BALANCING THE BOOKS

ANASSESSMENTOFFINANCIALSTRESSASSOCIATEDWITHSOCIALWORKANDHUMAN

SERVICESTUDENTPLACEMENTS

MarkBrough,IgnacioCorrea‐Velez,PhilCrane,

EleesaJohnstoneandGregMarston

SchoolofPublicHealthandSocialWork

QueenslandUniversityofTechnology

February2015

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Thisresearchprojectwassupportedbyagrantfromthe

AustralianCollaborativeEducationNetwork(ACEN)

EthicalclearanceforthestudywasobtainedfromtheQueenslandUniversityofTechnologyHumanEthicsCommittee(ApprovalNo.1300000697).

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TABLEOFCONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  4 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  5 

INTRODUCTION  8 

LITERATURE REVIEW  10 

METHODS  13 

FINDINGS  14 

DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS – ONLINE SURVEY RESPONDENTS  15 

HEALTH STATUS  15 

CURRENT STUDY ARRANGEMENTS  16 

LIVING AND FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS  16 

EMPLOYMENT ARRANGEMENTS  17 

IMPACT OF CURRENT STUDIES ON EMPLOYMENT AND FINANCIAL SITUATION  18 

IMPACT OF FIELD PLACEMENT  19 

BALANCING PAID WORK AND PLACEMENT  22 

IMPACT OF PLACEMENT ON STUDENTS HEALTH AND WELLBEING  25 

IMPACT ON RELATIONSHIPS  27 

IMPACT ON HOW WELL STUDENTS ENGAGE WITH PLACEMENT EXPERIENCE  28 

IMPACT ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE  30 

THE STIGMA OF SEEKING HELP  31 

ACCESSING SUPPORT DURING PLACEMENT  35 

UNIVERSITY STAFF PERSPECTIVES  38 

COURSE AND PLACEMENT CHARACTERISTICS  38 

ON STUDENT FINANCIAL STRESS  40 

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR PLACEMENT  42 

IMPACT ON PLACEMENT EXPERIENCE  43 

SUPPORTING STUDENTS EXPERIENCING FINANCIAL STRESS RELATED TO PLACEMENT  45 

SOCIAL POLICY INCLUDING INCOME SUPPORT  48 

A CHANGING HUMAN SERVICES LANDSCAPE  49 

PLACEMENT REQUIREMENTS  50 

POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS IDENTIFIED BY STUDENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS  51 

POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS IDENTIFIED BY STUDENTS  51 

POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS IDENTIFIED BY STAKEHOLDERS  54 

CONCLUSIONS  55 

ATTACHMENTS  56 

REFERENCES  77 

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thecatalystforthisresearchstemmedfromconversationsin2013betweenacademicstaffintheSocialWorkandHumanServicesdiscipline,CounsellingandEquityServicesstaffatQUTregardingasharedconcernaboutwhatappearedtobeagrowingphenomenonoffinancialstressamongsomesocialworkandhumanservicesstudentsarisingduringtheirfieldplacements.

Thisconversationresultedinanongoingcollaborationandcommitmenttounderstandthephenomenonmoresystematicallyandcontributetosomepossiblesolutions.WeareindebtedtoDonnaHughes(QUTcounsellingservices)andGabrielleO’Brien(QUTEquityServices)whowereinstrumentalinidentifyingtheneedforthisresearchandalsoprovidingstrategicadviceaboutthecurrentstateofpolicyandevidenceinregardtostudentfinancialstressingeneral.

InenlargingtheprojectfromQUTtoincludeotheruniversitiesinQueensland,wearemostgratefultothegenerousspiritofcollaborationandsupportfromGriffithUniversity,JamesCookUniversity,SunshineCoastUniversity,AustralianCatholicUniversityandCentralQueenslandUniversityallofwhomfacilitatedaccesstostudentvoicesandhelpedusensurethatourresultsspeaktoasharedchallenge.Inparticularwethank:

Prof.PatrickOLeary,MelanieHemyandPhyllisChee–GriffithUniversity

MsTraceyHarris–AustralianCatholicUniversity

MrGerardJeffries–SunshineCoastUniversity

FotinaHardyandAnnaSpencer–QueenslandUniversityofTechnology

ShirleyLedgerandDavinaRowe–CentralQueenslandUniversity

SallyWatsonandInesZuchowski–JamesCookUniversity

Ofcourse,thisresearchwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutfinancialsupportandherewethanktheAustralianCollaborativeEducationNetwork(ACEN)fortheirinitialfundingwhichalsoassistedustoleverageotherinternalQUTfundstomakethisresearchpossible.

Finallyandmostimportantlywethankallofthestudentswhoparticipatedinthisresearchfromacrosstheparticipatinguniversitiesinthisstudy.AspecialtributeofthanksgoestoAlisonDowerinhelpingpilotquestionsforthesurveyandfocusgroups.Theuniversallyreflective,articulateandfrankwayinwhichthesestudentsdescribedtheirvarioussituationsnotonlyhumbledusintermsofthechallengestheycanfaceinordertocompletetheirstudies,butalsodemonstratedtheiremergingprofessionalvoiceasadvocates,analyticalthinkersandresourceful,resilientprofessionals.  

   

 

 

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EXECUTIVESUMMARY

Thestudysoughttounderstandandanalysethefinancialimpactofwork‐integratedlearning,commonlyreferredtoas‘placement’,onsocialworkandhumanservicesstudentsacrossseveralsampleduniversitiesinSoutheastQueenslandandtoidentifystrategiesforalleviatingthisstress.Placementsconstituteasubstantialtimecommitmentonstudentstypicallyinvolvingtherequiredminimumof1000hoursforsocialworkstudentsand550hoursforhumanservicestudents.Thestudyundertakenduring2014includedanonlinesurveyofsocialworkandhumanservicestudents,andface‐to‐faceandphoneinterviewswithstudents,welfareandsupportstaffandFieldEducationUnitManagersandHeadsofDiscipline,aswellastwofocusgroupswithstudents.Thequalitativestudywasundertakenwiththeparticipationofmostsocialworkprogramsinsouth‐eastQld,whiletheonlinesurveyalsoincludedstudentsfromCentralQueenslandUniversityandJamesCookUniversity.

KeyFindings

Combiningpaidworkandstudyisthenormforsocialworkandhumanservicestudents,asitisformoststudentsenrolledintertiarystudyacrossAustralia.Thisalsoholdstrueforstudentsundertakingsocialworkandhumanserviceplacements.Aboutfourinfivestudentssurveyedforthepresentstudyhadbeeninpaidemploymentorself‐employedatsometimeoverthelast12months,mostofthemonacasualbasis.Onethirdofthoseinpaidemploymentworkedbetween20and39hoursperweekduringstudyperiods,and4%worked40hoursormore.

Despitethepredominanceofpaidemploymentthevastmajorityofstudentsfounditdifficulttomakeendsmeet.Overall,twothirdsofstudentshadfrequentlyincurreddeficitsintheirpersonalbudget,hadtomakepainstakingbudgetingchoices,and/orhadtoprioritiseexpenses(e.g.booksversusfood).Almosthalfofrespondentshadoftenincurreddebtandoveronethirdhadtoworklongerhoursinpaidemploymentand/orseekgiftsandsupportfromfamilyandfriendstosurvive.

Twothirdsofparticipantsfeltbothtiredandanxioustryingtobalancepaidworkandplacement,andtwoinfivereportedhavingtocompromisetheirlearningexperiencewhilstonplacementduetohavingtoworkforawage.However,onlyahandfulofstudentshadsoughtassistancefromstudentwelfareservices,charitiesoremergencyreliefagencies.Thisproblemisonethatislargelyhidden.

Thequalitativefindingsrevealedthatstudentswerereluctanttoseekhelpwhileonplacementforavarietyofreasons,butprincipleamongthesewasafearthatdisclosingfinancialandmentalstressmightblurthelinesbetweenhelperandhelpedandthatdisclosurecouldevenjeopardisepassingtheplacement.Therewasastigmaattachedtoseekinghelp.

Thequalitativefindingsalsoidentifiedmultiplepressurepointsincludingfinancial,social,emotionalandoverallworkloadintersectingduringplacements.Notsurprisingly,studentsspokeoftheimpactsofthesepressuresontheirhealth,theirfriendsandfamilies,theirfinancialsecurity,andparticularlytheirlearning.Whilstthepressureexperiencedbystudentsvariedfromminimaltoextremeandtheparticularpointsofpressurevariedfromasinglepointtomultipleandcompoundingpointsofpressure,thebroadconsensusreflectsaphenomenathatwasbothwidelyanddeeplyfelt.

Abouttwothirdsofrespondentshadtoincreasetheirexpensesduetoadditionaltravel,clothingandotherfieldplacement‐relatedneeds.Oneinfivestudentswereforcedtochangetheircourseprogressionbecauseoftheimpactoffieldplacement.Financialandmentalstresscannotbeignoredasitimpactseitheronhowwellstudentsengagewithplacement,howwell

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theymanageacademicrequirementsandhowwelltheycontinuetoconnectwithuniversity.Studentsarefacedwithasituationwheretheyarecompromisinglearningforearningandviceversa.Somestudentsintheirfinalyearindicatedduringthefocusgroupdiscussionthattheywereapproachinggraduationatthepointofphysicalandmentalexhaustion,ifnotburnout.

Manyofthefieldeducationstaffandstudentsidentifiedcertaincohortsatgreaterrisk,suchaslowSESstudents,internationalstudents,matureagestudents,studentswithadisabilityorhighsupportneeds,singleparentsanddomesticstudentswhereEnglishisasecondlanguageandthatsomeoftheseissuesaremoreacutelyfeltintheMasterofSocialWork(qualifyingprogram)becausestudentshavelittletimetoprepareandplanfortheplacement.Studentsupportstaffwerealsokeentoemphasisethatthereareindividualdifferencesintermsofresiliencetothesestressors.Itcandependonwhatinformalsupportsareinplace,whichcanmaketheimpactlessintense.Students,universitiesandplacementagencieshadallfoundsomeshort‐termsolutionstolessentheimpactsdiscussedinthereport.Identifyingandmplementinglongertermstructuralsolutionsiswheremoreworkisurgentlyneeded.Shorttermcopingstrategies

Someofthecopingstrategiesidentifiedinthecourseofthestudyincluded:

Changingsomeaspectsofplacementarrangements,thekeybeingthecapacityforuniversity,agencyandstudentflexibility;

Usingamid‐placementassessmenttooltogaugethelevelofriskforeachstudent; Arepeatedemphasisonpersonalcareaswellasprofessionalwellbeinginpre‐

placementworkshops; Encouragingpeersupport,suchasinvolvementofpaststudentsinpre‐placement

seminars,placementpeergroups; Peersupport.Atoneuniversityastudentcarecollectivehasdevelopedandhasstarteda

Facebookpageforfellowstudentsonplacement; Provisionofplacement‐specificfinancialbursaries; Referraltosupportservicesoncampus,includingaccesstouniversitybursaries,loans,

scholarships;and Variousformsoffoodprovision(foodbank,foodcupboard,communitygarden).

StrategiesusedbyWelfareandSupportstaffinclude:

Interestfreeloans,andassistancewithrenegotiatingloans; Bursaries,includingemergencyreliefbursaries; Textbookcosts; Photocopyandprintingcredits; Foodparcelsandrelief; Awiderangeofinformationincludingaboutbankswhichoffernocostaccounts; Giftcards,andfood/petrolvouchersasanemergencyreliefstrategy; Workshopsonbudgeting;and ReferraltoNGO’sandlocalchurchesforawiderangeofwelfareneeds.

Longertermdirectionsforchange

Theissuesdiscussedinthereportaresignificant,withconsiderableimpactsonstudent’sfinancial,physical,emotionalandmentalwellbeing.Tosayresponsibilityformanagingthetimeandfinancialhardshipsassociatedwithundertakingplacementisthesoleresponsibilityofthestudentisunrealistic,andnotinlinewithastudent‐centredapproachinteachingandlearning.

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Therewasnoquestionamongstudentsaboutthevalueofworkintegratedlearningforstudentsachievingalevelofcompetenceasanemergingprofessional,buttherewerequestionsabouthowitwasbeingimplementedandabouthowexpectationsarecommunicated.Whileplanningforplacementisasoundmessagetogivetostudentsithasbecomeclearinthecourseofthisresearchthatnoamountofforwardplanningisgoingtobeabletocompensateforthelackoftimeandmoneythatcaninsomecasesmakepositivecompletionofaplacementunattainable.Allstakeholdershavesomethingtoofferintermsoffindingsolutionstolessenthefinancialimpactandstressofwork‐integratedlearning.Externalstakeholders,suchasCentrelink,willalsoneedtoplayabigpart.Therewasawidespreadconsensusthatgovernmentincomesupportpoliciesareasubstantialissue.FieldEducationandwelfaresupportstaffseetheadequacyofpaymentsandtherequirementsassociatedwiththereceiptofpaymentsinneedofurgentreform.Insideuniversities,curriculumdesignersandeducatorscandowhattheycantominimisecoursesrunningalongsideplacement.Examiningwhethersufficientcreditpointsarebeinggiventoplacementalsoneedstobeconsidered,asthecreditsituationoftenvariesfromoneuniversitytoanother.Someoftheotheroptionsidentifiedbystudentsincludedsomecapacityforpart‐paidplacements,asmalltravelandclothingsubsidy,moreflexiblearrangementsforcompletinghours,reductionofthetotalnumberofhours,minimisingformalpiecesofassessmentwhilstonplacement.Havingflexibleoptionswastheoverridingthemeinthestudentvoices;however,thetensionthiscreateswithaccreditationisproblematic.AASW(AustralianAssociationofSocialWorkers)andACWA(AustralianCommunityWorkersAssociation)requirementsareasignificantconstraintonhowflexibleindividualuniversitiescanbeindealingwithandrespondingtotheseissues.Thereweresomestudentswhodescribedsituationswheretheyhadcometoanarrangementwiththeirplacementagencytoallowforsomegreaterflexibility,butthiswasnotreportedtotheuniversityforfearthatitwouldnotmeetthenationalstandardsandrules.Theprofessionalassociationsmayneedtoconsiderwhetherthedesignofplacementsismeetingtheneedsofallparties,particularlyastheseneedshavechanged.Studentsjugglingmultiplerolesanddemands,aswellasfacinghigherfinancialdebtsandlivingcosts,isthenormnottheexceptioninthemodernuniversity.

Thereisalwaysgoingtobeatensionbetweenflexibilityandstandardisation.Standardrulesandexpectationscanincreasetheefficiencyofplacingstudents.Atthesametime,beingabletoexerciseflexibilitycanrespondtotheincreasingdiversityofstudentsandtheirindividualneedsaswellasincreasethepotentialforofferingtailoredsolutionsandincreasingstudentlearning.Dialoguebetweenprofessionalbodiesandbetweendisciplineswithinuniversitiesisonewaythatlearningandinnovationcanbeshared.HavingtheAASWandACWAhostanationalsummitwithallrelevantparties,includingstudentassociations,ontheissuesidentifiedinthereportmaybeanotherusefulwaytoshinethespotlightontheissuesidentifiedhere.Thesummitcouldbeusedtoidentifyanddevelopstrategiesthatoffergreaterflexibilitywhilestillensuringthatsocialworkstudentsdevelopcorecompetencies.

Itishopedthisreportoffersastartingpointforaconversationandpossiblereviewofthepoliciesandpracticessurroundingsocialworkandhumanserviceplacements.Whatisclearisthatthestatusquodoesnotworkforanincreasingnumberofstudents.Short‐termcopingstrategiesarehelpingtoalleviatethesituationforsome,butthecoverageispatchyatbest.Clearly,thepressingissuesidentifiedhererequiremorethanband‐aidresponses.

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INTRODUCTION

SocialWorkandHumanServicesdegreeshavelongincludedWork‐IntegratedLearning(WIL)asakeypartofthelearningandteachingexperience.Indeedtheprofessionalbodiesinboththeseareasmandatesignificantplacementhours,usuallyofanearfull‐timenatureoverthecourseofauniversitysemester,asabenchmarkofgoodpedagogy.TheAustralianAssociationofSocialWorkers(AASW)requires1000hoursoffieldeducationinatleasttwosubjects(seeAustralianSocialWorkEducationandAccreditationStandards(ASWEAS,2012forfulldetailsoffieldeducationrequirementsorrefertoAttachmentOneforasummary).TheAustralianCommunityWorkersAssociation(ACWA)whichaccreditshumanservicesdegreesrequiresaminimumof550hoursdurationintwoseparateplacements(ACWAfieldworkplacementrequirements,2014orrefertoAttachmentTwoforasummary).Whilstindividualuniversitiesmayruntheirfieldworkeducationprogramsindifferentways,thecoreminimumrequirementsofplacementhoursisasharedfeatureacrossallsocialworkandhumanservicedegrees.

Thusthereisaverywellestablishedhistoryofuniversitiesworkingincollaborationwiththesocialworkandhumanservicessectortocreateopportunitiesforplacementsforstudentsundertakingstudiesinthesedisciplines.WILisalongestablishedpartoftheidentityofsocialworkandhumanservicesandthepedagogyofthisiswelldeveloped.Howeverovertimeanincreasingawarenessofthefinancialchallengesfacedbystudentsassociatedwithlongplacementshasbroughtintoquestionthebalanceofbenefitandcostfromastudentperspective.Thedemandsonfull‐timestudents’timehavesubstantiallyincreased,particularlyasaresultoftheneedformanystudentstoengageinpart‐timeorcasualemploymenttosupporttheirstudy.Alternatively,part‐timestudentswhoworkfull‐timeoftenneedtoforgotheirfull‐timeincomeduringtheirunpaidplacements.

Estimatesarethataround75%ofallundergraduateuniversitystudentsareengagedinatleastsomeformofpaidemploymentduringsemesterperiods(Devlin,James&Grigg,2008).Thisispartlyaresultofashiftoverthepasttwentyyearstowardsamore‘userpays’orientatedhighereducationsector.Atundergraduatelevel,16.5percentoffull‐timestudentsinemploymentworkedatleast20hoursperweekduringsemester(Devlin,James,&Grigg,2008).Itisalsothecasethatahigherproportionofmature‐agestudentsareenrolledinuniversitycoursesthaneverbefore,andmanyofthesestudentshavesignificantcaringandfinancialresponsibilities.

Overall,studentsareearningmoreinpaidemploymentthaninthepast,butarereceivinglessgovernmentassistance.ThisisimpactingonaccesstouniversityandstudentretentionatuniversitiesacrossAustralia. Placementsbringadditionalfinancialburdensincludinginparticularthelossofincomefromotherworkusuallyundertakenbutnotviableinthecontextofplacement.Moreovernotonlyisincomepotentiallycompromisedbutexpensescanincreasesignificantlyduringplacement.Thecostsofbeingatworkonadailybasisincludingtransport,clothingandfoodmustbemetwhilstnotearninganincome.Inaddition,forthosestudentswithchildrenorcarerresponsibilitiesexpensesrelatedtoadditionalchildcareorcaregiverarrangementscanbesubstantial.Internationalstudentsmustcontendwithadditionalcostsinthecontextofoftenlimitedincomesandsometimesfluctuatingfinancialcircumstances.InadditionsomepermanentresidentssuchasNewZealandcitizenshavenoaccesstoHECS‐HELPorCentrelink.

CurrentlytherelationshipbetweenWILandfinancialstressisonlyknownanecdotallyamongthosewhoworkinthisimmediatearea.Thereisnosubstantivedatawhichindicatesthesizeorthecharacteristicsofthephenomenonoranyevidenceofwhatsortsofpolicyandprogramsmightmakeadifferencetoamelioratingtheassociatedimpact.Whilsttherearestudiesof

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financialstressamonguniversitystudentsinAustralia,thesearenotspecificallyfocusedonwork‐integratedlearning.(Bexley,Daroesman,Arkoudis,&James,2013).Asmallstudyof39socialworkstudentsconductedin2003(Maidment,2004)focussedontheproblemsstudentscanexperienceonplacementgenerally.Thefinancialcostofdoingplacementwasidentifiedasaconsiderableconcernwithinthebroadercontextofstudentpoverty.Itwasfoundthattheincreasingnumberofhoursofpaidemploymentstudentsundertakeduringtheirstudyindicatesthattheopportunitycosttostudentsofdoingplacementsislikelytobeincreasing.Thesetrendsarelikelytohaveintensifiedadecadelater.TheAustralianAssociationofSocialWorkers(AASW)surveyedsocialworkstudentmembersin2014regardingincomeanditseffectonstudent’slivesandstudies.Resultsindicatethatlimitedincomecanhaveadetrimentalimpactonstudy.TheAASWhaverecommendedthattheFederalGovernmentactiontoreviewbenefitrates,waitingtimesandeligibilitymeasuresforYouthAllowanceandNewstartAllowanceforstudents.

ThisstudyaimstounderstandandanalysethefinancialimpactonsocialworkandhumanservicesstudentsacrossseveralsampleduniversitiesinSoutheastQueenslandresultingfromtheirparticipationinworkplacementsandtorecommendstrategiesforalleviatingthisstress.Theresearchinvestigatestheexperiencesofthesestudentswhenconfrontedwiththechallengeofengagingwiththeirplacementsatatimeofpotentialfinancialstress.

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LITERATUREREVIEW

FieldeducationisasignificantcomponentofsocialworkandhumanservicesdegreesinAustraliaandinternationally.Itisnotsurprisingthenthatplacementshaveattractedtheirfairshareofteachingandlearningresearchasevidencedinavarietyofpublicationsconcernedwithvariousaspectsofpedagogyassociatedwithplacement.Asignificantpartofthisliteratureisconcernedwiththepotentialstressandprofessionalchallengeassociatedwithlearningtobecomeasocialworkeroftenindemandingareasofpractice(see,forexample,RosenthalGelman&Baum,2010;Harr&Moore,2011;Kaye&Fortune,2002;Maidment,2003).Whilstthisisanimportantareaforresearch,itrarelyconsidersthepotentialoffinancialhardshipaseitheranoutcomeofdoingplacementsoraneffectonthequalityoflearningexperiencedduringplacement.

Maidment’s(2003)studyisnoteworthyheresincealthoughitdidnotsetouttodeterminefinancialstressamongAustraliansocialworkstudentsonplacementwithintheclosedsurveyquestionsitutilized,itdidneverthelessuncoversignificantfinancialstressesofdoinglongplacementsintheanswerstotheopenquestionsincludedinthesurvey.Maidment(2003)concludedfromthisthatthechangingprofileofstudentsdoingmorepart‐timeworkaspartoftheirfull‐timestudyrepresentsasignificantissueinsocialworkstudentlearning.InaUKstudyofsocialworkstudentstress,theissueofexcessiveworkontopofstudywasaprominentfinding(Collinsetal,2010)pointingtotheneedtoconsiderthepedagogyofsocialworkmorestronglyintermsofthesocioeconomiccircumstancessurroundingthestudentlearningexperience,ratherthanthelearningexperienceinisolation.

Theissueoftheimpactofpart‐timeworkonlearningforAustraliansocialworkstudentswasexploredbyRyanetal(2011)wheretheyfoundsignificantimpactonthequalityofthelearningexperienceasratesofpart‐timeemploymentamongstudentshassteadilyerodedtheircapacitytofocusontheirstudy.Ofdirectrelevancetothisresearchwasthefindingthatasignificantnumberofsocialworkstudentswereconcernedaboutthefinancialimpactsofplacementintermsofitsimpactontheircapacitytomaintaintheirpart‐timeincome.Thefinancialimpactsreportedincluded,forexample,‘Placementwillbedifficultwhilesupportingmyself’(22%),‘Willhavetoworknights/weekendsandtheplacementwillsuffer’(9%),‘Willhavetogiveupworktodoplacementandthereforemaylosejob’(8%)(Ryanetal,2011:320).

JugglingincreasinghoursofworkalongwithstudyisanincreasingphenomenonforallAustralianfull‐timeuniversitystudents,sincetheirhoursofpart‐timeemploymenthavebeenrisingsincethe1990sasameanstodealwithincreasingfinancialpressure(Hall,2010)andreflectssimilarscenariosintheUKandtheUSA(Broadbridge&Swanson,2005;KingandBannon,2002).ThereisacorrespondingconcerninAustraliathattheriseinhoursworkedrelatesdirectlytostudentsattemptingtomanagefinancialdistress.ThisisevidencedinthemostrecentsurveybyUniversitiesAustralia(Bexleyetal,2013).Basedona2012surveyof11,761responsesfromacrossAustralia,thisstudydemonstratesincreasingdiversityintheAustralianuniversitystudentpopulation,andincreasingfinancialdistress.Thusin2012,morethantwothirdsofthesurveyedstudentswere‘worriedabouttheirfinancialsituation’.Thiswas12percentagepointshigherthanin2006.NotsurprisinglythehighestleveloffinancialconcernwasfoundamonglowSESstudents(76%).Againcomparing2006datawith2012datathestudyfoundanincreasefrom14.7percentto18.2percentintheproportionoffull‐timedomesticundergraduatestudentswhoregularlygowithoutfoodorothernecessitiesbecausetheycan’taffordthem(Bexley,etal2013).

Devlin,JamesandGrigg(2008)notethatthecombinedeffectsofthecostofstudyforstudentsandtheincreasedcostoflivingaredirectlyhavinganadverseeffectonstudent’sengagement

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withtheireducation.Asaresult,studentsarespendinglesstimeoncampusandmoretimeatwork.BoththestudybyDevlinetal(2008)andBexleyetal(2013)confirmthateventhoughstudentsareonaverageearningmoreincomefrompaidworkandthatmorestudentsareinreceiptofgovernmentassistancetheyarealsoworkingmoretocopewiththeincreasingcostofliving.Asaresult,studentsindicatethattheirlearningexperienceandthequalityoftheireducationiscompromised.Itisreportedinbothstudiesthatduetofinancialcircumstancesstudentsarefindingthemselvesindifficultpositionsofhavingtoprioritiseworkoverstudyinordertohavesufficientincometolive.

Thelackofattentiontothepotentialfinancialhardshipsassociatedwiththeexpectationsofplacementsforsocialworkandhumanservicesstudentsappearstobereflectedacrossotherdisciplinesrequiringsubstantialwork‐integratedlearning.AsWrayandMcCall(2007)havenoted,muchofthisliteratureignoresthefinancialstressesthatmaybepresentforstudentsundertakinglongfieldplacements.WrayandMcCall’s(2007)researchissignificantinthatitreportsontherangeoffinancialconcernsexperiencedacrossseveralhealthrelateddisciplines(medicine,midwifery,nursing,nutritionanddietetics,paramedics,radiographyandmedicalimagingandsocialwork)asaresultofplacements.Thisqualitativestudyprovidesinsightintothekindsoffinancialstressesassociatedwithplacementforthesestudents.Herethechallengeofincomegeneration,transportcosts,placementrelocationcosts,studenthealthandwellbeingandtheexperienceofdebtmadeupthemostsignificantthemeswithinthestudyfindings.

Moore,FernsandPeach(2012)developedaprofileoffinancialhardshipexperiencedbystudentsundertakingWILaspartoftheACENstudentScholarshipapplicationprocess.Theyreportthat72%ofstudentsseekingthreeavailablescholarshipsappliedduetolossofincomeasaresultofhavingtocompleteWILplacementandthereforehavingtogiveuppaidwork.SomeoftheseapplicantsindicatedthatCentrelinkbenefitswouldbeaffectedastheywouldnolongerbeconsideredfulltimestudentsand5%reportedthatWILwouldresultinatotallossofincomeforthedurationoftheirplacement.Moore,FernsandPeach(2012)alsofoundthatthemajorityofstudentswhoappliedforscholarshipsviaACENwerestudyingBachelorofEducation,BachelorofAppliedScienceorBachelorofSocialWork.

Interestingly,thelimitedresearchavailableinregardtofinancialstressandplacementsneverthelessisremarkablyconsistentinitsfindingsacrossdisciplines.Increasinglydifficultfinancialscenariosfacemanystudentsacrossthelengthoftheiruniversitystudiesandthissituationisexacerbatedduringlongplacements,withthecombinedimpactoflossofcapacitytoearnanincometetheredtoatimeofoftenincreasedcostsrelatedtoundertakingtheplacement.Itisthislattercircumstanceoftheadditionalfinancialpressuresofplacementthatshouldconcernus,asthisisaproductofcurriculumdesign,wellwithintheambitofprofessionalbodies,universitiesandplacementagenciestocollaborativelydevelopsolutions.Hereitisimportanttoacknowledgethatinnoneoftheliteraturecitedwasthereanyevidencethatworkintegratedlearningisnotaveryimportantlearningexperienceacrossdisciplinesandparticularlyimportantinsocialworkandhumanservices(e.g.seeFortune,Lee&Cavazos,2007).Atthesametime,itisasystemoflearningwhichrequiresnotonlysubstantialcommitmentfromstudents(andconsequentlypotentialfinancialstress)butalsoonewhichrequiressubstantialcommitmentfromagencieswhoarefrequentlycontendingwiththeirownfinancialstressors.

Scottetal(2014)reportonascopingstudyofstudentclinicaleducationatSydneyUniversitynotingthatwhilstsignificantgrowthinmeetinghealthworkforceshortageshasbeenmetoverrecentyears,thechallengeisnotabout‘justenrollingstudents’butalsoensuringtheyallgetthe‘correspondingpracticalexperience’andthishasledtosomethingofa‘flashpoint’concludingthat‘relyingonaccesstoworkplacestohelpdeveloplaboursupplyisdifficultwhenthose

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workplacesarealsounderincreasingpressurejusttodelivercoreservices’(p.28).Thisstudyincludedsocialworkwithinitsambit,andnotedthatinthisareatheincreasingnumberofsocialworkstudentsandsocialworkdegreeprovidersoverrecentyearshasinitselfledtoanincreasinglycompetitiveenvironmentforalluniversitiestofacilitateappropriateplacementsfortheirstudents.

Thusitmustbenotedthatinthecontextofaconcernforthefinancialimpactonstudentsonplacement,thatfinancialpressuresarepressingdowninotherwaysinthegeneralenvironmentofplacements.Governmentausteritymeasuresinregardtowelfareservicesstaffedbysocialworkandhumanserviceprofessionalsnotonlyincreasetheworkloadfortheseagencies,butalsoaddanadditionalchallengeinresourcingasystemoflearningpredicatedlargelyonthegoodwillofagenciestoresourcethesupervisionofstudentsonplacement.Moreover,thesesameshortfallsinresourcesclearlypressdownonthelivesoftheclientsofsuchservices,withwhomthestudentsarelearningtoengagewith,whilstatthesametimecontendingwiththeirownfinancialstress.

Thereisabroaderandmorecomplexterraintothepotentialfinancialstressfacingsocialworkandhumanservicesstudentsthanhasbeenaddressedinresearchtodate.Thecurrentevidencebaseisscant.Forexample,thereisverylittledetailaboutthedifferentsituationswhichmayfacedifferentsocialgroupingsofsocialworkandhumanservicesstudents.Theincreasingsocialdiversityofuniversitystudentsoverrecentyearshasbeenparticularlywelcomedinsocialworkandhumanservices,wheresuchdiversityisessentialforadisciplineareaexplicitlyconcernedwithsocialcomplexitiesanddifference.Atthesametime,thereiscurrentlynoinsightintohowthisdiversitymightbeasignificantfeatureoffinancialhardshipsassociatedwithplacementexpectations.YetweknowthattheexperienceofplacementcanindeedbeverydifferentforstudentsfromoutsideofthedominantsocialgroupsofAustraliansociety,with,forexample,arecentstudyofAboriginalandTorresStraitIslandersocialworkstudentsonplacementindicatingmanyexperiencesignificantracism(Gairetal,2014).

Socialworkandhumanservicesstudentsarenotahomogenousgroupandweoughttoacknowledgethisinanyattempttounderstandthefinancialpressuresassociatedwithundertakingthesedegrees.Moreover,thelittleresearchthatdoesexistonlyconsiderssocialworkstudents,nothumanservicesstudents.Whilstthereisnodoubtthattheseare‘adjoining’disciplinesinAustralia,bothintermsoftheacademicspacesinwhichtheyaretaughtandtheagenciestheyworkin,theyshouldnotbeassumedtobeidenticaleither.Forexamplethereissubstantialdifferenceinminimumplacementhoursrequired.

Insummary,asaresultoftherequirementtoundertakeWIL,socialworkandhumanservicestudentsarefacedwithapotentiallossofearnedincomeandanincreaseinlivingexpensesassociatedwithplacement.ThisadditionalfinancialburdencomesontopofarecognisedprobleminAustraliaofstudentfinancialhardship.Theavailableliteraturehighlightsthatstudentsareincreasinglydisengagingwithlearningduetospendinglesstimeonstudyandmoretimeatwork(usuallyinfieldsunrelatedtotheirstudy)totryandmeettheincreasingpressuresofeverydaylife.Atthesametimeplacementsareacriticalpartofthepedagogyofsocialworkandhumanservices.Thisisacriticalconundrumfacingthesectorandthereisacriticalimperativetobetterunderstandthecharacteristicsoftheissueinordertopromoteasolutionfocuseddialogue.

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METHODS

Thestudywasconductedin2014usingacombinationofqualitativeandquantitativemethods.AnonlinesurveyofcurrentsocialworkandhumanservicesstudentsfromsixuniversitiesinSoutheastQueenslandwasconductedinthefirsthalfof2014.Thesurveyfocusedontheextentandcharacteristicsoffinancialstressassociatedwithplacements.Surveyquestionswereeitheradaptedfrompreviousresearchonuniversitystudentfinances(Bexley,etal.,2013)ordevelopedfromthecurrentliterature(seeAttachmentThreeforacopyofthesurveyinstrument).

Theonlinesurveywasmadeavailabletosocialworkandhumanservicesdegreestudentsateachparticipatinguniversity.Studentswhohadcompletedatleastoneplacementwereinvitedtotakethesurvey.Inresponse,214eligiblesurveyresponseswerereceived..Participantsinthesurveyweregiventheoptionofparticipatinginafollow‐upintervieworfocus‐group.

Inadditiontothesurvey,14in‐depthqualitativeinterviewswereconductedwithstudentswhoself‐identifiedashavingexperiencedsignificantfinancialstressasaresultofundertakingaplacement(seeAttachmentFourforacopyofthesemi‐structuredinterviewguide).Twofocusgroupswerealsoconductedwith10socialworkandhumanservicesstudents,drawnfromthesurveyrespondents,toaddfurtherdepthtounderstandingbutalsotoinitiateamoresolution‐focuseddialoguewithstudentsaboutpossibleresponsestotheirexperiences(seeAttachmentFiveforacopyofthefocus‐groupinstrument).Finally,6semi‐structuredinterviewswereconductedwithfieldplacementstaffandHeadsofSchools(SeeAttachmentSix)ofparticipatinguniversitiesand4interviewswithWelfareServicesSupportStaff(seeAttachmentSeven)toinvestigatetheirperceptionsoftheimpactofWILonstudentfinancialhardshipandpossiblesolutions,againwithaviewtobothdeepeningourunderstandingbutalsotoconsiderpossibleresponses.

EthicalclearanceforthestudywasobtainedfromtheQueenslandUniversityofTechnologyHumanEthicsCommittee(ApprovalNo.1300000697).

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FINDINGS

Studentexperiencesandperspectivesarereportedbelowfollowedbythoseofuniversitystaffinfieldeducationunitsandstudentsupport/welfareroles.Vignetteshavebeenincludedinthebodyofthereporttoalsohighlightparticularthemesanddiscussassociatedissuesarisingfromtheresearch.Thesevignettes(highlightedinboxes)areanaccuratereflectionoftheexperiencesthatstudentssharedduringthestudy.

Inordertogiveaninitialsenseofthephenomena,itisworthacknowledgingtherangeofpressurespushingdownonthelivesofstudentsinrelationtoplacements.Apredominantoverarchingthemeinourqualitativefindingswasoneofmultiplepressurepointsincludingfinancial,social,emotionalandworkload(paidwork,unpaidwork,andacademicwork)intersectingduringplacements.Notsurprisingly,studentsspokeoftheimpactsofthesepressuresontheirhealth,theirfriendsandfamilies,theirfinancialsecurity,andtheirlearning.

Thefollowinghandfulofquotesfrominterviewsorresponsestoopen‐endedquestionsinoursurveyprovidesinsightintotheatmosphereofpressuresurroundingplacements:

Somylastplacement–soIdidMondaytoThursdaywasmyplacement–FridayIhaduniversity,Saturday,SundayIworkeda12hourshifteachday.Soitwassevendaysaweekforfourmonths.Soyeah,itwasahugecommitment–notjustacommitmentformebutacommitmentfrommyhusband,myfamily.

It’sanextrathingtostressaboutsometimes.Iseethatmymoneyisrunningoutandsomeweeksaredifferentfromothers,butyou’rejustthinkingabouteverythingaswellasstudying,andassignmentsandIhaveextracommitmentsIliketotakeon.You’rekindofthinkingabouteverythingatonce.

AlthoughIwasawareitwasgoingtobehard,Ididn’trealisehowharditwouldbe.Iwashopingtobeabletoworkmorethanthat,morethan10hoursaweek,butIwasn’tphysicallyabletowithoutrunningmyselfintotheground.AboutthreemonthsintotheplacementIactuallyprettymuchshutdown.IfoundIdidn’tlearnanythinganymore…Inoticeditwithmanystudentsataboutthreemonthsinwejustphysicallyandemotionallyexhaustedbythestressoftryingtodoasubjectontopofplacementandthenworkaswell.Inoticedwejustdidn’tlearnanymore,wewerejustthere,wentthroughthemotionsofourplacementjusttofinishitbecausewehadto.

Thesearejustahandfulofmanymorestatementswithsimilarsentiments.Whilstthelevelofintensityofpressureexperiencedbystudentsvariedfromminimaltoextremeandtheparticularpointsofpressurevariedfromasinglepointtomultipleandcompoundingpointsofpressure,thebroadconsensusreflectsaphenomenathatisbothwidelyanddeeplyfelt.Asnotedinourliteraturereview,Australianuniversitystudentsacrossalldisciplinesareinteractingwithanincreasinglyuserpayssystemandatatimewheneligibilityforincomesupportisrestricted.Thusformanystudentstheabilitytomaintainemploymentduringstudyiscritical,andunpaidplacementsofsignificantdurationpresentthemselvesasamajorandsometimesunexpectedchallengeaboveandbeyondtheirinitialexpectationsofuniversitystudyinsocialworkandhumanservices.Asexemplifiedinthequotesabove,thisparticularcomponentofdegreerequirementsdeservesitsownfocusapartfromthemoregeneralisedconcernsoffinancialpressureassociatedwithuniversitystudy.Withotherpartsofthe

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curriculumbasedonlesscompulsoryhoursandflexibilityinregardtonon‐contacthoursofacademicstudy,thereisasubstantialchangeofcircumstanceandopportunitywhen‘placement’semestersenterthehorizonofstudentprogression.Havingoutlinedaninitialglimpseofthephenomena,weprovideamoredetailedaccountofthefindingsbelowinbothqualitativeandquantitativeform.

DEMOGRAPHICCHARACTERISTICS–ONLINESURVEYRESPONDENTS

Atotalof245respondentsattemptedthesurvey.Thirtyoneofthesehadnotcompletedanyplacementandwerenotcurrentlyonplacementandthereforehavebeenexcludedfromthisanalysis.Table1showsthekeydemographiccharacteristicsofthe214respondents.Themajorityofrespondentsidentifiedasfemale(92%),wereyoungerthan45years(87%),borninAustralia(79%),andspokeEnglishathome(96%).Overhalfwerepartnered(55%).SixpercentofrespondentsidentifiedasAboriginalorTorresStraitIslanders.

Table1:Demographiccharacteristicsofonlinesurveyrespondents(n=214)1

Characteristic n %Gender

FemaleMaleUndisclosed

193152

92%7%1%

Age17–24years25–44years45orolder

7710829

36%51%13%

CountryofbirthAustraliaOtherEnglish‐speakingOthernon‐English‐speaking

1682620

79%12%9%

MainlanguagespokenathomeEnglishOther

1998

96%4%

AboriginalorTorresStraitIslanderNoYes

19812

94%6%

RelationshipstatusSinglePartneredSeparated/Divorced

8411713

39%55%6%

1Validresponses

HEALTHSTATUS

Tenpercentofrespondents(n=22)reportedhavingadisability,impairmentorlong‐termmedicalconditionwhichmayaffecttheirstudies.

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CURRENTSTUDYARRANGEMENTS

Respondents’currentstudyarrangementsareshowninTable2.Mostrespondentsweredomesticstudents(98%),undertakingaSocialWorkdegree(84%),andenrolledfull‐time(81%).Aboutonethirdwerecurrentlyundertakingfirstplacement,andjustoverhalfhadcompletedtheirfirstplacement.Oneinfiverespondentshadcompletedmorethan500hoursofplacement.

Table2:Currentstudyarrangements–onlinesurveyrespondents(n=214)1

Characteristic n %Currentcourse

SocialWork–UndergraduateSocialWork–PostgraduateHumanServices

988234

46%38%16%

DomesticorInternationalstudentDomesticInternational

2065

98%2%

TypeofattendancePart‐timeFull‐time

40170

19%81%

CompletedplacementsNonebutcurrentlyundertakingfirstplacementFirstplacementonlyBothfirstandsecondplacement

7111429

33%53%14%

Currentlyonplacement?NoYes

12487

59%41%

Hoursofplacementcompletedincurrentcourse1–250hours251–500hours501ormore

887346

43%35%22%

1Validresponses

LIVINGANDFINANCIALARRANGEMENTS

AsshowninTable3,60%ofparticipantswererentingandaboutoneintenwerelivingattheirparents’house(rentfree).Onethirdhavefinanciallydependentchildren(anaverageoftwochildren;SD=0.9;range1to5children).Onethirdofrespondentsreportedanannualincomeoflessthan$10,000,andaboutoneinfourreceived$30,000ormoreperyear.Abouthalfofthestudentsreportedwagesorsalaryastheirmainsourceofincome,while29%werelargelydependentongovernmentincomesupport.Onlyoneintenrespondentsreceivedauniversityscholarshiporbursary.AttachmentEightoutlinesgeneralavailabilityofbursariesandscholarships.AbouttwoinfivestudentshadaHealthCareCard.

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Table3:Surveyrespondents’livingandfinancialarrangements(n=214)1

Characteristic n %Currentlivingarrangements

Renting2Own/mortgagedhomeParentshouse–rentfree

1235528

60%27%13%

HavefinanciallydependentchildrenNoYes

14668

68%32%

CurrentannualincomeUnder$10,000$10,000‐$29,999$30,000ormore

688857

32%41%27%

MainsourceofincomeWagesorsalaryGovernmentincomesupportParents/partnerOther3

10361406

49%29%19%3%

Incomesupport4AustudyYouthallowanceUniversityscholarship/bursaryParentingpayment–PartneredParentingpayment–SingleABSTUDYDisabilitypension

41401810632

19%19%9%5%3%1%1%

HaveaHealthCareCard 80 38%

1Validresponses;2Rentingeitheralone,withpartnerand/orchildren,shared,universityaccommodation,boardingorpayingrenttoparents;3Otherincludesavings,combinationofwagesandgovernmentincomesupport,jointincomewithspouse,ownbusiness;4Respondentscouldreceivemorethanoneincomesupporttype.

EMPLOYMENTARRANGEMENTS

EmploymentarrangementsofsurveyrespondentsareshowninTable4.Aboutfourinfivestudentshadbeeninpaidemploymentorself‐employedatanytimeoverthelast12months,mostofthemonacasualbasis.Onethirdofthoseinpaidemploymentworkedbetween20and39hoursperweekduringstudyperiods,and4%worked40hoursormore.Thenumberofhoursofpaidworkincreasedoverthenon‐studyperiods.Aboutthreeintenofemployedstudentswereseekingtoincreasetheirtypicalweeklyworkhourswhileoneintenwantedtodecreasetheirworkhours.Twentypercentofthoseemployedworkedattwoormoreplaces,andmorethanhalfworkedearlymornings,afterhours/nights,oronweekends.Fortysixpercentofthosenotinpaidemploymentatanytimeoverthelast12monthshadbeenseekingemploymentduringthatperiod.

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Table4:Employmentarrangementsofsurveyrespondents(n=214)1

Characteristic n %Paidemployment/self‐employedanytimelast12months

NoYes,full‐timeYes,part‐timeYes,casual

362750101

17%13%23%47%

Hoursofpaidworkduringstudyperiods(typicalweek)(n=176)11–9hours10–19hours20–39hours40hoursormore

5657567

32%32%32%4%

Hoursofpaidworkduringnon‐studyperiods (typicalweek)(n=178)11–9hours10–19hours20–39hours40hoursormore

18468925

10%26%50%14%

Seekingtoincreasetypicalweeklyworkhours? (n=176)1NoYesUnsure

875435

49%31%20%

Seekingtodecreasetypicalweeklyworkhours? (n=177)1NoYesUnsure

1261932

71%11%18%

Ifinpaidemployment,inatypicalweekdoyourworkat(n=174)1Oneplaceofemployment/onejobTwoormoreplacesofemployment/twoormorejobs

13935

80%20%

Ifinpaidemployment,inatypicalweekyouwork…(n=178)1,2EarlymorningsAfterhours/nightsWeekends

10593103

59%52%58%

Ifnotinpaidemploymentatanytimeduringlast12months(n=36)1,havebeenseekingemploymentinthelast12months

16 46%

1Validresponses;2Respondentscouldselectmorethanoneoption

IMPACTOFCURRENTSTUDIESONEMPLOYMENTANDFINANCIALSITUATION

Duetotheircurrentstudies,120(57%)ofrespondentshadlostworkshifts,113(55%)hadworkhourscut,71(35%)hadbeenintroublewiththeiremployerfornotbeingavailableforwork,10(5%)hadbeenputonnoticeforpoorperformance,and8(4%)hadbeensacked.

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Figure1aboveillustratesotherimpactsofrespondents’currentstudiesontheiremploymentandfinancialsituation.Overall,twothirdsofstudentshadfrequentlyincurreddeficitintheirpersonalbudget,hadtomakepainstakingbudgetingchoices,and/orhadtoprioritiseexpenses(e.g.booksversusfood).Almosthalfofrespondentshadoftenincurreddebtandoveronethirdhadtoworklongerhoursinpaidemploymentand/orseekgiftsandsupportfromfamilyandfriendstosurvive.However,onlyafewhadsoughtassistancefromStudentWelfareServices,charitiesoremergencyreliefagencies.

IMPACTOFFIELDPLACEMENT

Resultsfromthesurveyindicatethatplacementcanoftenheightenthefinancialhardshipalreadyexperiencedbymanystudents.Itcanimpactonstudents’employment,financialsituation,studiesandwellbeing.Figure2showsthatoverall,aboutfourinfivestudentsreportedthatthefieldplacementseriouslyforcedthemtospendlesstimeinpaidemployment,impactednegativelyontheirfinancialsituation,andcausedthemstress.Abouttwothirdsofrespondentshadtoincreasetheirexpensesduetoadditionaltravel,clothingandotherfieldplacement‐relatedneeds.Oneinfivestudentswereforcedtochangetheircourseprogressionbecauseofthefieldplacement.

0 20 40 60 80 100

Incurred deficit in your personal budget

Had to make painstaking budgeting choices

Had to prioritise expenses (e.g. books versus food)

Incurred debt

Had to work longer hours in paid employment

Had to work in high risk or less than idealcircumstances

Had to seek gifts/support from family/friends tosurvive

Sought assistance from Student Welfare Services atUniversity

Sought credit from a financial institution

Sought assistance from a charity or emergency reliefagency

% respondents

Figure 1: Impact of current studies on employment and financial situation

Often/All of the time Sometimes Rarely/Never

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Duringthefocusgroupsandinterviews,studentswereinvitedtoexpandupontheassociatedimpactsarisingfromthefinancialhardshipexperiencedduringplacement.Aspreviouslymentioned,placementcanbringarangeofanticipatedaswellasunanticipatedexpenses.Studentsgenerallyindicatedthattheywerepreparedforadditionalcostssuchaspublictransport,parking,petrol,foodandclothingandhadtriedtoimplementaplantomanagethese.However,acommonexperiencewassharedthatoftenthebudgetthathadbeensetasidetocoverthesecostswasofteninadequate.Onestudentindicatedthatshehadaccruedanadditional$1000overbudgetonhercreditcardsimplyfrompublictransport,parkingandlunchesoverthedurationoftheplacement.

Studentswithparentingresponsibilitiesstressedchildcareasasignificantcostburden.Forstudentswithoutaccesstofamilysupportoranetworkoffriendstosharechildcarearrangements,thecostofchildcarewasahugeloadonanalreadylimitedincome.Somestudentscouldnotaffordthisaddedexpenseanddescribedhowtheyhavehadtomakedecisionstodeferplacementuntiltheycouldsavemoremoneytoaccountforthisexpense.

Basicallyyou’vegotextratravel.You’vealsogotthelikesofyou'renothome.Soevensomethingassimpleasbuyingstuffforlunchthatyounormallywouldn’tbuysoasyoucantakeapackedlunchwithyouandthingslikethatareadditionalfinancialstresses.Thenyou’vealsogottheadditionalchildcarecostsforthekidsaswell.Oursavingsarejustaboutgone.Istartedthedegreewith$20,000andit'sjustaboutgonenow.Soweusedthatquiteheavilytopayforalotofthoseexpenses.Especiallythechildcarethatwasprobablythemainone.

0 20 40 60 80 100

Forced you to spend less time in paid employment

Impacted negatively on your financial situation

Increased your expenses due to additional travel,clothing and other needs

Caused you stress

Forced you to seek extension for assignments

Forced you to drop subjects

Forced you to defer your course in order to work

Forced you to change your course progression

Forced you to apply for financial support offeredby your university

% respondents

Figure 2: Impact of field placement

Very much/An extreme amount A moderate amount Not at all/A little

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Somestudentsalsosharedhownotonlyweretheyexperiencingadditionaltravelcostsofgettingtoandfromtheplacementagencybuttheywerealsousingtheirownvehiclesandfuel(oftenwithoutreimbursementformileage)tomanagedaytodayresponsibilitiesonplacementi.e.transportingclients,travellingtomeetingsetc.Itwasmentionedthatstudentsfelttheyhadtomakeadecisiontoself‐fundplacement‐relatedtravelcostsotherwisetherewasasensethattheirplacementexperiencemaynothavebeenasrewarding.

IhavealsohadtotakealotmorecareofmyselfduringplacementbecauseIfindIamverytiredaftertravellingtothevariousworksitesduringtheday.TheagencyinwhichIamdoingmyplacementhasofficesallovertheeasternpartofthestate.Iamunabletouseacompanyvehicleduetomystudentstatusandhavetousemyowncarandofcourseincursubstantialfuelcosts.

Studentsalsonotedthedifficultyandfrustrationintryingtosaveforplacementwhenonaverylowincome.Therecommendationofuniversitiestostudentsthattheyshoulddevelopasavingsplanforplacementwasacknowledgedasagoodideaandsomethingthatstudentstriedhardtoachieve.However,studentsreportedthatoncetheyhadmetthecostofdailylivingtherewasusuallynoincomelefttosave.Centrelinkbenefitsortheincomefromparttimeworkgenerallydonotallowstudentstohavemoneyleftover.Wherestudentshadmanagedtoaccruesomesavingsforplacementitwasnotuncommonforasituationtoarisethatrequiredthesavingtobedirectedelsewhere,suchasvehicleregistrationormaintenanceoranunforeseenexpense.Additionallystudentsalsomentionedthestressassociatedwiththefactthattheydidnotknowhowtheywouldmanageanemergencysituationrequiringaccesstofundswhentheyhadnocashreservestorelyupon.

Havingplacementoverthesummer,Ihadnochoicebuttoworkatmyplacement5daysaweeksothatIcouldmakemyhoursupbutofcourseIcouldn'tliveonjustyouthallowancesoforthefirstmonthIwasworking7days,5atplacementand2atmypaidjob.HoweverIfoundIwasquicklyburningoutandsoIcutitbacktoworking6daysandgettingpaidfortheone.Idohaveapartnerbuttolivesolelyonhisfinanceswasimpossible.Idon'thavefamilyIcanleanonforfinancialsupportandsoforaweekwelivedwithoutpowerbecausewecouldn'taffordthebill.Thefinancialstresstookawayfrommyenjoymentofmyplacement.

Studentsstudyingparttimeorexternallyidentifiedanotherissuerelatingtohavingtoresignfromworkornegotiatetimeawayfromworkinordertoundertakeplacement.Otherstudentsnotedthattheywereawarethattheirjobmightnotbeavailableforthemtoreturntoafterhavingtotakeupto17weeksleave.Therealityforthesestudentswasastarkonewherebytheyaresurvivingonaveryreducedincome,workingalmostfulltimefornoincome,accruingadditionaldebtfromplacementandpotentiallyfacingaprospectofnojoboncompletionoftheirplacement.

Ihaveresignedfrommypreviousjobtoundertakethefirstsocialworkfieldplacementthisyear.Thefieldplacementisforfourmonthsandmyemployercouldnotholdthepositionformethatlong.IhavebeenlookingforanotherjobthatIcouldworkintheeveninganddofieldplacementduringtheday.Ihavecutdownonunnecessaryspendingandhavebudgetedaccordingtoneeds.IfIgetacasualeveningjobthatwilldefinitelyeasethefinancialstressIamfacingatthemoment.

Someotherstudentsalsospokeabouttheironyofbeingemployedinthehumanservicesindustryyethavingtoleavethesepositionstocompleteanunpaidplacementwithintheindustry.ThishighlightsanotherissueassociatedwithplacementsaroundprovisionforRPLorundertakingaplacementatwork.Becauseofthedifficultyinnegotiatingtheseoptionsandthe

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eligibilitycriteriainvolved,manystudentsareleftwithnochoicebuttoresignfromemployment,oftenwithinthehumanserviceindustry.

Ihavediscussedwithmyworkflexiblehourswhileonplacement,thatiscurrentlyundernegotiationandmaynotbepossible.IfitisnotpossibleIwillhavetoquitmyjob(youthwork)andlookforahospitalityjobforthedurationofmyplacement.IwouldprefernottodothisasIfeelthatyouthworkisrelevanttomystudies.

Studentsthatappeartobesignificantlylessimpactedfromthepressuresassociatedwithbalancingpaidworkandplacementseemtobeeithercompletingaplacementatwork,inreceiptoffinancialsupportfromapartnerorfamilyandarefinanciallyindependentordonothavetorelyonpaidworkinordertosurvivefinancially.Itcouldbeassumedthisisarelativelysmallcohortofstudentsasindicatedthroughthesurveyresultswhere2.3%ofstudentsindicatedtheirmainsourceofincomewasfromparentsand16.6%fromtheirpartner.

Theissueshighlightedaboveillustratesomeoftheimpactsofplacement.Thefollowingsectionsofthereportdiscussinfurtherdetailsomeofthemoredominantthemesraisedbystudents.Theseinclude:

Impactofbalancingpaidworkwithplacement Impactsonhealth,mentalhealthandwellbeing Impactsonpersonalrelationships Impactonhowwellstudentsengagewithplacement,and Impactonacademicperformance.

BALANCINGPAIDWORKANDPLACEMENT

Figure3belowillustratestheissuesfacedbyrespondentswhiletryingtobalancepaidworkandplacement.Overall,twothirdsofparticipantsfeltbothtiredandanxioustryingtobalancepaidworkandplacement,andtwoinfivereportedhavingtocompromisetheirlearningexperiencewhilstonplacementduetohavingtoworkforawage.

Figure3:Balancingpaidworkandplacement

0 20 40 60 80 100

Had to spend less time on placement due to paidwork

Had to extend anticipated placement hours due towork

Felt tired trying to balance both paid work andplacement

Felt anxious trying to balance both paid work andplacement

Had to compromise your learning experiencewhilst on placement due to having to work for a…

% respondents

Very much/An extreme amount A moderate amount Not at all/A little

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Feedbackfromstudentshighlightsthedifficultyinherentinworkingandundertakingplacementatthesametime.Universitiesseemtobeconsistentintheiradvicetostudentsthatattemptingtoworksignificanthours(10hourdays)whileonplacementisunsustainableandabreachofOHSrequirements.However,manystudentsoftenstatedthatthiswasachoicethattheysimplydidnothave.Asaresult,studentsexplainedtheyfelttired,drained,andanxiousandinsomerespectsexhausted.Uponreflection,somestudentsfeltthatthiscompromisedtheirlearningonplacement,whatwasagoodexperiencecouldhavebeenbetteriftheyhadthechoiceofbeingabletofocussolelyonthatexperience.

TofitthehoursinthesummerplacementI'dworkuntil10o'clockatnightsometimesorjustgoinearlyat6:00amtilltheofficeopenedandthenI'dgointoplacement.SotheplacementitselfwasmeaningthatIwasworkingquitelongdaysattimesandthendoingnightsthereandthensomeothernightwork,paidworkaswell.Duringthemid‐semesterbreakthat'scomingupI'mgoingtogetmoreworkthenbecauseit'slikemyonlytimeoffthatIhave.

Ihaduniversity,Saturday,SundayIworkeda12‐hourshifteachday.Soitwassevendaysaweekforfourmonths.Soyeah,itwasahugecommitment‐notjustacommitmentformebutacommitmentfrommyhusband,myfamily.Justforthemtorealisethatforthatperiodoftimeyou'reprettymuchunavailable‐yoursociallife'snon‐existent.

Icurrentlyhavetwojobsatthemoment.I'manannyandthenIalsoworkforaschool,updatingtheirFacebookandtheirapp,soIdoabout25hours'workaweek.ThatwasdifferentwhenIwasonplacement.IhadthreejobswhenIwasonplacement.IwasdoingoneexternallyduringtheweekandthenIwasdoingacrazy11‐hourshiftontheSundaytomakeendsmeet.Icoulddothatfromhome,soIcouldgotoplacement,thenIcoulddomyworkathomeinmyowntime,whichwasgoodthattheywereflexibleaboutthat.ThatwashandybecauseIwouldhavelostmyjob.ThenIhadtwootherjobsthatIdidback‐to‐backontheSunday.Ididfromseven'tilsix.

Otherstudentssharedstoriesoffeelingverytiredevenbeforetheygotoplacementduetothefactthattheyhadworkedsignificantlybeforehandtotryandsavefortheopportunity.Otherstudentsspokeabouthavingnoleaveofabsenceforasignificantperiodoftimeinordertobeabletoaccrueenoughtimetotaketimeofffromworkfortheplacementperiod.

Inmyfirstplacement,IwasreceivingAUSTUDY.However,itwasnotenoughtocoveralltheexpensesrelatedwithmyplacement.Ihavebeenabletobesupportedbymyfamily/partnernotonlyfinanciallybutalsoemotionally.However,sometimesitalsocreatesconflictastheoneswhocansupportyoufeeloverwhelmed.ThestrategyIusedwastoworkharderbeforetheplacementstartstosaveforwhenitbegins.Theimplicationofthisstrategyisthatwhenyoustarttheplacementyoufeeltootiredwhichcanimpactonyourlearning.

IsavedallofmyannualleaveforthreeyearstocompletemyplacementandthiswasthemaximumamountofholidaysIcouldaccumulate.IalsoutilisedaworkpolicytoworkextraandaccumulateTOILtoaddtomytimeoffforplacement.

Studentsthatarenon‐Australian(apartfrompermanentresidentsornewZealandcitizensonasupportedbytheCommonwealth)experiencesomeoftheseissuesonadifferentlevel,notonlydotheyhavetopaytheirHECSfeesupfront(andoftenatamuchhigherrate);theyarenotentitledtoanygovernmentassistanceorconcessionswhiletheyarestudying.

Iworkedandsavedforyearstotryandcarrymethroughmydegree.NowIfindmyage,hoursavailableandthecurrentlackofemploymenthaspreventedmefromcurrently

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gettingworkandthereforeImaybeforcedtoforfeit/deferthelastplacementasscheduledduetofinancialdistress.EventhenIcan’tbeguaranteedthatmydegreewillallowmetogainworkinthefieldduetocurrentindustrycutbacksandpreferentialtreatmentofAustraliancitizensoverlongtermKiwiresidentswhocannotbeacceptedas'permanentcitizens'unlessinveryspecificsituations.IhavehopethatIcangetsometypeofpaidworksoon;otherwiseIwillbeforcedtotakeapersonalloanorworseloadupacreditcard.

IamstayinginajobIdetest…becauseofthefacttheywillallowmetoleavetodomylongplacementsandreturntomyjobattheendofthis.Iwouldnotbeabletodothisdegreewithoutthisguarantee,asIcouldnotpaymymortgageormeetmybillsotherwise.Thefirstplacement(10weeks)costmeinlostwagesabout$10,000,thesecondplacementIamrequiredtodois18weeks.Againthisrepresentsanopportunitycostofabout$18,000.IhaveamortgagelikemanypeopleandIhavehadtoreallytightenmybeltwhiledoingthisdegree.ThecostofplacementshasmeantthatIhavenotbeenabletotakea3‐weekholidayformorethan3years.Ihavetouseupallofmyleavetoattendaplacementandcanonlygetabreakwhenwehavepublicholidays.

Case study 1  One student had to save all of her holidays for three years to ensure that she had accrued enough time to be able to take leave to complete her first placement. The impact of having no recreation leave from full time work caused significant stress, which has impacted on her health. Due to fears about income loss, she felt that she had no other options but to manage the requirements of her course in this way. In looking at having to complete another placement for her studies, she cannot use the same strategy and despite saving as much as possible, knows that she will be placed under considerable financial strain to complete another placement due to ineligibility for other financial support.  Discussion   All of the universities involved in this study indicated that enrolment numbers for the qualifying Masters of Social Work program had increased rapidly in recent years. The typical demographic for this course appears to be mature‐age students (majority with family commitments) seeking to either upgrade qualifications or transfer to social work from a different career. The drivers for this appear to be: 

• Funding cuts to a range of industries, including the human service sector leading to job uncertainly or job loss and students feeling that attaining a higher qualification would give them a greater competitive edge in a shrinking job market.  

• Social work being listed on the skilled migration list leading many international students to study in Australia.   

Many of these students have significant financial and family commitments, which can make this course of study and the requirement to undertake two placements challenging. Students that do not have the support from alternative sources may seek to defer their studies or change course progression until they can afford to undertake placement.  

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IMPACTOFPLACEMENTONSTUDENTSHEALTHANDWELLBEING

Studentsdescribedarangeofhealthandwell‐beingimpactsthattheyhadexperiencedasaresultofundertakingafieldplacement.Thesehealthissuesincludedimpactsfromchangeinlifestyleduetoreducedincomeandtimethroughtomoresignificanthealthissuesrelatedtoanincreasedsenseofstress,anxietyordepression.Figure3onpage20,suggests79%ofstudentsfeltthatplacementcausedthemtofeelveryorextremelystressedand63%indicatedtheyfeltveryorextremelytired,stressedandanxiousfrombalancingworkandplacement.Thekey‐contributingfactorwasidentifiedasfinancialstress.

Iwentfromfulltimeworktoreceivingnoincome.IwasnoteligibleforCentrelinkpaymentssoIlivedoffmylifesavingsforahousedeposit.Itwasabiglifestylechange.Iimplementedastrictbudgetandcutdownonmysocialandrecreationalactivities,whichinfulltimeworkhadbeenacorefactorinmyself‐careandstressmanagement.AlthoughImanaged,itcreatedextrapressureandemotionalstress,astheactivitiesIusedtomanagethishadbeencutordramaticallyreducedfrommylife,toadheretomybudget.IhadquiteastressfulandunsupportiveplacementenvironmentandunfortunatelyIleftfeelinglikeIdidn'tgainorenrichmyskillsorknowledge.

Studentsspokeaboutintroducingstrictbudgetstocopewithreducedorlostincomeduringplacement.Tomanageareducedbudgetstudentsoftenspokeaboutmodifyingtheirdietandforgoingmealseitherbecauseoftheneedtofeedchildrenorduetolackofincome.Thisledtoanincreasedsenseoftirednessandinsomecasesexhaustion,furtherexacerbatinglevelsofstressandanxiety.

Iwasonlyeatingsmallamountsoffood,yourstomachshrinksquitequicklyandyoucanmaintainthat…butthataffectsyourenergylevels.SohealthwiseIdon'tfeellikeIhadalotofenergy.It’snotahealthythingtodobutitfeltlikeitwastheonlythingIcoulddo.

Inrelationtogeneralwell‐being,studentsdescribedimpactsontheirqualityoflife.Beingfinanciallyaswellastimepooraffectsorinterruptsregularhealthmanagementpracticesthatareinplacetomanagetheimpactsofwork,studyandliferelatedstress.Somestudentsindicatedthatwhenonplacementhealthrelatedcheck‐upswouldbepostponed,theywouldsacrificecounsellingortherapeuticsupporttomanagedaytodaylifeissues,gymmembershipswereputonholdandhealthinsurancepaymentssuspended.

Inoneofthefocusgroups,studentsdiscussedthenotionof‘emotionaldebt’asafurtherstressinducementfactor.Relyingonothersforfinancialandemotionalsupporttohelpmanagetheemotionalandfinancialstresscreatedbyplacementfeltliketheyweretransferringthestressontoothersaswellasaccruingadebtthathadtobesomehowrepaid.IfeellikeIoweeveryoneinmylifeforwhatI’veputthemthroughforthelastfiveyears,andparticularlythelast12months.

Otherstudentsspokeabouthowstressfromplacementcanhaveacumulativeeffect.Studentsreadilyacknowledgethatplacementcanbeemotionallystressfulduetotheverynatureofworkinginthefield.However,thecombinedimpactofthatexperiencewithadditionalfinancialhardship,managingacademicrequirements,havinglessavailabletimeforfamilyandchildren,strainonrelationships,stressaboutfuturejobprospects,repayingHECSdebtandworryaboutfinancesfurthercompoundsanalreadystressfulsituation.

Onestudentdisclosedhowdifficultitwastobalanceandmanagethefinancialstressandhardshipcreatedbyplacementonapre‐existingconditionofanxiety.

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Iusedtostrugglewithmyanxietyduringplacement.Thentocomehomeandtobeabletoupholdthosefinancialresponsibilitieswasdifficultbecauseitwasdifficultfindingthatbalance,Ifelt,betweenreallyputtingyourheartandsoulintoprac,aswellasupholdingyourresponsibilities,yourfinancialresponsibilities,youremotionalresponsibilities,yourrelationships,everything,andfindingthatbalance.

Anotherstudentdescribedhowplacementexacerbatedanexistingmentalhealthconditionandtheimpactthathadontheplacementexperience.Inthisinstancethestudentchosetoforgonecessarysupporttomanagethisissueduetolackoffinancesasaresultofnotbeingabletoearnenoughmoneyfromregularincome.

Ihaveplacedmedicalandhealthtreatmentsonholdduetolackoffinance.Myanxietylevelshaveskyrocketed.Inowexperiencealmostdailychestpainandbreathingirregularitythroughstress.Iamnotabletotakeupthefullopportunitiesprovidedatplacementduetoanxietyandfatigue.Iamexhaustedallthetime.Bonetiredandfallingasleeponpublictransport.Iamexperiencingstraininmycloserelationshipswithmypartnerandfamily.Iamfrequentlyoverwhelmedandfeelingincreasedsuicidalityandself‐harmurges(thoughIdon'tintendtoactonthem)simplyfromtheoverwhelmingfeelingsintryingtoundertakeplacementandbalancefinancialpressures.Iamfrustratedandnegativeinmythoughtpatternsandsurvivingratherthanthrivinginmyplacement.Iamextremelyanxiousaboutthelong‐termfinancialimplicationsfromcompletingplacement.

Case study 2  One student we suffered from a lot of anxiety and did have many struggles with the anxiety throughout placement stemming from emotional as well as financial concerns. She described the financial issues as just the cherry on the top. To manage her placement she moved home and relied on her parents for support. Knowing that placement would be stressful financially she had budgeted and saved money from the two part time jobs that she continued to hold while on placement. The continued stress of working on placement, working on weekends for an income and to try and find a balance was difficult. At the time of this placement she was deemed ineligible for government support due to her parents (mother, father and step father) combined income, however she had been living independently for a number of years. She applied for Equity Scholarship but was ineligible because of the timing of her placement over the summer semester. As such, she used all of her income to manage yet still had to use her credit card for things like public transport and the occasional lunch at work. By the end of her placement, she had incurred almost $1000 on placement expenses. With another placement coming up, she is trying to both save again as well as clear her current credit debt.   Discussion Placement can trigger a range of reactions and emotions despite university’s best attempts to provide adequate support. Whilst bursaries and scholarships can make a difference, eligibility criteria can be restrictive and demand often outweighs resources available. Ineligibility for Centrelink support remains an area of frustration for many students, as full independent status is not recognised until students turn 22. By this time many students have almost completed their studies.  Alternatively, if students are under 22 they must prove that they have supported themselves through full‐time employment of an average of 30 hours per week for at least 18 months during any period of 2 years. Many students try to hold down employment of that amount of hours whilst also studying full time, this however is not feasible while on placement. 

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IMPACTONRELATIONSHIPS

Justoverhalfofthestudents(54%)whocompletedthesurveywereinarelationship,andjustunderonethird(32%)indicatedthattheyhadfinanciallydependentchildren.Duringplacement82%ofallstudentssurveyedindicatedthattheyhadtorelyonsupportfromfamilyandfriends.Thissupportrangedfromongoingfinancialassistance,food;helpwithbills,childcare,rentorhavingtorelocatebacktothefamilyhomeduringplacement.

Whilstthemajorityofstudentsacknowledgesupportfromfamilyandfriendsascriticalinhelpingthemprogressthroughtheirstudiesandplacement,thereisasenseofguiltabouttheimpactthishasonrelationshipsandadegreeofdiscomfortathavingtorelyonothers.

Itfeelscrapaskingformoney.ItalwaysdoesandthepeoplethatI’veaskeditfromwouldn’tgiveitanotherthought.Theyareverysupportive.Itjustfeelsawful,itdoesn'tfeelgood,butitisaboutsupportingmyfamily,beingabletoclotheandfeedmyfamilybutitjusthasthisstigmaofpovertytoit.Itdoesn'tfeelgoodandIdon'twanttobeinthatposition.

Studentsarekeenlyawareofthesacrificesotherpeoplehavemadeintheirlivesinorderforthemtoattainthisdegreeandareconsciousoftheeffectsofhowtheirstressimpactsonrelationships.Placementcouldbeseentoheightenthisandinmanyinstancesfurthercompoundsanalreadystressfulsituation.

Mypartnerwasprettycrankytobehonest.Shesaidshewasreallydisappointed,thatshefeltlikeIhavejustdivedinandhavenotreallythoughtabouttheplacementandwhatitmeantformyworkandthingslikethat.ShefeltlikeI’dwastedthelastfewyearsandhowevermanythousandsofdollarsonHECSdoingthecourseuptonow.

Othermatureagedstudentswithfamiliesspokeabouthowundertakingstudywasawholeoffamilycommitment.Financialsacrificesandshiftsinrolesandresponsibilitiesneedtobenegotiatedtoensurethatthestudentwasabletonavigatethroughstudiesaswellastryandbalanceahomelifeandrelationships.

Ittakesitstoll,itdoes,butIdon'tknow,we'restillgoodandwe'restillstrong.We'vemadeapactrightfromthestartthatwewouldn’tfightaboutmoney,there'snopoint.Noamountoffightingisgoingtogetyouanymoreorlessthanwhatyouneed.Sothat'sbeentested,thatlittlephilosophyhascertainlybeentested.Thekidsthey’vemissedoutonalot.Probablyaprimeexample,there'sacampcomingupinAugustandIknowthatwejustcannotaffordit.Somydaughter,she'snotgoingandthisisthefirsttimewehaveeverhadtosaynotosomethinglikethattothekids.Formethat'sbeenverytough.Gettingthisdegreehasbeenawholefamilycommitmenttostudyandawholefamilysacrificeinsomerespects.Prachascertainlynotmadeitanyeasier,buttheentiredegreehasbeenasacrifice.IgaveupfulltimeworktostartitbecauseIcouldn’tworkanddothedegreeatthesametimeandbeamother.

Forotherstudentsthemainconcernwasabouthowtheirstress(financialandpersonal)impactedothersintheirlife.

Itdoesimpactonyourrelationshipsbecauseyourpartnerwantstosupportyoubutatthesametimethestressistoomuchforhim.Whenthefinancialsituationchanged,ofcoursethataddedmorepressuresontherelationship.

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Finally,oneotherstudentspokeaboutjustnotfeelingpresentforherfamilyduetothedemandsofworkandplacementandtheconstantworryaboutfinances.Shenoticedthatwhileonplacementshewasnotabletoemotionallyandphysicallysupportherchildrenasmuchasusual,infactattimesherlevelsofstresspreventedherfromnoticingwhenherchildrenwerestruggling.

WhenI'mreallystressedyoucan'thelpbutbeeithersortofabitclosedornotopensomuchbutyoudon'tnoticethat.ThekidsdefinitelynoticedandIthinkitshowedupintheirschoolresultsbecauseyou'renotontopofseeingwhenthey'restruggling.SoIhaven'tnoticedthey'veneededthesupport,whichisreallyhard.

Forsomestudentsnearingtheendoftheirdegree,thereisstillasensethatthestresswillremainafeatureoftheirlifeuntiltheyareabletosecureemploymentinthefield.Itisofsomeconcernthatsomestudents,whohavebeenunderconsiderablefinancialandemotionalpressureduringtheirdegreeandmoresoduringtheirfinal500‐hourplacement,feelasthoughtheycannottakeabreakand‘recover’.

IneedamonthortwojusttosettlebeforeIstartreallyapplyingforjobsandchangingmylifeagainandhesaidno,that'snotokay,youneedtostartsearchingforjobsnow.Healmostfeltlikemesearchingforjobswaspartofmydebtowedtohimaround‐it'sreallystressfultohavepeopleconstantlygoingsowhatjobshaveyouappliedforandmegoingwellIjustneedtwomonths.ButthosetwomonthsisnotrestfulbecauseI'vegotallthesepeopledemandingprogressfrommeforthesacrificesthatthey'vemadeforthelastfiveyears,whichsucks.IthoughtitwouldendwhenIgraduated,itdidn'tend.IfeellikeI'veagreaterdebttothepeopleinmylifethanIhavetoanyoneelse.

IMPACTONHOWWELLSTUDENTSENGAGEWITHPLACEMENTEXPERIENCE

Feedbackfromthisstudystronglysuggeststhatplacementishighlyregardedandvaluableyetthequalityofaplacementexperiencecanbeimpactedbystressarisingfromfinancialhardship.Theneedtoworkforincomewhileonplacement(eitheratnightsoronweekends)canmeanthatmanystudentshavelimitedtimeforrelaxation,studyornon‐workrelatedactivities.Thiswasidentifiedasleadingtoasenseofexhaustionandastruggletotryandgetthemostoutoftheplacementexperience.

IsavedupallmyannualleaveandIsavedallmylongserviceleavetodomyplacement.PriortothatIwasworkingfulltimeandtryingtodoplacementfulltime.Icouldn’tmanageitall–itwasreallystressful.

IknowIgotexcellentmarksfrommyplacementsupervisor,butIfeltthatbecauseIwastryingtodealwiththestressoftheplacementandeverythingIwasn’tabletocommunicatewiththepeopleintheofficeoftheplacementIwasinproperly.Iwasn’tabletogivemyplacementmyallbecauseIhadsomuchelsegoingon…Ibelievethestressreallydidn’tallowmetoconcentrateaswellandreallylearnasmuchaswhatIwould’velikedtohave.

Otherstudentsthathaveprioritisedplacementoverpaidworkreportedthattheconcernandstressarisingfromlackofincomeattimesgotinthewayoffullyengagingwiththeplacementexperience.

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IhavetakenunpaidleavetobeonplacementandIamnoteligibletoreceiveanyCentrelinkbenefits.Asaresultmybillsandgeneralexpenseshavebeensignificantlyimpacted.Theplacementjourneyhasplacedsignificantpressureonmyfamily.Atthesametime,youareexpectedtopayHECS.

Afewstudentsmentionedthatattimestheywerestrugglingtoholdbackafeelingofresentmentaboutplacement.Thisstemmedfromfeelingthattheyhadbeenletdownbytheuniversity’seffortstopreparethemadequatelyfortheplacementexperiencecombinedwithfeelinglikeavolunteerinaservice,tryingtomanageothersubjectsandifrequired,workparttimeforanincome.

Ithinkplacement‘sbeenafantasticexperienceandit'sdefinitelyneeded.Iprobablyfeelasthoughtherewasn'tthatmuchassistanceandpreparationfromtheuniversityend.I'vebeenprobablymoreresentfulofthat.IthinkaswelltherearetimesthatI'vebeenabitlike,well,I'mnotgettingpaid,soI'mnotgoingtodothat.SoIguessinthatway,thefactthatthere'snomonetaryexchangedoesmakemefeelabitbitter,ifIgetaskedtodotoomuch,youknow?ButIdothinkthatinthebeginning,whenIhadmysavingsandwhenIwasjustfresh,Iwasreallyeager,Iwasprobablydoingafairbitmoreinthatsense,whereasnowI'mabitmorelike,well,no.I'mnotgettingpaid,getsomeonewho'sgettingpaidtodoit,wouldbeathoughtinmyhead.Butthat'snothowIcommunicateit,butImightbelike,yeah,no,I'mactuallyabitbusy,ornotaskeenasIwasmaybeinthebeginningwhenIstillhadallmysavingsandeverythinggearingup.

Duringafocusgroupsstudentsreportedthattheyhadtosignificantlylowertheirexpectationsofwhattheycouldreasonablyachievewhileonplacement.Becauseoftheneedtotryandbalancework,placementandstudyforothersubjectstheyhadnothingleftinthetanktogiveandtowardstheendofplacementitbecamesomethingtosurviveratherthanthriveon.Forsomestudentstheyleftplacementwithsenseoffrustrationthatiftheircircumstancesweredifferent,perhapstheycouldhavedonebetter.

Fortunatelyotherstudentsindicatedthattheymanagedtoengagewellwithplacementdespitethechallengesinvolved.Itseemsthatthesestudentswerequitewellpreparedforhowtheywouldmanageplacementandhadplacedahighvalueonengagingwellwiththeopportunitywiththeviewtosecuringfutureworkinthefield.

IthinkIwasquiteprepared.Ihadalotinvestedinit.IkeptthinkingwellI'musingallmyleave,IcouldbegoingaroundEuropeordoingsomethinglikethatsoI'mgoingtomakethemostofit,I'mnotgoingtowasteitandobviouslyIwasreallyinterestedinchildprotectiontoo.SotohavethatopportunitytokindoftestthewatersandseeifIwanttoworkinthatareaIknewwasveryimportanttobeasengagedasIcouldbe.

Thedegreeofsupportprovidedbyanagencyandtheplacementsupervisorwasalsoidentifiedasimportanttohowwellstudentsengagedwithplacement.Thisinvolvedworkinginaplacementsettingwithanagencysupervisorwhowasawareoftheirsituationandworkedtoensurethatplacementdidnotcompromisetheirfinancialpositionortheiracademicperformance.

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Case study 3 One student was aware that trying to manage on placement financially was likely to be hard. To prepare herself she tried to look for alternative means that would help financially. Being a full‐time student she already felt that the options for additional work were minimal. She had tried to save what she could on a very limited income and resolved to have to work for a minimum of 10 hours a week on top of placement. She found that she wasn’t physically able to work as much as she thought with the amount of study that was required without running herself into the ground. The student discovered that about three months into the placement she started to shut down. She explained she found she didn’t learn anything more. Like other students she noticed that after about three months in she was physically and emotionally exhausted by the stress of trying to do a subject on top of placement and then work as well. She noticed she just didn’t learn anymore, and found herself moving through the motions of our placement just to finish it.  Discussion During the research students often spoke about a high level of exhaustion before they went on placement arising from the fact that they had worked so hard prior to placement to try and save money for the time when they would not be able to work as much. For some, this also raised questions about the level of incongruence between university recommending students practice good self‐care yet not fully realising how difficult this can be when one is ‘poor’ in terms of finance, time and energy.   There were also concerns raised about how difficult it can be to manage work, placement and further study, as many students are required to undertake a number of subjects alongside placement. Variances in the number of credit points attached to placement subjects mean that some universities ensure students only undertake placement subjects whilst others attribute lower credit points to placement and students are left with no choice but to take on 1, 2 or in extreme situations more subjects to ensure that they a have a full time credit point load lest their Centrelink eligibility be impacted.  Even though almost all students describe placement as an extremely valuable part of their study, the level of engagement that is required can certainly impact on how well they perform in other subject areas. Additionally some students believe that the requirement for students to come to university for workshops during placement impairs their capacity to work in paid employment (or study) on a day off, thus exacerbating the financial strain.  

IMPACTONACADEMICPERFORMANCE

Thisresearchhighlightsvaryingstancesofuniversitiesrelatedtotheacademicworkloadattachedtoplacementsubjects.Generally,whileonplacementinternalstudentsarerequiredtoattendsemiregularplacementworkshops,readandanalysearticlesorreadingsandsubmitreflectivepiecesandprocessrecordings.Howeverthequantityoftheseappearstovarybetweenuniversities.Somestudentsfoundmanagingthelevelofthisworkloadontopofplacementchallenging.

Wehadweeklypracticereflectionsandaboutsixotherassessmentpiecessoallupitwasabout16assessmentpieces.IrememberwhenIreadthatintheunitprofileIfeltsooverwhelmedjustconsideringthatontopofotherunitsandplacement.

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Itappearsthateventhoughuniversitiespreferstudentstofocusonplacementbyattributinghighcreditpointstoplacementsubjects,somestudentstrytomanageadditionalsubjectswhileonplacement.Asonestudentsuggested,shefoundthatthestressdidimpactonbeingabletoidentifycorelearningcompetenciesandthatthingsthatshewastryingtolearnremainedunclearbecauseofthestressshewasunderatthetime.

Ifounditreallyhardtokeepupwithreadingsandthingslikethat.I’vedonemyassignmentsandI’vedoneallthatontimebutI’vefounditreallyhardtokeepupwithregularreadingwhichisreallyanissuebecauseallthereadingistheoryrelatedwhichshouldberelatingtowhatI’mdoingonprac.

Studentsappeartoberesignedtothatfactthatdependingonthechoicetheymakeabouthowtheywillmanageplacementthattheywilleither:

Sufferfromfinancialhardshipyethavetimetostudyandfocusonplacement,or; Compromisetheirgradesbecausetheyhavenochoicebuttoworktoearnanincome

fromwhichtosurvive.

Placement,formanystudentsappearstobeladenwithasenseofhavingnoorlittlechoiceovermanyaspectsoftheirlives.Attendingmandatorylecturesandworkshopscanalsobecompromisedifanopportunityforpaidworkwasonofferatthesametimeorifapieceofassessmentwasdue.Thiscontinualjuggleofcommitmentswasdescribedasanowinsituation.

IhadtodropsubjectsinordertobeabletoattendplacementandIworkednightsandweekendssothatIcouldsurvive.Ihadzerotimeforanyassessments;theonlywaytheyweredonewaswhileIwasonplacement.ItwassuperstressfulandI'mdreadingthesecondplacement.Iwillonlybeaimingtopassthe2subjectsbeingundertakenduringsecondplacement(asopposedtoaimingforhighgrades)tominimisestress.

Thetimingoftheplacementsubjectsinthelateryearsofthebachelordegreesalsocoincideswiththemoredemandingacademicsubjects.Fromthepointofviewofstudentsthisisalsothetimethattheywanttotryandinvestasmuchastheycantotheirplacementexperiencewiththeviewtosecuringfutureemployment.Onceagainthoughthetimestudentswouldliketoinvestintoassignmentsandassessmentcanbecompromisedbyothercompetingdemands.Thestressarisingfromtherealisationthatpotentiallyfailingasubjectatthistimeintheirdegreecanhavesignificantramificationsandcandeterminewhetherornottheygraduate.

Therewerethosetwohugeunits,thetheoriesandtheprocessessubjectsandtherewasanotheroneandtheywerethreeofthebiggestunitsthroughoutthewholeofthecourseandtheywerewithplacement.So,thatwasjustmayhem.Ithinkalotofpeopleactuallyfailedthetheoriessubjectinmysemester.Ithinkitwaslikea40percentfailrateorsomething,justbecauseoftheamountofinformationtherewasandpeopleweretiredfromplacement,sopeopleweren'tcomingtoallofthelectures.

THESTIGMAOFSEEKINGHELP

Whilstsomestudentssuggestthattheysoughthelpwhenrequired,othershavenot.Duringthefocusgroupsstudentsdiscussedtheirperceptionsofthepotentialimpactofrevealingtheirpersonalsituationtosignificantotherssuchasplacementsupervisoranduniversitystaff(academicandprofessional).Itappearsthatsomestudentshavesignificanthesitationsintalkingabouttheirpersonalcircumstances.Thereasonsprovidedinclude:

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Resigningtothefactthatexperiencingtheseissuesispartandparcelof‘studentlife’ Notbeingawareofavailablesupportorassumingthattheywouldnotbeeligible Feelingasthoughotherstudentswouldbemoredeservingofsupport Fearoffailingplacement Fearofbeingseenasnotcopingwithplacement Theneedtobeseenasprofessionalandnotrevealpersonalcircumstancesonplacement

bymanagingboundaries Thestigmaattachedtopotentiallyexperiencingsimilarissuesasclientsexperiencing

financialhardship.

Somestudentschoosetojusttryandmanagetheirsituationasbesttheycanbasedonanassumptionthatstrugglingfinanciallygoeshandinhandwithwhatitmeanstobeastudent.Manystudentsappeartotryandstrugglealongwithmanagingthefinancialhardshipandplacementdemandsuntilthingsgettobreakingpoint.

TherearethingsthatIdon'twantpeopleknowingabout…IneverwenttoanyonesayingI’mstrugglingbecauseIthinkeverybodyis.

ImadeadecisiontojuststrugglethroughwithwhatIhadratherthenletpeopleknow,theotherthingisyou’rebusyfivedaysaweek,sobythetimeIactuallygetaroundtothinkingaboutitit’sontheweekendandthere’snothingtheycandoanyway.

Ifinditquitehardtoaskforhelp,soIjuststrugglethroughit.Yeah.Ijust‐itdidn'tevenreallycrossmymindtogoandtalktoanyoneaboutit.BecauseIjustassumedthateveryoneisprobablyinthesameboat,soit'slike‐it’sjustpartoflife…fromconversationsthatI'vebeenhaving,everyonewasinthesameboat,andeveryone’sstruggling.

Otherstudentsindicatedthattheywereeithernotawareofwhatsupportmaybeavailableorassumedthattheywouldnotbeeligible.Thisappearstobeparticularlyprevalentforexternalstudents.

Ididn'tknow–ifyoudon'tgoonthewebsiteandlookatscholarshipsyou’renotbeingtoldbasicallythatyoucouldapplyforthat.

Ididn’tthinkaboutitandIdidn’tseeanythingcomingthroughmyemailssoI’mnotawareiftherewassupportavailablefromUni.

Onestudentindicatedthattheybelieveditwastheirresponsibilitytofindinformationrelatingtosupportbutdidn'tseekitbecausetheyassumedtheywouldnotbeeligible.

Ihaven'treadanyoftheinformationsoIguessItakepartofthatresponsibility,I'mnotlookingforitmyself.IguesstheideaIhaveinmyheadaboutscholarshipsisthatIhavetoattaincertainmarkstogetascholarshiporthere'ssomecriteriaandIneverreallyconsideredthatIwasevereligiblejustfrommypreconceivedideasofwhatascholarshipis.Ihaven’tlookedintowhatthecriteriaGriffithhas.

Thetimingofthesemesteralsoappearstoimpactoneligibility.Onestudentindicatedthatbecauseshewasdoingaplacementoverasummersemester,shewasautomaticallynotentitledforsupport.

IlookedonlineattheQUT'spagejustforabsolutelyanythingthatIcouldapplyfor,andIcouldn'tfindanythingbuttheEquityScholarship.Iinquiredaboutit,andtheysaidthattheywouldn'tacceptmyapplicationforthesummersemester.Theyonlydosemesterone

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orsemestertwo.I'mlike,that'sokay,isthereanythingelseavailabletomehereatQUT?Sotheytookmydetailsandtheycameback,no,there'snothinghere.

Otherstudentsalsoseemtomakeadecisiontoself‐selectoutofapplyingforfinancialsupportbasedonanassumptionthatthereissomeonewhoismoredeservingorinaworseofsituationthanthempersonally.

Ithinkthereisamentalityinthisfield.There’salways–it’slovelyandIthinkitcomesfromareallyniceplacebutthere’salwayssomebodywhoisworseoffandtheydeservethatmoneymorethanIdo.

Italsoappearsthatwhenstudentsgoonplacementtheyareexposedtolevelsofdisadvantageexperiencedbyclientsandthisbecomesanotherbarriertoseekinghelp.

Ithinkalotofpeopledon'taccesssupportwhentheyreallyneeditorcouldqualifyforit.Yeah,Ithinktheysaythat'sforstudentswhoarereallyinneed.There'ssomeoneworseoffthanme.I'mnotdoingit.Ithinkthere'salotofbravadointhattoo.BecauseohwellI'mworkingandwhilethingsaretough,they're‐I'mworkingwithclientgroupsthataredoingittougher,sothat'snotforme.Ithinkthere'salotofthat.

Studentsalsodiscussedahesitationofrevealingdetailsabouttheirsituationbecauseofaconcernthiscouldleadtobeingseenasnotcopingonplacementorfearoffailingplacement.Inthemain,studentsareawarethatuniversitieshighlighttheneedtobefinanciallypreparedforplacementandbynotdoingsoadequately,couldbeinterpretedasmismanagementontheirbehalf.

IrecallwhenIexpressedmyfrustrationtothecourseconvenor.Theysaid,wellthisinformationwasavailableatthestartofthecourse.Soyouknewthatwhenyousignedupsodealwithit.Itwaslikewellthisisasituationyou'vebroughtonyourselfmoreorless,soyouhavetodealwithit.

Studentssharedtheirexperiencesofaskingforhelporrevealingtheirsituationtoothers.Itappearsthatsomestudentswouldprefertotalkwithagencysupervisorsratherthanuniversitybecauseitisassumedthatuniversitycouldnotofferanypracticalsupportandthatsupervisorscouldhelpnegotiatesomesolutions,suchastakingsometimeofforextendingplacementhoursoveralongerperiod.

TheonlywayIcoulddoitwasnegotiatewithmyfieldsupervisorwhounderstoodmysituationandhelpedmeout,withoutsayinganythingtounibecauseIknewifIwouldsayIwouldbepenalisedorsomething.

Otherstudentsindicatedthattheywereworriedthatrevealingtheirsituationwouldimpactnegativelyontheirroleortheirperformance.Additionallytheywerealsoawarethattheydidnotwanttoburdenotherpeople.

Ididn’tspeaktomyon‐sitesupervisoronplacementaboutthingslikethat.Onebecauseshewasalreadyunderherownstress..andessentiallybecauseIdidn’twantittoreflectonmyabilitytooperatewellonmyplacement.Ididn’twantthattoaffectmygradingoranythinglikethat.Ididn’tdiscussanyformoffinancialstressoranythingwiththem,whichwasactuallyonethingonfeedbackIgotthatwasnegativebecauseIdidn’tspeaktothem.Ididn’tfeelIwasableto.

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Anotherstudentspokeaboutthepotentialimplicationsofnotbeingseenascopingforfearthatherplacementcouldbeimpacted.Thisraisesaconcernheldbystudentsthatdifficultycopingwithfinancialpressuremaybetranslatedaspoorperformance. Thisisfurthercompoundedbyanassumptionthatnothingcouldbedonetochangethesituationandthatattheendofthedayitappearsthattheonlyrealsolutionwastojustcontinueon.

...You'rejustlikecouldtheypullmefromplacement,okayI'mnotgoingtotellthem.Couldmyagencysaywedon'tthinkshe'scoping,okayI'mnotgoingtosayanything.IwillcopewiththisbymyselfbecauseIdonotwantmyplacementpulledandtohavetogothroughthisyetanothertime.IfItellsomeonethenIhavetobeaccountabletothosepeopleandIdon'tknowwhattheirreaction'sgoingtobe.Ialsoknowthere'sprobablylittlechancethattheycanhelpmeinawaythat'sgoingtobevaluable,soIwilljustcopitandI'lldealwithitandI'llkeepgoing.

Theissueofdevelopingandmaintainingprofessionalboundariesonplacementwasalsoraisedasanissuethatimpactedonastudent’sdecisionaboutseekinghelp.Duringafocusgroupstudentsdiscussedtheimplicationsofpotentiallyseekinghelpfromanagencyandwhatcouldhappenifatsomepointintheircareertheagencyorworkerrecalledthemseekingassistance.

I’vealsohavegotthethingwhereI'maprofessionalandprofessionalbarriershavegotmedoingthings,butasperson,thosearebarriersthatIneedtocross.It’ssortofirreconcilable.IfIgointoanagencyaskingforhelp,whathappensifI'mworkingwiththispersontwomonths,threemonths,ayeardowntheline.SoyouturnaroundgoingthishasthepotentialtoimpactuponhowI'mseenasaprofessionaldownthetrackaswell.

 Finally,thelastissueidentifiedasapotentialimpactofseekinghelprelatestoastudent’slevelofawarenessoftheparallelsbetweenaclientsituationandthatofastudentregardingfinancialhardship.Clientsareperceivedasworseoffyetthereisawarenessthattherearedefinitesimilaritiesinthesituation.Studentshoweverseemtobelievethattheyshouldbesomewhatmoreresilientorsomehowhavetheskills,knowledgeandresourcestobettermanageasimilarsituation.

I'mseeingclientswhoarefinanciallyinthesamepositionasme,yettheythinkbecauseI'mactuallydoingthejobI'mall‐fine.Theycomeintotheagencyforassistancewithfoodparcelsandallsortsofotherthings...

Iworkwithpeoplewhoarehomelessandotherswhoarereallystruggling,likepensioners.Icannamealltheseotherpeoplewhoinmymindaresomuchworseoff,butthenwhenyoulookat‐you'relikeactuallywellmaybeIpresentabitdifferentlybutit'sprobablyquiteasimilarfinancialsituation......ourawarenessthattherearesomanyvulnerablepeopleouttherethatyoudostillfeelquiteadvantagedcomparedtothose,soyou'rewillingtotakethehit.

Iknow,it’sweird,youturnaroundandtelltheclientsallthetimethatthisiswhattheseagenciesarefor.There'snotthatjudgmentordiscriminationandtherethey’retohelp,nottojudgeyouoryourlifestyle.They’retheretogiveyouwhatyouneedinorderforyoutodoit.Whenitcomestodoingitourselves,youturnaroundandgoyeahbutI'maprofessionalhere.I’vegottheseskillsandeverythingelse.Ishouldn’tneedtodothat.Iknowthat’swhereIsitonitanyway.

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Case study 4  A student was experiencing a range of multiple stressors while on placement, financial hardship being one due to the need to minimize hours of paid work to manage her placement requirements. She was reluctant to seek financial support via the university for fear of judgment that she had not done enough to effectively plan and prepare for the financial stressors that placement can pose. Additionally, she was reluctant to advise the placement agency and university of the hardship she was experiencing for fear that this would be interpreted as ‘not coping’ with the demands of placement. She was also concerned that speaking out about her situation may jeopardise her placement and ultimately result in not passing. Her coping strategy was to seek support from family and friends. In doing so though she had a sense that she was draining all of her available support networks and carried a sense of burden and apprehension around further seeking help because she has ‘burnt everybody out in two years’ and felt that every time she saw a friend or family member they were thinking ‘for Christ sake what does she want now?’   Discussion Many students shared a concern that completing their studies and in particular the placements not only caused a financial debt but also an emotional debt to family and friends that supported them to complete studies. This was associated with a sense of guilt about ‘owing’ people, a sense of shame about being dependent on others for support, a felt concern that inadvertently they may also cause hardship for others and concerns as to how the financial and emotional debt could be repaid. 

Manyoftheseissuesstemfromhowstudentsperceiveotherswillviewandjudgetheirsituationnotspecificallyhowuniversityoranagencyhasorwouldrespondtoasituation.Achoicehasbeenmadeinthemindsofthesestudentstonotspeakoutorsharethedetailsoftheirpersonalcircumstancesforfearofrepercussion.Thenextsectionofthereportexploresthesituationofstudentswhohaveaskedforsupportandtheeffectivenessofthesestrategies.

ACCESSINGSUPPORTDURINGPLACEMENT

Duringplacement,170respondents(83%)accessedsupportfromfamilyandfriends,61(29%)accessedsupportfromtheuniversity,and37(18%)accessedformalsupportoffcampussuchascounsellingorcharityassistance.

Figure4showsstudents’perceivedeffectivenessofsupportstrategiesduringplacement.Overall,lessthan20%ofstudentsperceivedscholarships/bursaries,feeexemptionsandfinancialgrantsasveryeffective,while30%consideredthatflexibleplacementarrangementswerevery/extremelyeffective.Theresultsabouttheeffectivenessofbursariesetcshouldbeconsideredwithcautionastheymayreflectalimitationofthedata(andthenumbersofstudentsqualifyingforfinancialsupport)ratherthananassumptionthatfinancialsupportfromuniversityisnotuseful.

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Notallstudentshadtheoptionofapplyingforabursary(university‐specific),otherschosenottoapplybecausetheythoughttherewereotherswhowouldhaveahigherneedthantheirown.Forthosestudentswhoknewaboutbursariesandweresuccessfulinapplyingforthemthroughtheiruniversitytherewasahighdegreeofsatisfactionandgratitude.

The$1800cameatthebeginningofsummerplacement.ItcamequiteclosetoChristmastime.Yeahsothatwasjustamazing.ThatactuallyliftedmyspiritssomuchbecauseIwassoworriedabouthowthehellamIgoingtogetthekidsintoschool.They'renotgoingtoschoolwithoutcrispwhiteshirts,thatsortofstuffyouknow.

Studentsdevelopedavarietyofadditionalcopingstrategiestodealwiththefinancialimpactofplacement,rangingfrommoreformalstrategiestoahostofinformalstrategies,suchasgettingloansfromparents,movingbackhomeduringplacementtoreducecosts,takinginaboardertosharerent,modifyingdiet,reducingpaidworkhoursifpossible,usingaccruedleave,delayingpaymentsonloansandgettingemotionalsupportfromfriends.Thestudentswerekeentoemphasiseintheircommentsthattheyrecognisethattheyneedtoplanandanticipateplacement,buttheyalsoknewthattherewasalimittowhatcouldbeachievedbyeventheverybestofplanningwhenitcomestocopingwiththetimeandfinancialimpactofplacement.Someoftheself‐carestrategiesconsistedofmakingtimefornon‐workactivities:

ImeanIwasreallycommittedtoself‐carewhileIwasonplacement.SoIreallymadesurethatIwasstilldoingthethingsthatI‐wellthingsthatIwantedtodothatweren'tgoingtocosttheworld.IsupposeIwasluckybecausemostofmygirlfriendsdothesamedegreesowe'reallinthesameboat.Sowehadcommittedtoeachjustputtingin$5aweekandwhateverthatmoneycouldcoveriswhatwewoulduseforourgirls'nights.

0 20 40 60 80 100

Scholarship/bursary

Fee exemptions

Financial grants

Flexible placement arrangements

% respondents

Figure 4: Perceived effectiveness of support strategies during placement 

Very much/An extreme amount A moderate amount Not at all/A little

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IhadtogiveawaymyyogamembershipbecausethatwasanongoingexpensebutthenIfoundthatwithintheLogancommunitytheyofferedyogaclassesonceaweekfor$3.Soitwasjustabouttryingtocapitaliseonalotofthefreeorno/smallcostactivitiesthatarewithininmyarea.Butitcertainlymeantchangingalotofthingsandlearninghowtocompromise.There'sareallygooddoctordownattheQUTclinicsthatI'vebeenabletotalktoaboutsomethingsandshe'srecommendedtogototheQUTCounsellingServices,butIhaven'tfeltthatIwasatthat‐well,youknow,readytodothatyet.

Emotionalsupportandphysicalself‐carewereclearlyidentifiedasimportantincopingwiththestressoffinancialdifficulty.Whenitcametodealingwiththefinancialstressinmaterialtermstheresponsesvarieddependingonwhatwasavailable.Forthosestudentswithstronginformalsocialnetworkstheycouldseeksmallloansfromfriendsandfamily,forothersanyadditionalcreditcameatahighcost.Someoftheresponsesbelowillustratetheadvantagesofbeingabletoaccessmoneyfromfriendsandfamilyandthestressandrisksassociatedwithhavingtorelyoncommercialcreditandgettingintofurtherdebt.Whatisclearisthatsomecopingmechanismshadhigheremotionalandfinancialcoststhanothers.

I'magain[bumping]mycreditcardup;what'snotgood.I'mputtingmoneytheretobeabletodoitandIwillbeindebtagain.EverythingthatIworktomakebetter,I'llgobackwards.I'mstillpayingoffthedebtfrompreviousplacements.

Irelyonfamilyandworkingbeforehand,workingbeforeplacement,delayingexpensesandthingslikethat.I'mreallycarefulaboutwhatIspendandeverythingwhenIamdoing[unclear].Ithinkthat'sevenmoresobecause‐sothatmypartnerdoesn'tgetmoreupsetaboutusgettingfurtherbehind.

Mypositionhaschangedandmypartnercansupportmenow.WellIfeltguilty.IfeltreallyguiltyformyprivilegesoIfeltguiltyaboutotherstudentswhoIknewwhoweredoingitfinanciallytougherandwhoweretryingtowork.

Idon'ttrustmyselfwithacreditcard,butthere'sbeenafewtimesI'vehadtoborrowmoneyoffmyparents,andthenwedoaninterest‐freeloan.Basicallyit'saloanfromthemandthenIjustpaythembackwithacertainamounteachweek,soit'sbasicallyaloan,justnotdocumentedup.

Manyofthestudentsthatdidseekinformalsupportstillfeltreluctanttoask,especiallyastheyfelttheyweretrainingassocialworkersandthereforetheyshouldbetheonesofferinghelp,notseekinghelp.Accessingformalsupportmighthavelessemotionalcosts,butitcouldhavehighmaterialcosts.Thesemoreformalstrategiestendedtobeusedbystudentswhohadlimitedaccesstoinformalfinancialandemotionalsupport.Someofthemaincostsforthisgroupofrespondentswerethecommercialratesofinterestchargedonsmalltermloansandtakingonextracreditcarddebt:

IhavehadtoacceptextrashiftspriortothecommencementofmyplacementsoIcanmanageduringthefourandahalfmonthswithoutwork.Ihavealsoobtainedanothercreditcardtoassistwiththepurchaseofnecessitiessuchasfood,clothing,schoolfeesformychildren,uniforms.

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Case study 5   One student had thought that she had planned well enough by compiling $20,000 in savings. However with a family she realised that this was not going to cover the loss of income that she would normally earn. Despite being on a very strict budget she realised that she was going to require additional support for day‐to‐day living expenses such as food. After some period of time, the student had to look at what might be available in her local area and discovered a local church group that does a food bank three days a week. After using this service on a regular basis she eventually told them her story. She struck up a good relationship with the priest who praised her for what she was doing, which gave her back a little bit of faith that it was okay to seek help. For her at the end of the day it was a matter of survival and a realisation that that I had to eat my pride rather than have my kids go hungry.  Discussion During the research, interviews with Welfare Support and Counselling staff revealed the difficulties that students often experience in accessing help from off campus welfare agencies. There is a growing awareness that even though students are often categorized as being at risk, they do not meet the eligibility criteria for many support agencies. Due to increased demands and less resources available for emergency relief agencies, prioritized eligibility arrangements are quite common. Such systems see priority for support given to the highly vulnerable and to families rather than to individuals or students who may have some means (often not enough) for survival. 

UNIVERSITYSTAFFPERSPECTIVES

Atotaloftensemi‐structuredinterviewswereundertakenwithuniversitystaffthatprovidedsupporttostudentsundertakingfieldeducationplacements.Six(6)werewithfieldeducationunit(FEU)stafffromfouruniversities,andfourwerewithstaffprovidinguniversity(3)orfacultywide(1)studentwelfareandsupport(WSS)services.Wheredistinctivedatafromthesetwocohortsisreportedseparately.Overallthereisastrongresonancewithmanyoftheissuesandneedsidentifiedabovebystudents.

COURSEANDPLACEMENTCHARACTERISTICS

FEUstaffinterviewedhadresponsibilityforplacementswithstudentsenrolledinavarietyofcourses,includingbothBachelorandMastersqualifyingsocialworkcourses,aswellasvarioushumanservicesdegrees.Somewerealsoinvolvedindoubledegrees.

Studentswererequiredtobeonplacementforupto500hoursoneachoftwooccasionsandup18weeksdependingonthenumberofdaysperweekattheplacementhostagency.Dependingontheuniversitystudentsmaybeonplacementonlyinsemesterone,insemestersoneandtwoorforoneuniversityacrosssemestersone,two,orthree(summer).Creditpointsforplacementvariedfrom24to48.

Thenumberofsubjectsstudentsarerequiredtoundertakeifenrolledfull‐timeisusuallyoneortwodependingoncreditpointsattributedtotheplacementsubjectsandthecourseprogressionforstudents.Thereappearstobegeneralconsensusthatthefocusforstudentsshouldbeonplacementandanattemptismadetominimiserequirementsthatmaydeflectfromthatexperience.Thereisanawarenessthatincreasingtheacademicloadforstudentsonplacementcontributestostressandhardship.Whilstcourseshavegenerallybeenstructuredtobemindful

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ofwhatotherunitsstudentsarerequiredtoundertakesimultaneoustoplacementitisapparentthatstudentsdonotnecessarilyfollowtherecommendedsequenceorquantityofunitsintendedtositalongsideplacement.AttachmentNinedetailsthisinformation.

Ithinktheycandouptotwo[units]butsomearedoingmorethanthat.Theonesthattheydointheircourseprogressionaredesignedtowalkalongsideplacementsotheycomplement.Butwhenthey'redoingthingsthataren'tsimilarthenit'saproblem.Itdoesmeanthatthere'salotofassessment.

AllFEUstaffindicatedthattheyhadexperiencedanincreaseinnumberofstudentsenrollingintheirsocialworkdegreesandinsomecasesthishaddoubledoverthepastfewyears.ThecourseswiththegreatestincreasearereportedasMSWprograms.Twooftheuniversitieshavealsoseenlargeincreasesinthenumberofinternationalstudentsundertakingsocialworkdegrees,particularlyintheMastersofSocialWork(qualifyingprogram).Thetablesbelowhighlighttheincreaseinenrolmentnumbers.WhiletheBSWprogramlookslikeitisgrowing,itisinfactflatliningforoveradecade.Theapparentincreaseisduetostudentstakinglongertocomplete,whichmaywellberelatedtostudentsexperienceoffinancialhardshipneedingtoearnandincomeandtherebytakinglongertocompletethedegree.ThegrowthintheMSWhoweverhasbeensignificant.Thisprogramstartedin2008nationallyandhasbasicallydoubledeachyearforthefirstfewyears,thenwithgrowthtaperingoffhowevera15%growthisevidentfor2012‐13.SourceHealy,K.&Lonne,B.(2010).TheSocialWorkandHumanServicesWorkforce:ReportfromaNationalStudyofEducation,TrainingandWorkforceNeeds,StrawberryHills,NSW:AustralianLearningandTeachingCouncil.

Table5:EnrolmentNumberfortheBSWprogram2008‐2013

BSW DOMESTIC ENROLMENT NUMBERS 2008‐2013 QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITIES  2008  2009  2010 2011 2012 2013  % Change 

Since 2008 

QUT  91  144  190 223 316 379  316

UQ  366  312  302 329 346 325  ‐ 11.2

GRIFFITH  139  170  164 191 252 271  94.9

JAMES COOK  418  399  381 365 425 424  1.4

ACU  153  146  109 91 252 265  73

CQU  203  225  233 212 248 279  37.4

USC  67  101  139 164 221 263  292

Table6:EnrolmentNumbersfortheMSWprogram2008‐2013MSW DOMESTIC ENROLMENT NUMBERS 2008‐2013 QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITIES   

  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 % Change since 2010

QUT  NOTOFFERED

58 75 98 141 143

UQ  83 92 101 112 119 29.35GRIFFITH  27 162 223 254 287 77JAMES COOK  3 79 86 97 113 43ACU  1 60 81 108 94 56.6USC  1 10 26 46 53 430

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ONSTUDENTFINANCIALSTRESS

BothFEUandWSSstaffindicatedtheyhadnoticedincreasingcomplexityinstudentcircumstances.Arangeofcontributingfactorswascitedincludingonesrelatedtofinancesandemployment,placementreadiness,familyresponsibilitiesandmentalhealth.

Theplacementsarelong,500hoursasemester,whichmeansthattheyoftenaretryingtojuggleworkandplacements.Sothey'reworkingsometimessixandahalfdaysaweekorsevendaysaweekorfivedaysaweekandfivenightsaweek.Thattakesatollontheirphysicalandemotionalsouljusttosurvive.We'realsoaskingthemtodressproperlyforwork,togetthemselvesthere,tohavetheirlunches,toengagelikeaworkerandthat'sveryexpensiveforpeople.

BothFEUandWSSstaffindicatedtheyhadseenanincreasingprevalenceinfinancialstressexperiencedbystudents.AWSSstafffromoneuniversitycitedstatisticsindicatingthepercentageofstudentsseekingsupportfromsocialworkcourseshadincreasedsteadilyfrom7%in2012to10%in2014(atthetimeofinterview).AnotherWSSstaffindicatedthosestudentswhofindithardestcomefromhealthschoolswithmandatedplacements.

Therewasahighlevelofawarenessamongstallstaffoftheprevalenceoffinancialhardshipamongststudentsundertakingplacement.Itwasreportedascommonplaceforstudentsgenerallytofinditdifficulttobalancedoingaplacementwellwithfinancialobligations.Rent,transport,fuel,clothing,andchildcareweresourcesofincreasedcostswhilstonplacementexacerbatedbygeneralincreasesinthecostofliving.Staffwereawareofpocketsofextremefinancialstress.

Insummarystaffindicatethatfinancialstressissuesforstudentsonplacementaresubstantial,increasingandforsomeextremelyintense.

Studentscomingtopreplacementinterviewscrying‐it’sareleaseofstressandimpactofthisasweaskaboutissuesthatmightimpactonplacement.WehavealwayshadadegreeofthisbutIthinkitisincreasing.

Mentalhealth,anxiety,depression,trauma,suicidality.Havingtrickydiscussionstoreferstudents.Wehaveadutyofcaretostudentsandthesector.

Financial‐relatedissueswereseenaswovenintootherissuesfordifferentcohortsofstudents.Acommonlycitedinter‐relatedissuewasthatofstudentsonplacementbeingbothfinancepoorandtimepoor.

Thoseseenashavingheightenedriskoffinancialstressthroughplacementrequirementsweresingleparents,partneredstudentswithchildren,independentyoungerstudents(under25)notlivingathome,internationalstudents,carers,studentswhohaveincomeearningresponsibilitiesforfamily,andthosewithmentalhealthissues.Athemeacrossstaffresponseswastheextenttowhichmanystudentsworryabouthowtheywillcopefinanciallywithplacement.

WSSstaffcitefoodinsecurityasacommonlyexperiencedissue.Thecombinationofbeingfinanciallyandtimepoorisseenasimpactingonthewaysomestudentseat.

Sometimesit’sthefairlysimplethingslikehavingtoprovidelunchforthemselveswhiletheyareonplacementorgoingoutforlunchwithteammemberswhiletheyareonplacement.Youcan’tdothatandtheygetabitconcernedaboutthat.(WSSstaff)

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Thehelpseekingbehaviourofstudentscanimpactonhowdifferentstudentsexperiencefinancialpressures.Itwasoftentheintersectionofcourserequirements,policysettingsandlifecontextvulnerabilitieswhichcreatedspecificheightenedvulnerabilitiesforparticularcohorts.Forexample:

Allthesinglemumshavetoorganisechildcarewhichisincrediblyprohibitive.EspeciallyinMastersbecauseyoudon'tgetchildcare.Myunderstandingisthatyoudon'tgetthechildcarerebatewhileyou'reonMasters‐onlyforundergraduatecourses.

Internationalstudent’sheightenedvulnerabilityoftenstemmedfromtheintersectionoffinancialcosts,restrictedlabourmarketparticipation,beingawayfromhomesupports,andculturalexpectations.

Manyofthemareworkingtwojobs.Becausetheycomehere,theypaytheirfeesbutthentheyhavetolive.Theypayhighrents.Theyhaveallthesameissuesthatthekidshavefromalloverwhentheyleavehome.They'rehomesick,they'reinadifferentculture,theymaynothavetheirfriendshipgroup.Theydon'tunderstandthelanguageortheculture.They'revulnerable.Ithinktherearealotofissuesforinternationalstudents.

I'veheardtoofromotherpeoplethatbecauseoftheirvisasituationthattheycan'tgetworkformally.Sotheinformalcashinhand,thatpart‐timeworkstuff…Sothere'sadditionalvulnerabilityaroundthere.Lackofstatusasemployees,soit'salljustcashinhand,itcanbereallyquiteabusivetoo.Likeifyouwantthisjob,youhavetodecidewhetheryougotothatlectureoryoucomeanddoashift.Itcanbequiteabusiveandtheyareabitmorevulnerabletobeingexploited.

InrespectoffinancialstressFEUstafftalkedextensivelyofsignificantnumbersofstudentstryingtonavigateor‘juggle’theirwaythroughtheplacementrequirementsoftheircourse,sometimesbydeferringplacement,undertakingcourseunitsoutofrecommendedsequence,orseekingtoundertakeaplacementatwork.

Theneedsofstudentsareverycomplex.Lotsaskingfor‘PlacementsatWork’andflexibleplacements.Bigpercentage[ofmastersstudents]thatcomeinanddeferplacementasthereisnotalotoftimetoarrangetheirlivesasplacementisinthefirstsemester.Issuesforinternationalstudentsandthosewithfamilymeanstheyoftenhavetodeferorceaseplacements.

BothFEUandWSSstaffindicatethattheneedtochangeemploymentarrangementstocompleteplacementisakeycontributortoplacementstress.Thiscaninvolveareductioninworkhours,achangeofjobsconducivetoplacementhours,quittingworkaltogether,andsavingleaveforlongperiodsoftimetoaffordtimeoffforplacement.

FEUstaffindicategreaterproblemswhentheleadtimeavailableforstudentstoplanislimited,afeatureofMastersqualifyingsocialworkprograms.Evenwheresignificantleadtimeisavailabletherealfinancialimpactmaynotberealisedbystudentsuntilplacementisuponthem.

Theygetthrough2yearsofstudyandtheyrealisethatplacementisgoingtobefulltimeandtheydonotknowhowthataregoingtofititin.Therealisationdoesnothitwhenitshould.Somestudentsarejustnotpreparedandhavenotplannedforplacement.

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[Students]oftendon'tsayanythinguntilthingsgettoalmostcrisispoint.Thingsoccuronplacementthataffectsnormaldailylife.Oftenthesethingsarenotplannedfororstudentsnotpreparedfor.Comeoutwhiletheyareonplacement.

FEUstaffindicatearangeofcommonqueriesfromstudentsincludingIinformationonplacementrequirementsandhowtheyaregoingtomanageandrequeststodropbacktheirhoursperweekatplacementbecausetheyarenotmanagingcombinedplacementandworkrequirements.

PREPARINGSTUDENTSFORPLACEMENT

FEUstaffindicatethatwarningisprovidedaboutchallengesstudentsmayfaceinundertakingplacement,andspecificallycanvasfinancialchallengesaspartoftheirengagementwithstudents.Thereisastrongviewacrossstaffthatthereshouldbeearlyandstrongengagementabouttherangeofpossiblestressorsassociatedwithplacementincludingfinancialonesandthatthisrequiresbothinformationprovisionandactivediscussion.AnumberofWSSstaffindicatedthatclearerinformationaboutthepotentialactualcostsofplacementshouldbeincludedincourseinformationandincoursebriefingsandplanningprocesses.

AvarietyofmechanismsarecitedbyFEUstaffascurrentlyemployed.Theparticularcombinationofstrategiesusedvariesacrossuniversitiesandcourses.Strategiesinclude:

Pre‐enrolmentinformationinresponsetopotentialenrolmentqueries OrientationWeek Earlyincourseinformationonplanningforplacement Preplacementinterviews,andpreplacementworkshops Informationsessionsforagencysupervisors,whichmaybeopentoallstudents.

FEUstaffreportconsiderablediversityinhowstudentsengagewiththisinformationandprepareforstressesassociatedwithplacement.Theirexperienceisthatsomestudentswillconsciouslyprepareasbesttheycan,othersdonot‐somethinktheyhaveanunderstandingbutinrealitytheawarenessofhardshipmaynotsetinuntiltheyareonplacement,whilstothersareawarebutseenooptionastheyhaveparticularcommitmentsthatareunabletobemoderated.Moststudentsinsomewayneedto‘grittheirteethandhangon’.

Ithinkforsomeofthemithitswhenthey'reonplacement.Forotherpeoplethey'rereallywellawareofitandthey'reterrifiedbuttheycan'tdoanythingaboutit.Theyhavenootheroption,theyhavetowork.Forthosesortsofpeopletheywalkaroundincrediblytired.…Idon'tthinkitreallysinksinuntilsecondplacement.Itdependsofthelevelofprioritystudentsplaceonplacementandforsomeit’squitelowsotheygenerallystruggle.

Strategiesemployedtohelpstudentprepareforplacementareorientedtoeducationaboutcopingwithstress,gettingstudentstoplanaheadanddevelopstressreducingstrategies(thisincludesstressorsidentificationintheplacementassessmentprocessforeachstudent),andinformationonlearning,welfareandfinancialsupportoptions.AsrepresentedinthequotesbelowthereissomevariabilityacrossFEUstaffintheextenttowhichtheyseestudentsasneedingtoself‐managetheirsituationversusstudentssimplybeingoverwhelmedbyfactorslargelyoutsidetheircontrol.

IneedstudentstobettermanagethemselvestosurviveasIcannotsupportthestudentstothedegreerequired.

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WellIthinkmostofthestudentsreallyputasmuchinastheycan.ButI'mthinkingofoneparticulargirlwhotheplacementwasjustdisintegratingbecauseshejustcouldnotkeepupwithwhatwasbeingasked.

OneWSSstaffindicatedthatbecausestudentsoftendonotseekassistanceuntiltheyareincrisisthatitisimportantthatinformationisaccessiblemid‐placementandthatallthoseinvolvedintheplacementprocessknowwheretoreferstudentsforsupport.

Overallthereisasensethatthemajorityofstudentsdonotorarenotabletofullypreparethemselvesforlongplacements.ForFEUstaffthisappearstoberelatedtothedifficultystudentshaveinplanningaheadgenerally,oftenforreasonsbeyondtheircontrolanddifficultytheyhaveinpreparingstudentsforthecombinedchallengesofplacementwherefinancialaspectsarewovenintoothers.

IMPACTONPLACEMENTEXPERIENCE

ThereisconsensusacrossFEUstaffrespondentsthatfinancialchallengescreateadditionalstressforstudentsundertakingplacement,andthatthesecanhaveanegativeimpactonthecapacityofstudentstoengagewithplacementandonthequalityofstudentlearning.

Idothinktheirlearningisnotasdeepasitcouldbe.

They'vebeenreallyexcitedaboutplacementbuttheyhaven'tgoneinwithalltheirheartandsoulbecausethey'vejustbeentoostressedandfatiguedandthat'spickedupbypeoplewhosay,welltheydon'treallywanttobehere,thereforewhyshouldweconsiderthemorgivethemagoodmark?

Thetimecommitmentofplacement,andimpactofthisintermsoffatigueandlearning,isarecurringtheme.

Forsomeofthestudentsthefinancialchallengedoesgetinthewayofplacementbeingagoodlearningexperience.Ihearlotsofcommentsaboutthembeingtired,thiscouldhappenwhethertheyhaveotherworkornot.Wehearcommentsaboutpeoplefeelingasthoughtheirhealthisaffected.Theyhavetoworkstrategicallysotheymakedecisionsaboutwhattheyengagewithandwhattheydon't.Contributiontoonlinelearningislow–that'sabouthavingtoprioritiseothercommitments.Theydon'thavetime.…ifit’snotrequiredorpartofassessmentthentheydon'tdoit,theyendupdoingjustwhattheyhaveto.Theysaytheyknowtheywanttolearnmorebuttheyjusthavenotbeenabletomanageitwiththetimetheyhaveavailabletothem.

FEUstaffobservethatimpactsonplacementarisingfromfinancialstresscanresultinstudentsdroppingout,deferring,andfailingothersubjects.Therewasaviewhoweverthatfinancialstresshadnotcausedstudentstofailplacement.

Thereisgeneralagreementthathostagencysupervisorscangenerallyreadthesignsofstressforstudentsbutmaynotattributesuchsignstofinancialstress.Signsincludetiredness,lackofengagementwithlearningandothercuescanbeeasilymisreadassomethingelse.FEUstaffindicatethereisoftenareluctancebystudentstosharetheirsituationwithhostagencysupervisors.

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Whenaskedtowhatextenttheybelievedthatastudent’sfinancialchallengesnegativelyimpactontheuniversitiesrelationshipwithaplacementagencyFEUstaffindicatedthatthiswasnotuncommon.Ingeneraltheysawfinancialstressasacontributingratherthanthemainfactor.

PersonallyIhavehadtodoalotofbridgebuildingandmendingrelationshipswithplacementagencies.Callinginfavourswithcolleaguesinthefieldisnotuncommontohelpsupervisedifficultstudents.Wehavetodoalotofsupportwiththemtomanagestudents.

FEUstaffindicatedthemostcommonlynegotiatedsolutionstotensionsrelatetomoreflexibilitytoplacementarrangements,andarenegotiationofexpectations,oftenasareactiontoemergenttensions.

Theimpactontheuniversity'srelationshipwiththeplacementagencyhasmeantthatquiteoftenwearecalledtogoinandtroubleshoot.Ihadtodoquiteabitofthatlastsemester.Justrenegotiatingtheworkloadsandtheexpectation.Ensuringthatthestudents–thattherealityofwhatthestudentwasgoingthroughwasrepresentedintheworkplanratherthanthesupervisorjustassumingthatthestudentwaslazyornotcoping.Thisisquiteanindividualisedapproachthatcouldpotentiallytakeheapsoftimeespeciallywithstudentswhoaren'tbeingupfrontwiththeirfinancialoremotionalstate.…itdoestakealotanditreallymurderstheuniversityplacementagencyrelationshiptoo.Ifwedon'thavequalitystudentsgoingthroughthenthey'llbereluctanttotakeotherstudents.It'sveryhardtorecoversoyoudohavetodoalotoftroubleshooting.

FEUstaffwereaskediffinancialstressvariedaccordingtothesemesterplacementwasundertaken‐Semester1(February‐June),Semester2(JulytoNovember)orSummer(November‐February).

Overallitseemsthesecondplacementseemstobemoreinfluentialintermsoffinancialstress.ThesecondplacementmayhavemorelimitedoptionsforflexibilitywiththeneedtomeetremainingAASWrequirementsbytheendofthecourse.ForexampleifstudentshavealreadydoneaPlacementAtWork(PAW)astheirfirstplacement,thenasecondcanonlybedoneinexceptionalcircumstances.Secondplacementwasalsoseenassometimesexacerbatingissuesthatmaynothavebeenresolvedinafirstplacement.Orastudentmayhavedepletedtheresourcestheyhaveaccessto.

Whereasummerplacementoptionisavailablethisisseentohavepotentialdisadvantagesandadvantagesdependingonvariouscontextualfactors.Adisadvantageisthatthesummersemesterisshorterandcanmeanincreasedpressuretocompletetherequiredhours,particularlyifthestudentalsohaspaidworkcommitments.Anobservedadvantagehoweveristhatsomestudentshaveadditionaloptionsforchildcarebypartners,reducingthecostofchildcare.

WherestudentswereabletostudyinexternalmodeFEUstaffindicatedthesestudentswereatadditionalriskoffinancialstressduetotheprevalenceofsubstantialworkcommitments.Thereisrecognitionacrossstaffthataplacementinaregionalorremoteareamayoftenbehighlybeneficialintermsofalearningexperienceandcareerfoundationbutusuallybringswithitsignificantadditionalcost.

It'sthetensionbetweenagreatlearningexperienceandtryingtosurvivewhileyouaredoingit.

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SUPPORTINGSTUDENTSEXPERIENCINGFINANCIALSTRESSRELATEDTOPLACEMENT

ManyoftheFieldEducationstaffandstudentsupportservicesreiteratedtheimpactsidentifiedearlierinthisreport.Theyalsoidentifiedcertaincohortsatgreaterrisk,suchaslowSESstudents,internationalstudents,matureagestudents,studentswithdisabilitiesandhighsupportneeds,singleparentsanddomesticstudentswhereEnglishisasecondlanguageandthatsomeoftheseissuesaremoreacutelyfeltintheMasterofSocialWork(qualifying)becausestudentshavelittletimetoprepareandplanfortheplacement.Studentsupportstaffwerealsokeentoemphasisethatthereareindividualdifferencesintermsofresiliencetothesestressors.Itcandependonwhatinformalsupportsareinplace,whichcanmaketheimpactlessintense.Studentsupportservicesalsoquestionedthequalityoflearningthatcantakeplaceduringaplacementwhenstudentsareunderfinancialandmentalstress:

Youhavetowonderwhattheimpactisonstudentlearningovertwolongplacements.Itbecomesamassivedistractionwhenyourworriesaboutwhereyouaregoingtogetyourmoneyeachweek..

Manyofthestudentsupportservicesstaffacrossuniversitiesspokeofincreaseddemandinthelastyearfortheirservicesfromsocialworkandhumanservicestudents.Therangeofpracticalservicesofferedincludedcounselling,foodbanksandinformationonequityscholarships.Foodinsecuritywasacommonissuestudentsupportstaffhadtorespondto,withsomebeingabletooffervouchers,whichareregardedashavinglessstigmaattachedtothemcomparedwithafoodhamper.Sometimesthestrategiesemployedareinformationbased,suchaslettingstudentsknowwhentheyqualifyforYouthAllowanceorNewstartAllowance.Butevenwhenstudentsbecomeeligibletherecanbeissuesaroundongoingeligibilityofallowabletimetocompletethedegree,whichcanbeanissueforstudentsdoingtheirplacementforafullsemesteroutsidetheallowabletime.Centrelinkpaymentrulesandinadequatelevelsofpaymentwasadominantthemeininterviewswithstudentsupportstaff.Studentsupportservicesoftenworkedcloselywithotherpartsoftheuniversitytobuildcollaborativestrategies,includingwiththeFieldEducationUnits.

FieldEducationUnitswereconsistentinofferingworkshopstohelppreparestudentsfordemandsofplacement,aswellasworkshopsforsupervisors.Thesepreparationworkshopswerepositivelyevaluatedbystudentsandagenciesinthefield.However,therewasalsoanacknowledgementbyFieldEducationUnitstaffthatitisstillabigshocktostudentswhentheyfinallyconfrontthetimeandfinancialpressuresfirsthand.Someofthecommentsmadebystaff,included“theynearlyburnthemselvesoutjusttogetthrough”,“thelinescanbecomeblurryforstudentswhentheyaretryingtosupportstudentstomanagethesameissuestheythemselvesaretryingtocopewithasstudentpractitioners”,“whenyouareworriedaboutmoneyandhousingitishardtoprioritiseyourlearningonplacement”.

Fieldeducationstaffalsoreportedfeedbackfromsupervisorsinthefieldregardingstudenttirednessandimpactsontheirhealthassociatedwithdemandsofplacement.Ingeneraltheseobservationswerenotreadilyassociatedwithfinancialstress,whichmayreflectstudentreluctancetorevealfinancialdifficultybecauseofafearoffailingorasenseofshameaboutbeinginfinancialdifficulty.Itwasalsoreportedthatsomefieldsupervisorsdonotalwaysunderstandtheconstraintsofthecourse.Often,theyadvocateonthestudentsbehalfforgreaterflexibilityinregardtoplacementhoursandtimeframeforcompletion.Itwasreportedthatsupervisorswouldraiseconcernsiftheyfeelthestudentisatriskorasadutyofcareissue.

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Othersupervisorsraiseconcernswhentheyfeelthestressisimpactingonthelearning,asthefollowingreflectionfromaFieldEducationStaffmemberindicates:

Wedogetfeedbackfromsupervisorsthatsuggeststudents'levelofengagementmaybeaffectedduetostressorfatigue.Ithinkthatthetirednessandtheattentiontodetailissometimeslostwhenpeoplearetired.Alsoemotionallypeoplejustgetreallyraggedsotheymaynotpickupemotionalcues.Theymaynot‐theymighttakethingsoutofcontextbecausethey'renotemotionallystableenoughtobeinthatspace.Notunusualforpeopletoworkplacementalldayandthengotoacallcentrejobatnighttimeandthenrockupatplacementthenextdayexhausted.Hardoverasmallperiodoftimebutgod,we'retalkingabout15weeksor14or18or‐andthenwewantthemtobeall‐soyeah.We'retalkingaboutbeingkindandresponsiveanddoingclient‐centeredpracticebutwe'renotreallyputtingstudentsatthecentre.

StudentsinfinancialstresscometotheattentionofFEU/WSSstaffinvariousways.ThereisaviewthatFEUstaffthroughtheplacementpreparationandliaisonprocessgettoknowstudentsandtheircircumstancesquitewell,particularlywherethecoursecohortsizeallows.FEUstaffallspokeoftheimportantrolethatstrongdirectcontactwithstudentsplayedinidentifyingandrespondingtoissuesthataroseforstudents,includingthoserelatedtofinancialstress.Evensotheyacknowledgedtheymayormaynotbecomeawareoftheseissuesandarecautiousnottoprobeinsuchamannerastodisrespectorbreachastudent’sprivacy.

Imaytryandkeepaneyeonthembutnotobviously.

WSSstaffoutlinedarangeofstrategiesusedtoadvertisesupportservicestostudents,includinginformationsessionspriortoplacement,andanincreasinguseofwebandsocialmediavehicles.TheybecomeawareofspecificstudentneedsthroughcontactbeingmadebystudentssometimesviaFacultystaff.WhilstitisapparentthatuniversitieshavearangeofstudentsupportstrategiesinplaceWSSstafftalkofthelimitedamountofsupporttheycanprovidespecificallyforfinancialpressuresstudentsexperienceonplacement.

FEUstaffindicatedthatstudentsaremorelikelytofirstaccessinformalsupports,includingfamilyandpeers.Theroleofstaffinpickingupondeeperissuessuchasfinancialstressisseenasoftenarisingoutofsensitiveengagementwithindividualstudentsaroundotherpresenting,often‘crisis’issues.

There'squiteanundergroundofsupportbetweenstudents,sostudentshelpingeachother.ThesecondoneIthinktheywouldgototheir‐theFieldEducationUnitandtomaybestudentservices.Itdependsontheperson.Itdependsonhowsharpthesupervisoris.Ifthesupervisororotherstaffarepickingthingsup,itmightcomeoutofthat.Butthere's‐normallyunlessit'svolunteered,itcomesoutwhenthere'sacrisislike,‘I'msick’or‘Youspoketothatpersonreallybadly’or‘What'shappeningtoyou?’

Studentsdon'ttendtodothisinatimelyway–thingsoftengetreallybadbeforetheyrevealtheirsituation.

Ifwestartseeingstudentsasaclientintermsofsomeoftheissuesweareseeingthemtrytodealwith,wehoneinonthatstudent[and]wejustletallstudentsknowgenerallywhathardshiptheymightfaceandwheretogoiftheydo.

AnumberofFEUstaffcommentedatlengthontheexpectationssomestudentshaveofbeingawardedaparticulargraderegardlessoflevelofachievement.Thiscanbedrivenbyfinancialimperativessuchastheneedtocompletethecourseintheshortestpossibletime,andcanbemagnifiedforInternationalstudentswhoarepayingmuchhigherfees.

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Wellthefeestuffisinterestingbecausealthoughformanyofthemit'snotupfrontfees,whatpeoplearesayingisthat‘Ican'taffordnottopass’[or]’Ican'taffordtojustkeepondoingthisoveralongtime’.Sotheytrytoshortenthelengthoftimethatthey'redoingtheirdegree.Anyopportunitytodoanextrasubject,togetplacementoveristaken.Becausetheycan'taffordanothersemesterofnotworkingorthehavingfees,ortryingtojuggleeverything.StrategiesusedbyFEUstaffinclude:

StrategiesusedbyWSSstaff

include:

Changingsomeaspectsofplacementarrangements,thekeybeingthecapacityforuniversity,agencyandstudentflexibility.Tryandminimiseimpactonplacement–lookatoptionstochangehoursonplacement,changeroleforstudentwhileonplacement–lookattheselogisticsfirst.

Amid‐placementassessmenttooltogaugethelevelofriskforeachstudent.I’vedevelopedamid‐placementassessmenttooltogaugethelevelofriskstudentsmightbeunder.Itgetssupervisorstoratestudentsatastandardandallowsustoidentifywhatthestudentandtheagencyneeds.Itprovidesthevehicleforhavingtheconversationabouthowwellstudentsarecopingandiffinancialstressisanissueitgenerallycanbepickedupatthispoint.Fromherewetryandidentifywhatwecando.

Arepeatedemphasisonpersonalcareaswellasprofessionalwellbeinginplacementworkshops. Ineveryplacementworkshopthere'sanelementoftalkingaboutwhat'shappeningforpeopleonaprofessionallevelandonapersonallevelduringplacement.…whatwe'reseeingisthatbybringingpeopletogetherthey'reactuallysharingsomestuffandthere'salotmoreinterstudentcommunicationandsupportwiththat.Thereisabigfocusonhowareyougoingandwhat'stherealityandhowdowehelpyougetthroughthis?

Encouragementofpeersupport,suchasinvolvementofpaststudentsinpre‐placementseminars,placementpeergroups.Getpaststudentstocomebackandsharetheirstoryofhowtheymanage.Thishasbeenvaluableandwetimethisjustbeforestudentsgoonplacement.Wealsogetstudentstotalkinpreplacementforumsaswell.

AtoneuniversityastudentcarecollectivehasdevelopedandhasstartedaFacebookpageforfellowstudentsonplacement.

ProvisionofplacementspecificbursariesattheSchoollevel.

Interestfreeloans,andassistancewithrenegotiatingloans

Bursaries,includingemergencyreliefbursariesandWILbursaries

Assistancewithtextbookcosts

Printingcredits Foodparcelsandrelief Awiderangeofinformation

includingaboutbankswhichoffernocostaccounts

Giftcards,andfood/petrolvouchersasanemergencyreliefstrategy

Workshopsonbudgeting ReferraltoNGO’sandlocal

churchesforawiderangeofwelfareneeds.

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Referraltosupportservicesoncampus,includingaccesstouniversitybursaries,loans,scholarshipsetc

Variousformsoffoodprovision(foodbank,foodcupboard,communitygarden).

WSSstaffgenerallyconsideredstudentsonplacementtohavelimitedaccesstothesupporttheycouldprovideastheywerenotorrarelyoncampus.Atoneuniversitytheroleofthefaculty‐basedLISCO(lowincomestudentcontactofficer)wasseenasparticularlyusefulbytheuniversity‐widewelfareofficerforstudentsundertakingasocialworkorhumanservicesplacement.

FinancialSupportOfficersareawesome–somanystudentsgetthroughtheirwholedegreewiththehelpoftheLISCO–low‐incomestudentcontactofficer.Thisisoneofthebestprogramsthatwehaveandsheisabletohelpwithahugerangeofissuesandcanhelpstudentswiththecostsofpracaswell.Ifshecan’thelpshewillrefertousandviceversa.(WSSstaff)

Overallthereisasensethatasystemofsupportdoesexistbutthatitisnotkeepingpacewiththeneedsofstudents,andinparticularwiththeneedsofstudentsrequiredtoundertakemandatedlongplacements.

Weoffersupportfortextbooks,forstudentswhoarehavingunforeseencircumstancestohelpkeepfoodonthetableandaroofovertheirhead.But,thereisroomforimprovements.Weneedtogrowaccordinglyasstudentnumbersandcomplexityofneedsgrow.

Universitystaffinterviewedcitedlossofincomeasanissueacrossstudents,thoughtheextentofhardshipexperiencedvariedbetweenstudents.Thereisgeneralagreementthatsupportisnotsufficientforthelevelofstudentneedinrespectoflongunpaidplacements.WhilstFEUstaffindicatetheymakesubstantialeffortstosupportstudentsthroughavarietyofstrategiesthatoverallresponsestofinancialstressareoftencrisisorientedandinsufficient.

Itfeelsliketheuniversitydoesn'thavealotofresources.Therearescholarshipsandbursariesandstudentservices. Butthere'snorealcoordinatedresponse.Thingscanbeabitadhocandit'sabithardtotellhoweffectivetheyare.Ithinktheemergencybursariesaregreatattimesbecauseitcanmeanthatpeoplecanfinishplacement.

SOCIALPOLICYINCLUDINGINCOMESUPPORT

SpecificallythereisconsensusthatGovernmentpolicyandinparticularincomesupport(e.g.Centrelink)policiesareasubstantialissue.FEUandWSSstaffseetherequirementsandimpactsinterfacebetweenincomesupportandplacementasquitecomplexforarangeofreasonsincludingCentrelinkpaymentsnotincreasingwithstudentsnothavingenoughtosurvive,andstudentslosingtypesorlevelsofentitlement.Thelatterissometimeslinkedtotheimpactofplacementforstudentsdoingacertainnumberofdaysatuniversitytogainaparticularbenefit.ChangestoCentrelinkparentingpaymentswhichrequiredsomestudentstoshifttoNewstartwasseenasresultinginalossofincomeforthosestudents.AlsomentionedbynumerousWSSrespondentswastheimpactofcessationoftheJETprogramforsupportwithchildcare,particularlyforMastersstudents.

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ThemainissuewenoticeiseligibilityviaCentrelink–thishasabigimpactonwhatstudentscangetontopoftheirbenefitsandalotofthetimesiftheyarereceivingthefullCentrelinkentitlementtheyarenoteligibleforotherstudentssupportfromuniversity.Ifstudentsidentifyearlyenoughwecangenerallygetthingsinplacebuthelpislimited.

It’shardforsinglemumswithchangestoparentingpayment–thisaffectstheirabilitytocontinuetostudy.It’sdifficultforfamiliesaswellasthelossofincomefor4monthscancreatebigfinancialstresses.

TheCentrelinkstuffishugeintermsof‐forsomepeopletheyhavetodoacertainamountofcreditpointstogettheirCentrelinkpayments.Unlesstheydoplacementandtheunitsthatgowithit‐whichmightbethethingthatifthey'realsotryingtoworkpart‐time,mighttoppleover.Leadingcausesofhardshiphaveincreasedarisingfromgeneralrisesincostoflivingandjobshortages,butCentrelinkpaymentshavenotincreasedandarenotenoughtosurviveon.Rentandcostsoflivinghaveallincreasedbutpaymentshavenot.InthepaststudentsdidnotneedtoworkasmanyhoursastheydoknowjustinordertosurvivetosupplementbenefitstheymightgetfromCentrelink.

OneWSSindicatedthatmostcurrentstrategiesareshort‐termandadvocatedforchangetoCommonwealthandCentrelinkpolicysothatstudentsonplacementareseenasundertakingafull‐timestudyloadfortheperiodofplacement.OtherareasofpolicyseenashavingaconstrainingeffectonincludetheBrisbanepublictransport‘GoCard’system,whereregistrationandexpirypracticesareseenasbarrierstothesupportwiththosecosts.

Forsomeinternationalstudentsgovernmentpoliciesandpracticesoftheirhomecountryandinternationaleconomicfactorscanhaveasignificantimpact,suchasrulesaroundstudentloansfromtheirhomecountryortheimpactsofthehighAustraliandollaroncostofliving.

Alotofinternationalstudentshavetogobackhomeeachsemestertoorganisefinances,takecareoffamilyandthencomeback.Somestudentsareimpactedbytheonechildpolicysotheyhavetogohomeandlookafterissuesforparentsastheyareseenastheheadofthehousehold.Thisexacerbatesfinancialhardshipforthesestudents.

ACHANGINGHUMANSERVICESLANDSCAPE

Somestaffspokeoforalludedtoacomplexandchangingindustrycontextthatdemandedconsiderationifstressesexperiencedbystudentsaretobefullyappreciatedandusefullyrespondedto.Theproposed2014FederalBudgetchangesthatwillseereducedcorefundingandafurtherderegulationofthehighereducationsectorcreatesalotofuncertainty.Itisunclearwhatimpacttheincreasedindividualcostofundertakingtertiarystudywillbe,particularlyashumanservicesandsocialworkisnotahighlypaidprofession.Addedtothistheimpactofstateandfederalfundingcutstosocialservicesmeansthattheareasofpotentialemploymentandthetypeofworkischanging.Thefollowingextractpointstoindustryissuessuchasresourcescarcity,workforcechanges,andthewayagenciesandstudentsseethepurposeofplacements.

Oneofthequestionsweneedtoaskourselvesisarewecurrent?What'shappeninginthecontextaroundhowagenciesarestretchedandexperiencingreducedstaff

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hoursorcutprograms.Eventhebestofouragencieshavepeoplegoingdowntopart‐timeandstuff.Orthere'salotmoresupportwork,whichdoesn'tnecessarilymeanthatyoushouldhaveauniversitydegree.Theopportunitiesinthesectorarereducingandthedemandforplacementsareincreasing.Alsomanystudentsseeplacementasanentréeintotheworkforce,sotheywanttogotoacertainplacementbecausetheythinkthatthey'regoingtogetajoboutofit.Ratherthanthelearningwhichisaproblemisinitself.

PLACEMENTREQUIREMENTS

Athemeacrossallstaffinterviewedisthatthereisalackofsufficientflexibilityinhowlongplacementsareundertaken.Thelongertheplacementtheharderitisforstudentstomanagefinancialstress.

FEUstaffresponsesreflecttheirneedtodealwitharangeofsometimescompetingpolicyandsituationalpressuresandrequirements.Professionalandpedagogicallogicsaremostclearlyevidentasunderpinningtheirsenseofwhatrequirementsconditionthewayplacementsarestructured.FEUstaffarestronglyoftheviewthatblockplacementsarenecessaryforthedevelopmentofcoreskillsbutacknowledgethesubstantialimpactsinrespectoffinancialstress.

Professionalassociationrequirementsaregenerallypresentedasprovidingtightlimitsonwhatoptionscanbeexploredtodealwithstudentstress.MostFEUstaffindicatedthey,andattimeshostagencysupervisors,feltconstrainedbywhattheysawasAASWrequirementsexperiencedasonerousorwhichhaveimplicationsfortheirfeltdutyofcaretostudents.

DifficultsometimestomeetAASWrequirementswithplacements.

Supervisorsdon'tunderstandtheprofessionallimitationsofthecourseandsometimeswedogetcallsfromthemsayingtheyareworriedaboutstudents.Allwecandoisdiscusstheissuewiththestudentandagencyandlookatstrategiestogetthemthrough.

Theothergroupofpeoplethatgethighlydistressedaboutstudentpovertyisthesupervisors.Theyseethesekidscomingthroughandthey'renoteatingproperly,they'renotsleepingproperly–andyettheyhavetoabidebytheneedtodo500hours.Sothey'dlovetogiveakidabreakbutwhenaretheygoingtodotheirhours?

Itmeansontheonehandwearesayingcomeoninwewouldlovetohaveyoubutontheotherhandwearesayingbythewayyouhavegottomanagefor18weekstwicewithouthavingyourusualincome.Ifeelwearesettingthemupandmakesitreallydifficult.

Idon'treallythinkanyonehasafullunderstandingabouttheimpactofthisdegreeoninternationalstudentsandhowwellitservestheirneeds.Ithinkweneedresearchinthisarea.TheAASWneedstolookatthisIthinkasitisnotdoingthesocialworkimagemuchgood‐itlookslikeitisbeingexploitedandIdon'tthinkitisbeingmanagedwellatall.

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POTENTIALSOLUTIONSIDENTIFIEDBYSTUDENTSANDSTAKEHOLDERS

Students,studentservicessupportstaff,fieldeducatorsandheadsofschoolwereallaskedtoidentifywhatpotentialsolutionstheythoughtwouldhelptoalleviatetheissuesandimpactsidentifiedearlier.Whatbecameclearisthatstudentshadahostofsuggestions,indicatingthattheyhadclearlythoughtthroughpossiblesolutionsandinmanycaseshadsoughttoactiontheirstrategies,withmixedsuccess.Thestrengthoftheresponsestothequestionsonidentifyingsolutionsindicatesthatthisisnotanisolatedissueforasmallnumberofstudents.Ratherthanevaluatethesolutionsthatwereofferedwhatwehavedonehereisgroupbytypeofrespondent.Somestrategieswereclearlyaimedataddressingthelimitationsoftheincomesupportarrangementsforstudents,somesuggestionsweredirectedtowardstheregulatorybodiessuchastheAASW,sometotheuniversitiesandothersweredirectedtoagenciesinthefield.Studentsalsoacceptedalevelofpersonalresponsibility,butwerealsocleartheycouldn'tdoitalone,asonestudentsaid:Placingalltheresponsibilityonstudentstoplanisnottheultimatesolution–somethingneedstochange.Acommonthemeacrossthesedifferentareasofresponsibilitywasthenotionofgreaterflexibility,eitherinregardtopotentialearnings,placementarrangementsorintermsofmoretailoredplacementhouroptionsfordifferentcohorts,suchasmatureagestudentswithcaringresponsibilities.Allofthesolutionswereofferedintheinterestofensuringthatworkintegratedlearningrequirementswasabletorespondtochangesinthecircumstancesofstudents,suchasthehighnumberofstudentsthatnowalsoundertakepaidworktosupporttheirstudies,orthedemandsofcareresponsibilities.Stakeholderresponsesweremorefocusedoninstitutionalresponsibilitiesandconsiderationsofthefieldandaccreditationagencies.Whatwasclearacrossbothgroupsofrespondentswasthatchangesarerequiredtoreducethefinancialimpactofworkintegratedlearning.Therewasnoquestionaboutthevalueofworkintegratedlearningforstudentsachievingalevelofcompetenceasanemergingprofessional,buttherewerequestionsabouthowitwasbeingimplementedandquestionsabouthowexpectationsaroundplacementarebeingcommunicated.Whileplanningforplacementisasoundmessagetogivetostudentsithasbecomeclearinthecourseofthisstudythatnoamountofplanningisgoingtobeabletocompensateforthelackoftimeandmoneythatcaninsomecasesmakesuccessfulcompletionofaplacementunattainable.

POTENTIALSOLUTIONSIDENTIFIEDBYSTUDENTS

Thereweresomeprominentthemesinstudentresponsestothequestionaboutwhatcouldbedonetoimprovethetransitiontoplacementandsupportwhilstonplacement.Someofthedominantresponseswereinvestigatingacostsharingarrangementforpaidplacements,asmalltravelandclothingsubsidy,moreflexiblearrangementsforcompletinghours,reducethetotalnumberofhourssoplacementscouldbecompletedin12‐13weeks,betterfederalgovernmentincomesupportarrangementsforstudents,includingallowancesforpaidemploymentandminimisingformalpiecesofassessmentwhilstonplacement:

Ijustthinkthatthegovernmentjustreallyneedstoreviewtheincomesupportthatstudentsgetduringthattime.Ithinktheymakeitthatyou'realmostbelowthepovertylinewhenyou'reworkingtowardssomethinganditalmostfeelslikeyou'rebeingpunishedforthat.

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Onthethemeofincreasingthecreditvalueofpracticumsandreducingformalassessment:

Minimisingformalassessment,astheresimplyisn'tenoughtimetodothemontopofplacementwithoutsignificantstress.Loweringthenumberofhoursnecessaryforasocialworkplacementsowecando3daysaweek,orshortenourstayonplacement.

HavingtoundertakeanadditionalsubjectatuniversityonaFridaytakesupanentiredayformewhichmakesmemissoutonpaidemployment.Itwouldbeidealifthissubjectwaseitheronlineorintegratedintotheplacementlearning.

Lessplacementdaysperweektoallowmoredaystoworkandearnaliving.Othersubjectstobetimetabledmorethoughtfullytofreeupotherdaysduringtheweek.

Someoftheaboveoptionscomeupagainstthedifficultyofwhohascontroltodeterminetimetabling.Onthethemeofflexibility,

ProvideamoreflexibleapproachtoPrac.Theuniversityneedstoprovidemultipledaysandtimesforthestudentstoselectandthisincludesweekends.Ifthepracsincorporatedtheopinionofstudentsthanperhapswewouldbeabletoaccommodateandcreateawork,UniandPracbalancedlife.

Providingmoreflexibleoptionsforhoursofplacement,forexamplemoredayswithlesshoursaday,oronedaywithmorehoursandanotherdaywithlesssowecanstillfitpaidworkinthemorningortheafternoon.

Needgreaterrecognitionoftheneedforflexibilityforpeopleinthefamilywhoarethemajorbreadwinnersandsupportingafamilyyetneedtocompleteaplacement.

Ireallywishthereweremoreplacementopportunitiestodothingsafterhours,orontheweekends.Igetthattherearerestrictionswithorganisations[becauseofsupervision]andhavingstaffpresenttherebutIkindoffeelthatwouldmakeit‐itwouldmakeitgood,oneforNGOsorpeopleprovidingtheservicebecauseobviouslytheycansavecostsonagencystaffandallofthat;obviouslywe'renotstaffwe'restudents.Butjustkindof[inaudible]thosesettingstoo,thoseemergencyandafterhoursservices,wewon’tbeexposedtothemifwe'renotgivingtheopportunity.

Ialmostthinkinsteadofdoingitastwoplacementsdoitasonelongblockplacementthat'saninternshipthathassomekindofincomeinvolvedthat'slikemaybe$5or$10anhour,butratherthanitbeingthesetwothree‐and‐a‐halfblockswhereyou‐three‐and‐a‐halfmonthblockswhereyouhavetoupendyourlifewithnoincome,bringingsomelevelofincomeintoitoverjustoneblockofplacement.

Thereweresomestudentswhodescribedsituationswheretheyhadcometoanarrangementtoallowforsomeflexibility,butinsomecasesthiswasn’treportedtotheuniversityforfearthatitwouldn’tmeettherules.

Otherstudentsidentifiedwhattheyperceivedtobeaninconsistencyintermsofofferingstudentsmoreflexiblemodesofdeliveryatuniversityingeneral,suchasexternalorinternalmodesofdelivery,withoutthesamedegreeofflexibilitybeingappliedtotheconductofplacements.Sowhilethere'sflexibilityaboutstudyingexternally,there'snotwhenitcomestoplacement. Thereisalwaysgoingtobeatensionbetweenflexibilityandstandardisation.Processinglargenumbersofstudentplacementsdemandsthatguidelinesareadheredtoandstandardrulesandexpectationscanincreasetheefficiencyofplacingstudents.Atthesametime,beingabletoexercisediscretioninresponsetoindividualneedscanincreasethepotentialforofferingtailoredsolutionsandincreasingstudentsatisfaction.Itshouldbeacknowledged

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herethatitisgeneralpracticeamongFieldEducationUnitstointerviewstudentsface‐to‐facetoestablishstudentinterestsandprovidethebestpossiblematchforaplacement.Thetimeinvestmentatthebeginningoftheprocesshelpsensurethatplacementsdon’tbreakdown.

Despitestudentsbeingappreciativeofthiseffort,therewasstillasensethatinsomecasesplacementruleswerebeingappliedtoorigidly.Thestudentssawgreaterflexibilityasawinforallparties:

Thereshouldbemoreflexibility.Iftherewasmoreflexibilityitwouldbebettereverybody,you'retryingtoworkasolutionanditseemstobeintermsoftheuniversitythatyou'rebangingyourheadupagainstabrickwall…theyjustgothesearetherules,thesearetherules.Therehastobemoreflexibilityinorderforthisnottoturnaroundandhavesuchahugeimpactoneverybodywhodoesplacement.I’veneverknownanybodythathasturnedaroundandgoneintoplacementandgoneohyeah,ithasn'taffectedmeatall. 

Therewerealsoasignificantnumberofsuggestionsbystudentsaroundchangestocourseadmissionandcoursestructure,suchasthenumberofworkshopsalongsideplacement,greaterrecognitionofpriorlearning,asthesesortsofchangeswouldallowthesignificanttimedemandsofplacementtobemoreeasilyaccommodated.Thefollowingquotesreflecttherangeofsuggestionsmadeaboutcoursestructureandcredit:

Theuniversityworkshopsthemselveswerecompleteoverkill.Whenwe'redoingareflectioneveryweekandthenhavingtogoandsitforacoupleofhoursandreflectonreflecting,itwasjustyeah,toomuch.AgainIthinktheyforgetthatwehavelivesoutsideofuniversityandthattwohoursformewaswhereIcouldbedoingsomanyotherthings.AgainIjust‐ImeanforthemostpartifIcouldgetoutofgoingthenIwould.Ifitwasn'tcompulsorythenIwouldn'tgo.

Lookingatrecognitionofpriorlearningandtheadvancedstanding‐[the]elementsofplacementwheretheycanreduceforpeoplewhohaveworked.Likeforsomeonewhohasbeenworking10or15yearsand[theydon't]formalqualificationsandthentheycomein‐Idokindofseehowunfairitisthattheyhavetodoallofthatagain.Theycouldhavebeeninmanagementpositions,managingwithingovernmentorNGOsanditseemsunequal.

Theplacementsubjectisworth30creditpoints.It’sthreetimesthepriceofaregularsubject.Forthat,IpaytovolunteermytimeandtheuniversityvisitsmetwiceandIdon'tknowwhatvalueI'mgettingforthreetimesthepriceofaregularsubject.

Someoftheseissuesandrecommendationsaroundcoursestructurearedifficulttorespondtoatthelocallevelastheyinvolveuniversityconstraintsaroundtimetabling,creditpointsandunitcostandsemesterschedules,aswellasaccreditationrequirementsoftheprofessionalbodies.Togetadifferentperspectiveonhowsomeofthesecontextualissuescouldbeaddressedthenextsectionconsidersthesuggestionsandpotentialsolutionsofferedbyotherkeystakeholders,suchasstudentsupportstaffandfieldeducationunitstaff.

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POTENTIALSOLUTIONSIDENTIFIEDBYSTAKEHOLDERS

OverallFEUstaffareclearthatmoreflexibilityisrequiredinhowplacementsareundertaken.Specificsuggestionsare:

Fewerdaysperweekpermitted.

Ithinkweseriouslyhavetolookatourrequirementsforplacementandthepedagogyofthat.Whoistosaythattheycannotlearnasmuchona2‐dayplacementasopposedto3or4days?

Aninternshipmodelforsecondplacement.

Maybeweneedtolookatmoreembeddedplacementsatwork.Weneedtobelookingatalotmoreflexibility.TherearealotofstudentsthatwouldmakefantasticSWbuttheysimplycannotdothedegreebecauseofthefinancialimplicationsofdoing2placements.Beingpaidwhileonplacementwouldbeabighelp.Iftheydothefirsttraditionallyandthesecondasinternship–greatmeritintheseideas.

Examinecreditpointsforeachplacementandconsiderincomesupportconsequencesofthis.

Somestudentsareaffectedbythewaycreditpointsandeligibilityismeasured.Theymightbestudyingonplacementfulltimebutonlyhave30creditpoints.Forsomeofthesestudentsitcanaffecttheirbenefitssotheythenaresometimesforcedtodeferfor6months.

Thereisclearlyarangeofpressuresonstudentswhichlongblockplacementscanexacerbate.Howtoprioritisevariouspressuresarisingfromtheprofessional,institutional,pedagogicalandpersonalcontextsofastudent’sparticularjourneythroughmultipleperiodsofblockplacementisasubstantialpracticalandattimesethicalchallengenotonlyforstudentsbutforFEUstaff.

Addressingtheseissuesrequiresarethinkofthestructureofplacementandincreasingflexibilityinhowthehoursareaccumulated.Thesearelongertermsolutionsthatwillneedtocarefullyconsidertheneedsofallstakeholders,includingprofessionalbodies,agencies,studentsandfieldsupervisors.Andsecuringchangeatthislevelwillrequirethedifferentpartiesacknowledgingthatthepresentsetofstandardsandproceduresforsocialworkandhumanservicesmaynolongerbesustainableordesirable,giventheimpactsonstudent’spersonalwellbeingandlearningidentifiedintheresearch.

IntheshorttermFieldEducationUnitsaretryingarangeofstrategiestomitigatetherisksandstressors.Insomecases,thismightmeanchangingaplacement,fosteringpeersupport,renegotiatingworkloadandexpectations,includinginformationinstudentsupportservicesininterviewprocesses,makingdirectreferralstostudentservices.FieldEducationStaffoftenhavetodealwithissueswhentheyareatcrisispoint.

Thesecrisisresponsesonlygosofarandcanoftenbetimeconsumingintermsofrenegotiatinghoursandevenwholeplacements.Thelongertermsolutionsneedtobeconsideredtodealwiththeissuesinasystematicway.Buildingupanevidencebasearounddifferentplacementconfigurationsisalsoworthexploring.asthefollowingquotefromaFieldEducationUnitstaffmemberillustrates:

Ithinkweseriouslyhavetolookatourrequirementsforplacementandthepedagogyofthat.Therearealotofstudentsthatwouldmakefantasticsocialworkersbuttheysimplycannotdothedegreebecauseofthefinancialimplicationsofdoing2placements.

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CONCLUSIONS

Student‐centredlearningmeansrespondingtolearnersincontextanditmeanstakingstudentsseriouslyasactiveparticipantsintheirownlearning(Armstrong,2012).Student‐centredlearningalsostandsincontrasttotraditionaleducationwherethestudentsmustbetheonethatadaptstosuitthedemandsofthecurriculumandthedemandsoftheteacher.Student‐centredlearningviewsthestudentvoiceasanimportantelementinafeedbacklooptoeducatorstoensurethatthecurriculumadaptstochangingstudentdiversityandmultiplelearningstyles.Thereflectionsthatstudentshaveofferedhereontheirexperienceofplacementandtheimpactcurrentarrangementsarehavingonmanystudentsfinancialwellbeingdeservestobetakenseriouslywithinastudent‐centredlearningapproach.

Atthesametimestudentsandotherstakeholdershaveidentifiedthattherearemultiplepartiesthatinfluencetheconditionsunderwhichsocialstudentplacementsareconducted,suchasagencieswhereplacementsareconducted,professionalbodies,curriculumdesigners,fieldeducationunitsatuniversitiesandbroaderhighereducationandincomesupportsettings.Anychangesthatareadoptedneedtobeacceptabletoallpartiesthatmakeworkintegratedlearningpossible.Thismeansthatthemeslike‘flexibility’willrequirechangeinallpartsofplacementeco‐system.

Changecanalsobedrivenbycomparingsimilarsystemstoidentifywaysinwhichinnovationshavebeenadoptedandadaptationshavebeenmade.Thismightmeanlookingatsocialworkandhumanserviceprogramsacrossthecountrytoidentifywhethertheunitorcreditvalueofplacementsareroughlysimilarandifnotmakingchangessothatstudentsarenotoverlyburdenedbycompletingadditionalacademicunitsalongsideplacement,particularlywhenthereisalackofuniformityacrossinstitutions.Inothercases,comparisonscanbemadewithotherprofessionstoseewhethersocialworkandhumanservicescanlearnfromengineeringornursingwhenitcomestolesseningthefinancialimpactofplacement.Dialoguebetweenprofessionalbodiesandbetweendisciplineswithinuniversitiesisonewaythatlearningsandinnovationscanbeshared.Hostinganationalsummitontheissuesidentifiedinthereportmaybeanotherwaytoshinethespotlightontheissuesidentifiedinthisreportandidentifylongtermstructuralsolutions.Theoutcomeofasummitcaninformlobbyingeffortsbyprofessionalbodiesanduniversitiesforstructuralreform,suchasaddressinginadequateincomesupportarrangementsforstudents.

Overallitwouldseemthatwhatisrequiredisawillingnesstoexaminewhethertheexistingplacementmodelsarestillmeetingtheneedsofstudentsandthesector,whethergreaterflexibilitycanbeaccommodatedandwhethergreateradvocacyisrequiredonthepartofprofessionalbodiestoprovidemeasuresthatcanalleviatesomeofthestressorsidentifiedhere.Whatisalsoclearisthatemotional,financialandmentalstressinhibitslearning.Findingwaystoreducestressisgoingtobeinthebestinterestofeducatorsandstudentstoensurethatlearningcanbeoptimised.Thisreporthasidentifiedthatallthedifferentstakeholders,includingstudents,havearesponsibilitytoensurethisoutcomeisachieved.

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ATTACHMENTS

ATTACHMENTONE–AUSTRALIANSOCIALWORKEDUCATIONANDACCREDITATIONSTANDARDSSUMMARY

TheAASWhasdevelopedguidelinesonAustralianSocialworkEducationandAccreditationStandards(ASWEAS)in2012andrevisedin2014.Guideline1.2:isusedbyuniversitiestoarrangefieldeducationprograms.Keyaspectsoftheseguidelinespertinenttothisresearchspecifythefollowing

Featureofplacement

Requirementsforaccreditation

Timingandlengthofplacement

Fieldeducationsubjectsmustbetakenovertwoyearswithintheprofessionalsocialworkprogramofstudy.

Studentsmustsuccessfullycompleteaminimumof1,000hoursinatleasttwofieldeducationsubjects.Thesehoursmustbecompletedwithinthenormalworkinghours/daysoftheorganisationhostingtheplacement.Noleaveofanykindmaybeincludedinthisrequirement;thatis,thefull1,000hoursmustbecompleted.

Noplacementwillbeshorterthan280hoursUniversityattendanceduringplacement

Practice–theoryintegrationseminarsmaybeincludedwithintherequiredhoursuptoamaximumof14hoursper500‐hourplacement.

Placementflexibility

Placementsmustbestructuredinawaythatiseducationallyviable(sothateducationalgoalscanbeachieved).Patternsofplacementdaysmayvaryfromfivedaysperweek,toaminimumoftwodaysperweek.Placementsthataretwodaysperweekmustincludeatleasttwofull‐time(five‐day)blockperiods,unlesstheSWAOUdeterminesthatextenuatingcircumstancesapply.

Onoccasions,astudentmayrequestflexibilityregardingtherequirementthatplacementsthataretwodaysperweekmustincludeatleasttwofulltime(5day)blockperiods,onthegroundsofextenuatingcircumstances.

Serioushealthissue,illnessordisability,whichimpactsonthestudent’scapacitytoattendplacementsforatleasttwofulltime(5day)blockperiods.

ThefollowingaresomeexamplesofcircumstanceswhichwouldNOTbeconsideredextenuating:

o Otherworkcommitmentso Familycommitmentso Holidays/Movinghouseo Changingjobso Financialcosto Transitoryhealthmatters

Placementatwork Oneplacementonlycanbeundertakeninastudent’splaceofemployment

andstudentsmustbeallocatedlearningexperiencesnotinvolvingthestudent’sroutineworkresponsibilities,includingdetailsofthedifferentiationbetweenlearninggoalsandusualemploymentduties.Inexceptionalcircumstances,astudentmaybegrantedtwofieldplacementsinthestudent’splaceofemployment.Theseexceptionalcircumstancescouldinclude:a)Wherestudentsarelivingand/orworking

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inremoteareas2andthereisnosuitableplacementwithinareasonabledistance(>90kilometrestravel)andb)Mobility,support,accessandequipmentrequirements

Extremefinancialcircumstances.Thiswouldinvolveasignificantchangetoastudent’slivingcircumstancesiftheywererequiredtoundertakeanunpaidplacementanddocumentationmustbeprovidedtosubstantiatetheseclaims

Incaseswhereexceptionalcircumstancesapply,thesecondplacementinaplaceofworkmustbeinacompletelydifferentpracticesettingandfieldofpracticeandwithadifferentfieldeducatorfromthefirstplacement.

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ATTACHMENTTWO:ACWAACCREDITATIONREQUIREMENTFORFIELDEDUCATION

TheAustralianCommunityWelfareAssociationoutlinesobligationsandrequirementstobemetbyeducationprovidersinrelationtofieldworkplacementstogainandmaintainaccreditedcoursestatusforhighereducationanddiplomalevelcoursesinthePolicydocument,ACWAfieldworkplacementrequirements–diplomaandhighereducationlevelcourses.

Featureofplacement RequirementsforaccreditationTimingandlengthofplacement

Aminimumof400hoursdurationintwoseparateplacements Notbelessthan140hoursindurationinanyonefieldwork

placement Notoccurinthefirstsemesteroftheapprovedcoursetoensurethat

studentsareexposedtosomeoftheunderpinningpracticalandtheoreticalconceptspriortotheirfirstfieldworkplacement

Occuratleastonetermaparttoensurethatappropriateclassroominstructionoccurstofacilitateadequateintegrationoflearningandpracticalexperience

Universityattendanceduringplacement

Notspecified

Placementflexibility

Placementmustoccurforaminimumoftwofulldaysperweek Eachplacementmustvarysignificantly,incontextandrole,between

eachplacement(thatis,studentsshouldnotundertakesimilartasksorbeengagedwithsimilarclients)

Eachplacementshouldoccurinadifferentfieldofpracticewithadifferentagencysupervisor

PlacementatworkandRPL

Studentsmayseekrecognitionofpriorlearning(RPL)forearlierorcurrentworkexperienceinrelationtoonefieldworkplacement.

WherenoRPLorcreditisobtained,oneplacementmaybeundertakeninastudent’scurrentworkplace,however,itmustcomplywithFieldworkplacementrequirements–diplomaandhighereducationlevelcourses.

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ATTACHMENTTHREE:ONLINESURVEYINSTRUMENT

Question ResponseHowoldareyounow?(years)

Doyouidentifyasbeingfemaleormale?

1□Female

2□MaleInwhichcountrywereyouborn?

Whatisthemainlanguagethatyouspeakathome?

1□English

2□Other(pleasespecify)

________________________________________AreyouAboriginalorTorresStraitIslander?

1□No

2□YesWhatisthepostcodeofyourpermanenthomeaddressinAustralia?

Whatareyourcurrentlivingarrangements?(tickonlyone)

1□Own/mortgagedhome

2□Alone‐Rentingflat,apartmentorhouse

3□Shared‐Rentingflat,apartmentorhouse

4□Universityaccommodation

5□Boardingincludingpayingrenttoparents

6□Withparents,rentfree

7□Irregularaccommodationatmorethanonelocation

8□Homeless

9□Other(pleasespecify)

_______________________________________Whatisyourrelationshipstatus? 1□Single

2□Partnered

3□Separated/divorced

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Doyouhavefinanciallydependentchildren?

1□No

2□Yes(Howmany?_____________________

Doyouhaveadisability,impairmentorlongtermmedicalconditionwhichmayaffectyourstudies?

1□No

2□YesWhatuniversityareyoucurrentlyattending?

1□GriffithUniversity

2□QueenslandUniversityofTechnology

3□UniversityofQueenslandAreyou 1□Domesticstudent

2□InternationalstudentWhatisyourtypeofattendance? 1□Part‐time

2□Full‐timeWhatcourseareyoucurrentlystudying?

1□SocialWork–Undergraduate

2□SocialWork–Postgraduate

3□HumanServicesWhatplacementshaveyoucompleted?

1□Bothplacements

2□Firstplacement

3□Secondplacement

Areyoucurrentlyonplacement?

1□No

2□Yes

Howmanyhoursofplacementhaveyoucompletedinyourcurrentcourse?

1□1–250hours

2□251–500hours

3□501–750hours

4□751–1000hours

WhatisyourMAINsourceofincome? 1□Parents/guardians

2□Wagesorsalary

3□Governmentincomesupport

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4□Partner

5□Other(pleasespecify)

______________________________________

______________________________________

Whatisyourcurrentannualincome? 1□Under$10,000

2□$10,000to$19,999

3□$20,000to$29,999

4□$30,000to$39,999

5□$40,000ormoreDoyoureceiveYouthAllowance? 1□No

2□YesDoyoureceiveAustudy? 1□No

2□YesDoyoureceiveABSTUDY? 1□No

2□YesDoyoureceiveadisabilitypension? 1□No

2□Yes

Doyoureceiveparentingpayment? 1□No

2□Yes,single

3□Yes,partnered

Doyoureceiveauniversityscholarship/bursary?

1□No

2□YesDoyouhaveaHealthCareCard? 1□No

2□Yes

Haveyoubeeninpaidemploymentorself‐employedatanytimeduringthelasttwelvemonths?

1□No(thengotoquestion28)

2□Yes,full‐time(continuenextquestion)

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3□Yes,part‐time(continuenextquestion)

4□Yes,casual(continuenextquestion)

Inatypicalweekduringstudyperiods,howmanyhoursdoyouwork?(paidworkonly)

1□0–9hours

2□10–19hours

3□20–39hours

4□40–49hours

5□50+hours

Inatypicalweekduringnon‐studyperiods,howmanyhoursdoyouwork?(paidworkonly)

1□0–9hours

2□10–19hours

3□20–39hours

4□40–49hours

5□50+hours

Areyouseekingtoincreaseyourtypicalweeklyworkhours?

1□No

2□Yes

3□Unsure

Areyouseekingtodecreaseyourtypicalweeklyworkhours?

□No

2□Yes

3□Unsure

Ifyouareinpaidemployment,inatypicalweekdoyouworkat

1□Oneplaceofemployment/onejob

2□Twoplacesofemployment/twojobs

3□Threeormoreplacesofemployment/threeormorejobs

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Ifyouareinpaidemployment,inatypicalweekyouwork…

(pleasetickallapplicable)

1□Afterhours/nights

2□Earlymornings

3□Weekends

Ifnotinpaidemploymentatanytimeduringthelast12months,haveyoubeenseekingemploymentinthelast12months?

1□No

2□Yes

FinancialchallengesandStudychoices:

Duetoyourcurrentstudies,haveyouever

No Yes

Beensacked? 1□ 2□Hadhourscut? 1□ 2□Lostshifts? 1□ 2□Beenputonnoticeforpoorperformance?

1□ 2□

Beenintroublewithemployerfornotbeingavailableforwork?

1□ 2□

Asaresultofengagingwithyourcurrentstudies,howoftenhaveyou…

Never Rarely Sometimes Often Allof

thetimeIncurreddeficitinyourpersonalbudget

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Hadtomakepainstakingbudgetingchoices

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Hadtoprioritizeexpenses(e.g.booksversusfood)

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Incurreddebt

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

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Hadtoworklongerhoursinpaidemployment

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Hadtoworkinhighriskorlessthanidealcircumstances

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Hadtoseekgifts/supportfromfamilyandfriendstosurvive

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

SoughtassistancefromStudentWelfareServicesatUniversity

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Soughtcreditfromafinancialinstitution(bank,creditunion,paydaylender)

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Soughtassistancefromacharityoremergencyreliefagency

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

FinancialchallengesandFieldPlacement:

Towhatextenthastheplacementforyourcurrentstudies Notat

allAlittle A

moderateamount

Verymuch

Anextremeamount

Forcedyoutospendlesstimeatpaidemployment

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Impactednegativelyonyourfinancialsituation

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Causedyoustress 1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□Forcedyoutoseekextensionsforassignments

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Forcedyoutodropsubjects 1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□Forcedyoutodeferyourcourseinordertowork

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Forcedyoutochangeyourcourseprogression

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Forcedyoutoapplyforfinancialsupportofferedbyyouruniversity

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Balancingpaidworkandplacement

Towhatextenthaveyou…

Notat

allAlittle A

moderateamount

Verymuch

Anextremeamount

Hadtospendlesstimeonplacementduetopaidwork

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

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Hadtoextendanticipatedplacementhoursduetoworkcommitments

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Felttiredtryingtobalancingbothpaidworkandplacement

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Feltstressedtryingtobalancingbothpaidworkandplacement

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Feltanxioustryingtobalancingbothpaidworkandplacement

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Hadtocompromiseyourlearningexperiencewhilstonplacementduetohavingtoworkforawage

1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□

Duringplacementwhatsupporthaveyouaccessed?

No YesSupportfromuniversity? 1□ 2□Supportfromfamilyandfriends? 1□ 2□Formalsupportoffcampus,suchascounsellingorcharityassistance?

1□ 2□

Towhatextentdoyoufeelthatthefollowingschemesorstrategieshavebeeneffectiveinsupportingyoutoundertakeplacement?

Notat

allAlittle A

moderateamount

Verymuch

Anextremeamount

Scholarships/bursary 1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□Feeexemptions 1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□Financialgrants 1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□Flexibleplacementarrangements 1□ 2□ 3□ 4□ 5□Ifyouhaveundertakenoneplacement,whatstrategies(notjustfinancial)haveyouusedtominimizethefinancialandlearningimpactonyoursecondplacement?Pleaseexplain.

Haveyouundertakenaplacementoverthesummersemester?Ifyes,hasthisexacerbatedorenhancedyourfinancialsituation?

WhatsuggestionsdoyouhaveforminimizingthefinancialhardshipassociatedwithundertakingaSocialWorkorHumanServicesPlacement?Pleaseexplain

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Wouldyoubewillingtoengageinfurtheraspectsofthisresearch?

1□No

2□Yes,Iamwillingtobecontactedaboutaface‐to‐faceinterview

3□Yes,Iamwillingtobecontactedaboutparticipationinafocusgroupwithotherstudents

4□Yes,Iamwillingtobecontactedaboutbothaninterviewandafocusgroup

MYCONTACTDETAILSARE:

 

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ATTACHMENTFOUR:SEMI‐STRUCTUREDINTERVIEWGUIDE:STUDENTS

Backgroundinformation‐Pleaseprovidesomebackgroundinformationaboutyouandyourstudytodate.

Basicdemographics Howmanyplacementshaveyouundertakensofar? Howmanyhourswereeachofthese? Whatcoursewerethesepartof?(Promptforanychangesincourseovertime) Whendideachoccur?(promptforyear,firsthalf,secondhalf)

Journeythroughcourse

1. Canyoutellmeabouthowyouarefinanciallyputtingyourselfthroughuniversity?

Financialstressandimpactsofdoingplacement

2. Diddoingaplacementcreateanyadditionalorunforeseenfinancialstressforyou?Y/N3. Tellmeaboutanyfinancialchallengesyouhavefacedasaresultofneedingtodoablock

placementaspartofyourcourse.4. Canyoutellmewhetheryoubecameawareofthesechallengesbefore/duringorafteryou

wentonplacement?5. Arethesechallengesanyeasierorworseaccordingtowhatsemesteryoumaydoa

placementin(Sem1,sem2orsummersemester)?6. Didyouexpectthesechallengesordidthisexperiencecomeasasurprise?7. Howstressfulhasthisbeenforyou?Forothersinyourlife?8. Howhasthisstresshadanimpactonyou?Onothers?9. Didfinancialstresshaveanimpactonhowwellyouwereabletoengagewithyour

placementexperience?10. Didfinancialstresshaveanimpactonhowwellyouwereabletoengagewithyour

relationships(family,friends,partneretc.)?11. Didfinancialstresshaveanimpactonanythingelseforyou?

Strategiesandsupportstodealwithfinancialstress

12. Whatpersonalstrategieshaveyouemployedtodealwiththefinancialstressesyouexperienced?

13. Whatsupportservicesandprogramswereyouabletoaccess?14. Didyourevealyourpersonalsituationtoanyofthefollowingpeopleandwasthathelpful–

Fieldeducationunit,placementagencysupervisor,unitcoordinator,yearcoordinator?Whyorwhynot?

15. Howusefuldidyoufindeachofthese?16. Didyouevernotrevealyoursituationbecauseyouwereconcernedaboutwhatthatmight

mean?17. Whatelsewouldhavebeenhelpful?Fromoneplacementtothenext

18. Ifyouhavealready2placementsdidyourstrategiestodealwithfinancialstresseschangeforyoursecondplacement?

19. Doyouhaveanotherplacementtoundertakeaspartofyourcurrentcourserequirements?20. Ifso,doyouexpecttoexperiencefinancialstressinundertakingthis?

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21. Willyouapproachthisnextplacementdifferentlyfromyourfirstoneintermsofdealingwithfinancialstress?

Suggestedchangestocourse‐Weareinterestedinhowsocialworkandhumanservicescoursescanbestructuredtolessen,orincrease,financialpressuresonstudents.

22. Didthisexperiencehaveanimpactonhowwellyouwereabletodeveloppracticecompetenciesacrossthecourse?

23. Whatinformationaboutflexibleoptionsforundertakingplacementdidyouhearabout?24. Didyouutiliseanyoftheseflexibilities?Ifsowhathappened?Ifnot,whynot?25. Arethereanychangestohowyourcourseisstructuredthatthatyousuggestwouldallow

yourneedstobebetteraccommodated?

Otherquestions

26. Arethereanyotherquestionsweshouldbeaskingstudentstoexplorethisarea?(Whatquestion?)

Overallview

27. Overallwhatdoyouthinkcouldbedonetolessentheimpactsoffinancialstressonstudentssuchasyourselfwhoundertakesocialworkorhumanservicesblockfieldeducationplacements?

28. Isthereanythingelseyouwouldliketocommenton? 

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ATTACHMENTFIVE:FOCUSGROUPDISCUSSIONGUIDE

Presentdatafromsurveyandseekfurtherclarificationforanykeypointsidentified

Supportstrategiesandseekinghelp

Presentdataandqualitativefeedbackabouthow,whenandwhostudentsmayseeksupportfromandseekfurtherfeedbackaboutdatapertainingtostudentsperceivedsenseofreluctancetoseekassistancefromsupportagencies(about85%ofstudentswouldnotdothis).Discussion.

Guideddiscussionaboutsurveydatathatindicateswhenstudentsarestrugglingfinanciallytheyaremorelikelytoincurdebt,gethelpinformally,tryandworkmorewhennotonprac,ratherthanaskforhelpfromavailableuniversitysupport.

Strategiesthatidentifiedaseffectiveineasingfinancialhardship

Guideddiscussiononwhylessthan20%ofstudentsmayhaveindicatedinthesurveythatscholarships,bursariesorfeeexemptionsorgrantsareeffective.

Guideddiscussionofthesurveyfeedbackthatsuggests30%ofstudentsconsiderflexibleplacementarrangementstobeveryeffective.

Guideddiscussionaroundotherideasthatstudentssuggestedwouldhelpeasethefinancialpressuresofplacement.

PriorityActions

Guideddiscussiontohelpidentifywhatissuesdiscussedinthefocusgroupisthemostimportant.

Gapsinthefindings

Guideddiscussionaboutpotentialissues/gapsmissedinthesummaryofthemainfindingsandthroughthefocusgroupdiscussion

Advocatingforchange

Guideddiscussionaboutwhatelseyouwouldsuggesttheresearchadvocatesforonyourbehalfandtowhom.

 

   

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ATTACHMENTSIX:SEMI‐STRUCTUREDINTERVIEWGUIDE:KEYINFORMANTS(FIELDEDUCATIONANDHEADOFSCHOOL)

Backgroundinformation

Pleaseprovidebackgroundinformationaboutyourrole,yourcontactwithstudentsduringtheplacementprocessandyourgeneralthoughtsabouttrendsyoumaybenoticingwiththestudentcohort.

1. Whichcoursesdoestheuniversityofferwherestudentsareonplacement?2. Howmanysemestersforplacementsdoesuniversityoffer?3. Howmanyhoursarerequiredforplacementforeachcourse?4. Whendotheseoccur?5. Howmanycreditpointsareattachedtoplacementunits?6. Howmanyothersubjectsarestudentsallowedtodoalongsideplacement?Whatareyour

thoughtsaboutthis?7. Havethenumberofenrolmentschangedmuchinthepast1to2years?Areyounoticingany

changesinthecohortgroup?8. Areyounoticinganychangesregardingthecomplexityofstudent’sissuesorneeds? 

Natureandextentoftheissue

9. Areyouawareoftheprevalenceoffinancialstressexperiencedbysocialworkandhumanservicestudentsonfieldeducationplacement?

10. Ifso,howdoyoucapturethisdata/information?11. Whataretherangeoffinancialstressorsthateffectstudentsduringfieldeducation

placementandwhatimpactdoesthishave?12. Areyouawareofstudentcohortsthatmaybemoresusceptibletoexperiencingfinancial

stressthanotherstudents?Howdoyoubecomeawareofthesestudents?

Preparingstudentsforplacement

13. Whatadvicedoyouofferstudentstoprepareforthechallengesthatplacementcanpose?Doyouspecificallyidentifythatfinancialchallengesmaybeanissueforstudentsonplacement–whendoyouprovidethisadvice?

14. Towhatextentdoyouthinkthatstudentsacknowledgethatfinancialhardshipisormaybecomeanissuebeforegoingonplacement?

Impactonstudent’splacementexperience

15. Towhatextentdoyoubelievethatfinancialchallengesnegativelyimpactonhowwellstudentsengagewiththeiroverallplacementexperience?

16. Doyoureceivefeedbackfromsupervisorsinthefieldthatsuggeststudentslevelofengagementwithplacementmaybeeffectedduetostressorfatigue?

17. Towhatextentdothesechallengesaffecthowwellstudentsachievethecorecompetenciesthatarerequiredtobemetonplacement?Promptpotentiallyfailingplacementpredominantlybecauseofthepressureofotherpriorities?

18. Towhatextentdoyoubelievethatfinancialchallengesnegativelyimpactonhowwellstudentsonplacementengagewithuniversityiftheyaredoingothersubjects?

19. Towhatextentdoyoubelievethatastudent’sfinancialchallengesnegativelyimpactontheuniversitiesrelationshipwithaplacementagency?

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20. Areyouawareifthefinancialchallengesforstudentsarelessenedorworsenedaccordingtowhatsemestertheymaydoaplacementin(Sem1,sem2orsummersemester)?Whydoyouthinkthisis?

21. Areyouawarewhetherornotthesituationisexperienceddifferentlyforexternalasopposedtointernalstudents?

Helpseekingbehavioursofstudents

22. Duringplacement,ifstudentsareexperiencingfinancialchallenges,whodoyoubelievetheyseeksupportfrom?

23. IftheyseeksupportfromwithintheSchool,aretheydoingthisinatimelywayordothingsreach‘crisispoint’beforestudentsseeksupport?

Strategiestoalleviatetheissue

24. Whatresourcesdoyoudrawon/refertosoastosupportstudentsexperiencingfinancialstress?

25. Howeffectivearetheyinalleviatingthecircumstancesofstudentsonfieldeducationplacements?Howdoyounowthis?

26. Haveyouintroducedanyotherspecificstrategiestosupportstudentswhomaybeatriskoffailingtheirplacementspecificallyduetofinancialburden?Whatarethey?

27. Whydidyouintroducethis?28. Howeffectiveisthis?29. Whatimpactdoesthesocialpolicycontexthaveonthefinancialstressorsexperiencedby

students?30. Whataretheimplicationsofwideningparticipation/equityandsocialinclusionforfield

educationplacementsonthesestudents?31. Whattypesofpolicyorprogramenhancements(atuniversitylevelandbroadersocial

policylevel)thatcouldcreateadditionalsupportforstudents?

Coursestructure

32. Arethereanychangestohowthecourseisstructuredthatyousuggestwouldallowstudentsneedstobebetteraccommodated?

Otherquestions

33. Arethereanyotherquestionsweshouldbeaskingstafftoexplorethisarea?(Whatquestion?)

Overallview

34. Overallwhatdoyouthinkcouldbedonetolessentheimpactsoffinancialstressonstudentswhoundertakesocialworkorhumanservicesblockfieldeducationplacements?

35. Isthereanythingelseyouwouldliketocommenton?

   

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ATTACHMENTSEVEN:SEMI‐STRUCTUREDINTERVIEWGUIDEFORSTUDENTSUPPORTSERVICES/STUDENTWELFARESERVICES

Natureandextentoftheissue

1. Whatistheprevalenceoffinancialstressexperiencedbysocialworkandhumanservicestudentsonfieldeducationplacement?

2. Inyouropinionhastheprevalenceoffinancialstressexperiencedbystudentschanged(increased,decreased,remainedthesame)forstudentsinrecentyears?

3. Whatdoyouthinkhasledtotheissuechangingorstayingstatic?4. Whataretherangeoffinancialstressorsthateffectstudentsgenerally?5. Whataretherangeoffinancialstressorsthateffectstudentsduringfieldeducation

placementandwhatimpactdotheysaythishasonthem?Thatyouobserve?6. Areyounoticinganyspecifictrendsinthetypesofstudentswhomaybemoresusceptible

toexperiencingfinancialhardship(e.g.carers,internationalstudents,youngerstudents)?7. Parentingandaccesstochildcare–howoftendostudentsonplacementpresentwiththis

asanissue?8. Areyounoticinganytrendsinwhenstudentsareexperiencingfinancialhardship(

Responsestotheissue

9. HowdostudentsbecomeawarethatsupportisavailableviayouruniversitiesStudentCounsellingServices?

10. Whatresources(internaltouniversitysuchasscholarships/bursaries)existtosupportstudentsexperiencingfinancialstress?

11. Howeffectiveareeachoftheseinalleviatingthecircumstancesofstudentsonfieldeducationplacements?

12. Whatexternalresources(supportservices)doyoumostcommonlyreferstudentsto?13. Howeffectivedoyouthinktheseareinalleviatingthecircumstancesofstudentsonfield

educationplacements?14. Doesthefactthatstudentsareoffcampusandonplacementcreateanyadditionalbarriers

toaccesstostudentsupportservices?Howdoyourespondtothisandhoweffectiveisthis?

15. TherehasbeenarecentpushbyWorkIntegratedLearning(WIL)andacademicstaffinuniversitiestoencouragestudentstobetterprepareforthefinancialchallengesofblockplacementssuchas:

o Betterapproachtocommunicatingtostudentswithfinanciallydifficultiesaboutsupportavailable–asinglewebsite

o AdvicetostudentsabouthowtogetsupportwithfinancialdifficultiesintheStudentPlacementslideswhichareusedinorientingstudentstoplacementandWILunits

o MoreinformationforstudentsearlyintheircoursearoundpreparingfinanciallyforWIL

o TheworkshopsonWILRiskmanagementforallWILstaff(academicandprofessional)includesinformationonissuesaroundstudentswithfinancialdifficulties

Whichifanyofthesehavebeenusedinyoursocialworkandhumanservicecourses?Doyouhaveanopiniononhowsuccessfulthismayhavebeen?

Additionalresponsestotheissue

16. Canyouthinkofanyotherpolicyorprogramenhancementsthatuniversitiescouldimplement/adoptthatcouldcreateadditionalsupportforstudents?

73

17. Whatchangestothecurriculacouldbetteraccommodatethedemandsonstudentsinthecontemporarycontext?

18. Howadequatearetheresourcesforstudentsupportservices–staffing,fundingetc.inrespondingtotheneedsofstudentsexperiencingfinancialhardship?Howcouldstudentsupportservicesbeenhancedsoastoreducesignificantlevelsoffinancialstressforstudentsundertakingplacement?

Broadercontext

19. Whatimpactdoesthesocialpolicycontexthaveonthefinancialstressorsexperiencedbystudents(accesstochildcaresupports,Centrelinkpayments,studentloansetc.)?

20. Whataretheimplicationsofwideningparticipation/equityandsocialinclusionforthosestudentsundertakingblockfieldeducationplacements?

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ATTACHMENTEIGHT:SCHOLARSHIPSANDBURSARYGUIDELINES

TypeandPurpose Income 

A merit or equity‐based scholarship is a scholarship that is awarded to a student to: 

recognise the student's achievement in studying or in undertaking research at an educational institution, or 

enable the student to study or undertake research at an educational institution. 

A scholarship granted to a student for either of these purposes is treated as exempt income for social security purposes to the extent that the payment does not exceed the person's threshold of $7,485 in a calendar year (in 2014). The value of this threshold is indexed each year. 

Scholarships or similar payments are treated as income for social security purposes unless otherwise excluded.  

Scholarships awarded within Australia 

assist recipients to complete an academic qualification, 

obtain specialised training, or 

complete a special project. 

Scholarships awarded outside Australia may be excluded as income if they do NOT meet living expenses. The term scholarship is not defined in the SSAct, but is generally taken to mean a payment/s made to a student to assist with general living expenses. 

Scholarships awarded in Australia are income unless otherwise excluded  

Commonwealth scholarships ‐ Relocation Scholarship and the Student Start Up Scholarship 

to assist students from low socio‐economic backgrounds, particularly Indigenous students and those from rural or regional areas who have to move away from the family home to undertake higher education studies.  

Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarships (CECS) of $2,492 (in 2014) a year for up to 4 years to assist with their education costs, and 

Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarships (CAS) of $4,985 (in 2014) a year for up to 4 years to assist them with accommodation costs when they move to undertake higher education. 

Commonwealth scholarships are NOT treated as income for social security purposes. These scholarships were introduced in 2004 as Commonwealth Learning Scholarships  

 

Bursaries and stipends 

Paid to the scholarship recipient directly (in the form of money, or valuable consideration such as computers or airline flights), or 

Paid indirectly, in the form of a financial obligation paid on behalf of the scholar (such as prepaid fees), that the student is liable to pay in order to enrol. 

Some payments may be treated as exempt lump sums, based on their characteristics. 

 

 

 

75

ATTACHMENTNINE:CREDITPOINTSANDSUBJECTQUOTAPERUNIVERSITYPARTNERS

  COURSE & UNIVERSITY 

PLACEMENT SUBJECT CREDIT POINT PER 

PLACEMENT 

SUBJECTS ALONGSIDE PLACEMENT 

TOTAL CREDIT POINTS 

 

QUT 

BSW 

2 placements total 

1000 hrs. 

24  2 @ 12 units each  48 

MSW 

2 placements total 

1000 hrs. 

24  2 @12 units each  48 

BHS 

2 placements total 

550 hrs. 

24  2 @12 units each  48 

 

GRIFFITH

 UNIVER

SITY 

BSW 

1) 17 weeks 68 days 

2) 18 weeks 72 days 

30  1 @ 10 units  40 

MSW 

1) 476 hours 

2) 504 hours 

30  1 @10 UNITS  40 

BHS 

One placement 52 days 

30  1 @ 10 units  40 

 

SUNSH

INE COAST UNIVER

SITY 

BSW 

2 PLACEMENTS 500 HRS 

48  0  48 

MSW 

2 PLACEMENTS  

500 HRS 

36  1 @ 12 units  48 

BHS 

PLACEMENT ONE 150 HRS 

PLACEMENT TWO 300 hrs. 

24 

 

 

 

 

2 @ 12 units  48 

76

 

ACU 

BSW 2 YEAR 

BA/BSW 

PLACEMENT ONE 500 HRS 

PLACEMENT TWO 500 HRS 

 

 

20 

 

20 

 

 

2 @ 10 credit points each 

2 @ 10 credit points each 

 

 

40 

 

40 

MSW 

Placement One 500 hrs. 

Placement two 500 hrs.  

 

30 

 

30 

 

1@ 10 credit points 

1 @ 10 credit points 

 

40 

40 

BSW (4 YRS) FROM 2015 

Placement One (yr. 2) 280 hrs. 

 

Placement Two (Yr3) 360 hrs. 

Placement Three (Yr. 4) 360 hrs. 

 

 

 

10 

 

20 

 

20 

 

 

3 @ 10 credit points each 

2 @ 10 credit points each 

2@ 10 credit points each 

 

 

40 

 

40 

 

40 

 

77

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