Current issues with social work field education and ideas for change
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21495986 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Allen Eaton (0000-0003-1331-1222, University of Regina, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 153-162 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Work Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0261-5479 • E-ISSN: 1470-1227 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02615479.2025.2484360 |
| OpenAlex | W4408837404 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 40 |
Field education is a significant component of social work education and might be the signature pedagogy. Yet current issues limit the quality of experience that students can receive from practicum. These issues include austerity policies, exhaustion of altruism, trends toward clinical social work and privatized human services, and a lack of student readiness. Degree granting institutions, such as universities, have long relied on altruism to run social work field education programs but austerity measures may mean that historical altruism can no longer be relied upon. The lack of compensation for practicum students and field instructors is unethical and may contribute to conflicts of interest and exploitation in practicum. This article details these present challenges in social work field education through incorporating scholarship and reflection and presents ideas for change. Enhanced orientation and stipends for practicum students and field instructors have shown preliminary promise in mitigating modern social work field education difficulties. For field education to be social work’s signature pedagogy, practicum planning and associated policies must be treated with respect and rigor, constantly scrutinized and improved upon as the field develops and changes
Engineering ethics · Pedagogy · Political science · Social change · Sociology · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics · Engineering · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work · Mechanical Engineering
The nature of human altruism
Field Education for Clinical Social Work Practice
Field Education as the Signature Pedagogy of Social Work Education
Role Plays to Enhance Readiness for Practicum
End the Exploitation of Social Work Student Interns
Building policy practice into foundation field placement
Using simulation to prepare social work students for field education
Advanced integrated practice
Integration of theory and practice in social work education. Analysis of Finnish social work students’ field reports
On the Edge in Rural Canada
Putting the ‘Virtual’ into Supervision during the Covid-19 Pandemic and Beyond
Simulation-Based Learning in School Social Work Education
Where’s the Community Practice? Gaps in Community Practice Education in a Clinical-Community Social Work Program
Taking the Show on the Road in Holding Academic Classes in Community Agencies
Role-Playing
The DSM and its lure of legitimacy
Social Worker Well-being
The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Social Workers at the Frontline
Changing Times
Social work beyond the pandemic
The impact of teaching culture online during Covid-19
Low Pay for Social Workers is a Human Rights Violation, and Social Work Professors Must Help to Change It
What are Social Work Students’ Perceptions of the Community Practice Method
Challenging the Constraints of Neoliberalism and Biomedicalism
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |