ABSTRACT
Fieldwork is considered the soul of professional social work training and covers all such activities that provide an exposure to field realities, to enhance knowledge and skills and shape perspectives and attitudes. The keys to successful learning through fieldwork are identifying and matching agencies of placement with trainee social workers (TSWs’) abilities and interests and task areas that facilitate the sustenance of students’ efforts and interest, effective supervision and transparency in assessment. Through facilitated exposures TSWs develop multifarious abilities and self-confidence, and go through a process of critical self-reflection. The convergence of fieldwork learning with other aspects of training can lay the foundation for developing a well-honed and sensitive professional personality.
This paper draws from decades of practical experience as a professional, in supervision and planning and their evolution against changing contemporary realities. It discusses the complex challenges of developing opportunities when students come from diverse backgrounds, working with a range of agency approaches (from the conventional welfare approaches to rights based), and the limitations of exposure to the process of practice methods, due to the time-bound nature of fieldwork. The paper also draws learnings from supervisory experiences and attempts to put these within the framework of effective supervision.
