Activities per year
Abstract
International social work students in Australia have reported difficulties in finding quality placement opportunities and dealing with issues such as language and cultural barriers. While placement issues have been mostly investigated from a student perspective, this study explores the experiences and perspectives of placement educators towards supervising international social work students. It draws on an online survey of 83 placement educators working for an Australian university. The majority of placement educators reported that they supervised international students differently to domestic students. These differences were negatively framed as challenges involving students’ language competence, their understanding of cultural norms, and knowledge of Australian welfare systems. This framing implies that cultural and linguistic differences between international students and placement educators are viewed in terms of student deficiency rather than as a positive opportunity for mutual learning and professional development. IMPLICATIONS Enhancing international social work student supervision practice involves a focus on supervisor interaction with international students and professional training for placement educators. An inclusive approach towards cultural and linguistic diversity in supervising international social work students is needed.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 188-205 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Australian Social Work |
Volume | 72 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 3 Apr 2019 |
Keywords
- Social Work
- Field Education Placements
- International Students
- Student Supervision
- Social Work Supervision
- Cultural Diversity
- Field Education
Prizes
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Advancing Women's Research Success Grant
Ross, Bella (Recipient), 2017
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
- 2 Contribution to conference
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International Conference on Communication, Medicine, and Ethics 2019
Bella Ross (Speaker)
26 Jun 2019Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference
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Australian and New Zealand Association for Health Professional Educators (ANZAHPE) Conference 2018
Bella Ross (Speaker), Averil Marie Grieve (Speaker) & Binh Thanh Ta (Speaker)
1 Jul 2018 → 4 Jul 2018Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to conference