Wind of change? Social work students’ policy engagement and career preferences in Finland
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21496025 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Johanna Kallio (0000-0002-1041-4536, University of Turku, corresponding author), Johanna Marketta Kallio (University of Turku), Anne-Mari Jaakola (0000-0003-1052-8119, University of Turku), Helena Blomberg (0000-0002-6227-4408, University of Helsinki), Christian Kroll (0000-0001-9954-6123, University of Helsinki) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1590-1608 |
| Publication date | 2024-08-17 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Work Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0261-5479 • E-ISSN: 1470-1227 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02615479.2023.2201262 |
| OpenAlex | W4381664230 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 26 |
Although a general mission of social workers is to advance social justice, it has been claimed that many social workers, including those studying to become social workers, have a rather weak commitment to policy engagement (PE). It has been a common assumption that Nordic social workers lack a tradition of PE due to their primary role as public employees in the comprehensive Nordic welfare state. We address these topics by empirically analyzing Finnish social work students’ views toward PE. Do Finnish social work students perceive PE as an integral part of the social work profession? Moreover, if so, what ideological, sociodemographic and study-related factors explain their perceptions? Are views toward PE connected to future career preferences among students? Drawing on data from a nationwide survey among Finnish social work students, the results show that the majority of students perceive PE as important in social work. PE is explained by factors such as the respondent’s political party preference, previous education and personal experiences of poverty. Students who strongly support PE are less eager to engage in individual case work with clients than other students. In addition, positive views toward PE are connected to students’ preferences for working with immigrants and refugees
Ideology · Political science · Politics · Respondent · Social policy · Sociology · Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work
Coping With Permanent Austerity Welfare State Restructuring in Affluent Democracies
Social work students on the island of Ireland
Social workers’ policy engagement
What explains frontline workers' views on poverty? A comparison of three types of welfare sector institutions
Social work students and social change
Retraining programmes in social work
Social workers affecting social policy
Perhaps I should be working with potted plants or standing at the fish counter instead?’
Social workers’ perceptions of the causes of poverty in the Nordic countries
Street‐level Bureaucrats' and the General Public's Deservingness Perceptions of Social Assistance Recipients in F inland
The Micro–Macro Nexus
Professional Ideologies and Preferences in Social Work
The 'Why' and the 'How' of Policy Practice
The Willingness of Social Work Students to Engage in Policy Practice
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |