Practitioners’ experiences of student supervision in the bachelor of social work degree
Abstract
The developing and evolving social welfare system in South Africa coupled with inadequate
human and material resources and high staff workloads, all impact on student learning in
the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree. This paper focuses on the challenges
experienced by social work practitioners with regard to student supervision in the BSW.
A qualitative case study design was used, in which the researcher purposively selected
social work practitioners involved at third -year level teaching and learning in the BSW at
a selected South African university. The findings point to challenges relating to limited
agency resources, institutional–agency cooperation and students’ personal challenges.
These findings have implications for social work education and practice in South Africa as
well as for continued professional development of social workers and agencies who offer
student placements to universities.