‘A who doing a what?’: Identity, practice and social work education

Abstract

Summary This article explores the discourses employed by social work educators in their constructions of social work identity, practice and education. The research data for this qualitative study was collected from in-depth interviews with social work educators from two South Australian universities, who were eligible for membership with the Australian Association of Social Workers. Findings Using Gee’s discourse analysis framework, the key discourses used by social work educators to construct social work, social workers, clients and social work educational institutions are identified. Social work educators drew on professional, helping/caring, emancipatory and social control discourses to highlight the ‘typical’ story of ‘social work’ and construct social workers and social work educators as ‘a who doing a what’, to distinguish social work from other professions. Application Despite being constructed as having the power to act as ‘gate keepers’ to the profession, very little research examines how social work educators reflect on their practice as social workers and social work educators. Further national and international research is required to examine how social work students, service users, employers and other disciplines interpret these social work discourses.