An Overview of Field Work Education in the Social Work Profession in India and Abroad

Introduction

A combination of theoretical; and practice learning is required in social work education based on practiced professionalism. Both types of learning play an important role in becoming professional social workers. Field learning can be provided outside the university classroom through the experience of field education. The learning process is critical for the student in both classroom and field setting as it helps them acquire, practice, and improve the values and skills needed in their profession. Learning helps students to become ethical professional social workers and helps in the development process that starts at the early stages of the students. (Salsberg et al., 2017) stated that learning influences the whole education process and is considered a long-term development and critical process. Learning is considered critical for the student’s future, and field education and social work education show how students develop in the classroom and field settings. The fieldwork focuses on the operational and task-oriented nature of learning compared to the learning process. The field experience underestimates the value of critical reflection in student learning; however, field education is important to understand the role of social work and its professional identities gained from the field experience. (Hossain et al., 2020) The article will discuss the field in learning social work education and compare India abroad. From the existing literature, it has been clear that learning is divided into various types, including formal and informal learning. Formal and informal learning are differentiated in the social work education literature to provide a framework that helps understand the different types of student learning as an adult learner. The formal learning process involves the knowledge obtained from the institution, including classroom-based learning and academic or laboratory learning. The behavior of formal learning is highly structured, and it is learned outside the social work practice environment. Formal learning processes are also involved in the daily work that includes the on-the-job training course, and Formal learning is directly linked to the explicit knowledge that can be learned through courses, books, and lectures. Informal and non-formal learning takes place in the workplace or field placement setting. The informal learning process involves various daily activities and is highly unstructured. The informal learning process is also involved in the formal institutional context that can be between students and students to exchange the knowledge, skills, and values that will help in the social work progression. (Khan et al., 2017)

Field learning is classified as informal learning that helps the students to acquire knowledge, skills, and values for the social work profession. Both learning processes are influenced by social, cultural, political, and historical content. The formal and informal learning processes are associated with adult education due to their field nature and learned-centred focus. The curriculum of social work schools worldwide is influenced by field learning. Social work education has revealed that field learning is used to evaluate students’ learning and measure performance in various schools and countries. Field learning is considered experiential learning by the social work students involved in the social work educational process. Social work students move from class-based learning to learning by doing during the field practicum, which marks the entrance into the world and enhances learning demands through the work. Field learning helps the students to improve their personal development with professional development. The student’s personal development takes place through field learning in various ways as the students interact with the different categories of people during the fieldwork experience. Field learning helps social work students to discover new idea that helps in their professional development (Jena, 2020). Field learning allows social work students to deal with democratic ideals and humanitarian values based on the people’s worth, equality, and dignity. Behind social action, human rights and social justice are considered the main motivation. The social work profession can alleviate poverty, and it helps students to uplift the oppressed and vulnerable people in society. Field learning helps students to achieve social inclusion and development through social field learning.