As field education is a signature pedagogy of social work education it was imperative that it was a focus of the Indigenous Resurgence Project. The work towards decolonizing field education requires us to consider all aspects of field education including curriculum, policies, and our relationships with Indigenous community partners.
Natalie Clark and Marie Nightbird developed “Seven Promising Principles for Decolonizing Social Work Field Education” which is a framework to guide the critical reflection and considerations for decolonizing field education in social work. The field team at UBC systematically implemented the framework in order to examine and interrogate all aspects of the field education process, policies and sites of learning to transform our field education program.
We share the Seven Promising Principles and the outcomes from UBC School of Social Work Field team’s implementation to support similar efforts in your school.
Outcomes of the Field Team’s Implementation of the Seven Promising Principles
- Changed policy to allow students to use 4 hrs/month of field hours to attend Indigenous focused events/initiatives
- Facilitated first Elder as co-field instructor in community placement
- Revised placement planning form to provide option for self-identification
- Expanded models of field placement to include two Indigenous students at one placement
- Compiled list of Indigenous social workers as potential new field instructors
- Developed a guide to UBC resources for Indigenous social work students
- Embedded Indigenous focused professional development for field team members
- Initiated funding opportunities for rural, remote or Indigenous communities
- Spotlighted Indigenous field instructors in annual newsletter
- Engaged in relationship building and increased Indigenous focused practicum placement opportunities
Land Acknowledgement
The UBC School of Social Work acknowledges that we are situated on the traditional, ancestral and stolen territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) People.