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Preparing Students to Address the Grand Challenges for Social Work

Using Collaborative Field Education to Provide Better Outcomes for Students at Risk of Leaving Higher Education

Pages S166-S175 | Accepted 07 Sep 2023, Published online: 17 Oct 2023
 
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ABSTRACT

Certain student populations including youth formerly in foster care, first-generation college students, those with mental illness and substance abuse issues, and racial and ethnic minority students, face persistent challenges to their pursuit of college education, contributing to low graduation rates compared to their peers. This article details one university’s pilot program using social work practicum placements in multiple departments providing direct interventions with vulnerable students to increase retention and graduation rates with a focus on identifying barriers to success and connecting students to supports. Efforts were interprofessional, incorporating student support services, and social and emotional support. Placement in academic support services provided an interprofessional practice setting to intervene with students at risk of leaving college and continue to shape ongoing interventions. Implications for collaborative field education are explored, with the aim of describing the program’s successful interventions with vulnerable students and how they provided social work practicum students with crucial interprofessional settings to practice and refine their social work skills.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stephanie A. Saulnier

Stephanie A. Saulnier is the MSW Program Director at Eastern Kentucky University.

Natasha Walker

Natasha Walker is a graduate of the MSW Program at Eastern Kentucky University.

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