Australian Students’, Educators’, and Practitioners’ Experiences of Modified Field Education Standards During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

Long-standing concerns about the sustainability of social work field education requirements were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) implemented revised Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS) during the pandemic as existing standards had become unworkable. The revised ASWEAS (during 2020 and 2021) allowed greater flexibility regarding how placements could be delivered, enabling students, educators, and practitioners to trial modified placements normally considered non-compliant. This article reports the findings of a national qualitative and quantitative survey that used Appreciative Inquiry to examine key stakeholders’ experiences of the modified field placements. The findings demonstrated strong support for the modifications. The findings are discussed in the context of international standards and hold implications for the future development of ASWEAS.

IMPLICATIONS

• A trial of modified field placements under revised ASWEAS due to the COVID-19 pandemic represented a timely opportunity to conduct a nation-wide, empirical study to explore experiences of different field placement models.

• Emerging empirical evidence confirmed enduring field education problems, and highlighted experiences that could inform more flexible, sustainable field placements.

KEYWORDS:

• Field Education
• Placement Modifications
• ASWEAS Standards
• Student Learning
• Student Poverty
• Placement Poverty
• COVID-19
• Social Work
• Field Placements
• Pivoting
• Paid Placements
• Hybrid Placements
• Social Work Education

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge and thank the students, educators, and practitioners who participated in this research. An earlier version of this article was presented at the National Field Education Summit, Western Sydney University, 6 February 2023.

Disclosure Statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Council of Heads of Social Work Education and the Queensland University of Technology Centre for Justice. No grant/award number was issued.