Establishing ‘Grass Roots’ Academics in Rural and Remote Field Education Locations - A Strategy for Enhancing Sustainability of Social Work in Rural Areas
As more Australian universities offer at least some part of their curriculum off campus, social work studies become increasingly available to non-urban students through external and online study. Consequently, field placements are more frequently being set up in rural locations, and within agencies that have not had a student before. Setting up practicums in rural and isolated locations often means the university liaison person is working with a field teacher/social worker and organisation of whom there is no prior knowledge.
Whilst field education is highly valued in the development of quality practitioners, commitment to it and resourcing have often been problematic. These difficulties are greater in ‘one off’, first time, and isolated settings. This discussion looks at some of the factors typically referred to in terms of quality in field education (Bogo & Globerman 1995, Webber 1999) and the issues that arise in rural and isolated settings.
A model of rural practicum education involving partnerships between university Schools of Social Work and senior rural practitioners is proposed. This model develops ‘grass roots academics’ in rural and remote locations. It is argued that this contributes to the sustainability of social work in rural communities, and to the quality of social work education generally. The model supports building new relationships between universities and rural practitioners and their communities. With local senior practitioners employed in the liaison role, there is the potential to develop local networks and to better resource field teachers who supervise students. A local liaison person can keep the university in touch with rural issues for research and action, and can assist local practitioners (field teachers) to establish quality learning environments. Students bring university learning to their placements and all parties can grow professionally. This model has the potential to benefit both universities and rural communities, by establishing mutual relationships and information and resource exchange.