TY - JOUR
T1 - The reprofessionalization of social work
T2 - Collaborative approaches for achieving professional recognition
AU - Healy, Karen
AU - Meagher, Gabrielle
PY - 2004/3
Y1 - 2004/3
N2 - Contemporary practice theories assume that social workers have the capacity to enact their work as a thoughtful, analytic and creative activity, and that these capacities are, or should be, recognized and supported in human services organizations. However, emerging evidence from the front line of social services practice suggests that, despite public policy rhetoric emphasizing service quality, the practice environment is characterized by a lack of support for, if not outright hostility towards, professional social work. In this paper we will consider how the social work profession can collectively improve the recognition of their work as professional activity. We discuss the deprofessionalization of social services work and analyse collaborative strategies for achieving recognition, specifically the formation of professional associations and trade unions. We will focus our discussion on emerging convergences between new professionalism and the new political unionism. Finally, we consider how these new developments can enhance the industrial and cultural recognition of human services work.
AB - Contemporary practice theories assume that social workers have the capacity to enact their work as a thoughtful, analytic and creative activity, and that these capacities are, or should be, recognized and supported in human services organizations. However, emerging evidence from the front line of social services practice suggests that, despite public policy rhetoric emphasizing service quality, the practice environment is characterized by a lack of support for, if not outright hostility towards, professional social work. In this paper we will consider how the social work profession can collectively improve the recognition of their work as professional activity. We discuss the deprofessionalization of social services work and analyse collaborative strategies for achieving recognition, specifically the formation of professional associations and trade unions. We will focus our discussion on emerging convergences between new professionalism and the new political unionism. Finally, we consider how these new developments can enhance the industrial and cultural recognition of human services work.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=4043123395&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/bjsw/bch024
DO - 10.1093/bjsw/bch024
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:4043123395
VL - 34
SP - 243
EP - 260
JO - British Journal of Social Work
JF - British Journal of Social Work
SN - 0045-3102
IS - 2
ER -