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Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open
Journal article
How Social Work Education Fosters Professional Resilience: Student and Newly Qualified Practitioner Perspectives
Australian social work, Vol.78(3), pp.328-340
2025
Appears in Recent Faculty of Health Publications
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Source: InCites
Abstract
Navigating complex and evolving practice environments requires resilient social workers. However, education's contribution to professional resilience development is underinvestigated. As part of a longitudinal, qualitative study, this article reports the findings on how social workers as students and then newly qualified practitioners perceived how their education fostered professional resilience. In stage one, interviews were conducted with 23 social work students from eight Australian universities in the final 12 months of their Master of Social Work (Qualifying) degree. In stage two, the sample was reduced to 19, with interviews occurring after approximately six months of practice. Framed by critical theory and social constructionism, narrative inquiry guided the analysis of participants’ perceptions. The results revealed professional resilience is relational and developed through curricula and pedagogy facilitating connection, building knowledge through critical reflection, and preparing students for the realities and complexities of practice. The study extends evidence that transitioning from student to practitioner is a crucial time in social workers’ careers. The findings identify that professional resilience can be fostered by responsive external resources and evidence-based programs offered by universities, practice organisations, and professional bodies.
Details
- Title
- How Social Work Education Fosters Professional Resilience: Student and Newly Qualified Practitioner Perspectives
- Creators
- Clarissa Hitchcock - Southern Cross University, Social WorkMark Hughes - Southern Cross University, Social WorkLynne McPherson - Southern Cross University, Social WorkLouise Whitaker - Southern Cross University, Social Work
- Publication Details
- Australian social work, Vol.78(3), pp.328-340
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Number of pages
- 13
- Identifiers
- 991013212613702368
- Copyright
- © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
- Academic Unit
- Centre for Children and Young People; Social Work; Faculty of Health
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Local Fields
- Original Research - SoLT