Utilizing Actors to Simulate Clients in Social Work Student Role Plays

The social work education literature contains limited discussion of the use of role play in the classroom. This article discusses the logistics of recruiting and utilizing professionally-trained actors to simulate clients in social work role plays. Promising results from assessments of BSW and MSW students with actor-simulated clients are presented. Students described their experiences with the actor-simulated clients in very positive terms. These responses did not statistically vary by program, age, gender, or race.