ABSTRACT

Professional placements are integral to social work education and provide formative but variable learning opportunities for students. As social work programs expand and requirements for placements increase, settings where a social worker may not be employed are increasingly utilized, risking further variability of student experience. This paper reports on qualitative responses to two open-ended questions in a cross-sectional survey conducted with social work students from four universities on the island of Ireland. Questions included (1) what students found most helpful in assisting their learning, and (2) what would have improved their learning during placement. A six-step approach to thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data from 427 responses to question one, and 355 responses to question two. Four key pillars of practice learning were identified: enabling relationship(s); ‘real world’ practice opportunities; structured teaching and learning; and academic-practice alignment. Drawing on these findings, the paper presents a framework for integrated learning which promotes students’ capacity for active inquiry in practice. Linked processes of relational knowing and structured teaching and learning emerged as integral to knowledge acquisition and professional development on placement. Findings re-established the significance of the supervisory relationship and relationship-based learning.

摘要

专业实习是社会工作教育不可或缺的一部分，为学生提供形成性但可变的学习机会。随着社会工作项目的扩大和实习要求的增加，越来越多地利用可能无法雇用社会工作者的环境，从而面临学生经历进一步变化的风险。本文报告了对爱尔兰岛四所大学的社会工作专业学生进行的一项横断面调查中两个开放式问题的定性回答。问题包括（1）学生认为什么对他们的学习最有帮助，以及（2）什么可以改善他们在实习期间的学习。采用六步主题分析方法来分析来自对问题一的 427 份答复和对问题二的 355 份答复的定性数据。确定了实践学习的四个关键支柱： 促进关系；“现实世界”的实践机会；结构化教学；以及学术与实践的结合。根据这些发现，本文提出了一个综合学习框架，该框架可提高学生在实践中主动探究的能力。关系性认识和结构化教学的相互联系的过程成为知识获取和安置专业发展的组成部分。研究结果重新确立了监督关系和基于关系的学习的重要性。本文提出了一个综合学习框架，可提高学生在实践中主动探究的能力。关系性认识和结构化教学的相互联系的过程成为知识获取和安置专业发展的组成部分。研究结果重新确立了监督关系和基于关系的学习的重要性。本文提出了一个综合学习框架，可提高学生在实践中主动探究的能力。关系性认识和结构化教学的相互联系的过程成为知识获取和安置专业发展的组成部分。研究结果重新确立了监督关系和基于关系的学习的重要性。