Research On The Professional Identity Of MSW Student And The Influential Factors

With the raising of "building a harmonious society" and "innovative social management", social work as an important part of the innovative social management to realize social harmony and to realize the target of building a harmonious society, and central government has paid more attention to the development of social work as well as the social work education. As the main supply power for the social work profession, the social work students’professional identity status and willingness to engage in the frontline social work, have important influence on construction of social work profession. Because of current situation that the engaged rate of social work students in frontline social work is low with a high wastage rate, research on exploring the MSW students’professional identity, characteristics and influential factors, is significant for enhancing the professional social work in China. Hence, study about the MSW students’ professional identity is of vital importance for the development of social work occupation and the construction of a talented troop of social workers. This paper focus on the professional identity of MSW students, while explore the status of the MSW students’professional identity and the influential factors.Using the qualitative method, this paper interviewed12MSW students from S University as well as two Swedish students majored in social work. With a descriptive analysis framework, this paper tries to describe the status of MSW students in S University as well as the influential factors. In addition, it also tries to interpret the reasons behind.There are three main findings of this paper:(1) so far, the professional identity of MSW students at S University is varied with the study process. The value rational identity and emotional identity is high while the instrumental rational identity is unstable and changes.(2) The value rational identity and emotional identity have a rigid character once established, while the instrumental rational identity changes with the different needs of the students and domains the MSW students’career orientation.(3) This paper explore the influential factors for MSW students’professional identity status from both positive and negative aspects, and concluding that the missing of the welfare security and the low salary status contribute to the low professional identity the most. Simultaneously the low respect from the society also contributes to the low professional identity. At the last part of the paper, the writer tries to give advice from the macro, meso and micro level.This study will help understand the MSW students’professional identity and professional expectations, while has certain significance to improve the education standards of social work and the professionalism of social work in China. Simultaneously, these findings will also enrich and develop the relevant theoretical knowledge to the social work professional identity.