HARD CONVERSATIONS

Mickey Skidmore, AMHSW, ACSW

There is a growing chorus of voices punctuating the need to reconsider the realities of field placements in Social Work programs. With very few exceptions, most Social Work field placements do not offer financial compensation for the hundreds of hours (up to 1000) where students essentially provided volunteer services in exchange for their training experiences within organisations. The argument gaining traction is that for many, the current model is increasingly unviable financially for many wishing to pursue a Social Work degree.

Reflecting on my own experiences 40 years ago, I travelled an hour (at my own expense) to work/train in a community mental health clinic for four days per week for two semesters — without any financial compensation. This circumstance required me to also work as a research assistant, as well as a sign language interpreter for evening classes in order to meet basic financial responsibilities — all requiring additional time in addition to the demands of my course programming and study. It is not an exaggeration when I tell you that 20hr days were typical for my advanced-standing program of a little more than a year’s duration.

Just because this was my own experience, or that this is way it has been done for a long time should not in-and-of-itself justify the avoidance of engaging in a worthwhile conversation to explore alternate possibilities in this regard. Perhaps the Social Work students in accredited programs in Australia can take the lead in an international conversation that is perhaps well overdue. As a casual academic with considerable Social Work experience, I note that this is not a singular or one-dimensional issue. I believe there are several hard conversations that also have some bearing on this topic.

The lockdowns of COVID highlighted the unique circumstances that adversely impacted international students. While all students (both domestic and international) were impacted by the lockdown, most international students did not have access to Governmental supports/resources (medical care; Centrelink; etc) and until late in the process and were handcuffed with being able to work limited hours because of their VISA status. Moreover, they were prohibited from returning home to their families due to to travel restrictions. Thus, they were stranded here; often with limited financial means; little or no Governmental supports; with limited earning capacity; and isolated from their families.

Unfortunately, I continue to hear thematic narratives where international students are being told that a Social Work degree is a quick and easy professional qualification that may facilitate an easier pathway to obtaining legitimate professional recognition enabling them to remain and practice in Australia should they chose. However, this is incredibly misleading. Depending on one’s language proficiency it may require bridging courses in addition to the two year program (which assumes no unforeseen circumstances or challenges that may extend this timeframe). Nonetheless, many students buy into this narrative, without due diligence regarding a range of hard conversations that ideally should occur when considering embarking on such an academic endeavour.

Regardless of whether you are an international student or not, any Social Work student would be wise to honestly appraise their personal circumstances from a practical and pragmatice perspective. If you have certain financial obligations; if you’re currently working full-time; if you have child-rearing responsibilities; if you serve as a carer; if you have your own health issues, challenges, or limitations; how realistic is it for you to commit to the rigours and demands of a Social Work program with such high demands and expectations? Moreover, why and how would you pay the exorbitant tuition fees of an international student when it may not be realistic to accomplish such an effort without considerable hardship to you and your family? Knowing these things, is it fair or reasonable to then expect your Social Work program to make exceptions for you because you may have made a poor or ill-advised decision? If you and your family are willing to make sacrifices during this time in order for you to achieve this aim, this is at least an informed decision. But the increasing sense of entitlement and unrealistic expectations I encounter as a tutor makes me wonder if these hard conversations are happening at all. (This is also true in many respects for domestic students as well).

Conversely, I have read that the financial impact in Australia from international student University fees is anywhere from $22-33 billion dollars. Universities are eager to get their hands on this revenue. And while they are happy to accept increasing number of Social Work students, the number of placements for these students often may not keep pace. Moreover, the University in many instances places the too much of the onus for field placements on the students. (Is it reasonable for international students to essentially pay double the domestic tuition fee and then not provide them a legitimate field placement — unless they can find or secure one?). Considering that alarming and increasing numbers of international students are reporting concerns of racism in their placements coupled with lack of financial compensations is it any wonder that this movement is gaining notice? And then there is the quality of the MSWQ programs themselves. Having served as a tutor for both, I have come to the conclusion that students who complete the undergraduate Social Work programs are far better prepared for Social Work practice compared to the MSWQ students. These too are hard conversations with layers of complexity that are difficult to have within University programs.

One of the primary learnings I took away from my MSW masters experience, is that most masters programs of nearly any discipline intend to overwhelm in an effort to see how well the student manages and copes with high levels of stress. Social Work is a profession that embraces a plethora of unpleasant, undesirable, challenging, unfair, unethical, and too often tragic situations and circumstances. It is not a course of study that can be “phoned in.” It is not a course of study one can expect to do well by simply reading course material or not attending classes. And even when we are getting paid, it is a far cry in comparison to other professions. It is not a easy profession to chose. It is not for everyone. If it were, anyone would pursue it based on the narrative mentioned previously. But the reality is for all of us, we encounter situations in life where we are forced to realistically evaluate the circumstances and in many cases make hard choices as a result.

One particular argument against maintaining the status quo for the current field placement model is that it excludes too many people because of the financial limitations. I try to unpack this argument from a personal perspective. 

If I provide services on a contractual basis to an organisation for three days per week; and then the University of Wollongong approaches me to teach another class, which is only offered on one of the days I am already contractually obligated, what do I do? Well, I could accept the invitation and then lie or call in sick or manipulate why I could only provide services on two days. Or I could attempt to negotiate with the organisation regarding the parameters of the agreed upon obligations. But if they insisted that I honour the original terms, I would have no choice but to decline the invitation due to these previous contractual obligations. 

Alternatively, if based on my previous years as a casual academic, suppose WSU invites me to apply for an associate lecturer position to transition me to full-time status; yet, the requirements of the position include agreement for me to enrol in a PhD program aimed at undergoing research as a primary component of this role. If I am more interested in clinical domains and not especially interested in research what do I do? Should I apply, deceive the University in hopes of being offered the position and only then reveal I’m not especially interested in research and expect them to make an exception for me?

In both of these cases it could be argued that I was being “excluded” from opportunities. However, my argument is that both of these vignettes require having hard conversations and result in a realistic appraisal of the circumstances that culminates with making a hard and sometimes difficult decisions. Hard conversations and considerations generally involve the inclusion of appropriate levels of personal responsibility and integrity in arriving at an ethical determination. While I welcome having hard and difficult conversations around reasonable and appropriate field placement models in Social Work programs; this should not be at the expense of potential students also having a range of personal responsible hard conversations that result in hard chooses that are also realistic. Sometimes personal circumstances or prior commitments and obligations simply do not align with (other) job opportunities or educational pursuits.

One of the life lessons I’ve discovered during my Social Work career, is that sometimes therapy boils down to preparing a client for having to make the least unfavourable, undesirable choice when all of the options are bad. While this is difficult and unpleasant at times, it is real. (Life is often unfair). Increasingly, it seems that there are those who would make poor, unrealistic, misinformed decisions and then expect an organisation to change the rules or make exceptions for them.

Having honest, hard conversations is worthwhile life skill. Avoiding these types of conversations rarely is a useful endeavour.