| This study examined gatekeeping in Baccalaureate of Social Work (BSW) field education. The purposes of this study were (1) to examine field instructors' experiences of and attitudes toward gatekeeping, and (2) to identify their perceptions of the evaluation criteria for suitable professional practice for social work. The study used a mail-out questionnaire survey to collect information from all BSW field instructors (N = 254), who had supervised a BSW student between March 2002 and February 2003, with a Canadian school of social work that served an entire province.;Major findings of the study identified that the idea of gatekeeping in social work education remained controversial, as some respondents were reluctant to fail an inadequate student, some found the concept new, and some others disagreed. Nevertheless, the professional suitability scale developed for this study had achieved excellent reliability (alpha = .92) and modest construct validity (Mean factor-total correlation of r = .44). Exploratory factor analysis identified a 5-factor solution of the professional suitability scale. These five factors were overall suitability, ethical suitability, personal suitability, practical suitability and social suitability. Another exploratory factor analysis identified a 2-factor solution of the gatekeeping attitude index developed by Hartman and Wills (1991). The index's reliability was approaching satisfactory (alpha = .74) and its construct validity was modest (Mean r = .63). The two factors were commitment to gatekeeping and upholding standards.;Group different analyses by t-tests identified that respondents who received field instruction training had significantly higher professional suitability and gatekeeping attitude scores than those who had not. T-test results also indicated that respondents who had given a failing grade to a fieldwork student had significantly higher gatekeeping attitude scores than those who had not. Moreover, ANOVA results revealed that respondents who were affiliated with an urban division had significantly higher professional suitability scores than those affiliated with a rural division, which focused on rural, remote, and Aboriginal practice. Furthermore, respondents who worked for non-government and non-profit organizations had significantly higher professional suitability scores than those who worked for the government. Results from group different comparisons provide significant implications for recruitment, retention, and training for field instructors. |
