Changing paradigms in social work field education: an exploration of a team-based rotation model of field education

© 2016 Dr. Sevasti Vassos-AnagnostopoulosWorkforce shortages across the Australian health services sector have resulted in government incentives to increase capacity for clinical placements for allied health professions, including social work. The injection of government funds in 2010 enabled an investment in trialling innovative approaches to field education. The overall objective was to optimise capacity for the provision of quality student education. These developments set the scene for strengthened partnerships across education and health services sectors. The University of Melbourne joined together with five major hospital networks to explore a team-based rotation model focused on optimising capacity for growth in social work clinical placements, whilst maintaining the overall quality of practice learning for the social work profession. The model was trialled in the participating organisations over three years, 2011-2013. The aim of this study was to explore how a fundamental change in the placement model could impact and the experiences and outcomes of field education; from the perspective of students, agency educators, agency managers and university staff. The study adopted a mixed methods design and was conducted from an insider-research stance. Four online surveys were used during the fourteen-week placement block in each year of the trial. Post-placement individual and group interviews then followed these surveys each year. The thesis captures the research journey and reports on the findings across the three years. The findings show a sustained growth in placement capacity with the implementation of the model. However, the views of participant groups on the quality of the teaching and learning experience are mixed. Ultimately, the study highlights the complexity of field education and points to a set of foundational factors influencing the quality of the learning experience regardless of the education model in place