Field Education Goals
Throughout the Ohio University, Department of Social Work, field education curriculum, a core set of goals is pursued. The primary purpose of all levels of field instruction (undergraduate generalist, MSW foundation, and MSW advanced) is for each student to progressively develop his or her knowledge, skill, and ethical base in coordination with social work practice courses and within an individual agency placement in rural Appalachia.
The Seven Goals of Field Education:
At each program level, the student will be expected to:
- Pursue professional self-development with a commitment to social justice and professional values and ethics.
- Illustrate "use of self" in relationship to client systems, the field instructor, and agency personnel with a particular appreciation for cultural and social diversity in rural environments.
- Promote integration of the agency and the community human service delivery system as resources to perform social work roles.
- Formulate and utilize the professional helping relationship in engaging and working with the client system to identify strengths and goals.
- Develop interventions which are culturally and age appropriate and which are sensitive to potentially vulnerable and/or oppressed groups, while working with individuals, families, small groups, organizations, and communities in rural environments.
- Demonstrate the importance of and the implications of transitions as they relate to diverse populations in multiple practice settings, particularly those in rural environments.
- Support evaluation and develop research skills and methods as important components of social work practice.
The specific field practicum objectives for each student's learning at any given point in his or her education will be determined by his or her specific program level. Progressive and comprehensive learning objectives for each of the above goals for each program level and for each specific quarter are included in this section of the manual.