Learning Social Work, between classroom and professional practices: A relational based social work with undergraduate students
Maria Irene Carvalho
Theoretical, methodological, and ethical standards postulate that social work education requires a student-oriented process that encourages learners to deeply reflect on professional practice. It is recommended that professional practice is integrated into social work education in order to prepare learners holistically and adequately to respond to contemporary social problems. This paper draws to advance empirically based outcomes stemming from a reflective process of a student-oriented pedagogical approach that incorporates professional practice in the training of social work undergraduate students in Portugal. The pedagogical processes are based on relational social work, participation and reflection on practice as essential for engaging students with the profession and transforming practice. In this pedagogical process, we demonstrate how important it is for students to reflect on what they observe in the fieldwork; in the sense of self-knowledge, ability to adapt to new challenges, and understanding and reflection on significant events of practice. The above deliberations are a result of a survey carried out among fifty-one students in a social work degree in Portugal, in the laboratory social work unit that socialised students with the profession. In the unit, for the first-time students were confronted with the professional reality through direct observation of social work practices. From the survey, it was realised that relational experiences of socialisation with the profession and the observation of relevant social situations aid the development of personal and interpersonal skills and as well strengthen the vocation of students. We conclude that this learning and relational process is essential for students to transform themselves as individuals and reinforce their professional vocation.
Keywords
Social Work, students, fieldwork, relational, learning.
