What is Required of Supervisors for Effective Supervision of Social Work Students Undertaking Field Education in an Australian School Setting?

Abstract

<p><b>Rationale:</b> The presence of school social work in government schools varies across Australia. School social work is an innovative pathway for supporting children and young people’s psychosocial wellbeing and educational aspirations and provides a setting for social work field education. However, concerns have been raised regarding the effectiveness of supervision of social work students undertaking field education in Australian schools.</p> <p><b>Background:</b> There is evidence of a social work in schools across Australian states and territories, and specifically in New South Wales state schools from the 1970s and a contemporary presence in Victoria and Tasmania. Research to date has focused on the role of social work, with little mention of what is required for effective social work field education supervision in an Australian school setting. A systematic scoping review of the literature revealed only four contemporary sources relating to social work field education supervision in schools. This study develops an understanding of what is required for effective field education supervision in a state school setting in Australia.</p> <p><b>Method:</b> This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with six experienced social work field education supervisors in Australian schools. Participants were drawn from three Australian states, and from urban and regional locations. Reflective thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework (2006, 2019) revealed three main themes.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Analysis revealed three main themes indicating for effective field education supervision, the following must be considered: (1) the school context, (2) the supervisor’s competence, and (3) supervisory teams in schools are complex.</p> <p><b>Discussion:</b> This study demonstrates that the school context for field education is unique and complex, that supervisors allocated to school placements should be experienced, and that there are a myriad of relationships to be navigated and maintained for effective social work student supervision in school-based field placements. Together, these themes highlight a knowledge base and skill set required by supervisors for effective field education supervision in school contexts.</p> <p><b>Recommendations:</b> To address the unique supervisory challenges, recommendations are provided for consolidating a knowledge base and skill set focused on school social work field education for current and future field education supervisors.</p>