MSW DEGREE
Field Education Manual
Developed by the School of Social Work
Master of Social Work Program
University of Victoria
Faculty and Staff 5
Introduction to the School of Social work 6
Mission Statement 6
Introduction to the MSW Program 8
Program objectives 8
Field Education: What is it? 10
Course Objectives and Principles 10
Practice Objectives 10
The practicum 12
Social Work 540 Foundation Practicum 13
The foundation year practicum (Social Work 540) is to be completed after the student has been admitted to the program and completed all pre-requisites listed in the current calendar. 13
Social Work 506 14
Participants in the Practicum Process 16
Student 16
Field Supervisor/Practicum Supervisor 16
Field Education Coordinator 17
Faculty Liaison 17
Consultant Social Worker 17
Securing a Placement 18
General information 18
Tips on Locating Potential Placements 18
Identifying learning goals 19
Availability 19
Selecting a Practicum Agency 19
Securing your placement 20
First Days: Orienting yourself 23
The Learning Contract 24
The Evaluation Process 26
Evaluation 27
Mid Point Evaluation 28
Final Evaluation 28
Guidelines for Consultant Social Workers 29
Contact with School for Consultants 30
General Policies 32
Confidentiality. 33
Criminal records check 33
Changing Agencies 33
Health, Safety and Human Rights 34
Inability to Secure a Placement 34
Workplace Practicum (Paid or Unpaid) 34
Requests for Exceptions to Practicum Policy 35
Sick Time 36
Strikes, Job Action and Population Health Directives 36
University Contracts and Liability Insurance 36
Denial of Practicum 36
Problems with Practicum placements 37
Withdrawal/Termination of Placement 37
Directed Placements 38
Request for Placement Form 41
Practicum Forms and Links 43
General Information
Section I
Faculty and Staff
Please consult the School of Social Work website (www.socialwork.uvic.ca ) for a current list of faculty and staff.
Contact Field Education via or call 250-472-5109.
Introduction to the School of Social work
Mission Statement
The emerging vision of the School of Social Work commits us to social justice, anti-oppressive social work practices, and to promoting critical enquiry that respects the diversity of knowing and being.
Our educational mission is to prepare generalist social work practitioners skilled in critical self-reflection and in working with individuals, families, groups and communities. In particular, we endeavour to prepare Indigenous social workers and child welfare practitioners and we emphasise structural, feminist, Indigenous and anti-oppressive analyses.
Our scholarly mission is to share and create collective knowledge and understanding through engaging in critical enquiry, and by supporting research and innovative curriculum development at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Our practice mission is to act on social justice issues through community change initiatives and anti-oppressive social work.
In all our activities, we aspire to create a supportive environment that promotes equity, respect, responsibility, curiosity, collaboration, flexibility, risk-taking and creativity. We support inter-disciplinary collaboration. We seek to provide accessible and flexible social work education and we are committed to working across differences, such as gender, age, race, ethnicity, class, abilities, and sexual orientation.
Introduction to the MSW Program
The School of Social Work offers a graduate program leading to the degree of Master of Social Work that is fully accredited by the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work.
MSW Degree
The program is designed to provide BSW graduate students and non-BSW graduate students with the opportunity to reflect on their practice experience in the context of the School’s mission statement and to develop critical skills and their application to practice and/or research. The School offers three options to complete an MSW:
I. BSW entry to MSW degree:
Qualified BSW degree holders enter an advanced year of the MSW
II. Non-BSW entry to MSW degree:
Qualified non-BSW degree holders enter a foundational year of studies prior to joining the BSW degree holders for their Advanced Year. Those who are qualified may also request permission to complete their Advanced Year with the MSW Indigenous Specialization.
III. BSW entry to MSW degree with an Indigenous Specialization:
Qualified BSW degree holders enter this Specialization for social workers working in Indigenous social settings.
Program objectives
Objectives of the MSW degree include:
· Develop critical self-reflection and analysis of their role as social workers;
· Build on their experience and understanding of practice conditions and effective practice models;
· Analyze and critique social work theories and approaches to practice, using difference-centered theories;
· Develop skills for developing and applying critical social work theories and approaches to practice;
· Conceptualize, critique and develop their own practice framework;
· Develop and apply skills in research and critical inquiry within community contexts;
· Address the current impact of funding and program policies, organizational policies and structures and community dynamics on practice in their communities;
· Explore the challenges, opportunities and strategies for critical social work practice in inter-professional contexts;
· Cultivate practice approaches for working across differences of gender, age, race, ethnicity, class, ability and sexual orientation;
· Identify the leadership roles and distinctive contributions that social work can make to policy and practice in the human services and locate themselves as leaders in relevant practice and policy contexts within their communities.
Additional objectives of the MSW program within the Indigenous specialization:
· “centering” Indigenous culture, knowledge and understanding;
· building on students' own knowledge as experienced practitioners in Indigenous service settings;
· developing critical awareness and capacity for analysis and applying these skills to practice and policy development in Indigenous service settings;
· developing the capacity to conduct research and contribute to Indigenous knowledge building and transmission;
· identifying racism, colonization and oppression and contributing to liberating policies and practices;
· contributing to the development of culturally appropriate child welfare policies and practices;
· contributing to the development of healthy Indigenous communities;
· identifying international connections between Indigenous peoples and their knowledge and experience;
· developing leadership skills in policy development and administration in the context of Indigenous governance.
Field Education: What is it?
Field education aims to provide opportunities to apply what students have learned in their social work courses to practice situations.
At the graduate level advanced Field education is intended to build upon practice and previous experience, and to provide opportunities to strengthen skills, knowledge, and understanding of current values and attitudes. The field education practicum is not just another work experience. It should provide the opportunity to be reflective about one’s practice framework and identity as a social worker, and to apply theory to practice in an evaluative, disciplined manner.
Course Objectives and Principles
1. Principles
The principles of field education practice are that:
· The service needs of the consumer must take precedence over the learning
needs of students, when the two are in conflict.
· Within the limitations of a field education placement, students are
expected to carry a reasonable workload and are not to be unduly protected.
· Equal importance must be given both to the acquisition of knowledge and
to the practice of skills. Students will be expected to learn from the wisdom of colleagues and consumers as well as from academic sources.
· Field practice should be an individualized course, with particular
opportunities for students to develop self-initiated learning. Students should identify their learning needs and optimum learning methods and seek to achieve personal and professional learning objectives.
· The agency accepts the student as a developing professional social worker
and will not use students to meet staffing needs nor withhold appropriate assignments because of student status.
· Field education agencies are selected by the agency’s congruence with the
goals of the School of Social Work and by the ability of the agency to offer the student the variety, range, and intensity of experience to achieve these goals.
Practice Objectives
The following course objectives are reflective of the general aims and mission of the MSW curriculum.
Students will also develop their own individual learning objectives for the practicum reflecting the unique context of the setting in which they are placed.
Practice Objective 1: STUDENT IN CONTEXT
Student will be an engaged community and organizational member, demonstrating the ability to engage in practices that are client, family, group and/or community centered and emphasize application of core social work values and ethics.
- cultivate the opportunity to work in inter-professional contexts
-contribution to the well-being of community members leaving a positive legacy in the community
-demonstrate an advanced understanding of the integration of values and ethics in practice
-examines their role as a social worker in organizational context/member of community of interest/ roles and responsibilities
Practice Objective 2: STUDENT IN ACTION
Student will demonstrate through interactions how they apply Indigenous, feminist and critical social theory to practice, policy and community development tasks in keeping with appropriate laws, agency mandates and organizational expectations.
- acknowledge Indigenous ways of knowing and contributes to the building of mechanisms to foster research and practice by Indigenous peoples
-contribute original approaches to social justice in action through demonstrating synthesis of ideas and creativity
Practice Objective 3: STUDENT AS KNOWER/LEARNER
Student will demonstrate the ability to use existing knowledge; integrate new knowledge; analyse, apply and synthesize local knowledge in the practice environment through the use of critical reflection, inquiry, and drawing new theory from practice experiences
- build on student’s own knowledge as experienced practitioners
-analyze and critiquing social work theory
-build skills in research and critical inquiry
-Engage in practice driven ethical research
- contribute to building and application of new social work theory, critical and anti-oppressive practice
Practice Objective 4: STUDENT AS SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCATE
Student will demonstrate the application of social justice advocacy through individual, organizational and community actions aimed at reducing the inequities that exist within the service users’ experiences of social structures, policies and processes.
- contribute to building and application of new social work theory, critical and anti-oppressive practice
-promote social justice and human rights
-strive to end injustice based on difference through engaged practice
The practicum
Each practicum course (Socw 506, 506A, and 540) is comprised of 450 hours. An Integrative Practice Seminar may take place online or in person with your faculty liaison and generally begins in the fourth week of the semester.
Students must have the necessary co- or pre-requisites in place prior to commencing their field placements. Please see the University Calendar to determine pre-requisites.
Placements may be located in a wide range of community and government agencies under the direction of an experienced supervisor with an MSW. Students work closely with their field education coordinator to find and plan their placement.
The School of Social Work is accredited by the Canadian Association Social Work Education (CASWE). In addition to the School’s mission statement, the standards of the CASWE guide the policies for Field Education.
Field education placement policies and procedures are developed to meet the standards set by the accreditation body for schools of social work in Canada (Canadian Association of Social Work Educators) and regulations set by the University of Victoria and the Faculty of Human and Social Development; and the School Council of the School of Social Work.
Policies are developed to guide students, faculty and staff and the agencies during the field education placement process to ensure fair and equitable treatment of all students during this important part of their social work program.
In order to provide an educational experience of the depth required, the practicum is normally completed in one agency unless other arrangements have been approved by the Field Education Coordinator prior to the commencement of the practicum.
The practicum courses, SOCW 506, SOCW 506A and SOCW 540 are offered throughout the calendar year, so consult the University of Victoria calendar for details. In order to provide continuity of experience for the student, agency personnel and service users, we require 2-5 days per week be available for practicum.
Typically practicum starts the first week of a semester and is completed over one semester. Extended practica can be arranged in consultation with your Field Education Coordinator.
The practicum is a student-led project that builds on individual student learning goals. In determining their goals, students may elect to build on existing practice skills or explore new practice skills in a field of work.
In planning a placement, each student is expected to develop his/her own specific learning objectives based on her/his own learning needs. The student may decide to build on existing practice skills or explore practice skills in a new area. In the practicum a student is supervised by an experienced practitioner known as a field supervisor (see Roles for further information about the role of the field supervisor). It is expected that the field supervisor will have a graduate degree in social work. In addition a faculty liaison is assigned through a university based faculty member to facilitate the formal evaluations of practicum learning. The foundation practicum (Social Work 540) is a required course to be completed after the student has been admitted to the program and completed all pre-requisites listed in the current calendar.
Each practicum is normally completed in one agency only. This is based on the principle that the student needs the time to observe and practice in order to gain competence and a sense of confidence.
The School will attempt within its mandated area to arrange for appropriate field education practicum to meet student’s personal circumstances.
Social Work 540 Foundation Practicum
The foundation practicum is a requirement for all students with an undergraduate degree in a discipline other than social work who have been admitted into the Foundation year of the MSW program.
The purpose of the fieldwork experience is to promote critical self‑reflection and inquiry and to examine, critique, and integrate theory from course work in order to enhance one’s development as a social work practitioner.
The course objectives are reflective of the general aims and mission of the MSW curriculum. Students will also develop their own individual learning objectives for the practicum.
The foundation year practicum (Social Work 540) is to be completed after the student has been admitted to the program and completed all pre-requisites listed in the current calendar.
For information about the practicum course that applies to all courses (Socw 506, 506A and 540), please see general information about practicum in the previous section.
Social Work 506
The advanced practicum is for students who are in their advanced year of the Standard MSW program and have elected for the practicum/project-based option. The fieldwork component of the MSW program (SW 506) is an opportunity for students to build on existing knowledge and practice in the human services. SW 506 provides advanced level learning opportunities in community settings. The purpose of the fieldwork experience is to promote critical self‑reflection and inquiry and to examine, critique, and integrate theory from course work. It can be distinguished previous practicum experiences in that students are expected to apply new knowledge and experiences acquired in both the classroom and field, as they progress toward a more highly evolved, critically reflective level of practice. Students at the graduate level are expected to demonstrate qualities of leadership and excellence in their practice and to make a significant contribution to the practicum setting.