‘I'll Carry This Experience With Me Throughout My Studies and Future Career’: Practice Tutorials and Students' Views on Social Work in Iraklio, Greece

Abstract

The practice tutorial has been a linchpin for promoting the learning of social work students on placement [S. Shardlow & M. Doel (1996) Practice Learning and Teaching, Macmillan Press, UK]. The role of the practice teacher in particular has been the provider of necessary and appropriate learning experiences that furnish students with the opportunity to demonstrate their ability in the practice of social work [G. Boswell (1997) ‘The role of the practice teacher’, in The Blackwell Companion to Social Work, ed. Martin Davies, Blackwell, UK].

This research‐based article examines the influence of practice tutorials on Greek social work students' views of the profession of social work. It is important that all those engaged in social work education know which factors in practice teaching have a positive effect on students' feelings towards the profession and which factors have the opposite effect. This knowledge will help those concerned with social work education to both build upon its strengths as well as to improve upon its weaknesses.

Keywords:

• Practice Tutorials
• Social Work Education
• Narratives

Notes

1. The term ‘naïve’ is based on Ricoeur's interpretation theory and his idea that ‘the first time, understanding will be a naïve grasping of the meaning of the text as a whole’ (Ricoeur, 1976, p. 74).