Role-Playing in Social Work Education: A Survey of Undergraduate Students' Experiences and Implementation Preferences in Singapore

This study examines undergraduate social work students' experiences with role-playingpedagogy at the National University of Singapore, addressing a significant gap inunderstanding students' perspectives on role-playing implementation. Through an onlinesurvey of 68 undergraduate students who completed a core skills-based module, the studyinvestigated students' perceptions of role-playing usefulness, implementation quality, andcharacteristics of effective practice. Results revealed strong endorsement of role-playing as apedagogical tool, with over 95% of students agreeing on its importance for skill developmentand preparation for real-world practice. However, several implementation challenges emerged:only 63% found role-playing scenarios realistic, 78% reported performance anxiety duringpractice, and just 53% felt they had sufficient practice opportunities. While feedback qualitywas generally positive when provided (88% found it concrete and actionable), only 47%reported receiving regular feedback. Students strongly endorsed features aligned withdeliberate practice principles, including clear learning goals, realistic scenarios, immediatefeedback, and repeated practice opportunities. These findings suggest the need for enhancedrole-playing implementation through improved scenario realism, expanded practiceopportunities, structured feedback systems, and better anxiety management strategies. Thisstudy contributes valuable insights for optimizing role-playing pedagogy in social workeducation, particularly within Asian contexts.