Student Reflections on Field Education During COVID-19: One Year Later

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected social work education, particularly field education. This article reflects upon field education of student research assistants doing their practica during COVID-19, comparing those perspectives to those of students surveyed one year ago. The research assistants worked on a national online survey conducted in July 2020 by the Transforming the Field Education Landscape (TFEL) partnership. The survey obtained responses from 367 BSW and MSW students. The article outlines five major student themes: social isolation, mental health, quality of learning, financial concerns, and a sense of fear and uncertainty. It juxtaposes these concerns with reflections by the TFEL student research assistants—each research assistant reflecting on one concern that resonated with them—to demonstrate their continued relevance to student practica one year later.