to enhance the experience and effectivenessof it. Findings from the study described indicate that studentperceptions of competence in relation to particular future performancedo increase from pre- to post-test during practice learning,suggesting that practice is effective in this respect and theconcept of self-belief can be utilized to challenge and extendstudent competence or identify areas for further work and development.However, the mechanisms by which these perceptions develop arenot clear and further research into practice learning is warrantedgiven the prominence accorded to it in social work education. |
