Activities in Field Placement Programs at Different Universities.

The literature on undergraduate field placement programs reveals differences in approaches to program evaluation. Included in research literature are descriptive accounts, as well as those focusing on characteristics of the program, student evaluation of field programs, or those assessing the program's influence on students. This study pre- and post-tested placement and comparison groups on four themes that were obtained from a factor analysis of the Skills Checklist of Placement Experience (SCOPE). The themes were client testing, therapeutic interaction, reporting and writing, and non-therapeutic interaction. Students (N=77) were upper class psychology majors attending universities having dissimilar undergraduate populations. Analysis of covariance revealed significant differences between placement and comparison groups on the first three activity themes. Findings support the arguments of field placement advocates who claim that placement experiences can enhance learning by emphasizing both thinking and doing. Results also support SCOPE's utility for assessing placement settings at different institutions. (Author/ABL)