The future of practice teaching in the voluntary sector

In the spring of 1996, a Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work funded study was undertaken to ascertain the views of the voluntary agencies on Merseyside with regard to the feasibility and advantages of creating an umbrella organisation for co-ordinating voluntary sector placements.

This article will explore the findings of the study and debate the unpalatable dilemma of whether voluntary organisations should potentially distort their purpose in an attempt to secure a future for themselves in placement provision, or withdraw from the field of social work education.

It will look at the implications of this sector becoming marginalised from social work education and the impact this would have on the profession.