This anthology presents decision cases that depict the actual experiences of social work field educators and students. They showcase the complex dynamics of field education and highlight a range of dilemmas experienced by novice and seasoned field educators.

Field education is social work’s signature pedagogy, the essential preparation for professional practice. Its success depends on field educators—field instructors, task supervisors or preceptors, and faculty field liaisons—to guide and assess student learning and maintain the pedagogical integrity of the field experience. Despite its importance and complexity, few resources exist for orienting and preparing field educators. This anthology presents decision cases that depict the actual experiences of social work field educators and students. They showcase the complex dynamics of field education and highlight a range of dilemmas experienced by novice and seasoned field educators. In various combinations, the dilemmas include interpersonal boundaries, emotional reactivity, initiative, expectations, role confusion, inadequate performance, accountability, interpersonal conflict, personal values, and impairment. The cases show how other field educators have navigated the issues that typically arise, with greater or lesser success. The cases portray the intricacy and rewards of this educational role and are selected for their ability to facilitate in-depth discussion among field educators during their initial training or continuing education. Guided discussions of these cases can bolster supervisory competence and confidence. They enable field educators to develop important problem-solving and critical-thinking skills related to their overlapping roles as instructors, supervisors, mentors, advisors, colleagues, and role models, helping them thrive and continue to serve the profession. An accompanying instructor manual provides extensive information for each decision case and also includes guidance for field directors on how to use the case method of teaching and sources for additional information.

Based on field research, the cases portray the actual experiences of real social workers. They are drawn from many different fields of practice and from both faith-based and public settings. They portray intertwined and sometimes conflicting client needs and values; social worker values and professional obligations; organizational dilemmas; and dilemmas related to Biblical, theological, and philosophical perspectives. The cases press readers to consider individual and organizational needs, contradictory policy requirements, the limits of professional intervention, value or ethical dilemmas, and the unintended consequences of decisions. They all include a social worker who identifies as a Christian, which will especially resonate with Christian social work students and practitioners."--pub. desc.

Social work students consistently struggle to apply theory to practice, or use the knowledge of textbooks and classrooms in the field. Vignettes and scenarios represented in textbooks are often simplistic, too tidy to be realistic, and with clean resolutions. Next Steps: Decision Cases for Social Work Practice highlights the complex, messy nature of social work practice in a way that is engaging to students, allowing them to step into the role of a practicing social worker. This book is a collection of decision cases from multiple areas of social work practice, designed to enhance the quality and depth of classroom case discussion and analysis. These realistic, compelling cases present dilemmas about which even experienced practitioners may disagree. This allows rich classroom discussion that enhances critical thinking, provides real-life application, and creates numerous opportunities to apply content and knowledge acquired throughout a social work education experience.

These fifteen cases take place in child welfare, mental health, hospital, hospice, domestic violence, refugee resettlement, veterans' administration, and school settings and reflect individual, family, group, and supervised social work practice. They confront common ethical and treatment issues and raise issues regarding practice interventions, programs, policies, and laws. Cases represent open-ended situations, encouraging students to apply knowledge from across the social work curriculum to develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. An instructor's manual with teaching notes is available by emailing: [email protected].

Field education is considered by social workers to be the most crucial part of their professional preparation, as it allows students to engage with communities, apply theoretical concepts, and develop their skill sets. In Achieving Competence in Social Work Through Field Education, Marion Bogo synthesizes current and emerging knowledge on field education with the latest findings in the empirical literature. Bogo, an international leader in social work field education, has published extensively in the field. This new book delves into the rich theoretical and practical knowledge advancements of recent years to synthesize the processes that facilitate hands-on learning. With in-depth frameworks, approaches, and educational principles, as well as an appendix of evaluation tools, Bogo's writing is both insightful and widely applicable. Achieving Competence in Social Work through Field Education is accessible for faculty members, field instructors, and students who are looking to explore the possibilities of field teaching and learning in social work.

This ebook is a selective guide designed to help scholars and students of social work find reliable sources of information by directing them to the best available scholarly materials in whatever form or format they appear from books, chapters, and journal articles to online archives, electronic data sets, and blogs. Written by a leading international authority on the subject, the ebook provides bibliographic information supported by direct recommendations about which sources to consult and editorial commentary to make it clear how the cited sources are interrelated related. A reader will discover, for instance, the most reliable introductions and overviews to the topic, and the most important publications on various areas of scholarly interest within this topic. In social work, as in other disciplines, researchers at all levels are drowning in potentially useful scholarly information, and this guide has been created as a tool for cutting through that material to find the exact source you need. This ebook is a static version of an article from Oxford Bibliographies Online: Social Work, a dynamic, continuously updated, online resource designed to provide authoritative guidance through scholarship and other materials relevant to the study and practice of social work. Oxford Bibliographies Online covers most subject disciplines within the social science and humanities, for more information visit www.aboutobo.com.