Abstract
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Ten years ago, Collingwood and her colleagues (2005, 2008) published the Three Stage
Theory Framework (the KIT model), a model for linking theory to practice in social work
field placements. The focus of their work was how students might deconstruct and analyse
micro interventions occurring in the placements to enhance their work with individuals,
couples and families. This is unquestionably an area of placement learning that can be
enormously challenging and complex to appraise in supervision. The KIT model represents
an amalgam approach to learning and is a popular resource in our networks for its capacity
to support supervisors and students in communicating about micro practice assessment
frameworks, theory to inform, theory to intervene, policy and legislative frameworks,
skills for practice, and values both personal and professional. Such communication is also
required in placements where research, community work and policy analysis are required
of the student. However, meso and macro practice was not addressed by the Collingwood
model. Moreover, the literature on available models for applying theory to practice
highlights an enduring gap at these levels of intervention. We propose that the Three Stage
Theory Framework can significantly enhance student completion and understanding of
meso and macro tasks by providing clarity about the potential knowledge, skills and values
addressed. This article examines the importance of visualising or mapping theory in social
work education and demonstrates how the Collingwood model can be applied to theory–
practice integration with meso and macro tasks in social work field placements