Field Placements in Human Services
Griffith University School of Human Services
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Jennifer Cartmel j.cartmel@griffith.edu.au | Jane Thomson, j.thomson@griffith.edu.au | Vicki Fuller | |
Vignette title and details | Field Placements in Human Services - undergraduate and postgraduate (Placements from 5 weeks 18 weeks) | ||
Discipline | Human Services and Social Work | ||
Employment sector | Employment is across multiple areas in the government and non-government sector | ||
Student numbers | 300 plus students per year | ||
Optional/compulsory | Field Education is a compulsory component of the degree programs. | ||
Credit bearing | Courses range form 10 30 credit points | ||
Assessment | Learning Plan with objectives and weekly evaluations, Project Report | ||
Payment | There is no payment attached to our programs for anyone students or supervisor | ||
Number of staff involved | 2 academic staff and 1 administrator manage the program, All fulltime academic staff visit the students in the field. | ||
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Key Words | Human Services; Social Work; field placement; compulsory; assessment | ||
Overview
The program has a strong commitment to the principles of empowerment and social justice, and to providing a learning community based on equity, tolerance and shared learning. These principles are reflected in the schools key learning objectives, which are to produce human service practitioners who can:
- Employ an ethical approach to practice, valuing the rights, needs and uniqueness of individuals, groups and communities
- Effectively employ a variety of interventions and approaches to human service delivery
- Work effectively within a broad range of organisational settings
- Critically articulate their social analysis and practice frameworks
- Respond to the challenges of working in a rapidly changing industry
- Understand and appreciate the importance of research to inform and improve human service practice
- Effectively engage in the process of reflective practice and have a commitment to on-going professional development
Structure of program
The range of human services is so diverse and we have to cater for a wide range of professional knowledge and practices. Some of our sectors require specific competencies/ knowledge and practice to be accredited with certain legislative or professional bodies
Special features
Each year we have a Field Supervisors Forum. Everyone is invited but it is not compulsory. We tried to provide speakers that are of interest. It is our way of saying thank you by providing a form of professional development. It is also a chance to keep the lines of communication open and for all our supervisors to understand the diversity of the sectors in which field education occurs
Future work
Learning to deal with confronting experiences:
Students undertaking field placements in human service organisations often encounter experiences that are confronting for novices, yet comprise routine aspects of human service work. Students often refer to being ill- prepared for the challenges they experience in their field placements. The field education unit is developing and trialling strategies to guide students learning in order to be prepared for, respond appropriately to and maximise the professional learning from these experiences. This project seeks to engage students in an honest appraisal of the professional issues and assist them to develop personal strategies for effective practice and personal coping The goal of the project is to ensure that students then feel well equipped to understand and respond effectively to situations which require them to facilitate change for individuals, groups and communities. In all, these strategies aim to enhance students capacities to respond productively to these confronting experiences as agentic professional learner. The development of this agentic quality is essential for a productive and healthy professional life in human services
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