Picturing social work, puzzles and passion: exploring and developing transnational professional identities

Abstract

Exploring and in turn developing professional identity is a challenge faced by social work programmes, nationally and internationally. This paper developed from the authors' shared research interest in how social workers and students of social work develop and express their professional identities. We report findings from a workshop designed to explore how a group of social workers from different countries conceptualised social work identity, including the effects of transnational and cultural contexts. Our starting point drew on theoretical concepts developed in Wiles's research, in which the term professional identity is used to convey multiple meaning, and the method developed in Vicary's research which uses drawing to elicit data. We found that a collective identity is shared across national boundaries albeit, and ironically, that this shared identity has components that are not cohesive and are continually being redefined. In the participants' own words, the notion of social work identity is always just out of reach conceptually, or "over the horizon". Tensions in identity were also revealed, alongside a sense of passion or deep commitment. These findings complement and add to the existing literature on exploring and developing professional identity in social work.

Professional identity research in the health professions—a scoping review

“…Forty-five studies (28%) were concerned with the political, social and healthcare reforms and advances. This included the impact on professional identity (35 or 22%) (Bertin & Pantalone, 2019 ; Blomberg, 2016 ; Bludau, 2017 ; Bochatay, 2018 ; Brunton, 2017 ; Carpenter & Platt, 1997 ; Cascón-Pereira et al, 2016 ; Currie et al, 2010 ; Dahl & Clancy, 2015 ; de Meis et al, 2007 ; Feen-Calligan, 2012 ; Frechette et al, 2020 ; Furtaw, 2004 ; Gent, 2017 ; Gomaa, 1999 ; Handy et al, 2020 ; Hendrikx, 2018 ; Hurley, 2009 ; Iglesias & De Bengoa Vallejo, 2011 ; Kyratsis et al, 2017 ; Larsson et al, 2009 ; McMurray & Pullen, 2008 ; Mishra et al, 2012 ; O’Shea & McGrath, 2019 ; Ocek & Vatansever, 2014 ; Piil et al, 2012 ; Porter & Wilton, 2019 ; Sanders, 2019 ; Snelgrove, 2009 ; Takashima & Saeki, 2019 ; Thompson, 2005 ; Thomson et al, 2014 ; Vincifori & Molinar, 2014 ; Wiles & Vicary, 2019 ; Zufferey, 2012 ), the role of professional identity in adjusting to these reforms or advances (8) (Bertrand, 2009 , 2010 ; Dadich et al, 2015 ; Deppoliti, 2003 ; Franco & Tavares, 2013 ; Gregg & Magilvy, 2001 ; Hammond et al, 2016 ; Wright, 2007 ) as well as the broader impact of political and social reform on recruitment and retention of health care workers through professional identity effects (2) (Allen, 2011 ; Deppoliti, 2008 ).…”

The ‘Rich Pictures’ Method: Its Use and Value, and the Implications for HRD Research and Practice

“…For example, one group may complete an RP faster, or include a different level of detail and complexity. In addition, the make-up of a group could impede or foster creativity and exploration, and according to Wiles and Vicary (2019) possibly “over-ride individual views” (p. 59) including willingness to honestly and openly look at the situation.…”

Revisiting social work professional identity in the light of the impact of COVID-19

“…The 2017 workshop, developed and delivered with my colleague Sarah Vicary, involved fifteen social workers from Germany, Finland, England, Israel, Australia, the Netherlands and Slovakia. With participants' consent, we recorded, analysed and subsequently published the workshop findings (Wiles and Vicary, 2019). We found that this small group of practitioners shared a collective social work identity, based on a strong commitment to social justice values, which spanned national boundaries.…”

“…At the 2017 European Association of Schools of Social Work (EASSW) conference, I conducted, with my colleague, an interactive workshop exploring how a group of social workers from different countries conceptualised social work identity (Wiles and Vicary, 2019). The main findings were that a shared professional identity, rooted in a strong commitment to social justice values, spans national boundaries.…”