From block placement to blended model: the way forward for social work practicum in Ghana

The extant literature on social work education has underscored several factors that hinder the satisfaction of social work students during practicum. Whether or not the adopted social work practicum model influences practice outcomes for students is unknown. Based on the contextual challenges of social work education and the need to ensure culturally relevant social work practice (aka indigenization) in Africa, we explored how the practicum model of a University in Ghana could be modeled to meet the learning outcome of social work students. Thematic analysis from interviews with 18 social work students who had completed their practicum at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana, showed a consensus on introducing a blended model to guide the social work practicum in Ghana. The findings from the study underscored students' advocacy for a blended model, their displeasure with the mismatch of agency and area of interest due to the practicum model and the unexpected challenges and anxieties they face as novice practitioners. The study has profound implications for social work education in Ghana, including the need to introduce models such as 'my first experience as a social worker' into the practicum orientation programs for social work schools.