Field work practice during the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: A case study from Central India

Abstract

Field work is the signature pedagogy of social work education. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak created many challenges for fieldwork practice. The article explains the field work practice promoted by the Department of Social Work, Bhopal School of Social Sciences, India and also to showcase the importance of field work practice in social work education. The various components such as online exposure visits, hybrid field work, internships, online social case work, and group work and the challenges faced are precisely shared in the article. The article suggests the need to revisit the practical pedagogy that could be instigated during an unprecedented situation. There is an acute need for a government-recognized body to look into the needs of social work education as per the global standards with reference to India. Although the requirements vary for different states as per the local situation, a uniform curriculum will help to develop parity in social work education. The University Grants Commission of India (UGC), has developed a model curriculum for social work in 2019 which would be helpful for all academic institutions to reframe their curriculum, especially for social work.