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MSW Student Guide

Section 3.09.02: Foundation Educational Agreement

Students enrolled in SW 515 "Foundation Field Education" complete the online Foundation Field Education Educational Agreement Form. This form reflects the competencies for "Foundation Field Education", which focuses on generalist practice. As such, students should be exposed to multiple social work roles and skills applicable to different problems, constituencies, settings, and multiple levels of practice. Therefore, assignments include both micro and macro methods.

The OFE uses Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning as a model for how students should increase breadth, depth, and vigor of assignments as they move through field education.

In addition, OFE stresses the importance of the learning progression that we expect to see from students throughout the time they are engaged in field education. Field faculty emphasize the levels of learning progression toward competency development of introduce (exposure/foundation level), reinforce (immersion/first term specialized level), and practice (supervised independence/final term specialized level) throughout their work with students and field instructors.

The Foundation Educational Agreement form is designed to assist students in gaining competency with generalist level of practice focusing on the field competencies and developing proficiency in the established practice behaviors. The current CSWE competencies and practice behaviors:
https://www.cswe.org/Accreditation/Standards-and-Policies/2015-EPAS

Students strive to become proficient in the practice behaviors for each competency.

While being educationally focused, student assignments must contribute to the actual work of the field site. Students are encouraged to share their course syllabi and identify where a course-based assignment could be completed in the field setting. The goal is for the student to have field-based learning opportunities which will assist them in deepening, extending, and applying
foundation-level knowledge and skill.