Mission Possible; Building Social Work Professional Identity through Fieldwork Placements in China

Social work training programmes in China have increased rapidly in the last decade. Their growth mirrors the increase in social problems that China faces as its economy develops and the disparities between rich and poor multiply. There is little recognition either by the government or citizens of the profession of social work and so no clear idea of what it might achieve. Thus the development of social work in China faces many difficulties among which is a dearth of professionally qualified social workers to teach, and to supervise fieldwork placements. This paper discusses a collaborative MSW programme between the University of Hong Kong and Fudan University in Shanghai. It analyses the growth in professional identity of nine students in the programme undertaking their first supervised fieldwork placement in Shanghai. They were asked to write 500-word statements before and after their placement about their understanding of the role of social workers and their sense of professional identity. An analysis of these statements forms the basis of this article. The article addresses the issue of whether the construction of a professional identity will rest with members of the embryonic profession or with government bureaucrats largely concerned with the maintenance of stability and the management of social change.