Practice Placement in Social Work

Avril Bellinger is a registered social worker who led the Centre for Practice Learning at Plymouth University. Founder and chair of the charity Students and Refugees Together (START), she actively maintains her commitment to social work education as social action. Deirdre Ford is a registered social worker and Lecturer in Social Work who gained the Practice Teaching Award in 1996. She has worked extensively with service user and carer groups in education and practice.

• Foreword ~ Mark Doel;Introduction ~ Avril Bellinger and Deirdre Ford;Student-led services ~ Avril Bellinger and Doris Testa;International placements: learning from a distance ~ Hayley Smith and Victoria Sharley;The outside looking in – an independent social worker’s experience of practice educator work ~ Kate Hazel;'Do you have to be white to pass this course?' Developing support for black and minority ethnic students in a predominantly white area ~ Sharon Soper and Geraldine Blomfield, with Monica Mullings and Sibonginskosi Ndimande;Men in social work education: building a gendered alliance ~ Peter Brown, Michael Cook, Christopher Higgins, Dean Matthews, Daniel Wilding and Andrew Whiteford;Hidden in plain sight: use of an arts-based method for critical reflection ~ Annastasia Maksymluk;Getting our hands dirty: reconnecting social work education as if the earth matters ~ Andrew Whiteford;Social media for students in practice ~ Joanne Westwood;Developing placement capacity in the third sector ~ Sallie Allison, Dawn Clarke, Hannah Jago and Margaret Jelley;Observations of student practice: what difference does observer qualification make? ~ David Neal and Angie Regan;Filling the gap: constructive responses to the erosion of training standards for practice educators ~ Julie Mann;The concept of integrity in relation to failing and marginal students ~ Cherie Appleton and Carole Adamson;Cultivating discretion: social work education in practice and the academy ~ Avril Bellinger, Deirdre Ford and Beth Moran.

"A refreshing addition to the sparse literature on practice teaching and learning. Student led, rooted in local and international placement experiences within a range of sectors with practice educators, it offers innovative and exciting learning opportunities." Kish Bhatti-Sinclair, University of Chichester; "With a range of UK and international contributors that include students, practice educators and academics, this book is innovative and thought provoking. It provides a timely reminder of the importance of promoting social justice and creativity in practice education and social work more generally" Anna Gupta, Royal Holloway University of London