| Author: | Lee, Wai-lun Francis |
| Title: | On becoming a social worker : constructing social work professional identity during social work education in Macao |
| Advisors: | Tsui, Ming Sum (APSS) |
| Degree: | DSW |
| Year: | 2020 |
| Subject: | Social workers -- China -- Macau Social work education -- China -- Macau Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | Department of Applied Social Sciences |
| Pages: | xiv, 383 pages : illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Social work is a profession in context. Its job nature is highly dynamic and contextual. A solid professional identity is therefore essential for social workers. Every year, many social work graduates enter the field. What are their social work professional identities when they graduate from the social work programme? What are their experiences of constructing social work professional identities during social work education? This qualitative study employs a narrative approach to explore social work students' experiences of constructing social work professional identities during social work education. Nine fresh social work graduates were interviewed to share their experiences. Construction of social work identity in social work education, like social work practice in the real world, is dynamic, contextual and dialectic. Participants brought prior socialisation, moral and personal expectations to their social work study. During their social work education, to enable a sense of coherence there was continuous active "verification-negotiation-orientation" processing of their discursive resources. The construction process became complicated when they started their fieldwork in which their roles and discursive resources proliferated. For most participants, fieldwork challenged their sense of coherence of their moral and personal expectations and caused identity crises in the social work profession and for them personally. Facing these identity struggles and challenges, participants would find sources of reassurance to verify their expectations, models and beliefs in social work. The construction of social work professional identity is indeed a process of personal and moral commitment. The construction of students' professional social work identity relates to the structural and contextual conditions of the social work profession and societal culture in Macao in term of the quality of social services and the organisational culture, unity and the influence of the social work profession here. This constitutes the breeding ground on which students understand and practice social work. The late development of social work and dominance of traditional neighbourhoods and political forces providing social services creates cultural gaps between what social work students learnt in school and social work practice in the real world. There are also conflicts between institutional and professional principles. Not only does this place limitations on the scope of the learning experience, especially social and critical practice for students during their fieldwork, it also induces confusion, frustration and helplessness for students. Their construction of social work professional identity during social work education proceeded within a learning environment full of dialectic forces. This explains why students engage in cycles of "verification-negotiation-(re)orientation" and why the discourse they use to define social work is mainly personal and relational concerning social worker's professional morals and ethical behaviour and entail the functions of caring, support or problem solving for individuals or families, from a practical or pragmatic perspective. In order to enhance students' construction of social work professional identity during social work education, social work programmes should provide measures to ensure and improve alignment between learning and the stakeholders, including students, social work teachers, field instructors, fieldwork units and the social work profession in Macao. It was found here that better alignment could provide proper reassurance, such as role models, support and discursive resources for students when they meet the above challenges, which could help them integrate their learning in the dialectic and confusing learning environment. For long-term consideration, we should consider strengthening the network and collaboration of the social work community in Macao. It is believed that a systematic building of a community of practice for social work is indispensable. Social work education is not only about education but also building a caring and professional culture within our community and in society. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5573.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 8.52 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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