THE PRICE OF TAKING STUDENTS - AN EXPLORATORY COST-BENEFIT-ANALYSIS IN SOCIAL-WORK AGENCIES

This paper describes an attempt to calculate the cost to agencies of receiving professional social work students on placement. It demonstrates that it costs significantly more per month to supervise a first-placement than a final-placement student and that, although practice teachers report positive gains for themselves and their agencies from having students, these are greatly diminished if the students are of poor quality or 'still present difficulties'. It is concluded that, although the provision of placements may bring intangible benefits to agency personnel with respect to morale and staff development, the costs incurred, especially when the students are judged to be' on the margins of professional competence', are not insignificant, and resources should be made available in order to ensure a high-quality hands-on experience for the next generation of social work practitioners.