Preparing masters' students for social work practice: the perspective of field instructors

In the United States, successful field placement is increasingly challenging as educators strive to meet the needs of agencies as well as students. Field instructors, whose supervisory role is critical to the success of the field education model, are often absent from this dialog. In response to this challenge, we surveyed field instructors (n = 161) at one large Southeastern university in the United States to elicit their feedback on Masters-level field education policies and requirements for field placement. The descriptive, cross-sectional survey was completed anonymously online and consisted of 24 multiple choice and short answer questions that elicited demographic information and respondents' opinions on key field placement criteria. Findings indicated that although field instructors were willing to work with students to create field placements that accommodated flexible or nontraditional hours, most of them were unable to do so given agency constraints. The results of this study have important implications for field education, as it suggests field instructors are open to nontraditional field placements when feasible. Future research should incorporate feedback from students, field liaisons, and field directors.