Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries (January 11 - 14, 2007)

Purpose: There is little research on the anxiety that MSW students experience as they prepare for their first field placement. While some anxiety can be a catalyst for learning, too much can interfere with this process (Seipp, 1991). Existing research has focused on students' perspectives, exploring their concerns and assessment of their anxiety's impact on their learning (Rompf, Royse, & Dhooper, 1993). These studies indicate that students are moderately anxious, yet don't feel anxiety will interfere with learning. Students' specific concerns include feeling they lack the skills and experience to work with clients, and that clients won't want to work with interns. Students also worry about the amount and quality of supervision they will receive. However, how is students' anxiety actually impacting their performance in field placement? Are their worries realistic or misplaced? This study explored field instructors' perceptions of the levels of anxiety and preparedness students bring to field, as well as areas for further learning they think students should actually focus their efforts on.

Methods: All field instructors supervising first year students from a large urban school of social work were invited to complete an instrument including open-ended questions contrasting concerns supervisors felt students had related to being at the agency, working with clients, and being supervised, with what they as supervisors saw as actual areas for growth in each of these realms. Furthermore, using scales from existing studies for comparison, supervisors were asked to rate students' anxiety, preparedness, and the impact of anxiety on learning. Thirty-nine (31 %) of 125 supervisors responded. The statistical program R was used to perform quantitative analysis; content analysis was used with the open-ended responses.

Results: Compared to self-ratings from the student-focused research, these supervisors rate students as significantly more anxious, and find that anxiety interferes more with their learning than students believe. Furthermore, supervisors identify different areas as worrisome. For example, they are concerned about students' lack of professionalism in their attitude, behavior and attire, and about their lack of preparation for and receptiveness to feedback in supervision. The areas students worry about, such as lacking experience, are seen as expectable limitations that the practicum and supervision are designed to address. While not specifically questioned about this topic, respondents spontaneously and consistently report feeling overwhelmed and unsupported by their agencies and the school in their role as supervisors.

Implications: Supervisors suggest that students experience significant anxiety, which must be addressed through provision of structure and opportunity to process feelings. Supervisors also request greater support in their work. In conjunction with existing research on students' anxiety from their perspective, this material provides important complementary information that schools and supervisors in partnership can use to normalize, adaptively channel, and contain student anxiety about placement as appropriate, and better support supervisors.

Rompf, E. L., Royse, D., & Dhooper, S. S. (1993). Anxiety preceding field work: What students worry about. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 7 (2), 81-95. Seipp, B. (1991) Anxiety and academic performance. A meta-analysis of findings. Anxiety Research, 4, 27–41.