How Social Work Students Understand the Meaning of Their Professional Identity

Diplomsko delo raziskuje razumevanje strokovne identitete pri študentkah in študentih Fakultete za socialno delo. Stroka socialnega dela se je v preteklosti pogosto soočala z dokazovanjem svojega poklicnega statusa, v današnjem času pa se sooča z dokazovanjem svoje strokovne oziroma poklicne identitete. Pojem strokovna identiteta zajema definicijo samega sebe kot pripadnika določene stroke, specifičnih strokovnih vrednot in odnosa v povezavi do drugih strok. Tako opredelimo, kaj so naše osrednje prepoznavne in trajne strokovne kvalitete, ki nas naredijo edinstvene in nas tako ločujejo od drugih strokovnjakov. Zaradi nizko vrednotene in stigmatizirane vloge stroke socialnega dela na globalni ravni je raziskovanje o tem, kako se proces izoblikovanja trdne in pozitivne strokovne identitete v socialnem delu lahko izboljša, izrednega pomena. Raziskava predstavi, da študentke in študentje socialnega dela v veliki meri podrobno prepoznavajo koncept strokovne identitete in vlogo, vplive ter dejavnike strokovne identitete. Ob tem strokovni identiteti pripisujejo veliko pomembnosti za svoj individualen strokovni razvoj, posledično pa imajo tudi potrebo po pridobivanju večjega obsega znanja o strokovni identiteti, saj ocenjujejo, da tega med študijem v neposredni obliki niso pridobili, čeprav bi po njihovi presoji to bilo koristno za nadaljnje poklicno udejstvovanje in medpoklicno sodelovanje. Področje strokovne identitete je znotraj stroke socialnega dela v prihodnosti treba bolj pogosto in direktno obravnavati ter s tem pridobiti širšo ozaveščenost o njeni pomembnosti oziroma prispevku znotraj socialnodelovne stroke.The graduation thesis explores how social work students at the Faculty of Social Work understand the meaning of the professional identity in social work. The social work profession was facing with providing the proper professional status in the past but today it is facing with providing the proper professional identity in the scientific field. Professional identity can be defined as the internalized values, mission, and skills of a particular profession by which the individual presents himself as a professional. In social work, a professional identity describes how social workers present themselves as social workers. Due to the devalued and stigmatized role that the social work profession has on a global scale, the research on how to improve the process of developing a strong and positive professional identity is of great importance. The research presents that social work students are aware about what the professional identity is and can clearly identify the role and factors that influence the development of the professional identity. They emphasise on the importance of their professional identity for further career and professional development as well as for their interdisciplinary cooperation. Consequently, social work students show a need for receiving more knowledge about the professional identity in social work. It is recommended that the topic of the professional identity in social work is addressed more frequently and directly in the future because more recognition about its contribution is needed