Holistic Designs for Field Instruction in the Contemporary Social Work Curriculum

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of the field education component in a holistic curriculum. It presents two designs for field instruction that were introduced in a university-based laboratory setting. The integration of field practice with the content of the holistic academic practice curriculum of the school was a primary objective of these designs. The first design emerged out of a holistic/multi-method assignment and the second was derived from a holistic/generalist orientation applied to a problem area or population. Issues in field teaching using these approaches are reviewed and guidelines for the field instructor are suggested.