The role of field practicum in the development of professional skills of future social workers

Against a backdrop of growing social challenges, work placements are becoming increasingly important in the training of social work professionals; however, their impact on the development of students’ professional skills remains under-researched. The purpose of this article was to investigate the influence of work-based practice on the dynamics of professional skill development among future social workers and to evaluate the role of the type of practice base, students’ educational level, and prior volunteer or employment experience in this process. The study adopted a quantitative descriptive-comparative design. The sample comprised 187 students from the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine enrolled in the specialty 231 “Social Work” (taking into account the higher education standard for the field of “Social Work and Counselling”). Data were collected via questionnaires administered before the start and after the completion of work-based practice. The study systematised theoretical approaches to understanding work-based practice as a pedagogical phenomenon and reveals a statistically significant increase in students’ self-assessed competence across all five clusters of professional skills: communication skills, assessment of client needs and resources, planning and implementation of interventions, reflective practice, and ethical decision-making. The largest effects were recorded for communication skills and reflective practice. Students who undertook practice in rehabilitation centres and centres for persons with disabilities demonstrated higher gains in communication skills, needs assessment, and intervention planning. Practice in organisations supporting internally displaced persons most strongly enhanced the ethical dimension of professional training. Although prior experience was associated with a higher initial level of competence, the gap between students with and without such experience significantly narrowed after the completion of practice. The practical significance of this study lies in the use of its findings to update work placement programmes, select placement settings, develop methodological guidelines, and strengthen the supervisory support provided to future social work professionals