SOWK14009 - Fieldwork Education 2

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this final fieldwork placement, you will immerse yourself in a professional practice environment, gaining a strong sense of competence and confidence in preparation for entering the social work profession. Field education aims to provide you with a robust and fulfilling learning experience, ensuring a collaborative endeavour between the university, you as a student, host organisations, and supervisors. The focus of activities will be on learning outcomes directly linked to the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) Practice Standards. Field education is a distinctive pedagogy for social work education, enabling you to integrate classroom learning with professional practice, refine your ways of thinking, doing, and being, and develop your professional identity, integrity, and practice frameworks. Throughout the placement, you will be socialised into the profession by engaging in real practice contexts, creating a constructive and reciprocal learning space. A Field Education Manual will guide you through the placement process, providing a detailed framework and administrative arrangements, including attendance and assessment requirements, as well as roles and responsibilities of all parties. The manual outlines the inherent requirements and performance expectations based on the AASW Practice Standards and ASWEAS General and Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes. You are required to attend the compulsory learning intensive associated with the co-requisite unit, SOWK14010, and participate in designated call-back sessions.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 4
Credit Points 18
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.375
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisites: Students must have completed SOWK13009, SOWK14005, and SOWK14006 before enrolling in this unit.

Corequisite: SOWK14010 Integrating Theory and Practice II - This unit is designed to be taken concurrently with SOWK14009. A compulsory learning intensive (previously referred to as residential schools) is associated with SOWK14010, and students enrolled in SOWK14009 are required to attend this learning intensive week.

These unit must be completed in the final term of CC48 Bachelor of Social Work (Honours), CL71 Bachelor of Social Work.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2025

Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Online
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 18-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 37.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 450 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Professional Practice Plans (learning plans) 0%
2. Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books 0%
3. Presentation 0%

This is a pass/fail (non-graded) unit. To pass the unit, you must pass all of the individual assessment tasks shown in the table above.

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 92.86% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 35.9% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: SUTE
Feedback
All the CQU lecturers were very supportive, and the material was consistent and beneficial. Thank you.
Recommendation
Thank you we work hard to ensure your journey is successful.
Action Taken
We continue to prioritise a supportive and consistent student experience across the term, including accessible materials and prompt, caring responses to student needs.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Optional zoom catch-up's throughout the term would have been great. Even just to check in and see how the students were doing
Recommendation
We are introducing this in term 1 2024. We have avoided this as it adds extra pressure to attend for students and usually allowed this 'check-in' to take place through the liaison role. However, we will have zoom catch-up's for those who wish and are able to take part.
Action Taken
In Term 1, 2024, we trialled optional Zoom check-ins. While these were positively received by some students, others found them added to workload pressures. In response, from Term 1, 2025, we are integrating structured Zoom sessions into the unit’s calendar, ensuring alignment with placement schedules and removing the optional burden by embedding them as guided reflective opportunities rather than separate commitments.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
I think there needed to be clearer expectations for my placement organisation, as I was often treated more as a worker. There were certain comments made during the supervision for my mid placement review that very much solidified this.
Recommendation
Whilst this is generally thought to be undertaken through initial contact, we have now implemented formal meetings to ensure any new agency or supervisor is clear on the their responsibility to the student as a learner.
Action Taken
From Term 1, 2025, we have implemented a more structured induction for new agencies and supervisors, including a pre-placement meeting that clearly outlines expectations and responsibilities. This formal step replaces reliance on written materials alone and provides an opportunity to reinforce the learner role early.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
I think the amount of expectations of assessment requirements are difficult on top of placement and other learning units.
Recommendation
Every year we explore ways to streamline tasks to evidence learning and have again addressed reduction in expectations in the form of number of tasks and sought to condense the tasks in order to reduce pressures.
Action Taken
In response to this feedback, assessment tasks have been reviewed and condensed. From Term 1, 2025, we have reduced the number of separate submission points and consolidated tasks (e.g., reflective components embedded into fewer overall tasks). This ensures that core learning outcomes are met without overloading students during intensive placement periods.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
SOWK14009 Fieldwork Education 2 learning experiences are so valuable. I would love to see future students doing more peer group work/supervision and harnessing the value of peer sharing experience in more ways than just forum reflections that are written formally. We want genuine, authentic, personable ways of reflecting and shared learning that are facilitated by the ed coordinators. However, fully acknowledge capacity and time management around this.
Recommendation
This valuable feedback has been taken on board. A peer supervision model will be reintroduced in 2025, with opportunities for more authentic and collaborative reflection. We aim to embed these sessions into the term structure to ensure they are meaningful yet manageable alongside placement commitments.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Feedback
While I understand that reflection is an important part of professional growth, I wish we didn't have to do the 1000-word reflection and just handed in our supervision notes. It added to the already heavy workload.
Recommendation
In response, we have streamlined assessment expectations. The formal 1000-word reflective essay has been removed and replaced with the inclusion of annotated supervision notes within the final placement report. This allows reflection to remain embedded in practice while reducing assessment burden.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Feedback
I loved the field ed team! They have been absolutely amazing to work with, and I am so happy to have had the privilege of learning and growing under their direction. I don't think I would be the social worker I am becoming today if it weren't for the team!
Recommendation
We deeply appreciate this feedback. The field education team is committed to being responsive, supportive, and grounded in real-world practice. We aim to foster a safe and encouraging environment where students can grow both professionally and personally.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate the integration of professional social work knowledge, skills, and values within the placement context, in alignment with the AASW Code of Ethics and AASW Practice Standards, and organisational context for practice, including adherence to legislative and policy frameworks.
  2. Critically reflect on your social work practice, incorporating self-care strategies, complex problem-solving skills, and cross-cultural competency.
  3. Conduct comprehensive assessments of clients' needs and design, implement, and evaluate appropriate intervention strategies using social work theoretical frameworks.
  4. Construct and justify a practice framework relevant to your emerging social work identity and demonstrate its application in various contexts.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Professional Practice Plans (learning plans) • • •
2 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books • • •
3 - Presentation •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Communication • •
2 - Problem Solving • • •
3 - Critical Thinking •
5 - Team Work • • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • • •
8 - Ethical practice • • • •
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10