An Analysis of Field Placement in Vietnam

Background and Purpose: Field education is an integral part of students' skill development (Bogo, 2010), and it's crucial to stimulate their motivation to participate in field placements (Papadaki et al., 2012). Studies have shown that allowing students to apply classroom knowledge and skills in practical settings is an effective way to enhance their learning outcomes (Cleak & Smith, 2012). Conversely, stress at the placement agency can have a negative impact on students' motivation and learning process (Hemy et al., 2016). However, field education in Vietnam is facing several challenges, such as a lack of qualified supervisors and inadequate field agencies. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether the availability of supervisors to discuss assigned tasks, opportunities for students to apply their knowledge and skills, stress at the placement, and unprofessional tasks affect students' motivation to participate in field education in Vietnam.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at eleven universities in North, Central, and South Vietnam in 2021 using a convenience sample of undergraduate social work students ages 18 to 28 years old (N=541). The survey questionnaire included questions related to the social work training curriculum, field education, learning conditions, and demographic information. The study used a binary logistic regression analysis to examine if students' stress and unprofessional tasks had an adverse impact on their motivation to pursue field placement. Additionally, the study investigated if the opportunity for students to apply their knowledge and skills into practice and supervisors' availability to discuss assigned tasks could serve as protective factors to stimulate students' motivation to do field placement while controlling for stress, unprofessional tasks, age, and sex.

Results: The overall model was statistically significant, X2 (6, N= 541) = 87.990, p<.001, and 86.1% of cases were categorized correctly. The study revealed that individuals who experienced stress at field agencies were 1.6 times less likely to have a desire to engage in field placement as compared to those who did not. Similarly, individuals who were required to perform unprofessional tasks were 1.8 times less likely to have a desire to engage in field placement. On the other hand, the results also indicated that the more opportunities participants had to apply their knowledge and skills in practical settings, the more likely they were to want to participate in field placement. Furthermore, the more readily available supervisors were for discussing assigned tasks, the more likely participants were to want to engage in field placement.

Conclusions and Implications: This study extends the current research findings by examining risk and protective factors influencing social work students’ motivation to do field placement in Vietnam. The findings suggest that social work schools and field agencies in Vietnam should closely work together to help students apply their knowledge and skills into practice; field supervisors should have regular supervision meetings with students to strengthen their skills; students should not be required to do unprofessional tasks such as cleaning and taking out the trash which may have a negative impact on students’ motivation at field placement.