Consultation as a Mode of Field Instruction

Authors

Frank B. Raymond, University of South Carolina

Abstract

In recent years both pedagogical and pragmatic considerations have prompted numerous experiments in field instruction for social work education. A novel approach used by one school is based on a consultation model. In this mode of field instruction a faculty based field instructor serves as a consultant to the student placed in a community agency. The relationship between consultee and consultant is distinctly different from that which exists between a student and a "teacher," "instructor," or "supervisor" in traditional field placements. Rather than a hierarchical, obligatory relationship, there exists between consultant and consultee a coordinate, facultative relationship in which the consultant's role is primarily that of problem-solving. Advantages of this approach include maximization of faculty resources, increased school control of field learning, utilization of a greater variety of field agencies, and facilitation of student choice in developing programs for learning as recommended by numerous reformers in professional education.

Recommended Citation

Raymond, Frank B. (1976) "Consultation as a Mode of Field Instruction," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 3: Iss. 5, Article 8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.1150
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol3/iss5/8