ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on particular areas that pose potential risks for students and concerns for field educators: the mature student or experienced learner; students with emotional/psychological problems; the racial minority student. Implications for human services are discussed and practical suggestions outlined, primarily for the field educator but with implications for staff, student and agency. The field educator should read the mature student’s resume prior to the pre-fieldwork interview to gain preliminary knowledge of the student’s skills and experiences, which should then be acknowledged during the interview. Field educators feel that discussing race, culture and differences, especially with racial minority students, may cause discomfort and further marginalisation. Students and field educators need to understand that power is simply what one is able to exert on the other; it is, rather, the constant analysis of how what we know and do is socially produced.
