Ethical and Legal Issues in Field Education

Abstract

The social work student, field instructor, and field education staff create a series of complex relationships with multiple tasks, responsibilities, and liabilities. All too often, it is unclear how and in what capacity all of these individuals should interact. The authors highlight key issues in field education: professional boundaries, ethical responsibility, and legal liability for students, field instructors, and the school’s field staff. The authors also provide examples to illustrate potential liability in the context of each relationship involved in the field education experience. In addition, they make specific recommendations to help reduce the risk of making mistakes and to improve the quality of social work field education.

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