Social work students’ understanding of professional resilience

ABSTRACT

Social work education is responsible for developing graduates who can practice resilience in an increasingly complex and stressful human services environment. Resilience is a frequently used concept in social work, however, its application is diverse, and meaning lacks clarity. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 23 Australian Master of Social Work (Qualifying) students, exploring their understanding of professional resilience, including the conceptualisation and perceived relevance for future practice. Critical theory guided the thematic analysis of the data, with similarities and differences noted across subjective representations. The findings identified a contemporary yet individualised and one-dimensional understanding of professional resilience, influenced by dominant discourse and context. Professional resilience was seen as an essential attribute required to protect social workers from the intrinsic complexity and resulting impacts of practice. Implications for the role of education in fostering resilience in social work students to support them to navigate future practice complexities include: facilitating the development of a multidimensional and systemic understanding of self; creating safe, relationship-based environments for shared learning and growth; and teaching critically reflective processes which consider context and environment.

KEYWORDS:

• Resilience
• social work
• education
• well-Being
• attrition

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Clarissa Hitchcock

Clarissa Hitchcock is an Associate Lecturer and PhD Candidate at Southern Cross University.

Lynne McPherson

Lynne McPherson is an Associate Professor at Southern Cross University.

Louise Whitaker

Louise Whitaker is a Senior Lecturer at Southern Cross University.

Mark Hughes

Mark Hughes is a Professor and the Discipline Lead of Social Work at Southern Cross University.