Ethics, Knowledge and Ambivalence in Social Workers’ Professional Self-Understanding
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10898400 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bjørg Fossestøl (OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Publication date | 2018-12-15 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal of Social Work (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0045-3102 • E-ISSN: 1468-263X |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/bjsw/bcy113 |
| OpenAlex | W2904931356 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 18 |
Ethics and knowledge are seen as being the two core aspects of professional self-understanding. Nonetheless, many researchers in social work argue that the difficulties found in social workers’ professional identities may be linked to the conventional Western knowledge paradigm and its focus on the technical–rational application of scientific theory and knowledge in professional practice. This qualitative interview study examines professional self-understanding among eighteen Norwegian social workers employed at the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). The study found an ambivalent self-understanding with regard to ethics and knowledge. Professional ethical problems are kept private, even though the social workers view ethics as being a fundamental aspect of their professional self-understanding. They keep their ethical dilemmas to themselves, and they also keep quiet about work that is successful. This paper suggests that the privatising of professional ethical dilemmas reflects the ambiguous position of ethics in the dominant understanding of knowledge, and the reduction of ethics that underlies this view. The paper also suggests that the ambivalent professional self-understanding among social workers will endure for as long as social work is dominated by the prevailing view on knowledge and professionalism.
Ambivalence · Applied ethics · Engineering ethics · Norwegian · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Interprofessional Education and Collaboration · Law · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work
Ambivalence in activation encounters
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Mechanisms that impact the experience and sustainability of the professional identity of social workers
Between governance and local knowledge
Charles Taylor
Ethics, Accountability and the Social Professions
Narrative Methods for the Human Sciences
An Emancipatory Approach to Practice and Qualitative Inquiry in Mental Health
Kairos and practice wisdom in social work practice
Between professional ethics and bureaucratic rationality
Negotiating personal engagement and professional accountability
Reaching the person—social work research as professional responsibility
The ‘Self’ and ‘Use of Self’ in Social Work
Unsettled Social Work
Critical Commentary
Narrating Significant Experience
Towards a Post-Conventional Philosophical Base for Social Work
Revisiting the Knowledge Base of Social Work
Ethics and Governance in Social Work Research in the UK
Sources of the self
| Citations per year | 0.8 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2025 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |