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This article presents the reflections of social work, education advocacy and directorate staff on social work student placements in Cambodia. Staff were predominantly from Cambodia while the student, at the time of the data gathering was from Aotearoa New Zealand, staff also took into consideration previous placements at the agency. The community-based NGO in Cambodia, where the placement was situated, delivers a range of community development, social work and education services. The data was gathered using an action research approach and explored the skills, knowledge and professional attributes required for working with an indigenous population. Several recommendations for higher education institutions, primarily relating to placement preparation and the important role of local placement host organisations, are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field education is well known as a defining experience in the personal and professional development of social work students. Authentic, meaningful learning opportunities in the workplace contributes to students becoming socialised to the profession and being able to integrate theoretical learning into their practice. Field education occurs across myriad fields of practice and organisational environments. Community gardens are an emerging field of practice for student placements in Aotearoa New Zealand. This viewpoint reflects on the value of field education in this domain from the perspectives of the field mentor, student and external field educator. The reflections highlight the value of this space for learning and supporting social and environmental justice for clients and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Māori perspectives should be genuinely represented and integrated into social work education to ensure Māori and non-Māori social work students alike are prepared for working effectively in Aotearoa New Zealand. In field education, Māori students may have particular needs and expectations that should be considered by academic staff and placement host organisations. Consequently, the placement experience for Māori students should reflect these needs and expectations. METHOD: As part of a wider research project which aimed to advance the quality of social work placements for Māori and Pasifika students, a hui was undertaken with a roopu (Māori branch) of the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Work (ANZASW) in late 2014. This article focuses on their views of what constitutes a quality placement for Māori social work students. The project explored two key areas: what does a quality placement look like for Māori social work students and what can tertiary institutions do to better support Māori students to have a quality placement? FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: Participants emphasised the usefulness of placement preparedness, clear expectations and open communication prior to, and during, placement. The placement should also be culturally safe and adequately challenge the student. Tertiary providers should support the student's placement by being in regular face-to-face contact; preparing the student for the placement environment; supporting external cultural supervision; and by critically reviewing their curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work skills are a key component in the social work education curriculum yet there is little agreement in the literature on which skills should be acquired prior to placement. In an effort to address this gap, this article will outline the results of a qualitative research project wherein semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight field educators in a South Island region of New Zealand. The findings of this research identified categories of skills that are important for students prior to placement. These skills include communication, selfreflection, critical thinking, social work process, application of theory, and cultural practice. Ensuring the alignment of apposite skill development between regulatory bodies, social work academics and field educators is important for the effectiveness of social work education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field education and the supervision that occurs during this process cements learning and enhances preparedness for a career in social work. Graduate readiness for social work practice is however a contested subject in New Zealand with recent criticism focusing on the adequacy of social work education. This paper reports on findings from focus groups with 27 faculty members and 35 students from eight Schools of Social Work in New Zealand which explored aspects of the taught and learned curriculum. Overall, students and faculty revealed some dissatisfaction with the taught curriculum on supervision that occurs on campus prior to the placement experience. Many students reported irregularity of placement supervision and associated quality supervision with being lucky. We propose a series of recommendations to address these concerns, emphasizing that students should be able to consistently access effective placement supervision rather than consider this a matter of luck. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Anecdotal evidence of increasing competition for field education placements has raised concerns about the availability of quality learning opportunities for students and so it was considered timely to examine stakeholder perspectives. METHOD: In late 2014, 15 tertiary educators from 11 tertiary institutions and 31 social work students from three Aotearoa New Zealand tertiary institutions engaged with the researcher in individual or focus group interviews on aspects of quality field education. FINDINGS: Overall, the tertiary educators revealed considerable pressure on them to secure quality student placements due to competition with other tertiary providers, limited placement opportunities in some locations, high workloads and inadequate funding. Students recognised these pressures but questioned whether the educators are adequately supported by the tertiary institution. Placement availability was also affected by organisations experiencing funding pressures, placement fatigue, limited space and physical resources, and high workloads. CONCLUSIONS: These qualitative findings raise questions for all the key stakeholders in field education: tertiary institutions, educators, social service organisations, the professional associations, the regulatory body and students. The findings from this study signal the need for a comprehensive, sector-wide examination of the social work field education context in Aotearoa New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agency managers are one of the key stakeholders in social work education, particularly in respect of practice placements. Managers play several roles within the placement context, acting as gatekeepers, supporters, mentors, potential employers and sometimes assessors of students. This study sought the perspectives of the managers of 13 social service organisations in New Zealand on practice placements. The findings of the study show that managers have preferences for specific attributes in social work students, including flexibility, humility, confidence and resilience. Challenges with placements are associated with student personal, interpersonal and cognitive capabilities, organisational factors and the tertiary institution. The findings also illustrate that the main benefits and motivations for supporting students are for the professional development of staff, completion of agency work, recruitment and workforce development. The article concludes that it is time for a new focus on understanding and supporting the development and assessment of student personal and interpersonal capabilities as well as skill and knowledge competencies. Furthermore, since managers are directly engaged with social work practice and are ultimately deciding which graduates to employ, greater consideration should be given to how institutions and employers can work together to determine which personal and interpersonal capabilities are relevant and necessary for the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Fieldwork placements are a critical component of social work education. During the 1980s student units were a common model for placements across the statutory social work sector in New Zealand. While these units were replaced in the 1990s and 2000s with a more individualistic approach to social work supervision and placement education, the Site Manager of Child Youth and Family Palmerston North initiated the development of a new unit in 2006. A full-time fieldwork educator was employed to work with social work students on placement. Several benefits of the unit were apparent; however, due to reprioritisation within Child Youth and Family, it was disestablished in 2009. This article traces the establishment and the demise of this student unit and offers comment on the perceived effectiveness of the unit for all of the key stakeholders, that is, the students, Massey University and Child Youth and Family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]