Expectations and Experiences of Social Work Students Regarding Field Practice: A Qualitative Research

Field practice in social work education is an integral part of student development and is considered as an important indicator of the quality of education. In this study, the expectations and experiences of the students in social work education regarding field practice are tried to be understood from the qualitative research approaches within the framework of the descriptive phenomenology of the phenomenological approach. First of all, the participants were asked about their expectations about the social work practices to be carried out within the scope of the course Social Work Practices in Social Work Environments, and secondly, what they experienced in the first three days of the social work practice. Participants consisted of 19 4th year social work students who went to various institutions within the scope of the Social Work Practices in Social Work Environments in 2017-2018 Academic Year. As a result of data analysis, expectations from field application were observed as information, contact with the client, preparation for becoming a social worker, bureaucracy, theory-practice, observation, personal development, corporate consultant, non-professional concerns, beneficiary benefit and occupational concerns. As for the experiences from the field application, topics such as contact with the client, observation, a warm atmosphere, theory-practice, corporate consultant, excitement, bureaucracy and being affected from cases can be listed. Several important points are mentioned in the conclusion and recommendations section. It is said that it is important to choose organizations where the students can face clients and touch their lives. Also, a training where theories-concepts are integrated with theory and cases will create a more holistic learning is mentioned. It is necessary to have practices that reduce professional anxiety. Moreover, quality and motivation should be considered in the selection of institutional adviser. Finally, it is mentioned that it is important to observe organizational environment before practice by the teaching staff