Not ‘everything’s a learning experience’: racialized, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ, and disabled students in social work field placements

ABSTRACT

This paper critically explores the implicit and explicit message that ‘everything’s a learning experience’ when social work students engage in practice/community contexts as part of their professional training. It does so by reporting findings from focus groups, interviews and an online survey about the field education experiences of racialized, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ and disabled social work students. According to these students, messaging that ‘everything’s a learning experience’ demands their adaptation to issues arising in placement as ‘opportunities for learning’, rather than recognizing how, at times, this ‘learning’ can entail corrosive instances of inequity, harm, neglect, and/or the additional demands of diversity or emotion work. Students described components of their placement experiences that they felt didn’t contribute—and, in many cases, actively interfered with—their learning. These experiences and concerns unfold against a backdrop of increasing constraint in the social service sector. We show how common placement discourses and expectations—intersecting with placement shortages—are having detrimental effects on students, and encourage specific attention to how students from equity-seeking groups are affected. We offer an analysis of the ‘crisis in field’ from the perspectives of these racialized, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ and disabled students.

KEYWORDS:

• Social work
• field education
• practice learning
• accessibility
• students from equity-seeking groups

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Chris Sinding and two anonymous reviewers for feedback that helped strengthen the paper, and all of the students who participated in the project and in wider work to advance equity and accessibility in the social work program.

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1. Participants are identified here and throughout with I (Interview), FG (Focus Group), and S (Survey) along with a participant number and demographic profile.

Additional information

Funding

This project was funded by a 2016-2018 Leadership in Teaching and Learning Fellowship from the Paul R. MacPherson Institute for Leadership, Innovation and Excellence in Teaching, McMaster University.

Notes on contributors

Alise de Bie

Alise de Bie, a social work PhD student partner on this project, is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at McMaster University.

Janice Chaplin

Janice Chaplin is an Associate Professor and Field Education Coordinator in the School of Social Work at McMaster University.

Jennie Vengris

Jennie Vengris is an Associate Professor and Field Education Developer in the School of Social Work at McMaster University.

Eminet Dagnachew

Eminet Dagnachew, a BSW graduate, was a student partner on this project.

Randy Jackson

Randy Jackson, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at McMaster University with a joint appointment in the Department of Health, Aging and Society. Originally from Kettle and Stony Point First Nation (Anishinaabe), Jackson explores lived experience among Indigenous peoples living with HIV and AIDS (IPHAs) using Indigenous knowledge, perspectives, and values. His research has explored diverse topics, including for example, experiences of depression, resilience, and leadership. Randy is the recipient of a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) for his research work in HIV among Indigenous peoples.