The Practicum: Clients, Problems, Interventions and Influences on Student Practice

Abstract

This paper describes a study of first year graduate social work students' work in practica and assesses their transfer of practice evaluation knowledge and skills from the classroom to the field. The data are drawn from case material recorded by the students using a structured recording format. The paper addresses three central questions. What were the salient features of the students' practices? Did students apply practice evaluation knowledge to their work with clients? And, what variables influenced the ways that the students practiced? Recommendations for enhancing class and field integration and for increasing knowledge and skill transfer given the significant influence of the practicum instructor's orientation are discussed.