Field practicum plays a central role in social work education by socializing social work students to the profession and facilitating the integration of theoretical knowledge with skill development. Students can be apprehensive about beginning practicum and often lack adequate formal preparation for the practicum experience. This study evaluates…

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…

MSW [master of social work] 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…

Teacher candidates (TCs) use clinical experiences to enact concepts taught in their university courses; therefore field experiences may be the most important component of teacher preparation (Hammerness et al., 2005). TCs require support and guidance as they learn to adapt curriculum materials for effective use in the classroom (Davis, 2006). They…

Field practicum is an active learning process. This study explores the different learning stages or processes students experience during their field practicum. First-year master's of social work students in field practica were asked how much they had engaged in educational learning activities such as observation, working independently, process…

In October 2010, the University of Southern California School of Social Work entered the online education environment with the launch of the first national web-based MSW program. After an initial enrollment of 80 students, in just 3 years this state-of-the-art MSW, offered in a technology-advanced synchronous and asynchronous format, has generated…

The importance of field experiences in educational leadership was well documented in literature. However, scholars and practitioners disagreed on how field experiences should be provided to achieve the greatest effect. On the other hand, practicum efficiency and effectiveness were not assessed in the last ten years. Therefore, this study was…

Students' perceptions of their field placements rarely are taken into account in the literature on field practicum and supervision. This survey of master's program students at a southern university examines factors associated with student satisfaction with field agency, field instructor, and field learning. (Author/MH)

A set of matrices are described that were created to be used in selecting appropriate practica experiences for students in graduate level special education teacher training programs. Two practicum matrices were designed to take into consideration the following factors in deciding on acceptable practicum experience for each student: (1) educational…

Examines the relationship between field work and counseling skill development for 73 trainees from 2 master's level counseling programs with different field-work requirements. Trainees with field-work experience respond differently than do inexperienced trainees, with greater empathy, better formulation of clinical impressions, and the ability to…