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Pope, C., McGrath, J., Stiller, R., & Bellefeuille, G. (2023). The Academic Turn of Child and Youth Care Practicum Coordination at MacEwan University.

Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 10(6). 124-128.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.106.14832

established with recognition that field coordination is not simply focused on the development

of quality practicum experiences but also concerns seven other aspects. First, it involves

locating and nurturing diverse practicum opportunities across a broad range of settings,

including community-based agencies, residential facilities, mental health centres, and schools,

as well as emerging non-traditional practice settings such research and project-based

placements. Second, it encomasses mentoring and coaching faculty practicum educators in

designing intentional and relational-centered fieldwork seminar curriculum (years I, II, and IV

of the degree at MU) grounded in in CYC theoretical frameworks and congruent in assessment

of student learning outcomes. Third, it includes assisting faculty practicum instructors,

students, and other stakeholders in resolving conflicts arising out of the practicum experience.

Fourth, it involves establishing positive relationships between community partner sites. Fifth,

it entails developing up-to-date field policies and standards to respond to the ever-changing

landscape of CYC field education. Sixth, it requires that field education is integrated within the

larger academic program, advocating for further development and resources where necessary.

Seventh, being in an academic position, the newly appointed practicum coordinator could also

enhance the overall learning environment through instruction, applied research, scholarly

activity, and service that supports the institutional mission.

RE-EXAMINING THE UNDERLYING ONTOLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS OF CYC PRACTICUM

COORDINATION

CYC practicums have always been the essential student experience, linking theoretical learning

from the classroom with true-to-life situations. The standard model for practicum across

human service education places a student with a community partner, typically a non-profit

agency, and supervision is shared between the educational program (faculty or other) and the

community (staff; Vick, 2009). The objective in this case is to offer a stable and safe professional

environment where students can take up professional roles under the supervision of seasoned

practitioners while developing skills, testing theories, and applying interventions. Though

practicum in CYC education is valued anecdotally, it is rarely critiqued, and there is little

research clarifying or supporting the importance of practicum coordination (Asakura et al.,

2018). We hope to reimagine how we coordinate and support CYC field education to ensure it

is responsive to changing students and a changing world.

The practice context of today is radically different to that of 30 years ago. Globalization’s

exacerbation of social issues and the explosion of technological advances have reshaped

virtually every aspect of our daily lives (Bellefeuille, McGrath, & Jamieson, 2008), which in turn

has had profound effects on CYC practice by creating new social issues for the social and human

services systems to address. As noted by Bellefeuille and Berikoff (2020),

We now live-in communities that are radically more diverse, much less certain, or predictable,

and considerably more complex. It is in this world, that packs more into each day and is

changing more rapidly than at any time in human experience, that child and youth care (CYC)

education programs aim to prepare their students to practice their profession. (p. 14)

More recently, the novel coronavirus caused a widespread existential crisis, affecting all areas

of human life. Many universities were forced to adapt their professional programs, sometimes

through a full transition to a virtual practicum model and sometimes with invented projects

designed to replace face-to-face contact hours. This propelled students, universities, and

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Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

practicum agencies into uncharted territory (Morley & Clarke, 2020). While we are yet to

identify the long-term impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on the ways in which

universities, governments, and community agencies operate, it is unlikely that there will be a

return to the old “normal.”

In addition to the changing landscape of CYC practice, the steady expansion of higher education

professional programs requiring practicum placements for their growing student populations

has resulted in a scarcity of field practicum opportunities, adding to the previously noted

challenges facing field coordination. To recognize the increased demand for meaningful student

positions in the community, along with diverse student learning needs and backgrounds, it is

necessary to reimagine the role of field education coordination. Reimagining efforts must

address the pace and fluidity of changes, while supporting shared communication with

students, community partners, faculty involved in field education, and the larger CYC

department. Community partners are often not aware of what exactly is being taught in

university and universities do not know what community trends and issues would benefit from

an ongoing and shared exchange of information to increase awareness and learning (Zeichner,

1992; Zeichner, 2010). We are fortunate at MU to have practicum faculty supervisors who are

certified CYC practitioners with graduate-level education and extensive practice experience.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case, which exacerbates the confusion and incongruence

that can exist between classroom and practicum learning (Beck & Kosnik, 2002).

Finally, the increasing demands on social service agencies to “do more with less” mean that it

is not always possible for field agencies to find the time to supervise and support practicum

students. Agency partners talk about unprecedented staffing shortages, burnout, and turnover,

all of which mean that students can experience multiple supervisor changes during their

practicum. In fact, there have been instances where students become among the longest- serving adults in their program. This poses challenges for everyone involved and can hinder the

learning potential of the practicum.

TURNING TO A MULTIFACETED MODEL OF CYC FIELDWORK

While the long-held assumptions underpinning CYC field education have provided valuable

learning opportunities for students for many decades, it is no longer a sustainable model or an

ethically accountable approach to the learning needs of our students. Clearly, the sole reliance

on agency-based practicums no longer fits the new reality of today’s communities in which

social programs are structured and CYC students are practicing. In response, the CYC program

at MacEwan University is in pursuit of a multifaceted field education model that will include

both research-focused and project-based practicums to complement the more traditional

agency-based practicums. To this end, the program adapted the program of study, moving both

courses with a focus on research and statistics to the third year, so that students will have the

foundational knowledge needed for these new practicum opportunities in year four.

Research-Focused Fieldwork

Acquiring research skills is a key component of CYC education and integral to students’ success

in the field. The research-focused practicum (RF) option is being advanced as a means of

providing students with applied experience in community-based research, supervised by CYC

faculty members. RF practicums will extend the field education objective of integrating theory

and practice to the integration of theory, practice, and research. RF practica are real-life