Social Work Field Education End of Placement Critical Reflection - Field Education 1 | ACAP University College

Social Work Field Education

End of Placement Critical Reflection - Field Education 1

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Critically reflecting on your placement experience

Critical reflection is an important skill and knowledge used in social work practice. It underpins professional development through processes such as supervision which is a lifelong process. Social work students engage in supervision and critical reflection whilst on placement.

As developing social workers and practitioners we need to critically reflect on how we engage in practice with individuals, communities, groups and families we work with, considering structural and systemic oppression, power and disadvantage. Also, how we use critical theories, professional ethics and values and assumptions which are all part of our practice framework.

Critical reflection is linked to critical thinking and leads to transformative/deeper learning for students’ professional development. It facilitates emancipatory social work practice which challenges oppressive practices and contributes to change, with a focus on social justice and

human rights which are part of our Social Work Practice Standards (AASW Practice Standards, 2023).
A critical reflection is not a description of events or feelings, instead it describes, sifts and evaluates what you have learnt as you have critically reflected on your placement.

Your critical reflection demonstrates that you have looked at your learning experience from different theoretical perspectives in order to understand those experiences more deeply. It shows that you have applied social work theories and knowledge gained from relevant training, research and readings, and that you have achieved your learning outcomes and engaged in professional development.
Assessment details and Instructions

For this assessment you are expected to respond in a critically reflective way to the following questions:

What is important to your developing social work identity in relation to professional values, ethics, theories, knowledge and why?
Identify and reflect on a placement experience (transformative learning moment) which has contributed to shaping your developing social work identity.

The final placement critical reflection is 1000-1500 words excluding in-text referencing. Ensure to complete your draft in a Word document to utilise the spell-check and word count functions and save it on Sonia when ready.

It is COMPULSORY to use a minimum of 6 references in the text. Due Date: Last day of placement.
You should further refer to the below resources:

Chapter 5: Core Concepts of a Critical Perspective, Noble, C., Gray, M. & Johnston, L. (2016). Critical supervision for the human services: A social model to promote learning and value-based practice. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Assessment:

End of Placement Critical Reflection - Field education 1:

Introduction My placement at Bupa Ashbury has helped me to develop several skills. It is a residential aged care which is providing 24 hours nursing case to the older adults. The facilities involve multidisciplinary care, social activities as well as lifestyle programme which is design to promote wellbeing (Bupa Aged Care, 2026). The placement has provided me with an opportunity to develop my social workability, ethical principles, theoretical aspects and professional values in real time context. This is a reflective report that is focused in the experience and learning derived during the placement. The focus is to develop a critical reflection on the incidents that development my social work identity as well as the transformational learning movement during the placement.

Developing social work identity The development of a professional social worker identity involves the effective integration of ethical values, theories and practical experiences (Dunsmore, Funk& Sawchuk (2026). During my placement at Bupa Ashbury, I was able to understand how social work values are acting as a factor to execute practices with valuable groups like the older adults who are living in the residential aged care. As per the “Australian Association of Social Worker (AASW)”

Code of Ethics, the focus is on the respect for person, social justice and the principle of human dignity (AASW, 2026).These principles are identified to shape the understanding of ethical practices. I learned that it is very much essential to respect the individual freedom of the residents and at the same time support the self-determinations. It is so important as this helps me to develop a strong professional identity. Even when the residents needs assistance with daily living but it is essential to ensure that they actively involve in the care related decision making and wellbeing planning. The aspects of strengths-based perspective as influenced my social worker identity extensively (Caiels et al., 2024). One of the resident mention she was sad and has anxiety after she was admitted to the aged care home. Instead of focusing on the challenges. I learned that one needs to focus of the strengths, the existing social support and the coping abilities. For example, in case of the resident, she has a strong connection with family and liked to associate with group activities. At the same time, the theoretical perspective has helped me to understand the resident better. 

For example, the Ecological system theory has helped me to understand that the individuals are commonly influenced by different elements which includes the social network, families and healthcare scenario. In the case of aged care setting the wellbeing of the residents is involved bit their physical health, opportunity for social engagement as well as cultural background. On the other hand, it is very much essential for me to identify the structural issues faced by the older adults in the aged care centre. The placement has helped me to realized that the social work needs to effectively association the right of the resident and thus ensure that their dignity and quality of life is promoted. Thus, it could be stated that the development of my social worker identity is strongly influenced by the ethical decision-making, person-centred practices as well as commitment to promote social inclusion and wellbeing for the older adults. Placement experience The placement has provided me with a transformative learning experience. It includes the psychosocial assessment of the resident who has recently moved to the hospital. I was referring one of the resident who was admitted after a fall at aged care home and the increased in difficulties in the process of managing activity independently. In the initial stage, she expressed that she is sad and is feeling lonely as she has to leave her home where she has live for so many years. She stated that she missed her activities. This interaction has been effective in highlighting the emotional challenges faced by older adults in the time of transition within the aged care. I found out that, listening with empathy and providing emotional support is needed the old aged care (Guariglia et al., 2023). I tried to use this and listen to the concern of my resident with empathy.

This has helped me to understand that the issues faced by her was not just an emotional distress but was a psychosocial transition in broader sense. It is so moving to the aged care is associated with loss of independence, separation from familiar environments and identity change. So i used the strength based approach to motivate her and ease her problems. I applied the person centred and strength-based approaches and explored the previous interest and social connection of resident. She therefore said that she liked spending time with her family and went for morning walk. I ensured her to engage with different group activities to build interactions. The placement have turned out to be a transformative learning for me as it has helped me to understand the importance of holistic assessment as well as the person centric practices (Smith et al., 2024). I was able to learn that the execution of social work practices not only focuses on immediate emotion

al concerns but also on the understanding the social and environmental factors that is actually influencing the wellbeing of residents. The experience gained during the placement has helped me to develop a confidence to communicate with the residents. I have at the same time, developed my ability to apply theoretical knowledge to a real-world practice in the best way possible. Conclusion My placement at the Bupa Ashbury has helped me to develop my social work identity. The placement has provided me with the opportunity to develop a direct interaction with the resident and execute psychosocial assessment. It has helped me to develop practical experience about the emotional and social challenges experienced by the older adults getting admitted to residential aged care. The placement has been effective in developing my understanding on the needs of person centric practices, the needs of prompting dignity and wellbeing along with the ethical decision making for the older adults. Reflecting on my experiences during the placement has helped in identify the needs for critical thinking, empathy and advocacy within the social work practices. The learning gained has contributed in shaping my overall professional development. It has developed my competency as well as enhanced by prospects of being a social worker in future at the same time.