Importance of Field Work in Social Work Education

Field work is important that students should be helped to develop the attitude of mind ideas them to make connections between study & relief…it is needed vital that this should be done if students are to become professional practitioners in the field rather than goods nature & amateurs of techniques applying narrow skills by rule of thumbs method. (Robert, 1995) 

Field practicum is a dynamic course that challenges students to apply social work knowledge, skills & values within an organizational context. It is a vital dimension of students graduate & post graduate social work education. 

In “Field Work manual” M.A. Momin has mentioned the following importance of field work practice: 

1. Through the field work, the students can learn how to apply social work methods in the situation of given individuals, groups or communities problems. 
2. They are exposed to agency practice in which they are in systematically, preplanned approach to solve problem process such as study, diagnosis & treatment. 
3. The students achieve self-awareness & discipline to use them as a helper & as agent of change in an individual & group situation. 
4. The students develop facility in the use of organizational structure. They come to know foster & use relationship within a structure & gain insight regarding his/her network of relationship in the organization. 
5. It helps the students to apply the students to apply the theory & principle of social work into actual practice. 
6. The students acquire social work knowledge & are given an opportunity to try variety of social work methods, skills & technique. 
7. The students become familiar with administrative procedure & process. They learn how to run an office, what kind of routine needs to be established, how to facilitate administrative arrangement, relevant to the discharge of the responsibilities of their own assignment. 
8. The students have an opportunity to learn the organizational framework of services. They understand structure & policy & how to facilitate such policy through practice. They become familiar with difference institutional styles & tempos of agencies associated with various field practices.
9. The students acquire significant substance substitute knowledge in the specified field of practice characterized by the agency. They become acquire with causes of the problem & with social welfare programs, agency structure, laws, & policies, related to its solution. 
10. The students acquire knowledge regarding community structure and process. They know the kinds of formal & group & force that a community. They should have to ability to utilize community resources in support of social welfare.