**2. Introduction**

This experience has stayed with me and it is one I share with my students. when we consider their career trajectories—this year, the discussion was also provoked by a presentation of Clarke's (2016) Place Model [4], focused around the question 'What does a professional social worker look like even when no one is watching?'

This paper is written by a professional social worker, a profession whose complexities are writ large in this parable which has become central to the author's teaching and mentorship of students. The empirical data presented within this paper will focus on respondents' views of


Clarke's (2019) [6] definition of professional (trustworthy experts) was presented to the students to consider as were Eliot Freidson's (2001) [5] three 'logics'—professionalism, markets/capitalism and bureaucracy/managerialism. The introductory sections of the paper also provide some local context for the study. This paper draws on data collected from a university in Northern Ireland with two student cohorts. Undergraduate student responses (n = 37)—these students were sampled in week nine of their first semester of teaching on the accelerated degree programme, which is taught over two years. Postgraduate responses (n = 25) —these students are studying at master's level to obtain their Practice Teaching (practice educator) award to supervise students on placement. Schon [7] coined the phrase 'tacit knowing in action' to try and capture what professionals do when they struggle to find the exact language to describe what they do. This resonates with social work as a profession which is often intuitive and where mastery is developed and fine-tuned over time by building on one's personal and professional knowledge and expertise. Ferguson [8] concurs with Briggs [9] that social work education must enable students to learn to 'sit with uncertainty' and learn about the complexities of 'the self' and the narratives of their career-long journeys.

## *2.1. Context: Regulatory Bodies*

Social work regulation is devolved in the United Kingdom—England (Health and Care Professions Council), Wales (Social Care Wales), Scotland (Scottish Social Services Council) and Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland Social Care Council). These four bodies operate within a Memorandum of Understanding characterised by principles of cooperation. In addition, each of the Councils will have their own Standards of Conduct which students and practising social workers must adhere to. Overarching within all of this is the wider agreed Global definition of the Social Work Profession, as set out by the International Federation of Social Workers [10]:

"Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work. Underpinned by theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and indigenous knowledge, social work engages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance wellbeing".

A total of 50% of the social work degree in the UK comprises practice-based learning (International colleagues will be more familiar with the terms field education or field practicum) and this is regarded as the 'signature pedagogy' of the social work profession. Practice-based learning requires structured formal direct observations of practice, in addition to informal observations and feedback from service users, sta ff, etc., who have worked with the student. Shulman [11] identified signature pedagogies as the fundamental types of teaching through which practitioners are educated for their new professions. Júlíusdóttir [12] (p. 41) posits "the structure of practice placement in the educational process may fulfil two goals; o ffering practical training while, at the same time, serving the gate keeping function".

The social work profession occupies an evolving landscape which continues to come under public scrutiny as a result of multiple serious case reviews across the United Kingdom such as those which have produced both huge angs<sup>t</sup> and enormous headlines around Victoria Climbié [13,14] David and Samuel Briggs [15]; Toner Report [16]; Daniel Pelka [17]; Hamzah Khan [18]. At an individual level, there is a sense from social work practitioners of 'appreciation starvation' in relation to the pay and status associated with their role. The financial benefits are not comparable with the levels of complex risk associated with decision making in often 'life or death' situations. Social work is increasingly framed around the logics of commerce and e fficiency.

## *2.2. Context: Freidson's Logics*

As is the case in other professions, Clarke (2019) [6] asserts that many other issues which impact on the professionalism of social workers arise from or are impacted by Eliot Freidson's [5] other two logics—markets/capitalism and bureaucracy/managerialism. Freidson's [5] third logic of professionalism is a shift away from his earlier work in 1988 [19], which places the professions in a power and privilege vacuum protected from lay interference. This view is softened in his later work, where the third logic imagines a professionalism which can counter managerial and commercial forces and importantly, benefit the quality of care and keep service users at the fore. Ball [20] (p. 1049) describes the markets as 'arrangements of competition and choice, and various forms of privatisations which takes two forms ... . endogenous and exogenous modes of privatization'. Ball [20] posits that endogenous privatization introduces the market into the public sector, which results in reshaping public services into businesses. Similarly, examples of exogenous privatisation are present within social work education, with the introduction of Frontline in England, a two-year social work programme for graduates. Frontline consists of five weeks residential training followed by employment in a local authority. Successful completion of the first year qualifies participants as social workers. In 2018, Skills for Care announced the new Social Work Integrated Degree Apprenticeship [21], this has no formal entry requirements and it usually takes 36 months to qualify as a social worker. This level of 'mission creep' with the introduction of various social work education providers is moving education away from a public service to a private commodity. In May 2019, Community Care [22] reported that a popular master's in social work programme at an English university was scrapped with the university citing 'changes in the social work landscape'. The university would not be drawn on whether the growing number of fast-track training providers was a factor in the decision to close the programme.

Carey and Foster [23] (p. 258) concur, suggesting that 'the overhaul of social work education with pedagogical services making way to 'reductionist' skills and vocational courses' and the increased role of the private sector in social work alongside the purchaser/provider split are examples of the way in which social work is increasingly fragmented in the UK, Canada and Australia. Van Pelt et al. [24] (p. 278), writing from a Dutch perspective posit that 'social work is considered an open profession, vulnerable to consumerism, capitalism, bureaucratism and to struggles between professionals and managers over control'. Concomitantly, Freidson [5] (p. 181) postulated 'the reality is and should be a variable mix of all three logics, the policy issue being the precise composition of that mix'.

## *2.3. Context: Bureaucracy and Managerialism*

Freidson [25] (p. 119) posits 'professional work is defined as specialized work that cannot be performed mechanically because the contingencies of the task vary so greatly from one another that the worker must use considerable discretion to adapt their knowledge'. The issue with professional discretion is that it is unpredictable in achieving results and outcomes within social work practice. Applying managerial direction, organised by rules and regulated by policies and procedures, can seem like the 'quick fix' to increase productivity and achieve results. The continued discourse of focusing on standards, competencies and quality improvement strategies is detracting from what Foucault [26] (p. 117) regards as 'the establishment of a certain objectivity, the development of a politics and a governmen<sup>t</sup> of the self, and an elaboration of an ethics and practice in regard to oneself'.

Since 2005, social workers in Northern Ireland have had Legal Protection for the Title of Social Worker, making it an o ffence for an individual to call themselves a social worker or carry out the social worker job role if they are not registered with the governing body NISCC. It is a similar picture across the UK. This o ffered social workers recognition of status and also, increased power and 'legitimate professional authority', e.g., the power to remove a child from their family and to seek the protection of the court for the child. Under certain circumstances and through joint working with doctors, approved social workers may commit a person with mental ill-health to hospital for a period of assessment without their consent. This legitimacy also requires social workers to be accountable for their actions.

The impact of austerity has borne savage cuts to health and social care budgets in the UK. This has led to a reduction in the number, type and range of professional sta ff across the UK. Within Northern Ireland, there is an increasing number of social work assistant posts (band 4 salary) employed by the Health and Social Care Trusts via recruitment agencies on a month to month basis. Malin [27] (p. 68) suggests that "the principle neo liberal goal is to 'roll back the frontiers of the state' in a belief that unregulated market capitalism will delivery e fficiency, growth and widespread prosperity".

Revalier's [28] research on UK social workers working conditions and wellbeing found that 92% of respondents were working more hours than they were contracted to, alongside high levels of presenteeism, where employees go into work despite being ill. Within an organizational context, the push from new managerialism within social work has continued to erode the professional identity of practitioners. Martin et al. (p. 378) [29] posit that 'managerialism and markets now occupy territories that were once the exclusive domain of the health professions'. One of the distinctive issues facing the statutory social work profession in Northern Ireland is the increasing use and costs associated with recruitment of social workers through recruitment agencies. The Department of Health completed a survey with social work graduates across Northern Ireland in 2018 to identify students' intentions and aspirations post-graduation. The results identified several areas for concern in relation to statutory workforce planning and development.


MacDermott and Campbell [30] postulate that the 70% statutory/30% voluntary (NGOs) employment split in social work within Northern Ireland has created a focus on statutory social work and has contributed to NGOs social work being viewed as a lesser alternative. Their 2016 research highlighted that 75% of final-year social work students in Northern Ireland identified an emphasis on statutory social work throughout their studies. Interestingly, in the most recent update of the report for the Improving and Safeguarding Social Wellbeing: A Strategy for Social Work [31], the voluntary sector is mentioned once in relation to a pilot project for looked-after children to measure the quality of the relationship between young people in care and their social workers.

As a seasoned practitioner and practice educator, I have listened to the debate on where real social work takes place for over fifteen years. For students, practice educators and academics there is often a view that statutory fieldwork teams are the place to 'earn your stripes' as a social work professional. This is a troublesome position for all stakeholders in social work education, creating an assumption that the definition of social work rests within statutory agency provision. The influence of welfare state agencies and regulatory bodies in shaping the social work curriculum has contributed to the erosion of radical social work. Scholar et al. [32] (p. 933) sugges<sup>t</sup> that this view of non-traditional placements as being of less value "may encourage students to view themselves as having a poorer deal than their colleagues who were placed in 'real social work settings".

In a climate of increasing bureaucracy, there has been a loss of focus in relationship-based social work, an influence which manifests itself in the production of what Ingram and Smith [33] (p. 4) sugges<sup>t</sup> "became a technical/rational rather than an ethical and relational endeavour ... increasingly framed around following procedure and ensuring compliance". The production of e fficient employees who can complete assessments and paperwork within set timeframes, whilst minimising the actual time spent working with families. This approach reduces the opportunities for students to critically consider their professional identity and ways in which they can meaningfully address the impact of structural inequalities and poverty which plague the lives of service users. Ioakimidis [34] comments that new radicalism in social work must be based on five pillars, democracy, empathy, militancy, anti-oppressiveness and structural practice.

#### *2.4. Context: Social Work as a Profession in Northern Ireland*

In March 2018, there were 5912 social work practitioners registered with the Northern Ireland Social Care Council. These practitioners are employed across a range of settings. The majority of social workers in Northern Ireland are employed by the State. Figures from the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Workforce Census [35] identified 3766 social workers employed within Health and Social Care Trusts (70%). The remaining 30% are employed within the voluntary, education, justice and independent sectors. In the Health and Social Care Trusts, one-third of the registered social workers are over the age of 50.

Social work in Northern Ireland is unique compared to other parts of the UK with the legacy of the thirty years of 'The Troubles' in which over 3500 people lost their loved ones. Northern Ireland is moving forward as a new and emerging post-conflict contested society. Moreover, the complexities of Brexit and securing a 'deal' which guarantees no hard border between Northern Ireland and our closest neighbours in the Republic of Ireland adds another layer of uncertainty, to the fragile peace citizens of Northern Ireland have had since the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in 1998. The complexities of the

Northern Ireland political landscape illustrate why Northern Ireland remains a divided society in 2019. Manktelow and Lewis [36] (p. 303) comment "In Northern Ireland, being Catholic or Protestant is not just a matter of religious belief and church membership, but an ethnic identity which influences a whole range of social variables". The NISCC Framework Specification for the Degree in Social Work [37] (p. 6) acknowledges this, "the impact of past and current violence, conflict and divisions in Northern Irish society requires particular emphasis in the education and professional development of social work students".

This sentiment is echoed within a recent British Association of Social Work (Northern Ireland) report [38] which highlighted the experiences of social workers working through the Troubles. Looking at the responses from social work education providers during that time, it concluded that during the Troubles, there was a lack of capacity and, perhaps, even a fear of bringing up the conflict within social work education. Furthermore, their research commented that less than half (47%) of the respondents said that they received support from their employer when they experienced violence during the Northern Ireland conflict. These experiences included death threats, bomb scares, shootings, bombings and sectarian abuse. It is, therefore, essential that social work students in Northern Ireland are aware of the legacy issues from the Troubles and the transgenerational issues which are present when working with service users, carers and survivors.

The age profile of students applying to study social work is changing, with increasing numbers of school leavers accepting places. Many of these applicants are 'children of the Northern Ireland peace process' and have not experienced or been exposed to 'The Troubles' in their lifetime. Gilligan [39] suggests that student's perceptions of the world are more internalised and increasingly individualistic, and without this experience, it may be that these young social workers are in danger of missing a key part of the unique socio-political jigsaw which underpins so much of life in Northern Ireland some 20 years after the signing of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, which brought the Troubles to an (as ye<sup>t</sup> incomplete) end.

Aligning the market logic with the professional logic is a distinct challenge and one in which the priorities of the State are centre stage. This is a question of supply and demand. Each year there are 260 places available on the qualifying BSc (Hons) social work Degree. These places are shared between two universities, Ulster University and Queen's University, Belfast. The Department of Health in Northern Ireland provides a non-means-tested bursary for social work students at both universities. This is £4500 per annum, paid in two parts directly to the student. Students domiciled outside Northern Ireland are not eligible to receive this money.

Increasingly, Northern Ireland graduates are accepting employment in the Republic of Ireland as these posts o ffer more attractive salaries than those of the recruitment agencies which statutory social work trusts in Northern Ireland rely heavily upon. At present, there are not enough social workers to fill the vacancies and the lack of permanency in employment has created an environment in which Northern Ireland universities are 'producing graduates for export'. Martin et al. [29] refers to strategies from seduction to enforcement being employed by managers and commissioners and there is some evidence of this happening in Northern Ireland recently with job o ffers and permanent contracts available for students on graduation (seduction). This forms part of a strategic approach to reduce the spend on recruitment agencies and close the supply and demand gap. Although one wonders, if this strategy does not prove successful whether the State will take a tougher stance? For example, acceptance of the student bursary equals two years post-qualifying employment within the Health and Social Care Trusts (enforcement).

It is, therefore, timely to identify and explore undergraduate and postgraduate students' perceptions about being a social work professional in the fourth industrial revolution [40].

## **3. Materials and Methods**

This research employed a quantitative approach with a prepared questionnaire including open and closed questions which asked respondents to describe 'you as a professional' and the key characteristics and expectations of the social work profession. The questionnaire was distributed to two groups of students following a presentation of The Place Model [4]. The data was collected by the author following each presentation. Blaxter [41] define this form of sampling as 'event sampling'—using routine or special events as the basis for sampling. The presentations to students took place at di fferent campus locations dependent on the mode of study—either undergraduate or postgraduate. Grey [42] suggests delivery and collection questionnaires have the advantage of online and postal questionnaires in generating a higher response rate. Participation in the study was voluntary.

Group 1: Undergraduate

BSc (Hons) social work students in semester one of the relevant graduate route programme. These students hold a cognate degree, obtaining a place on the accelerated degree programme (two years).

Group 2: Postgraduate

Postgraduate students completing their practice teaching/practice educator qualification. These students are qualified social workers with three to fifteen-plus years' experience.

Student Survey

A structured questionnaire was distributed to the students after a brief presentation on the Place Model [4]. The questionnaire asked respondents to identify their views of professional characteristics and Freidson's [5] three logics—professionalism, bureaucracy and markets. The response rates are captured below.

Group 1: Undergraduate returned a response rate of (n = 37) undergraduate students from a class cohort of 40.

Group 2: Postgraduate returned a response rate of (n = 25) postgraduate students from a class cohort of 33.

No generalisability is claimed within the results. Respondents ranged from students in their first semester of learning prior to completing their first placement to qualified social work practitioners with fifteen-plus years' experience. Representation from throughout the Island of Ireland was included within the sample.

Ethical Issues

Crow et al. [43] detail the principles of informed consent, which ensures that participants are provided with clear, accessible information about a project, enabling them to make an informed decision on whether or not they wish to participate. Participation in this project is entirely voluntary. Ethical approval was granted by Ulster University Filter Ethics Committee in March 2015 for the duration of the project until 2020. The completed surveys will be stored in adherence with Ulster's Research Governance protocols and will be retained for ten years.
