Professional Identity and Social Work

How are identities formed among social workers, many of whom perform complex, challenging and ambiguous public sector functions on a regular basis? Why does identity come to matter for professional social work? This book, the first of its kind in the field, examines professional identity in relation to social work by asking how practitioners think of themselves as a "social worker", a professional self-concept often entangled in a range of relations, beliefs, values and experiences. Bringing together the perspectives of an internationally renowned group of specialists, the collection addresses a range of issues associated with professional identity construction and "being professional" in the context of a rapidly changing inter-professional environment. It introduces new concepts to social work, including materiality, enactment, performance, affect, entanglement, capital and worth, to consider the vexed issues surrounding matters of professional identity in social work. This will be an essential guide to all those keen to debate the challenges and possibilities confronting contemporary social work through the lens of professional identity, whether they are students, educators, practitioners, researchers, managers, policy-makers or associated professionals. It will also appeal to those interested in social theory, organisational sociology and leadership as well as anyone working in related fields of health and education.

Stephen A. Webb is Professor of Social Work at Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland. Previous to this he was Professor of Human Sciences and Director of the Institute for Social Inclusion and Well-being, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Sussex, UK.

Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors Chapter 1 Matters of Professional Identity and Social Work Stephen A. Webb PART 1 Key concepts and perspectives Chapter 2 Perspectives on Professional Identity: the changing world of the social worker Mike Dent Chapter 3 What is professional identity and how do social workers acquire it? Fran Wiles Chapter 4 Materiality, Performance and the Making of Professional Identity Torben Elgaard Jensen Chapter 5 Constructing the social, constructing social work Elizabeth Harlow PART 2 Location, context and workplace culture Chapter 6 Vocation and professional identity: Social workers at home and abroad Mark Erickson and Jem Price Chapter 7 Risk work in the formation of the 'professional' in child protection social work Emily Keddell and Tony Stanley Chapter 8 Identity formation, scientific rationality and embodied knowledge in child welfare Melissa Hardesty Chapter 9 Field, Capital and Professional Identity: Social Work in Health Care Liz Beddoe Chapter 10 Interprofessional collaboration: strengthening or weakening social work identity? Julia Emprechtinger and Peter Voll Chapter 11 Commitment in the making of professional identity Stewart Collins Chapter 12 Professional identity in the care and upbringing of children: towards a praxis of residential child care Mark Smith PART 3 Professional education, socialisation and readiness for practice Chapter 13 Shaping Identity? The Professional Socialisation of Social Work Students Julia Wheeler Chapter 14 Credible performances: Affect and professional identity Jadwiga Leigh Chapter 15 Making Professional Identity: Narrative Work and Fateful Moments Maura Daly and Martin Kettle Chapter 16 Professional Identity as a Matter of Concern Stephen A. Webb References Index