COMMUNITY WORKER PROGRAM
Centre for Community Services and Development
FIELD PLACEMENT MANUAL
Faculty Advisors
For all Faculty, please dial 416-415-5000 and enter their voicemail numbers.
Faculty email addresses are also listed:
Pramila Aggarwal x2652 <Lynne Brennan x2190 <
Chandra Budhu x3218 <>
Robin Buyers x3869 <>
Bob Luker x3532 <>
Community Services Reception:
Telephone: 416-415-5000 x2185
Fax: 416-415-2646
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1015, Stn. B
200 King Street East
TorontoONM5T 2T9
Program website:
TABLEOF CONTENTS
1.0 FIELD PLACEMENT
1.1 Purpose of Field Placement
1.2 Field Work Outcomes
2.0 RESPONSIBILITIES
2.1 The Field Supervisor
2.2 The Community Worker Faculty Advisor
2.3 The Student
2.4 Problems
2.5 Race and Ethnic Relations Policy
3.0 FIELD PLACEMENT CONTRACT
3.1 Learning Contract
3.2 Placement Hours
4.0 EVALUATION
4.1 Evaluation and Feedback
4.2 Assessment
1.0 FIELD PLACEMENT
1.1 Purpose of Field Placement
Field instruction is a critical part of the students' education because it combines practice with the opportunity for evaluative feedback. Through practice the student learns the philosophy, knowledge and skills which provide the basis for community work. The student also learns to work as part of a team which responds to the needs of the community.
1.2 Field Work Outcomes
The learning needs of the student should be the primary focus of all supervision. At their field placement students are expected to have the opportunity to undertake the following:
1. demonstrate the ability to develop working relationships with the organization's staff and community members;
2. demonstrate an understanding of the impact of political, cultural and economic systems on the lives of people with whom they work in placement;
3. demonstrate an understanding of the organization's structure, funding base, policies, programs and procedures;
4. initiate tasks and follow through on them;
5. take on assigned responsibilities and follow through on them;
6. demonstrate increasing self-awareness and development as a community worker;
7. identify community resources and utilize them appropriately; and
8. practice skills such as problem solving, goal setting, assessment, conducting meetings, facilitating small groups, public speaking, referrals, and advocacy.
2.0 RESPONSIBILITIES
2.1 The Field Supervisor
An effective supervisor is most important in the field placement program. The field placement organization is responsible for providing a skilled and experienced supervisor who will ensure that the student will receive effective feedback and support. It is expected that the field placement supervisor:
1. provide an orientation to the agency or organization;
2. ensure that the student is regarded as a community worker in training, not a volunteer or an employee;
3. assist with the writing of a learning contractwhich will provide appropriate learning experiences for the student. While some time may be spent on tasks related to organizational support, this should not exceed one-third of the total time. When possible, students should be part of staff meetings, planning sessions and educationals;
4. provide on-going feedback and support including one private supervisory meeting at least once every two weeks. Supervisory sessions should include regular feedback on the student's performance and the field placement supervisor's requirements so that the student has the opportunity to learn and change;
5. provide a written evaluation of the student's work at the end of each semester;
6. approve and sign a monthly timesheet confirming the student's record of work;
7. maintain a liaison with the Community Worker Program. It is especially important to notify the faculty advisor as soon as problems arise, as described in Section 2.4;
8. ensure that expenses arising from work assigned by the organization (other than those incurred by travelling between home and the placement) are paid by the organization;
9. provide facilities for the student to carry out placement responsibilities (e.g. desk and telephone);
10. provide the student with a safe environment (e.g. staff supervision when in the building, taxi or escort to and from transit after 9:00 p.m., outreach and door-to-door canvassing always in teams of two); and
11. develop a plan with the student which ensures that block placements are used effectively.
2.2 The Community Worker Faculty Advisor
It is the responsibility of the Community Worker Program Faculty Advisor to:
1. Establish and maintain a liaison with the organization including visits at least once a semester or according to need. Faculty advisors will also be available by telephone;
2. consider the field placement supervisor's written evaluations in assigning the student a grade;
3. withdraw the student if the placement is not working appropriately for the student and/or the field organization; and,
4. provide a process which will enable the student to choose an appropriate placement and the field organizations to choose an appropriate student.
2.3 The Student
It is the responsibility of the student to:
1. Become familiar with the policies and procedures of the field placement organization;
2. complete the tasks and assigned hours negotiated in the learning contract;
3. write a learning contract early in the placement with the assistance of the field supervisor;
4. inform the field placement supervisor if she/he is unable to attend the placement. Both punctuality and regular attendance are expected unless there are valid medical reasons or personal emergencies. If absence or lateness is unavoidable, the student is expected to notify the field placement supervisor beforehand;
5. speak with the field placement supervisor when problems arise. If a resolution of the problem cannot be achieved between the field placement instructor and the student, the student should promptly inform his/her faculty advisor. See Section 2.4;
6. accept and use supervision;
7. be prepared for supervision and provide the field placement supervisor with documentation of practice (e.g. process recordings, reports) as requested;
8. evaluate, together with the field placement supervisor, her/his performance and provide the written evaluations to the faculty advisor on the dates requested;
9. evaluate the field placement on a form provided by the Community Worker Program;
10. attend field seminars and complete assignments assigned in the field seminar; and,
11. provide a completed time sheet (signed by the field placement supervisor) to the faculty advisor at the end of each calendar month of field work.
2.4 Problems
The faculty advisor is available to the student and to the field placement supervisor, if problems arise which cannot be resolved between them.
A student must not unilaterally make a decision to leave his/her field placement .
If the problems are not resolved informally, the following steps should be followed.
Step 1 The faculty advisor should be notified of the difficulty.
Step 2 The field supervisor and/or the student may be asked to prepare a written report concerning the problem.
Step 3 A meeting will be arranged with the student, the field supervisor and the faculty advisor or the Community Worker Program Coordinator at which time a plan for resolution (which may include ending the placement) will be developed.
Step 4 Any decisions regarding the student will be communicated in writing to the student and to the field supervisor by the faculty advisor.
2.5 Race and Ethnic Relations Policy
GeorgeBrownCollege adheres to Ontario's Human Rights Code which prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status, handicap or record of offences.
The College has created a document entitled 'Policies and Procedures for the prevention of Discrimination and Harassment in GeorgeBrownCollege' (April, 1994). Section 5.4 of that document refers to the College's relation to field placements, as stated below:
"In particular, all field placements arranged by GeorgeBrownCollege for its students will be subject to the condition that all field placement agencies respect this Policy and comply with the Ontario Human Rights Code. Failure to do so by a field placement agency may result in the removal of a student or students from the placement and discontinued use of the agency as a field placement for College students."
For a copy of the document you can call the College's Human Rights Advisor, Dale Hall at 416-415-5000, ext. 4646
3.0 FIELD PLACEMENT CONTRACT
3.1 Learning Contract
The Learning Contract should be written early in the placement as it forms an important link between the field organization, the student and the College. It must reflect both the student's and the field organization's needs and, therefore, should be a cooperative project.
The following steps are suggested.
Step 1 The student and the field placement supervisor list their goals and needs concerning the placement. These should be rank ordered from highest priority to lowest.
Step 2 The student and the field placement supervisor then meet to discuss the way in which both the learning goals of the student and the needs of the organization can be met.
Step 3 The student then writes the learning contract which may be revised as necessary in subsequent supervision.
Students should have a sample of a completed learning contract and a blank learning contractfor these meetings.
3.2 Placement Hours
Students are in the field during their second, third and fourth semesters of the program. Therefore, first-year students commence their first field placement experience in January and continue until the end of April. In the second year of the program students are in their placement for both semesters (September through April).
First-year students are in the field on Thursdays and Fridays while the second-year students are in the field on Mondays and Tuesdays. The College operates on a "7-1-7" schedule. This means that classes are held for 7 weeks followed by a one-week break. Then students return to classes for another 7 weeks. During the break, students are not in the field. During each semester of field placements students will complete one full week's 'Block' placement with the agency.
It is expected that students will work a 7-hour day each day they are assigned to the field organization. However, if the student and the field placement supervisor agree that another day or time period would be more beneficial, this is acceptable to the College as long as it does not conflict with scheduled classes. Such alternate arrangements need to be indicated in the Learning Contract .
Required hours are listed below.
Week of: / Fall / WinterSecond-Year Students / 200 hours / 200 hours
First-Year Students / No placement hours / 200 hours
4.0 EVALUATION
4.1 Evaluation and Feedback
Feedback from faculty advisors and field placement supervisors is critical to students' personal growth. There are three principles which should guide the evaluation process.
1. Rather than being reserved for the end of the semester, evaluation of students' work should be on-goingso that students have the opportunity to change their behaviour. Every supervisory session should include an evaluative discussion of the student's learning. There should be no surprises at the end of the semester.
2. Feedback about problems, while difficult both to give and to hear, is often as important as the positive perceptions.
3. The evaluation process should include the perception of both the student and the field placement supervisor.
A formal, written evaluation is required at the end of each semester of field placement. It is recommended that the student and the field placement supervisor each reflect on his/her own perceptions before speaking about it together. All written evaluations must be received on the date due so that the student can receive a grade. Students will receive an incomplete grade until the written evaluation is submitted.
4.2 Assessment
Students will be graded by their faculty advisor primarily on the basis of the field supervisor's evaluation.
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