Online Field Education During the Pandemic: Voivcing Student Experiences and Reflections

Abstract

Although COVID 19 and subsequent lockdowns have substantially affected field education, it activated novel strategies. This paper expounds on a qualitative study on the field education experiences of undergraduate social work students amidst the pandemic, which explored the field learning experiences and the benefits and limitations of online field education. The undergraduate social work students in Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, India, constituted the study population. Employing a phenomenological research design and choosing a sample of 20 students, the study extracted the primary data through in-depth interviews maintaining ethical compliance; and secondary data comprised the fieldwork summary reports and reflective papers of the students. The study outcome outlined the trajectory of student field learning experience during the pandemic and highlighted the challenges they faced, and their learning gains and loss due to the sudden shift to virtual mode from the traditional field training. The themes explicate a unique learning experience that explored the possibilities of online social work practice despite the challenges. Notwithstanding the importance of face-to-face interactions and relationships, the study recommends a balanced blend of virtual models and traditional field education paradigms for realizing the desired outcome of social work field education.