The place of fieldwork in social work training

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss several concepts and issues that are important in understanding fieldwork in social work training. The paper will also include a case study of the Swaziland Association for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of Offenders (SACRO). Reflection on the relationship between fieldwork in SACROs social work programmes can take many directions. What has been implied in this discussion is that the social work profession is multi-faceted. Fieldwork should equally be multi-faceted becaus it constitutes the professional life after people have graduated from their training programmes. SACROs programmes are broad and varied. A fieldwork attachment with SACRO would expose students to all of the programmes, and then focus on a particular area of interest. SACROs programmes offer challenges on how to recognise and prioritise the nature of urban poverty, and then attempt to develop appropriate intervention strategies.