Navigating growth: practicum instructors’ approaches to teaching in German mandatory social work practicum placements

  • Social work practicum is a critical part of the education of social work students across different countries. Despite this important role, research about teaching students in social work practicum is still limited, especially in Germany. Our qualitative study tried to add to this gap in the literature, examining the teaching approaches of nine practicum instructors in different social service agencies in Germany. Data were collected through narrative interviews describing their experiences working with students. The qualitative data analysis based on principles of grounded theory found three main themes related to instructors’ teaching approaches, including contextual factors, teaching philosophy, and didactic strategies, which interacted in a nested model. The larger context of practicum in Germany as defined by universities and the context provided by practicum agencies influenced instructors’ teaching philosophy and didactic strategies. In turn, instructors’ teaching philosophies influenced their choice of didactic strategies. TheSocial work practicum is a critical part of the education of social work students across different countries. Despite this important role, research about teaching students in social work practicum is still limited, especially in Germany. Our qualitative study tried to add to this gap in the literature, examining the teaching approaches of nine practicum instructors in different social service agencies in Germany. Data were collected through narrative interviews describing their experiences working with students. The qualitative data analysis based on principles of grounded theory found three main themes related to instructors’ teaching approaches, including contextual factors, teaching philosophy, and didactic strategies, which interacted in a nested model. The larger context of practicum in Germany as defined by universities and the context provided by practicum agencies influenced instructors’ teaching philosophy and didactic strategies. In turn, instructors’ teaching philosophies influenced their choice of didactic strategies. The findings of the current study align well with existing international empirical work and provide important insights on how the unique German context affects practicum teaching. The study also discusses the implications of these findings for social work education and social work practice.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author:Claudia SellmaierORCiD, Nina ErdmannORCiD, Hannah Wachter, Johannes KlohaORCiD, Julia ReimerORCiD
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2025.2484469
ISSN:1369-1457
Parent Title (English):European Journal of Social Work
Publisher:Informa UK Limited
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of first Publication:2025/04/10
Reviewed:Begutachtet/Reviewed
Release Date:2025/05/13
Tag:Field placement; Practicum; Professionalization; Qualitative Research; Social Work
Pagenumber:13
First Page:1
Last Page:13
institutes:Fakultät Sozialwissenschaften
Research Themes:Soziale & ökonomische Transformation
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