MSW Field Supervisor Training

UMD Department of Social Work

April 3, 2006

*materials adapted from Council on Social Work Education From Mission to Evaluation: A Field
Instructor Training Program Alan J. Dettlaff

Welcome!

Name

Agency affiliation
Experience providing field instruction

What Is the Field Instructor

Training Program?

The Field Instructor Training Program is

designed to provide agency-based field
instructors with the specialized knowledge
and skills necessary for effective field
supervision.
Training is required for any social work
practitioner providing supervision to social
work students.

Why are We Requiring This

Now?

The Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards

(EPAS) of CSWE refers to field education as an integral
component of social work education and mandates that
social work programs provide a minimum of 400 hours of
field education to baccalaureate students and 900 hours of
field education to masters students (CSWE, 2002).

EPAS guidelines further mandate that social work

programs provide both orientation and field
instruction training to agency-based field
instructors (CSWE, 2002).

Why are we really requiring

this?

We recognize that our field

supervisors are getting
squeezed in their roles in
agencies and are having
increased challenges in
finding the time to spend
with students
We want our students to
have positive experiences
in their supervisory
relationships, as well as
their field placements

Why???

We have become
increasingly
concerned about the
quality of
supervision
provided to our
students in their
field placements

Tell Us More.
Research indicates that specialized training is necessary

for social workers acting as field instructors (Ellison,

1994; Fortune & Abramson, 1993; Knight, 2001;
Livingston, Davidson, & Marshack, 1989; Rogers &
McDonald, 1995).

Field supervision requires advanced training as it

encompasses a teaching element. Being proficient with a
social work skill does not indicate that a person knows
how to teach that skill.

More.

Many studies have been

conducted to identify the
knowledge and skills
necessary for effective
field supervision. This
workshop will provide
you with this information
and allow you the
opportunity to practice
these skills.

Importance of What You Do..

The most powerful predictor of student
satisfaction with field is the quality of field
instruction.(Fortune & Abramson(1993)
Kadushin and Harkness (2002) state that
educational supervision is concerned with
teaching the knowledge, skills, and attitudes
for performance of social work tasks.

You know you just want to know

what more research says.
Years after the field experience social
workers can still recall the impact of the
student-field instructor relationship on their
professional, emotional, and intellectual
development. (Power & Bogo, 2002)
Stoltenberg,et al (1998) stresses the
importance of structure, validation, and the
absolute necessity of observation for entrylevel trainees in graduate education.

We know it is complicated

Munson(2002) describes the complex

balancing act that field instructors must
master. They must balance the rights of
clients, the policies of the agency, and the
ethics of our profession with the learning
needs of the supervisees.

Other little-known field research

findings
Knight (1996,2001) found 10% of students
were receiving less than the recommended
level of supervision
Knights study (2001) showed that about
2/3 of the students did not have live
supervision; and that students valued the
live supervision later in the placement when
supervisors tended to supply less

Results of a very recent study on

Quality of MSW Field Instruction
Freeman,Duncan-Daston,Forrester, presented at CSWE APM, February, 2006

Meeting supervision requirements is the key

to student satisfaction
Ethical/legal issues, whether resolved or
not, lower satisfaction for students
The one variable associated with
satisfaction for both students and field
instructors was that of a structured student
orientation to the agency!

The Mission of Field Education

Field education is generally regarded as the capstone of the

social work education experience. It is the time when students
get to learn by doing, under the supervision of an agencybased field instructor.

In the field, the focus turns from the acquisition of knowledge

to the application of knowledge. Students are provided with
opportunities to apply the social work knowledge and skills
obtained in the classroom to actual practice situations.

OK, OK, What is the Point?

The goal of the field placement is for
students to successfully integrate theory
into practice, thus learning to serve clients
effectively.
Upon completion of the field placement,
students should be ready to begin social
work practice within an agency setting.

Your Role as the Field

Supervisor/Instructor

Field instructors are

considered social work
educators in the field
and play an important
role in the professional
development of social
work students.

How you interact with your

student matters.

Research indicates that

the supervisory style
and characteristics of
the field instructor
have a significant
impact on students
overall evaluations of
the instructor and the
placement experience

really..what not to do.

Furthermore, research
indicates that the
quality of the field
instructor is the most
significant factor
affecting students
satisfaction with the
field placement
(Fortune & Abramson,
1993).

Your Challenge as a Field

Instructor/Supervisor

It is the role of the field instructor to assist

students in applying the social work
knowledge, values, and skills they have
learned thus far to an agency setting. This
involves creating learning opportunities
for students to integrate theory and practice.

Teach them how to practice

social work!

The challenge for field

instructors is to teach
students how to practice
social work, not how to do a
particular job in your
particular agency. It is easy
to teach someone how to do
a job. The purpose of field
education is not for a student
to learn how to work in your
agency, as most students do
not work in their field
agency after graduation.

Teach the knowledge, values, and

skills

By the conclusion of the field placement, your

student should be able to apply these abilities to
any practice setting. If your student completes the
placement knowing how to work in your agency,
but has no understanding of how to use the
knowledge, values, and skills necessary for
effective practice, the student is no more prepared
to begin social work practice than before the
placement began.

Who do you want your student to

be?

As a field instructor, one of your first tasks should be to

create a vision of the qualities and characteristics you
would like your field student to have by the end of the
placement.
The immediate vision involves helping your student apply
all of his or her knowledge to a practice setting.
The larger vision is your role in the life and professional
development of the student.

Oh yes..the small group

Discuss in small groups the qualities and
characteristics you would like your students
to possess by the end of the placement and a
write these on the worksheet.
As the mentor to your student, think about
the qualities and characteristics you would
like your student to have by the conclusion
of the field placement.

I have a dream.
Identify the methods and techniques you
will use to teach these qualities and
characteristics to your students ; write these
in the space provided.
For every quality and characteristic you
identified previously, determine the
methods you are going to use to provide
your student with these traits.

Your assignment
Quality
/Characteristic/skill

Method to make it
happen.

empathy

Have student observe

myself or other workers
demonstrating this quality
and then discuss in
supervision.

We require MSW supervisors to

meet with their field student how
often?
1.
2.
3.
4.

Once a month
Once a week
Every other week
Never. Just thinking about the student is
enough.

Is it reasonable to expect that the

student might need supervision
outside of their regularly scheduled
time?
1.
2.

Yes
No

Which is the most important to

students?
1.
2.
3.

That the supervisor is available

That the supervisor provides feedback
That the supervisor is empathetic

What should you NOT do?

1.

2.
3.
4.

Go on vacation and neglect to tell your

student or make any arrangements for
their supervision
Attend required meetings that UMD says
are important
Provide a written evaluation at the midpoint and end of the placement
I would not do any of the above

Top 10 List
(what not to do as a field supervisor)

Agree to take a student and then

assign them to someone else,
without discussing it with the other
social worker or UMD
Have a sexual relationship with
your intern
Neglect to provide a basic
orientation (parking,computer,
what folks do for lunch,role,agency
issues/policies/practices,etc)
Blow off the regular supervision
meetings or refuse to schedule any

Violate the NASW Code of Ethics

Tell them to ignore the stuff they
are learning in graduate school and
just pay attention to how it is
done in your agency
Ignore information they might
bring to you regarding new
research or best practices they
have learned
Pretend like you know everything
Pretend like you do not know
anything
Ignore any communication from
the field coordinator or liaisons