Council on Field Education

The Council on Field Education is a council of the Commission on Educational Policy (COEP). The Council on Field Education advances the role of field education as the signature pedagogy in social work education by promoting, collaborating with, recommending, and distributing information to social work field educators and related membership organizations. The council actively participates in discussions regarding the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards to ensure and strengthen the integration of theory and practice.

Charge From the Commission

The Council on Field Education shall have the following functions:

• To provide leadership and consultation to CSWE and COEP by recommending policy statements and accreditation standards that advance field education as the signature pedagogy of social work education.

• To plan education and training for field educators and others interested in social work field education, including reviewing and accepting proposals for the Field Directors’ Development Institute (APM) in coordination with CSWE’s Council on Conferences and Faculty Development.

• To develop initiatives and disseminate relevant knowledge to assist and/or inform social work educators and various constituencies about field education.

• To promote curriculum integration between classroom and field education among members of the professional community by encouraging systematically designed, supervised, coordinated and evaluated field education models to educate competent beginning professional social workers.

• To collaborate with stakeholder groups and membership organizations such as the North American Network of Field Educators and Directors and the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors.

• To employ a nomination process that assures Field Council representation using a transparent process that is geographically broad and embodies diversity.

2021 National Field Instructor Training Repository (N-FIT)

The CSWE Council on Field Education developed a repository of sample field instructor training materials to assist field directors in offering excellent training to their field instructors. The repository is organized into 10 topical folders containing sample materials that may be used or adapted. For more information, please

Field Directors' Listserv Transitioned to Field Community on CSWE's SPARK

The Field Director's Listserv transitioned to Spark as of February 18, 2022. Click  CSWE Spark!  to see a YouTube video tutorial about CSWE Spark, which will provide you with information on how to create an account in Spark and how to join the Field Directors' Community.

2015 Survey of Field Directors 

The CSWE Council on Field Education conducted a survey of field directors about how field education programs are organized, who is leading them, and how they respond to student requests for alternative structures. 

In addition, the State of Field Education Survey, a survey of Directors of Field Education on Administrative Models, Staffing, and Resources, is now available.