Online Fieldwork for Social Work Trainees during Pandemic: A Review

Abstract

The field practicum in social work is formed by context, responding to students’ needs within constraints imposed by external
political and economic circumstances. COVID-19’s arrival, along with the abrupt end of in-field practicum possibilities, made it difficult for students to get the necessary practical experience. Therefore, there was a need for alternative methods to carry on fieldwork practicum for social work trainees during the pandemic. To find out the alternate methods of field work practicum during the pandemic, an extensive search was done by the authors from several databases, viz. Medline (PubMed), Science Direct, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, Psych info, and web of science. The search terms included “Online field work training”, “COVID-19 and Online training in Social work”, “Online filed work and Social Work trainees”, “Online internship in social work and COVID-19”, “Online block placement in social work and COVID-19”, “Professional social work, field work and Pandemic”, “Online teaching in social work and Professional courses” and “COVID and Social Work Programs”. Supporting student field work assignments, which are an essential component of students’ training and is a requirement for qualifying for the profession, was an unprecedented task for social work educators. The social work trainees, on the other hand, were
confronted with numerous challenges. Many students were forced to engage in online learning as a result of the disturbance. There were network challenges, poor internet connections, and demand for highcost data bundles that students could not afford. Other important challenges and opportunities are also discussed in the full paper. Social work educators must evaluate how to effectively train future practitioners to work towards social justice goals in times of tremendous uncertainty.