Becoming a Field Instructor
| “Students make us come alive, and they hold us accountable. It is prestigious to be a field instructor. Sometimes they even give us gifts and feed us! Students give us a different perspective, they say something different…. They keep us fresh and client-focused.” – Emeline Homonoff, 2008 |
All students are encouraged to become a field instructor after graduation.
The development of competence in the professional practice of social work is a primary objective of all social work programs. Field education offers students learning opportunities through which knowledge can be integrated and applied to practice, and competence in practice skills can be developed. Indeed, it has been identified as the most significant component of the social work curriculum in preparing competent, effective, and ethical social workers (Bogo 2015).
Your current Field Instructor, as well as your Faculty-Field Liaison, are sources of information about your future role as a Field Instructor. Check out the links below to learn about other experiences. We hope that you are inspired to become a social work educator of tomorrow.
Students interested in becoming a field instructor are asked to:
- provide their personal e-mail address to the Practicum Office with the intention that they will be e-mailed an invitation to be a field instructor in the future;
- attend the annual February noon-hour Panel of Field Instructors to have their questions answered; and
- view the videos below.
Videos about becoming a Field Instructor
Watch Blair Audet (MSW 2012) discuss the experience of becoming a Field Instructor:
Watch Professor Rob MacFadden speak about the impact of field education on social work practice:
More information about being a Field Instructor can also be found in the Field Instructor section of this website.