The Field Placement Contract: Its Use in Maintaining Comparability between Employment-related and Traditional Field Placements

Abstract

As student financial aid for MSW education has decreased, the necessity for paid employment-related field placements has increased. An accompanying concern has been whether such employment-related experiences can offer satisfactory professional training in light of the demands generated by the employment itself. This study examines one alternative—the field placement contracting process—as an avenue for restructuring the work experience to better suit the educational needs of the MSW student employee. Results show that the designated approach can be effective in producing educational experiences and results comparable to those produced by traditional placements developed by MSW programs.