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Faculty of Graduate Studies

Jenny McGrath

  • BA (Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1994)

  • BAA (Mount Saint Vincent University, 1998)

  • MSc (Nova Southeastern University, 2003)

Notice of the Final Oral Examination for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Topic

Child and Youth Care Fieldwork during COVID-19

School of Child and Youth Care

Date & location

  • Wednesday, June 18, 2025

  • 10:00 A.M.

  • Virtual Defence

Reviewers

Supervisory Committee

  • Dr. Doug Magnuson, School of Child and Youth Care, 51³Ô¹Ï (Supervisor)

  • Dr. Grant Charles, School of Child and Youth Care, UVic (Member)

  • Dr. Varda Mann-Feder, Child and Youth Care, Concordia University (Outside Member) 

External Examiner

  • Dr. Judy Finlay, School of Child and Youth Care, Toronto Metropolitan University 

Chair of Oral Examination

  • Dr. Richard van Oort, Department of English, UVic

     

Abstract

There are over 40 post-secondary Child and Youth Care (CYC) programs in Canada, but there is insufficient empirical data and little literature in CYC about the effectiveness of fieldwork practices, even though most educators believe fieldwork is an essential component of human service programs. Current literature from allied fields utilizes the variables supervision, context, use of self, and challenges to depict fieldwork from the perspective of both students and supervisors. Satisfaction, learning, and competency are commonly used to evaluate the outcomes. These seven variables guided the development of the survey. 

This research question was: How have child and youth care students experienced fieldwork during the COVID-19 pandemic? Students across Canada completed a questionnaire describing their field education experiences, and three themes were present. The first theme is pandemic perceptions, which are contextual and time specific but illustrates field education strengths and challenges that would be relevant beyond the pandemic. The second theme of relational support has sub-themes about supervision and feedback. The third theme of self-reflection has sub-themes about student learning and processing emotions. A framework to help CYC faculty supervisors better understand and successfully facilitate fieldwork courses is provided. 

Keywords: Child and Youth Care, Fieldwork, Students, Higher Education, COVID-19

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