A Preliminary Conceptualisation of the Social Work Field Liaison Role through Collaborative Practice

ABSTRACT

Field liaison is a fundamental component of social work field education programs and is critical in monitoring and supporting the field education supervisory relationship. Despite its integral importance, field liaison is a somewhat neglected and underexplored area, particularly from the perspectives of those undertaking the role. To better support the role, in 2015 the Victorian Combined Schools of Social Work initiated a liaison forum, which has become an annual event. The authors have reflected on the congruence of participants’ discussions over four forums. This article shares these reflections and reports their preliminary conceptualisations of the role.

IMPLICATIONS

• The social work liaison role in field education is a multifaceted role, requiring greater attention to operationalising, administering, and implementing the role across higher education providers.

• It is critical that further research into the liaison role is undertaken to continue to conceptualise the role from multiple stakeholder perspectives.

田野联络员是社会工作教育项目的基本成分，对于检查和支撑田野教育中的辅导关系至关重要。尽管如此，田野联络员却是一个被忽略、少关注的领域，尤其从当事人的角度看。为了更好地支持这一工作，维多利亚社会会工作联合学院于2015年发起了一个联络员论坛，并从此成为一年一度的活动。本文介绍了四次论坛讨论者的共识，以及他们对田野联络员角色所做的初步理论思考。

KEYWORDS:

• Social Work Liaison
• Social Work Field Education
• Placement

Acknowledgement

This study was carried out on behalf of the Combined Schools of Social Work (CSSW) in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).