Vad ska praktiken vara bra för? En undersökning av den studiehandledda praktikens betydelse inom socionomprogrammet vid Göteborgs universitet.

Abstract

The purpose of our essay is to investigate the role of the practice period under supervision from a skilled practioner as a part of the student’s development of knowledge. This essay’s main participants are students who are studying their sixth semester during the spring 2009 at the bachelor program of social work at the University of Gothenburg and active skilled practioners during the autumn of 2008 and spring 2009. The essay has primarily a qualitative approach. Our main method is in-depth interviews towards the students and as a complement a webb-based survey towards the skilled practioners. The results show that the practice period under supervision from skilled practioner major function is to create an integration of theory and practice to the students who undertake the practice period. The practice period give the students an insight that the education establishes a foundation to emerge from when time is due for the student to move ahead to future working life. It is hardly possible to learn everything during the course of studies at the bachelor program of social work in Gothenburg and needed sought-for competence the students can develop when they are working professionally in the field of social work. Answers from our informants show that the practice period under supervision from skilled practioner also has a socializing function for the student where they on a daily base under reflection together with the skilled practioner can be part of an organization culture. The linguistic conceptions also give the students a deeper understanding in comparison to mere theoretical studies. From our study we also conclude that there is a need for reflection concerning both performance in general and also over the use of theory. This is made possible during the practice period under supervision in a deeper sense compared to regular studies the students have accomplished earlier at the University. You cannot reduce the fact that there is a distance between academy and practical social work. Through the practice period under supervision from skilled practioner, it is possible that the student can constitute a stepping-stone between academy and the labour market of social work. The results show this through the fact that students supply the field of social work, in the best of case, with another way of looking at the practice and new theory, which may lead to reflection and transformation of knowledge on the behalf of the skilled practioner. The skilled practioner provide the student with perspectives and experience, which accompanies the student during the rest of the university studies. It is questionable if the interaction between academy and practical social work is sufficient enough. Several informants in both survey-groups point out that there is a division between the academy and practical social work and they see advantages with more ways of collaboration between both parties. Among the student informants the answers in favour towards a longer practice period varies in different directions. Some students bring forward the argument of two practice periods of varied proportion in different fields of social work, to broaden the experience. On the other hand some students sees today’s practice of one semester period under supervision from a skilled practioner sufficient enough. Among the skilled practioners a majority considers that the students should practice more. This result can possibly be related to the fact that a large amount of the skilled practioners considers today’s education in Gothenburg not enough prepares the student in a sufficient manner for the coming working years. Theoretical knowledge ranks highly in both survey groups and they consider that it would not be a positive development if theoretical knowledge should be superseded at the expense of a larger proportion of supervised practice. The is also the case in both survey groups connected to the fact that the bachelor program of social work in Gothenburg is prolonged in 2010. A more important change would perhaps be to look at the educational structure where the theoretical factors more continuously takes turn with own performance among the students, where they are trained in the integration between theory and practice. There is a proposal of redesigning the third semester at the bachelor program in the near future. The intention is to take turn between theory and practice in a greater extent compared with today’s third semester. In this way the students are given an opportunity to integrate theory and practice more regularly during the third semester, taking turn between social theory, practice and philosophy of science together with skilled practioners, teachers and students.