Educational competencies for learning the professional identity of Social Work in Spanish universities
Abstract
This article presents the results of a research that identifies and describes the acquisition of specific competencies for the teaching-learning in Spanish Universities of a professional identity in Social Work. The motivation of this study arises from the concern, as Social Work teachers, for the relationship between teaching by competencies and acquiring a professional identity. We believe that this study reflects the current challenges in Social Work, both from a professional and educational point of view. In an increasingly multidisciplinary context, the value of professional identity becomes one of the main competencies for the praxis of social work. At a methodological level, we identify the universities where the degree is taught (39), we analyze the courses related to the subject "Fundamentals of Social Work" (39) and, next, analyze the specific competencies concurrent with the guidelines of the White Paper on Social Work. The results have made it possible to categorize 97 specific competencies linked to the development of a professional identity. In the content analysis of these competencies, the results show that the acquisition of skills and abilities related to a professional identity materialize mainly in knowledge linked to the history of the profession, its mission and functions, and its regulations, and less frequently in an engagement with individuals, families, groups, and communities. These results may have significant implications for the competency-based approach to the development of professional identity in social work education.
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References
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