Social Work Education, Student Led Research, Cooperative Inquiry, Practice Research, Experiential Learning, Placement.
In this article the authors reflect on their experiences of engaging in an international, online, student-led cooperative inquiry research project. The project was designed and delivered during COVID-19, when all but essential international and internal travel was restricted. At this time, placements and social work education had to adapt and accommodate new teaching and learning methods, to enable social work education programmes to continue. This article sets out to introduce the reader to a unique student-led research project. Over the duration of the placement, Australian and Irish social work students and their academic tutors engaged in online conversations that were transcribed, resulting in the co-production of data. (McLaughlin et al, 2022)
The authors include a student, an academic and a professional placement coordinator. The research project was a first-time engagement with such an activity for all 3 authors. In this article, the authors discuss features of the project design and its enactment. They critically reflect on their own engagement with the research project. Using cooperative inquiry, the article points to how students, in collaboration with academic tutors, used cooperative inquiry and various technological affordances to complete a piece of practice research while on placement during COVID-19.