Exploring social work camping as a tool for enhancing professional skills in social work students
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Experiential learning is widely recognized as an essential approach in social work education for bridging theoretical knowledge with practical situations. This study explores the development of professional skills among social work students through social work camping in Bangladesh. A qualitative research design was employed. Data were collected from 18 undergraduate social work students who had participated in a social work camping program, using in-depth interviews (IDIs) and a focus group discussion (FGD). The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings reveal that social work camping serves as a pedagogical platform in which students actively integrate classroom knowledge with real-world practice through community engagement. The experience facilitated the development of four competency domains: (i) integration of theory and practice, (ii) collaborative skills, (iii) leadership and communication, and (iv) cultural sensitivity and adaptability. The integration of theory and practice was achieved as students translated classroom concepts into practice through continuous cycles of action and reflection. Within collaborative practice, students developed teamwork, consensus-building, negotiation, and shared decision-making skills through group-based planning and intervention implementation. Leadership and communication skills emerged through facilitation, empathic listening, and reflective dialogue, enabling students to coordinate activities and strengthen interpersonal competence. In parallel, community immersion enhanced students’ cultural sensitivity and adaptability, enabling them to build trust with community members through context-responsive engagement. The study highlights that students developed contextual awareness and readiness for professional social work practice through field exposure in a social work camping. Finally, the study contributes empirically to experiential education literature by illustrating how community-based practice fosters learning and enhances foundational professional competencies in a resource-constrained setting in Bangladesh.
Source: Discover Global Society
Institution: Shahjalal University of Science and Technology
Language: English
Subfield: Public Administration
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,390
OpenAlex ID: W7203896715