On a Wing and a Prayer! An Exploration of Students’ Experiences of External Supervision

Abstract Field education is a core component of social work courses globally and has been recognised as providing significant learning opportunities to develop professional practice. Evidence highlights the strong correlation between student satisfaction with their supervisory relationship and their...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The British journal of social work 2022-01, Vol.52 (1), p.217-235
Main Authors: Cleak, Helen, Zuchowski, Ines, Cleaver, Mark
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College students
Educational programs
Learning
Occupational roles
Practice placements
Professional practice
Professional training
Satisfaction
Social values
Social work
Social work education
Students
Supervision
Supervisors
Work values
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Field education is a core component of social work courses globally and has been recognised as providing significant learning opportunities to develop professional practice. Evidence highlights the strong correlation between student satisfaction with their supervisory relationship and their satisfaction with placement, but current practices have resulted in more reliance on placements with a variety of supervisory arrangements, which may be compromising a quality and supportive supervisory relationship. This article reports on an Australian online survey of 284 social work students about their experience of supervision, focusing on 119 students who received external supervision. Both quantitative ratings and qualitative comments showed that students generally described their external supervision as valuable and offered space to reflect critically on practice. Nevertheless, many felt disadvantaged without a social work presence onsite and not being observed or observing social work practice. Concerns were raised about task supervisors who offered supervision ‘on the run’ and had limited understanding of social work roles and values. Many students struggled on placement and felt that, once placement was confirmed, they received minimal support from University staff. Findings should alert field education programmes that students require consistent and ongoing involvement.
ISSN:0045-3102
1468-263X
DOI:10.1093/bjsw/bcaa230