DSW Showcase Student Presentation

Field instruction has been recognized as social work’s signature pedagogy because it provides avenues for implementing the explicit and implicit curriculum while introducing students to the field of social work (CSWE, 2008). In addition, the CSWE (2015) notes that field instruction is as necessary as classroom curricula. Consistently, empirical data demonstrates that students perceive field placement as the most critical experience during their academic career (Moore et al., 2004; Cleak & Smith, 2012; Gushwa & Harriman, 2019; Farber & Reitmeier, 2019; Bogo et al., 2022). However, insufficient empirical data is available to guide field instructors in implementing evidence-based supervision approaches (Bogo et al., 2022). Field instruction supervision is necessary because it ensures the formative process of new generations of social workers. However, empirical research indicates that discordant field instructors and student dyads can result in the termination of field placement (Bennett & Sacks, 2019). Educational organizations need to be proactive in facilitating standardized training for field instructors to prevent burnout and ensure the development of new generations of social workers. In addition, researchers need to partner with students to further the scholarship of teaching and learning in field instruction. This presentation explores a field instruction supervision model grounded in attachment and anti-oppressive theories. This model incorporates strategies to foster relationships to strengthen the field instructor-student dyad, pedagogical tools to promote skill development and support, pedagogical and just practices to deconstruct whiteness, and technological tools to provide student feedback.