Innovation in Practice Learning: Messages from the Review of a Student-centred Unit

Abstract

Social work education in England is currently undergoing a process of review and change reflecting broader reforms in the profession as a whole. It is therefore timely to identify the achievements of the Centre for the Development of Social Care Practice at the University of Bedfordshire which since 2006 has offered a range of practice learning opportunities to social work students in partnership with the local authority and with the participation of service users and carers. This article places this initiative in the context of other broadly similar non-traditional practice learning provision and reviews recent feedback to identify its particular characteristics. Strengths in the provision of student-centred and empowering practice learning are explored and the need for further evaluation acknowledged.

Keywords:

• social work education
• practice learning
• student-centred learning
• non-traditional placements

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sally Cornish

Sally Cornish is a qualified social worker and practice teacher with over 20 years experience in a range of statutory settings. She is now a senior lecturer at the University of Bedfordshire and course coordinator for the MSc in Social Work.

Jacqueline White

Jacqueline White has a career span of over 21 years experience in the field of Health and Social Welfare. This included working with Children and Families, and Adults in the statutory sector and as a practice teacher. Jacqueline is based in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences as the Manager of the Centre for Development of Social Care Practice at the University of Bedfordshire.