Open AccessAssessment and decision making under the spotlight:
Author(s) -
Marguerita McGovern
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of practice teaching in social work and health/the journal of practice teaching in social work and health/the journal of practice teaching and learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.12
H-Index - 6
eISSN - 1746-6113
pISSN - 1460-6690
DOI - 10.1921/jpts.v17i3.1509
Subject(s) - tutor , portfolio , social work , work (physics) , public relations , psychology , medical education , political science , pedagogy , business , medicine , engineering , law , finance , mechanical engineering
In social work education failing placement is a seismic event. There are many complex reasons why placements fail; the student fails the placement, the placement fails the student, the practice teacher fails the student, the student fails themselves and the university fails or upholds all. With a failed placement the spotlight falls on the student, the practice teacher, tutor and the university. There are professional standards, reputations, academic policies and procedures at stake, notwithstanding the protection of the service user as the central concern. This article presents four failed Masters in Social Work placement assessments, two case examples from practice failures and two from portfolio failures. Analyses and reports are shared from initial difficulties and procedural organization, through to the forensics of final decision. Consideration is also given to current research and a ‘what happened next’ section is included.