Social work profession was introduced in the Indian subcontinent during the twentieth century and it has been more than seven decades since the training for this profession is imparted through various conventional institutions. A pioneer effort was initiated by Indira Gandhi National Open University to provide training for this profession through Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system. Supervision of field practicum, being an important aspect of social work training, has been studied in both the systems of education, that is, the conventional and the ODL system. This book is a comparative exploratory study of both these systems. The advantages and challenges of both the systems in the Indian context has been studied and presented along with the content analysis of UGC model curriculum and NAAC manual. This volume is a contribution to the scarce literature on field supervision in social work and a comparative analysis of two systems of learning. It is a significant study in improving the quality of fieldwork and supervision in India. CONTENTS 1 Field Practicum and Supervision in Social Work: An Overview 2 Trends of Field Practicum in India 3 Supervision of Field Practicum in Conventional System 4 Field Practicum and Supervision in the ODL System 5 Case Studies 6 Conclusion ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rafat Aara is a development professional who has worked as an academician and research consultant with reputed organisations like IGNOU and Oxfam India. She was also the Guest Faculty at the Department of Social Work, Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), Hyderabad. Her interest areas are field training and technology assisted education, especially with the marginalised. She has published in several peer-reviewed journals and magazines.