Social work in Hong Kong: from professionalization to ‘re-professionalization’

Hoi, Frederick Lai Wing; Tong, Tom Chan Kam

doi:10.1080/17525090902992289

Cited by 23 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Agency administrators have adopted new managerialism in the running of services and are most concerned about meeting the requirements stipulated by the quality standards and the problems of survival (Kam, 2014). Social workers who work under this challenging and difficult regime face tremendous pressure to meet the administrative requirements and quantified service performance indicators (Lai & Chan, 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Social work is not just a job’: The qualities of social workers from the perspective of service users

Kam

2019

Journal of Social Work

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Summary The social work profession emphasises the development of the personal qualities of social workers in addition to requiring them to possess the necessary professional values, knowledge, theories and practice skills. Until now, we have tended to rely on the perspective of social work professional bodies, educators and employers to assess the personal qualities of social workers. We have seldom inquired about the views of service users on the qualities of social workers, thus disregarding their perspective. This article focuses on identifying the important qualities of social workers from the perspective of service users. Findings This paper reports on qualitative research on the personal qualities of social workers that service users value in Hong Kong. It draws on a diverse range of service users with direct experiences of the services provided by social workers. A total of 47 service users from 7 core social welfare service settings and 32 service units participated in an in-depth qualitative interview. Six significant personal qualities of social workers from the service users’ perspective are identified and discussed. Applications The findings have several implications for examining directions for development of the social work profession, the relationship between service users and social workers, effective ways to develop the personal qualities of students in social work education and ways to resolve the dilemma between service users’ expectations and the existing mode of social work service delivery. Issues of particular relevance to Hong Kong are highlighted in discussing these implications.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Social work is not just a job’: The qualities of social workers from the perspective of service users

Kam

2019

Journal of Social Work

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“…This study was conducted in three southern coastal cities in mainland China, namely, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shunde, and two special administration regions of China, namely, Hong Kong and Macau. Social work profession in mainland China is still a relatively new one since the government did not start implementing policies to initiate the provision of social work profession until 2004 (Gao & Yan, 2015), whereas the development of social work in Hong Kong and Macau has a much longer history dating back to the 1960s (Lai & Chan, 2009; Tsang et al, 2008). Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shunde are all located in the Guangdong province of China, where the social work profession has been developing fast since the past decade.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Validation of the ultra‐short scale for measuring work engagement among social workers in Chinese contexts

Wong

Yip

2022

Int J Soc Welfare

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Based on 683 valid questionnaires collected among a convenience sample of social workers from Hong Kong, Macau and three other cities in mainland China, this study investigated the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the three‐item ultra‐short Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (C‐UWES‐3). The results of confirmatory factor analyses supported the discriminant validity of C‐UWES‐3 by differentiating its three items from other five items measuring emotional exhaustion and role ambiguity. The concurrent validity of C‐UWES‐3 was supported by its superior explanatory power to the original nine‐item version of the scale (C‐UWES‐9) in relation to explaining social workers' turnover intention. The convergent validity of C‐UWES‐3 was supported by its correlations vis‐à‐vis factors in the job demands‐resources model such as job demands, job resources, turnover intention and collective psychological ownership. The C‐UWES‐3 showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.81). Overall, the C‐UWES‐3 demonstrates excellent psychometric properties for informing future research.

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“…Countries in which there is still no official licensure include: Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and French Polynesia, which includes the island of Tahiti, however, French Polynesia does recognize licensure obtained in France due to its long colonial relationship. Other countries that do not have their own licensure but rely upon the US for licensing guidelines include: Palau, Tarawa, and Guam (Noble, 2004;Tan, 2006;Beddoe, 2007;Lai Wing Hoi and Chan Kam Tong, 2009;Shim et al, 2009).…”

Section: Licensure and Professional Social Work Organizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

International Student Views of Social Work in Select Asian and Pacific Island Countries

Beecher¹,

Eggertsen²,

Furuto³

et al. 2012

Social Work Education

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The views of international students on their CSWE-based educational training and practicum experiences in their home countries is a rare topic in the literature. The present study utilized qualitative interviews with 16 international baccalaureate students who completed their practicums in their home countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Questions guiding the present study included: international students' experiences with language, awareness of policy, licensing and professional organizations, the perception of the profession, and degree-fit and employability issues. The translation of social work terms and concepts to the participants' native language was a challenge. Participants were aware of select social welfare programs, but were not able to confidently and clearly describe the social welfare system or social work profession back home. Perceptions of utility of degree, employability, and awareness of professional organizations varied based on the development and proliferation of social work in the participants' home country among other factors.

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Social work in Hong Kong: from professionalization to ‘re-professionalization’

Cited by 23 publications

References 6 publications

‘Social work is not just a job’: The qualities of social workers from the perspective of service users

‘Social work is not just a job’: The qualities of social workers from the perspective of service users

Validation of the ultra‐short scale for measuring work engagement among social workers in Chinese contexts

International Student Views of Social Work in Select Asian and Pacific Island Countries

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