"We Shouldn't Have to Struggle This Hard to Help Others": Student Perspectives on the Costs, Challenges, and Ethics of Social Work Education

Background and Purpose: Field education is a signature pedagogy for social work. A longstanding body of literature illuminates the conceptual, interpersonal, and practice skills students attain via field instruction. In contrast, few studies explore the challenges and costs borne by social work students engaging in field practicum. Caregiving responsibilities, work- and family-related conflicts, and financial constraints may impact students’ ability to successfully navigate field education requirements. While research indicates that costs and barriers may be particularly high for part-time and non-traditional students, the extant literature is limited to just a handful of studies, with most of these focusing on social work education in Australia. To address this gap in the literature, the present study reports findings from a web-based survey of current and former social work students in the United States.

Methods: Created by the National Association of Social Workers—Pennsylvania chapter (NASW-PA), the self-administered survey was open to participants during a six-week period from December 2022 through mid-January 2023. The 20-item survey instrument, developed in collaboration with multiple stakeholder groups, solicited student perspectives concerning the financial costs and perceived impacts of pursuing a social work degree. Using snowball sampling and a cross-sectional design, the survey garnered responses from 408 participants. With permission, the NASW-PA survey response dataset was accessed for secondary analysis in the present study. Chi-square, ANOVA, and Welch’s t-tests were conducted to examine bivariate associations between respondents’ sociodemographic characteristics and the challenges and financial costs they attributed to their pursuit of social work degrees or their engagement in field practicum.

Results: Most respondents identified as female (70%), and most identified as cisgender (90%). In terms of race, most respondents identified as white (69%), with roughly one third of the sample identifying as Asian (10%), Black (10%), or Hispanic (11%). Nine-tenths of respondents were current or former MSW students. One in four respondents reported some history of part-time enrollment in a social work degree program. Roughly 75% obtained student loans to finance their degrees, and fewer than 10% received any financial compensation for their work at field placement sites.

As compared to their demographic counterparts, part-time students and those who identified as non-cisgender or nonwhite reported significantly greater total numbers of degree- and field-related challenges and costs. Respondents with a history of paid field placement(s) reported significantly fewer challenges and costs than did respondents with unpaid placement(s) only. The proportions of part-time students who quit a paid job or took a pay cut in order to pursue a social work degree were significantly greater than those of full-time students.

Conclusion and Implications: In the increasingly demanding, intersecting landscapes of social work education and professional practice, research and data are urgently needed to address barriers to student success. Findings from this study underscore the wide range of challenges and support needs voiced by diverse student groups. Results should inform the efforts of professional accrediting bodies, universities, and field placement sites seeking to address the concerns of contemporary social work students—particularly those in vulnerable and historically marginalized groups.