Developing field education: A collaboration between two universities

This study is an example of the opportunity 21st century social workers have to collaborate internationally. In 2006 Dr. Caren Frost, Research Professor in the College of Social Work at the University of Utah (CSWUU) visited Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Department of Sociology and Social Work (DSSW) to determine possibilities for future collaboration between these two institutions. This visit was followed in June 2007 when a collaboration team from the CSW went to Kumasi, Ghana to participate in workshops addressing several objectives. One objective was to support the collaborative team at KNUST DSSW in the development of their emerging social work program. One specific request from KNUST DSSW faculty (senior staff) was assistance in creating field practica for the BSW program being formed. In October 2008 nine focus groups and two individual interviews were conducted among key stakeholders (agency representatives and social workers), faculty (senior staff) and students in Kumasi, Ghana. What was gleaned from the evidence gathered were a variety of themes that aided in understanding the roles and perceptions of social workers in Ghana; the desire for KNUST to develop a BSW program; and the importance of field education in that program. Consequently, a model for field education was developed for consideration by DSSW faculty (senior staff).