'Six months older and two years wiser ...'.

Maidment, Jane ; Cooper, Lesley ; Beddoe, Liz 等

For decades the practicum has played the role of 'Cinderella' in social work education despite it being heralded as the most significant and memorable aspect of student learning. With changing priorities in tertiary education, industry-based partnerships, internships and field education are at least being recognised for the invaluable learning experiences and employment potential they offer students. This edition of the Women in Welfare Education Journal is dedicated to examining contemporary practice, pedagogy and research related to social work field education.

The agency context in which the practicum is situated has its own set of messages and lessons that cannot be found in social work textbooks. For these reasons field education is an exciting, often unpredictable and complex enterprise, where students and field educators are challenged in their construction of knowledge, development of skills and demonstration of values. Not surprisingly, students often return from the field 'six months older, and two years wiser ...'

In the following articles you will find discussion and debate about investigations, innovations, and areas of concern for field learning. As such, these contributions mark a coming of age for field education in this country, where the centrality of the practicum for social work and welfare education is clearly demonstrated. Thus, despite operating in a climate characterised by economic change and social uncertainty, these articles reveal the contentious, vibrant and diverse nature of the practicum, and together set an agenda for future change in the delivery of Australian social work education.