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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
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© 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.


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[Abstract] [PDF]


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