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Abstract
Fieldwork has always been part of social work and an integral component of social work education. Fieldwork is based on the philosophy of 'learning by doing' and its purpose is fundamental to a sound education in social work. Fieldwork opportunities take the students to a vast variety of ground realities around the world. It is critically important for social work students to acquire, in a classroom environment, practice principles, values and ethics and the scientific basis for practice. Equally important is the need to apply the theoretical content covered in the classroom, to real life situations as part of a student's preparation to become a professional social worker. In this perspective began the evolution of field action projects (presently referred to as social labs or live labs) by the leading social work institutions in the country. These initiatives provide both meeting the needs of the target population and a platform for the students to practice. This paper looks into the major challenges faced by the students, teachers and the agencies/live labs in providing the training for the students. It also draws light on the different issues in the entire process of fieldwork in Kerala. Finally it also highlights the best practices that can be replicated for the benefit of the students and professionals.
Keywords
fieldwork, five labs, best practices, social work
Introduction
The social work curriculum consists of classroom education and learning from the actual fields of practice. Classroom education provides the information basis, theoretical knowledge and understanding in all the foundational areas. Social work practicum is based on the philosophy of 'learning by doing' and its purpose is fundamental for a sound training in social work. Social work practicum, usually referred to as fieldwork plays an essential role and provides the experiential basis for the students' academic programme. Many of the leading researchers in social work explicitly assert the importance of both fieldwork and classroom instruction in social work training (Adsule, 2005; Alphonse, 1999; Dhemba, 2012; D'Souza, 2012; Johnson et.al., 2012; Mallick, 2007). As Hepworth et.al. (2002) observes, fieldwork engages the student in supervised social work practice and provides opportunities to integrate theory and practice. The fieldwork opportunities take the students to a vast variety of ground realities of the world...