This Social Work Week, we’re highlighting the invaluable work of our field instructors

MSW students Judy Chau, Hailey Lawrence, and Alex Ouelette Zuk shared thank you messages to FIFSW Field Instructors in an online video (see below).

Celebrated annually across Ontario during the first week of March, Social Work Week, is an opportunity to highlight the vital roles that social workers play in our communities.  

At the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, it is also a time when we recognize the incredible work of our field instructors, who oversee and guide students as they complete their Practicum — which is essential to social work education.  

Practicum is where students put their education into practice and learn from real-world experience. Each practicum setting — whether it is at a hospital, a school, a community agency, a government organization, or elsewhere — provides students with the opportunity to develop the professional competencies needed to enter the field after graduation. (View a list of the wide range of partners that FIFSW’s works with here.) 

“Being able to actually practice social work and see clients was where I built my confidence,” says Hailey Lawrence, a second-year Master of Social Work Student at FIFSW. “I was able to confidently say I could do social work because I was able to practice those skills.”  

Judy Chau says that the guidance she has received from her field instructors has helped her flourish. “With weekly supervision meetings and talking about the ways I’m working with my clients, their feedback has been instrumental and really pushing my journey as a social worker forward and really reflecting on my practice.” 

This year, the Faculty asked some of its students to share how their practicum has deepened their learning in a thank you video, which has been shared with all Field Instructors. View the video below.

“In my practicums I’ve had the opportunity to work with some really incredible supervisors who have provided and fostered a really supportive and reflective learning environment,” says Alexandra Ouellette Zuk. “They’ve pushed me to challenge myself, to ask the hard questions, to take risks and do all that in an environment where they’re there to offer their own critical reflections, their feedback, and also just their general support to help boost my confidence. And that has created an environment that has allowed my learning to skyrocket.” 

FIFSW’s staff and faculty share the students’ gratitude for the work that field instructors – many of whom are alumni of the Faculty – provide. 

“Field instruction is a vital part of preparing students to be ethical and effective social workers who will take on essential roles in our communities,” says Eileen McKee, FIFSW’s Assistant Dean, Field Education. “We are deeply grateful for the time and wisdom that our Field Instructors share to make this possible.” 

Learn how to join FIFSW as a field instructor  

FIFSW is now recruiting field instructors for the 2025 to 2026 academic year. Interested? We want to hear from you! Contact our Practicum Office to express your interest and learn more. 

Read about the qualifications for becoming a field instructor and all the benefits that come with the role on FIFSW’s website. Hear from seasoned field instructors Michelle English and Blair Audet about their experiences. And learn how being a field instructor can strengthen your practice, from Professor Emeritus Rob MacFadden.