Embodiment of relationships in social work field education

This work explores the embodiment of relationships in Northern British Columbia, specifically related to Field Education in Social Work Practice. As the Practice component of Social Work Education, Field Education forms a large part of students’ educational journey in Canada. This writing is rooted in personal experiences of the authors, one current Field Director, one past, and the myriad changes and challenges in the landscape of field education facing Social Work Education in Canada, and beyond. This work values Indigenous knowledge gained via storytelling that occurred throughout the Second Author’s time in her Community. Further, this work is situated with a focus on reconciliation, the foundation of the work being done at the University of Northern British Columbia understands that relationships form the basis of success in social work education. As an Indigenous Scholar, second author discusses the road to good relationship building in community across a vast region of Northern British Columbia. Part of the work of reconciliation is rooted in the notion of ecological/environmental social work being a core focus of field education practice, as a method for enhancing relationships. The authors then offer an analogy of a seeding, sapling, and cedar to contextualize what this means for nurturing the forest of relationships in community settings. This concept comes from second Author’s personal and professional analogy, inspired by the lands in which she grew up and maintains close personal connections. Practical implications are offered for consideration by other Schools of Social Work.