Research On The Identity Construction Of Local Social Workers From The Perspective Of "field-habitus

The professional development of social work in China has followed the path of "top-down" and "education first",but the professional identity and positioning of social workers are inseparable from the system,and they are forced to become the assistants of grassroots social governance.What exactly is the professional identity of local social workers? Based on this,this study aims to study how they construct their identities through in-depth interviews with eleven front-line social workers.The study found that the influence of otherness at the social level and habituation at the individual level on identity construction is inextricably linked and mutually influential.In terms of social capital,even if the government department is the purchaser of services and has the largest capital at hand,it limits the independence and autonomy of professional social work,and social workers will take an immediate approach to administrative matters.However,as the effectiveness and professionalism of social workers’ work is recognized,the space conceded by the government can allow social workers to exercise a certain degree of professionalism.In terms of the subjects of the professional practice field,the power interaction between the agency and the social worker has a common direction,namely,to enhance capital accumulation,a relationship of mutual prosperity and loss.However,in the two aspects of capital accumulation,namely,expanding the scope of services and enhancing the effectiveness of services,it is limited to rely only on the supervisors to "pass on" and rely on front-line social workers to move closer to the power center of the agency.From the perspective of cultural capital,the general public always associates social workers with volunteers,resulting in the current situation of low salaries and low popularity.Therefore,this study argues that the identity construction of local social workers consists of two parts:social construction and self-construction.Due to the nature of professional practice across fields,frontline social workers are required to have a dualistic mindset of who we are and what we do.Based on the above research,we propose countermeasures to strengthen identity construction: first,to strengthen government attention,second,to strengthen professional collaboration,and third,to strengthen the link between theoretical and practical fields.