How can we Nurture Professional Identity in Social Work?
Welcome back to the Social Work Café blog!
You might be wondering why there has not been a new podcast episode the last few months. Or perhaps you have not even noticed, fair enough!
I had to take a break from the podcast while battling some epic morning sickness.
I hope to find a new normal soon so I can resume having fabulous conversations with amazing social workers.
Despite my little hiatus, I have some exciting news about a new publication and an opportunity for you to participate in a pilot study on professional identity in social work.
Let’s start with the publication.
The first paper of our large scoping literature review was published several months ago.
Our second paper published (open access) in the European Journal of Social Work focuses on the Mechanisms that Impact the Experience and Sustainability of the Professional Identity of Social Workers.
Download and read the article here.
We analysed 91 peer-reviewed studies covering 1999 – 2024 to examine how professional identity is developed, maintained, and at times, undermined.
Our thematic analysis uncovered eight key mechanisms (five that sustain identity and three that undermine it). The five mechanisms that sustain professional identity are:
Experiencing a Robust Professional Identity
Collective Identity
Congruence Between Personal and Professional Identity
Pride in the Profession
Ongoing Professional Development
In contrast (often mirroring those that sustain) are these three mechanisms that undermine professional identity:
Experiencing a Weak Professional Identity
Low Comparative Status
Limited Opportunities for Development
The message from our research is clear: sustaining professional identity isn’t a one-off task. It is an ongoing and collective effort that calls on educators, supervisors, managers, professional bodies and policymakers to play a role in: fostering pride and connection within the profession; ensuring access to quality supervision and training; advocating for better recognition, pay, and working conditions and; protecting professional autonomy and ethical practice.
We hope that this research offers a roadmap to understanding and reinforcing professional identity in social work.
On that exciting note, the work of our amazing research team continues, as we are now piloting our professional identity survey with qualified social workers.
No matter where you are located, we would love for you to participate, as well as give us feedback on ways to improve the survey so we can reach an even wider audience across the globe.
To learn more and access the survey, click here.
Stay tuned for more exciting conversations and research in this space.
Dr. B
