Article 2012

Student, Practitioner, or Both? Separation and Integration of Identities in Professional Social Care Education

MF
McSweeney, Fiona
Social Work Education
Journal · Vol. 31 · Issue 3 · pp. 364-382
Abstract

This paper presents and discusses some of the findings from a qualitative study of identities in work-related learners. The theoretical framework of structural symbolic interactionism is outlined and the two identities of interest, that of student and practitioner, discussed. The aim of professional education is viewed as enabling the practitioner to better deal with ambiguity and change through critical examination of work practices and location of these within theoretical frameworks. It is argued that for knowledge and behaviour to transfer to the work setting, the student and worker identities need to be integrated rather than kept separate. Factors identified as influencing the integration and separation of the social identities of student and social care practitioner are discussed. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Higher education students Assessment Professional Development Reflection adult learning Social Care Practitioner Social Identity Symbolic Interactionism

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations
Department of Social Sciences, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Leinster, Ireland
Funding & Acknowledgements
No funding information
References 10 References
1 Learning in Health and Social Care, (2006)
2 Bamber, John, Transforming the learning experiences of non-traditional students: A perspective from higher education, Studies in Continuing Education, 22, 1, pp. 57-75, (2000)
3 Child and Youth Care Forum, (2001)
4 Bendle, Mervyn Frederick, The crisis of 'identity' in high modernity, British Journal of Sociology, 53, 1, pp. 1-18, (2002)
5 Workbased Learning A New Higher Education, (2001)
6 Coping with Threatened Identities, (1986)
7 About Campus, (1999)
8 American Sociological Review, (1988)
9 Burke, Peter J., Trust and commitment through self-verification, Social Psychology Quarterly, 62, 4, pp. 347-366, (1999)
10 Burke, Peter J., The measurement of role identity, Social Forces, 55, 4, pp. 881-897, (1977)
Quick Actions
Full Text via DOI
Citation Metrics
8
Times Cited (Scopus)
References 10
Document Identifiers