The document discusses the significance of field work practice in social work education, emphasizing its role in making students employable and confident through hands-on experience. It outlines various components of field work training, including orientation, concurrent training, and assessment methods, as well as objectives aimed at skill acquisition and problem understanding. Additionally, it provides a detailed structure for reporting and evaluating different aspects of field work practice.

1. Field Work Practice in
Social Work
Sachin B S
Research Scholar
DOSR in Social Work
Tumkur University
“Fieldwork training makes the students employable and
confident to face the interviews and challenges in
professional practice”

2. Field work
• The term field work may be described as gaining experience
by utilizing knowledge and developing the skills to deal with
the problem of human being.
• The dictionary of sociology defines “social survey or process of
collecting primary data from a population distributed
geographically.”
• Field work in social work education means any kind of
practical experience in a social organization or agency, if this
experience deliberately arranged, for the education of the
student who are undertaking the courses partly or wholly
designed for those who intended to become social worker”.

3. • “Field work in a social work education is a guided interaction
process between student and a life situation”.
• “Field work in social work carried out in and through social
welfare agencies and communities, where the students learns
skills, test out knowledge according to an education plan”.

4. Field work curriculum
• Orientation training at social welfare agencies
• Concurrent training in SWA’s
• Exploration and assessment (IC/GC, Seminar)
• Evaluation of work or training
• Social Case Work practice
• Social Group Work
• Community camp
• Outreach activities
• Films (Awareness movies)
• Students forum
• Wall Magazine

5. Objectives of field work practice
• To test all social work method tools and techniques in field
• To facilitate social work trainees to obtain skills out of the field
work experience
• To possess social work attitude
• To practice the theories in to field
• To understand confronting professional problems while
practicing

6. Orientation training at SWA’s
• Introduction of field
• Agency visit
Historical background
Objectives and goals
Structure of the agency
Financial position and source of funding
Intake policies of the agency
Programmes of the agency
Facilities provided to the employees
• Community visit
History of the community
Various facilities available to the people (govt and voluntary agencies)
Existing and functioning organization at the community
Problem faced by the community in general, and the society in particular.

7. Concurrent field work training
• Introduction
Introduction to the fieldwork requirements and its procedure
Introduction to fieldwork practice in the agency/community
Introduction to the client system.

8. Exploration and assessment
Need identification and resource mobilization
Programme development
Assumption, social work roles and professional involvement
Individual conference
Group conference
Fieldwork seminars
Recording
Ongoing assessment and prospective guidance

9. Evaluation of students performance
• Work assignment
Define work assignment
Define target group
Work assignment
Summary and other recording
Personal qualities and professional skills
Capability of relating theory to practice
student self evaluation
agency evaluation
field work supervisor's evaluation
school or external examiner’s evaluation

10. Components of fieldwork practice
• The social welfare agency
• The trainee student
• The faculty supervisor
• The agency supervisor

11. Structure of Orientation visit
report
• Name of the agency
• Address of the agency
• Introduction
• Historical development of the agency
• Objectives of the agency
• Programmes and functions of the agency
• Funding of the agency
• Future plans of the agency
• Social worker role in the agency
• Evaluation
• conclusion

12. Structure of concurrent fieldwork
practice report
• Objectives of the day visit
• Process
• Observation/learning
• Evaluation
• Future plans

13. Structure of Social Group Work
Record
•Identifying information about the
group
1. Name of the group
2. Place, time, physical setting of the
meeting
3. members present and absent
4. New members
5. Observation/ Remarks

14. • Members participation by name
1. Role performed
2. Conversation did
3. Talk began
4. Views expressed
5. Sequence of participations in activities
6.Special contribution made
7. Interaction type, level, duration & creativeness took place
8. Emotional quality of participation

15. • Description of the group as a whole
1. General atmosphere in the group
2. Quantity or quality work completed by the group
3. Participation of the group member
4. Positive and negative responses
5. members feelings about their group
6. Group status in the agency
• Description of the group problems
1. Conflict fight-Nature, Type, Reason, involvement level
2. Apathy-Nature, level and possible causes
3. Inadequate decision making

16. • The relationship and the role of the group worker
1. Material provided by the worker
2.Arrengement made
3. Agency help taken
4. Suggestion given
5. Techniques used for problem solving
6. Worker’s participation in group process

17. • Special Assistance given
1. Members name
2. Problem
3. Nature of assistance
• Evaluation
1. Programmes activities
2. Group members participation
3. Worker’s role

18. Principles of social Work reporting
• past tense
• Third party type writing
• Confidentiality
• Objectivity
• Social work related writing (technical writing)
• Specific
• Narrative
• Simplicity
• Reliability

20. References
• I.S. Subhdar (2001) Fieldwork Training in Social Work,
Rawath Publication, Jaipur, ISBN-13: 978-8170336457
• Sanjoy Roy, (2012) Fieldwork in Social Work, Rawath
Publication, Jaipur, ISBN: 9788131605288