Researching the professional ethical identity of social workers: challenges and possibilities

The symposium is organised by an evolving international network of researchers sharing an interest in ethical aspects of the professional identity of social workers. This topic is pertinent in the current climate of increasing marketization, managerialism and austerity in welfare services across Europe. These trends appear to undermine the possibilities for a unique professional identity for social workers, whilst also creating conditions in which some social workers judge it is necessary to develop and preserve such an identity to maintain ethical practice. The purpose is to examine ‘professional ethical identity’ in theory and practice, including whether and how social work practitioners perform this in their everyday work and in research contexts.