Field education is considered by Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) to be the “signature pedagogy” for social work education. The purpose of field education is to provide the most focused and directed opportunities for students to integrate knowledge, values, and skills into a practice setting. Students are placed in agency settings, and under the supervision of field instructors engaged in generalist and advanced social work practice.
Field education is considered to be a critical component of a student's preparatory work for becoming a professional social worker. Field placements are designed to be challenging, growth-producing, instructive and conducive to the application of theory to practice. In other words, both student and field instructor are expected to develop a "spirit of inquiry and curiosity, wherein each is challenged to critically reflect upon his/her actions and re-examine underlying beliefs, values, and theoretical constructs". (Brookfield 1986, p. 143).
The Auburn University Social Work Program field education meets professional and accreditation standards set forth by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
Social Work students are placed in a variety of settings locally and regionally including adoption agencies, therapeutic foster care, homeless shelters, justice system, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, mental health centers, youth facilities, child welfare agencies and various non-profit social service organizations such as East Alabama AIDS Outreach, United Way and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Lee County. Contact the field education director for a complete listing of agencies used in the past and ideas for alternative internship sites.
Field Education Contacts:
Professor Angie Colvin Burque, Director of Field Education, burquad@auburn.edu
Dr. Julie Wells, Assistant Director of Field Education, jaw0121@auburn.edu
Professor Shakita Brooks Jones, Faculty Field Liaison, sbj0014@auburn.edu
Professor Jennifer Slay, Faculty Field Liaison, jls0001@auburn.edu