The practice educator lens: bringing student practice into focus using the direct observation

This paper is based on the presentation given at the 11th International Conference in Belfast (April 2016). The article explores the experience of the direct observation from the practice educator perspective with students undertaking practice placements as part of the pre-qualifying programmes for Social Work within England. It seeks to explore some of the issues present within the direct observation as a tool ‘for’ and ‘of’ assessment and how fundamental it can be to ascertain competence within a real experience for students working with service users. It raises the question of what is a ‘good enough’ direct observation from a service user perspective and how this informs the recommendation of a pass of the practice placement. It proposes that there are some latent challenges in setting a benchmark within the direct observation however doing so would allow a clearer focus on the assessment process.