Mapping Social Work Field Education in the 21st Century: A National Survey of the Australian Context

Field education is a key curriculum component in social work programmes and students identify their placement as central to their transition to practice. Globally, changes in higher education, increasing the complexity of practice and an increasingly diverse student body, are challenging field education programmes to meet these professional and resource challenges. This article reports on Australian research which surveyed social work field education programmes in relation to staffing, supervision and other developments shaping social work field education. Twenty-four field education coordinators of thirty social work programmes completed the survey and the findings highlighted worrying trends including increasing student to staff ratio, insufficient social worker supervised placements, increased placements with external (off-site) supervision and employment of casual staff to undertake core tasks such as supervision and liaison. The results provide important benchmarking evidence which will resonate with the wider international social work education context.