ABSTRACT
Yet many field instructors themselves have limited experience and education of group work, and describe using a more apprenticeship rather than conceptual approach to the supervision of their students’ group work practice. Many spend little or no time in formal discussion of group assignments and, unlike their supervision of work with individuals, do not require process recordings or other written materials as teaching tools to support students’ ability to engage in practice informed by theory (Wayne & Garland, 1990). Social agencies and organizations increasingly look to groups to serve a wide range of client and organizational needs, but often rely on expertise of other professionals and non-professionals. While the widespread use of groups is a positive movement, students must be helped to distinguish between social work with groups and other group practices.
