Skip Navigation


BJSW Advance Access first published online on March 6, 2008
This version published online on April 25, 2008
British Journal of Social Work, doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcm123
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
38/5/1009    most recent
bcm123v3
bcm123v2
bcm123v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Dominelli, L.
Right arrow Articles by Holloway, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved

Article

Ethics and Governance in Social Work Research in the UK

Lena Dominelli 1 * and Margaret Holloway 2

1 The University of Durham, Elvet Riverside II, New Elvet, Durham DH1 3JT, UK
2 Professor of Social Work at the University of Hull

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Lena Dominelli, E-mail: Lena.Dominelli{at}durham.ac.uk


  Abstract

This paper explores identity through looking at how different discourses of inter-professionalism are drawn on by professionals and by service users in relation to the multi-professional context of service provision. It follows traditions in critical discursive psychology in understanding talk as constitutive. Glimpses of the emergence of a new professional identity congruent with the demands of inter-professional work can be seen in the online discussions of students on a course in managing care and the paper considers how this identity is constructed.

A feature of particular interest in the student forum data is the extent to which they construct colleagues from different professions, managers and service users as ‘the other’ in ways that devalue their contribution, while at the same time praising the benefits of inter-professional collaboration. The paper concludes that new professional identities that fit with a context of new working arrangements and relationships nonetheless continue to show ‘othering’ in the production of a positive identity. However, rigid binaries have been disturbed by an emphasis on inter-professional working. As people work in different and cross-cutting new organizations that involve re-defining what the team is, the binaries become less fixed and more fluid.

Keywords: professional practice, discourse, inter-professional working, social work and IT, professional identity.

The following author biographical details have been added:

Lena Dominelli is Professor of Applied Social Sciences at Durham University with an extensive publications and research record. She has worked as a practitioner and educator for many years and is active in the international arena in the areas of social development, women and anti-racist initiatives.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.