PROFESSIONALIZATION OF SOCIAL WORK IN LITHUANIA FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION

Today we have a set of results, showing the entrenchment of social work in the country: social work as a profession is included into Lithuanian Classification of Occupations, we have created a network of institutions, legal basis, developed a network of social works education institutions, clear system of qualification development, the mechanism of professional support is being developed, etc. It seems that we could support A. Bagdonas (2001) statement, that creation of social work as profession in Lithuania has been finished already. So what else can one say about the nature of social work’s birth and development in Lithuania what has not already been said? The questions how the ideas, that guide professional practices in social work, come into being in Lithuania and how they acquire power; and what contradictions are displayed within discursive formation of Lithuanian social work development in different sets of sources, are discussed in this article. Trying to find the answers I base on constructivist perspective, which allows spotlighting the creating process of knowledge in social work. KEY WORDS: social work, professionalization, social construction, discourse analysis method