The Salient features field of practicum structure social work education (BSW/MSW) IGNOU

The Salient features field of practicum structure social work education

 Let us try our level best critically discuss the salient features of field practicum structure in  social work education overseas. In many countries of the worlds, the schools of social work offering BSW and MSW courses through distance learning have developed fieldwork  manuals and Guides giving detailed guidelines for student and supervisors respectively while all the components of field practicum as extant in the conventional system are there. The actual patterns of field practicum differ chiefly as to the number of placements in each year, types of social agencies specified for each successive year of the course, focus of the learning outcomes expected to be fully successfully achieved, number of hours and days to be spent by the students at their placements; and supervision to be provided by the faculty of the schools or the trained agency staff member or jointly by both. The school of continuing education at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) initiated BSW course for a wide variety of today student population to distance learning mode use of self-instruction study materials supplemented by use of audio visual media and face to face interview introduction. Interaction with tutors in the study centers program is designed to provide students with a wide range of Social Work learning opportunities the students entered the courses with different level of experience and learning the field experience is expected to build and on what the individual student already knows the field practical has to two letter to the training needs of young students coming right after completing Senior Secondary Schools as also of a much more matches student home may have been working in an agency. Similar to the ones elected for field placements it is known to us all that students of BSW course of IGNOU present understandably a wide variety of level of education and work experience they belong to different religious, speak different language, different cast from driver socio-cultural background. They belong to different age groups bringing therefore wearing levels of maturity, there could be married, which children there may be returning to Academics after an interval of sometime, they may have come without any privacy exposure to the field situations are there may belong to the marginalised social groups which are in needs of professional intervention. Significant number of student are females special care in arranging field based learning in rural remote areas. The student in post graduate program may be drawn from among BSW for graduates from allied disciplines the field experience has therefore to fulfill different set of learning objectives.  More opportunities for critical thinking reflection and analysis of micro linkage need to be planned.