Essay Sample on Fieldwork of Master's Students

Fieldwork refers to a dynamic course that is meant to challenge students taking different courses at different levels to apply their knowledge, skills and also the values they have in social work within a given organization or even community. Fieldwork is of great importance as it helps students to be in a position to develop their ideas that create a connection between what they have learned and their actual field of profession. Fieldwork enables a student to be in a position to apply the knowledge and as well as skills that they have acquired in social work in an organizational or a business context. It exposes a student to the practice of agency where they are helped on various ways of solving problems that occur in an organization. It helps a student build a culture within himself of self-awareness, self-monitoring and also self-assessment (Bogo, 2010).

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Careful consideration should be taken while placing a master's student for an internship. It is because at the master's level it will require a different depth of experience as compared to a graduate training so as to enhance the development of a student who is competent at the master's level. At this level, during the fieldwork, a student at the masters level should be placed in an organization that will help in teaching him about the different laws and also the legal aspects such as the statutes, the legal theory and also case laws that affect and is related to his professionalism (Baird, 2016).

The master's students should be keenly supervised if they are in a position to uphold professional and ethical standards while in the organization this is because they are considered to be the future managers of various professions. They should be placed for their field work assessment in an organization that shall be deemed to have distinguished policies so that they gain the relevant skills and expertise that is required by their profession. They should be assigned a supervisor who keenly looks at what they are doing and the progress that they are making while in the organization. They should mostly be placed in an organization that has been accredited by a registered body since in such organizations the employees in such an organization tend to be more skilled and acts professionally. It will be of importance during the training of a masters level student since he will have a lot to learn from his colleagues (Henning & Roberts, 2016).

An organization should fit with a master's student interests with where he want to be in relation to his profession, and hence careful consideration should be taken since not all organizations are on the same level. It should fit the student's goals concerning the experience that he want to acquire. Most master's students have some experience as during their undergraduate level most are also placed for a field work course hence at the masters level the student should be put in an organization that will expand on what they already know and exposes them to different tasks through job rotations. The student can also introduce new skills into the organization which will be of benefit to it through the help of his experience. The management should hence pay special attention to a masters level student to assess what expertise they have had before and what they do not have the benefit of the organization.

References

Baird, B. N. (2016). Internship, practicum, and field placement handbook: A guide for the helping professions.

Bogo, M. (2010). Achieving competence in social work through field education. Buffalo: University of Toronto Press.

Henning, G., & Roberts, D. M. (2016). Student affairs assessment: Theory to practice.