‘Why is this not social work?’ The contribution of ‘non-traditional’ placements in preparing social work students for practice

Scholar, HF ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0348-6937, McCaughan, S, McLaughlin, H and Coleman, AR 2012, '‘Why is this not social work?’ The contribution of ‘non-traditional’ placements in preparing social work students for practice' , Social Work Education, 31 (7) , pp. 932-950.

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Abstract

This article reports on the findings of two evaluations of a major charity's learning from providing ‘non-traditional’ social work placements with young people at risk of social exclusion. The article challenges the terminology of ‘non-traditional’ and ‘non-social work’ placements and examines the potential of these placements in the current social work curriculum and in the light of the recommendations of the Social Work Task Force and directions from the Social Work Reform Board. In particular, the article highlights the ability of such placements to help prepare students for their ‘statutory placement’ in relation to formal assessment, legal literacy, and risk awareness and safeguarding. Overall, it is argued that the time is ripe to champion the creative use of such placements for HEIs, delivery partners, social work students and, most importantly, for service users.

Item Type:	Article
Themes:	Health and Wellbeing
Schools:	Schools > School of Health and Society > Centre for Applied Research in Health, Welfare and Policy
Journal or Publication Title:	Social Work Education
Publisher:	Routledge
Refereed:	Yes
ISSN:	0261-5479
Related URLs:	Publication
Funders:	The Prince's Trust
Depositing User:	Dr Helen Scholar
Date Deposited:	06 Jul 2015 12:06
Last Modified:	15 Feb 2022 19:23
URI:	https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/35153

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