Identity development among social workers, from training to practice: results from a three-year qualitative longitudinal study

Abstract

During their training, social work students embark on a process of professional identity (PI) development which will continue to evolve even after graduation. While the literature has begun to point out factors that may facilitate PI development, research that documents the various processes and narratives of identity development is scarce, including in social work. Because PI is known to be influenced by many aspects pertaining to personal, educational and occupational contexts, and because those contexts can be varied, it becomes important to explore PI development from initial training to professional practice and map which aspects may be influencing the experience, and how they do so. Drawing on a longitudinal qualitative methodology, we explore the experience of six young social workers and map the development of their professional identities over the course of nearly three years. Meetings during their final year of undergraduate studies, and again after 6 and 18 months of employment, reveal some of the aspects that emerged as fundamental facilitators of or impediments to a strong PI. This article concludes by suggesting ways to foster a stronger sense of PI among social workers going forward.

Keywords:

• Professional identity development
• social work
• qualitative research
• longitudinal case study
• Claude Dubar

Acknowledgments

We want to thank all the participants who kindly accepted to tell us their story about professional identity development in Social Work, and Isabelle Marchand for her work on the project as a research assistant.

Notes

1. Early in the interviews, the notion of self-confidence in one’s practice was described by participants as an expression of PI. To reflect the participants’ understanding, self-confidence is here used as such.

2. For confidentiality reasons, we will not name the field she decided to study in.