ABSTRACT
The concept of ‘partnership’ is new in human services field education. However, there is a renewed emphasis on partnerships that has brought about a rethinking of the term’s meaning in human services fieldwork and about how partnerships might be developed to foster productive exchanges between educators, practitioners and the employer organisations. Learning is enhanced for practitioners, educators and students because the partnership arrangement helps to locate learning within a social, economic and cultural context, be it local, regional or national. Instead, it seeks to provide a structure for making stronger links between the educational institutions' and practitioners' work, and client groups' needs. Strong bonds between practitioners, human services organisations and educational institutions will be required for partnerships to develop and flourish into the next century. The chapter concludes with some practical strategies for building rewarding partnerships between educators and practitioners.
