Teaching and learning in social work practice placements :a study of process in professional education and training

Approximately half of the time on social work training courses is devoted to practice placements in agencies, where students practise under the supervision of a qualified worker. The supervisory relationship is a key carponent in the developnent of practice skills " but it is under-researched. This study, of the teaching and learning processes in supervision, is essentially illuminative in nature and purpose. It is a qualitative study from the perspectives of supervisors and students. It presents same illustrative experiences which can not be adequately explained using the traditional model of supervision. Following a review which shows the roots of this model in American supervision literature, the research problem is defined. The research task is seen to be the generation of descriptions and interpretations of teaching and learning in supervision which are meaningful to the participants themselves. After reviewing same research into how adults learn, data gathered by a 'range of methods are presented as illustrative case exanples, which point to the iDportanoe of the oonoept.ians which the supervisors am students have of the learning process as a factor in explaining the pattems of interaction seen in the supervisory :relatiooship. (i) These interpretations contribute towards a new, grounded, model of learning in social work education. Three levels of teaching-learni~g interaction in supervision are identified, which are derived fran (and constrained by), students' and supervisors' conceptions of learning. The three levels reflect a focus on the content of learning, the process of learning, and meta-learning (ie lea:Qling to learn, and the transfer of learning). These findings are congruent with other recent research into student learning in higher education. Feedback to participants and other supervisors, tutors and policy-makers is described. The validity and usefulness of the findings, and irrplications of the research (including the need for further studies), are considered