Social Work Practicum (I)
310 42000, Fall 2005 Saturday, 9:10~12:10
AM
Instructor: Hon-Yei Yu (Ext. 1250) Rm. 423,
Social Work Building, NTU
Once graduation, the social work students will
encounter with all the realities facing the social service
agencies in contemporary Taiwan, such as limited resources
for chronic problems, if they decide to stick to their
professional career. Social Work as a profession, the
practicum requirement for their students before graduation
has distinguished her from the other disciplines. And
it also grants the students a chance to try out their
real interests, very often, some students may decide to
switch career after doing their practicum. However, most
of the time, the students will feel better equipped for
their professional career after finishing their practicum.
There are mainly two kinds of schedule arrangements for
the students' field practices, a block practicum in total
of two hundred and forty hours during the summer vacation
and one hundred and ninety two hours split evenly in one
school semester. The former provides a student with a
continuous learning opportunity at each practicum agency,
while the latter allows a student a longer term to take
part in the agency activities. For undergraduate students,
the latter has been scheduled in the fall semester of
their last year study. In other word, it provides an excellent
opportunity for the senior students to integrate what
they have learned from all courses into their last field
work if possible. The students will learn the basic work
ethics when they need to "work", although without
pay, regularly at the agencies. Through practicum records
keeping, the students will have the chance not only to
polish their writing skills of fact description but also
to question what they have observed at the agencies. And
the students assigned to this instructor in this semester
have their practicum respectively at three units (the
Youth Recreation Center, the Education unit, and the Planning
unit) of the Humanism Educational Foundation and Taipei
branch office of Legal Aid Foundation.
Nature of the Practicum Agencies:
The Humanism Educational Foundation has been
regarded as an advocate educational reform at
its foundation of 1987. At the Youth Recreation
Center, it provides a space especially for those
community youth who do not have study rooms
at home to do their homework with volunteer
tutors after school. The newly developed Taiwan's
Children project has been funded mainly to provide
financial aids to children under 18 with difficulties
to pay their tuition and fees. While in the
Planning Department, the students will have
a chance to learn different advocacy strategies.
Legal Aids Foundation was founded in 2004 by
the government, Taipei branch office has been
the largest unit and expanded very fast in responding
to the growing demands. However, their legal
aids are reserved especially for applicants
who pass a means test.
Format of the Course:
Usually, before meeting with her students,
the instructor will contact the practicum
agencies to confirm the students' practicum
and reach a census with the agency supervisor
about the students' practicum contents. And
the instructor will pay a visit to the agency
upon request which usually happens to either
the new agencies or those agencies with coordination
problems which can not be resolved without
a visit. After two weeks of practicum, the
students should finalize their practicum plans
according to the format provided by the instructor,
and give a copy to the agency supervisor and
the instructor, which works as a contract
among three parties. The practicum plan should
cover the following parts: correspondence
information of the three parties involved,
practicum objectives (no more than five) with
activities to reach them, and practicum schedule
(usually twice a week going to the agency)
which allows for change if necessary. According
to the practicum guideline, the instructor
will hold supervision meeting with his or
her students every other week to discuss their
learning experiences at the agencies. The
students are required to turn in their practicum
records (using forms designed by the instructor)
one day before the supervision meeting, and
will get them back at the meeting, so that
the instructor will be able to know their
concerns in advance and lead the discussion
based on their problems encountered at the
agencies. It usually takes 7 to 8 supervision
meetings to carry though the whole semester.
Some agencies will call a final practicum
meeting presented by all the practicum students,
and this also allows the instructor to express
her appreciation to the agency supervisor.
Evaluation Criteria:
The students are required to attend the bi-weekly
supervision meeting which usually lasts for
three hours each time. Turning in their practicum
records on time will help the instructor better
organize the discussion materials for the
supervision meeting. Through the questions
asked in the students' practicum records and
their discussion at the meeting, the instructor
will be able to know their progress through
the semester, and use it as the means for
process evaluation. The students will be asked
to turn in a final practicum report no more
than five thousand words (not including references)
within two weeks after finishing their practicum
at the end of the semester. The format of
the report shall cover three parts: agency
analysis, accomplishment of the practicum
objectives proposed in the original plan,
and personal growth out of the whole learning
experiences.
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