Promise and Paradox: Building Skilled Group Work Practice through Effective Field Instruction
Social work groups have the potential to build critical connections among members and their communities and meet compelling human needs, serving as reservoirs of support, healing, learning, action and acceptance. However, while the appreciation of groups is increasing internationally, a large proportion of social work professionals do not feel fully able to effectively plan, implement and supervise group work practice. This paradoxical combination of group work’s promise with the limited skills in advancing social work practice with groups is keenly felt by educational institutions, which are challenged to provide students with learning opportunities with groups, especially in field education.
This workshop is designed for social work educators interested in field education and practice with groups, building on current skills and expanding participants' repertoire of strategies to help students deal with special challenges they face when working with groups and their members. The focus will be on planning group work assignments and the major skills needed to learn in the field, including developing new group services and enhancing mutual aid among members. Attention will be given to a range of evaluative tools and supervisory approaches that can be shared with field instructors with a range of experiences and specializations.
The proposed workshop will last 1 ½ or 3 hours (preferred), and include presentation and discussion, small group activity (depending on the number of participants), consideration of assignment options, and development of worksheets and planning materials. Participants will be encouraged to share examples and concerns, enhancing field instructors and other social work educators’ guidance of students’ entry into this essential area of practice.
Note: If an oral paper format is the only option available, an overview of key themes and tools will be presented, supported by a materials for future study.