ABSTRACT
The development of social work was influenced by many factors, including people’s vulnerability due to the Industrial Revolution. Western European and North American theories heavily influence social work training in Africa. There is a need to develop indigenous African training in social work relevant to the African continent. Social work education has a field education component, where students have to undertake practical work in casework, group work, and community work. Since contact with students and lecturers is minimal, the social work department has to devise ways to achieve all the curriculum requirements, including the field instruction component. This chapter describes and analyses the field education structures (in an ODL model) to ensure that students who complete the social work curriculum have received the necessary field instruction to qualify as professional social workers.
