The experience of practice teaching in Ireland, September 2022 - May 2023.

Murphy, Niamh; Rose, Joanne; Feeney, Brenda; Melaugh, Brian; Kelly, Eleanor; O'Connor, Erna; Byrne-Cummins, Jean; Dorney, Lyn; Slavin, Paula; Whiting, Sinead

The experience of practice teaching in Ireland, September 2022 - May 2023.

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The Experience of Practice Teaching in Ireland Report 2023.pdf(2.76 MB)

Published Version

Date

2023

Authors

Murphy, Niamh

Rose, Joanne

Feeney, Brenda

Melaugh, Brian

Kelly, Eleanor

O'Connor, Erna

Byrne-Cummins, Jean

Dorney, Lyn

Slavin, Paula

Whiting, Sinead

Publisher

University College Cork

Abstract

Social work practice is a core feature of social work education, providing formative learning opportunities for students (Cleak et al, 2022). The ‘universally acknowledged’ central role of social work practice in the education of future social workers cannot be overstated (Domakin, 2015, p. 399; Roulston et al., 2023). Those tasked with supervising this crucial element of social work education – social work practice teachers – have a fundamental role in the development of competent and ethical social work practitioners who meet the standards of proficiency required for CORU registration. The number of social work graduates is currently below that required to fill the increasing number of social work roles across the country (TUSLA, 2021a). Overall, there is a serious shortage of social workers in the Irish context and those working within this profession find that they have very heavy caseloads, often leading to burnout and high turnover (O'Meara and Kelleher, 2022). Consequently, the sourcing of social work placements is an increasingly difficult task. This research set out to document the experiences of social work practice teachers in Ireland at this time. This was accomplished through a national survey with practice teachers working with the six universities offering social work education: Atlantic Technological University, Maynooth University; Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork, University College Dublin and University of Galway. Focusing on the academic year Sept 2022 – May 2023, the report discusses the Irish social work placement and practice teaching context in more detail, outlining the scope and criteria for practice teaching, as well as the practice teaching experience and challenges within the role. Subsequently, the methodology will be discussed. The chapter following that will present the findings of the survey and the final chapter will involve a discussion of the findings, conclusions and recommendations.

Keywords

Practice teaching , Social work education , Fieldwork , Placement , Professional practice

Citation

Murphy, N., Rose, J., Feeney, B., Melaugh., B., Kelly, E., O'Connor, E., Byrne-Cummins, J., Dorney, L., Slavin, P., Whiting, S. (2023). The Experience of Practice Teaching in Ireland, September 2022 - May 2023. National Practice Teaching in Social Work Initiative, University College Cork.