The Impact of Working with a Struggling or Failing Student in A Practice Learning Setting

Session overview

National and international research, from social work and comparator professions with assessed practice learning requirements, overwhelming conclude that working with a struggling or failing student can be a very stressful and emotionally demanding experience (Finch, 2017).  The aftermath may also be stressful, and can lead to practice educators not wanting to undertake this role again, or teams not willing to take on students again.  Relationships can also become strained between the agencies and the universities. This session focuses on the emotional impact of working with a struggling or failing student on placement, considers what might be the range of challenging but “normal” emotional responses and explores why such emotional responses may emerge. The session highlights the psychodynamic theory of projective identification as one explanatory factor in why the experience can be painful. The session also focuses on how organisations, i.e local authorities, agencies and universities should respond to…