Transcript PVI Student Placements

PVI Student Placements
Gold or Dross?
Jo Tulloch, June 2011
The Context
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Need to improve SW education / training
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Increasing use of PVI placements – “vast
range”
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No research found on fit between SW
training and PVI sector placements
The Issues
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PVI agencies may have different:
aims
 professional approaches to their work
 understanding of the social work role &
 motivation for taking students
than statutory social work agencies.
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Does this matter?
First, the problems
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Motivation = labour & funds to meet capacity
deficit
Limited awareness of SW role & placement
requirements
Different approach to supervision
Challenge to find student workload with
sufficient SW content
Difficulty in managing struggling students
Then, the Value of PVI Placements
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Innovative & creative ways of working
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Supportive relationships with clients
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Use theory-based counselling skills
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Strong focus on valuing diversity
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Group work & community analysis
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Initiative & an open approach to problem-solving & risk
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Flexible organisational structure & accountability
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Commitment to individual clients & holistic practice
Research Pilot
Hypothesis: PVA placements have
valuable pros for SW training & cons that
need to be addressed
 Aim: to confirm or disprove that these
are widespread issues needing further
research
 Outcome: if hypothesis confirmed, pass
on to academic team to follow through
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