Field Work Education in Social Work

Abstract

Social Work (SW) Education in Vietnam has developed actively over the past ten years. A considerable amount of literature has been published on SW training development and the limitations of field education (FE) in Vietnam. However, far too little attention has been paid to students’ perspectives on fieldwork. The purpose of this paper is to review current curricula of SW practice training in Vietnam, give voice to students on various aspects of their experience and assessment on the field placement process, and propose recommendations for improving FE in SW in Vietnam. Based on a mix-method design, 16 officially online-published curricula of the Bachelor of SW in Vietnam were collected, 357 students and alumni responded to online questionnaires, and seven qualitative interviews were conducted with alumni and lecturers. In line with previous studies, the research results provided evidence supporting some of the limitations of field education. Notably, the findings reveal that there are different views between SW educators and students on the difficulties faced by learners in field settings. The exploratory results recommend that training institutions should regularly collect students’ feedback on the need, the assessment, and the effectiveness of the practice process. The faculty lecturers and instructors should actively discuss with students to update practical activities according to current conditions. Moreover, training institutions should hold seminars to exchange SW practice experience between experienced social workers, practice officers, supervisors, and students.