The place of listening within different models of professionalism in social work

1
The place of listening within different models of
professionalism in social work

• Silvia Fargion
• University of Trento
• Italy

2
Listening in social work

• Listening is now considered crucial in most
  aspects of social life
• In some professions as social work, though, it is
  a crucial and central feature of professional
  practice

3
Clients studies on listening

• Brena, S. research on multi-problem families
  (2005) Esercizi di quotidiana genitorialità,
  Animazione Sociale, XXXV, 10 pp. 56-66
• The traits that families appreciate are
• practitioners commitment
• to be involved
• being listened to, without being judged.

4
Clients studies on listening

• Tosi, S. research on homeless people who manage
  to solve their problems what helped them?
  (2004) Il reinserimento sociale dei senza
  dimora, Prospettive sociali e sanitarie XXXIV,
  10, pp. 1-6.
• a positive human relation
• people who listen to you
• professionals who care for you

5
Professional social work and listening

• What part does listening play in the way
  practitioners represent themselves as
  professionals?
• Or how can professionalism open a space for
  listening?

6
Definition of professionalism

• Parsons professionalism is the use of scientific
  knowledge to solve everyday problems
• Shon there are two representations of
  professionalism
• a. the technical-rational
• b. The reflective

7
How social workers think themselves as
professionals
I have conducted a research on social work
practices Fargion, S., 2002, I linguaggi del
servizio sociale, Carocci Roma Fargion, S 2006,
Thinking professional social work, in Journal of
social work, 6(3), 255-273.
Starting from the idea of studying the relation
between theory and practice, my research ended up
identifying two styles of thought and two ways of
representing social work
8
The subjects of my research
22 social workers practicing in Milan and Turin
local authorities within services for families
and children support
There were nineteen females and three males. Two
of the interviewees were younger than thirty
years, ten between thirty and forty, eight
between forty and fifty, and two were above
fifty. As one can see the group of subject is not
balanced, but it approximately reflects the
universe from which the sample is derived
9
The data were collected mainly through interviews
and analysis of critical incidents.
10
Two styles of thinking professional social work
TECHNICAL RATIONAL
REFLEXIVE
Practice organized by abstract rules
Rules derived from actual practice
Understanding and action strongly distinguished
Understanding as a kind of action
11
Two styles of thinking professional social work
TECHNICAL RATIONAL
REFLEXIVE
Reference to clients and to expert social workers
for help
Frequent reference to specialists
Understanding as going beyond what emerges
Understanding based on what emerges in the
interaction
12
Two styles of thinking professional social work
TECHNICAL RATIONAL
REFLEXIVE
Evaluation distinguished from intervention
The whole work is perceived as an intervention
Safeguard of the present situation supportive
interventions
Radical changes substituting interventions
13
Two styles of thinking professional social work
TECHNICAL RATIONAL
REFLEXIVE
Theories as stimuli to reflection positive
attitudes towards social theoretical work models,
as well as to other forms of knowledge included
the knowledge of people they work with
Theories as sources of guidelines sometimes
critical attitude towards social work theoretical
models as they fail to provide clear guidelines
14
Two styles of thinking professional social work
TECHNICAL RATIONAL
REFLEXIVE
The valuabale knowledge is the one possessed by
professionals
There are many sources of valuable knowledge
(epistemology of partiality)
Professionals stir the intervention
Intervention is the outcome of ongoing negotiation
15
What can we say about listening to people?

• The technical rational approach generates
  rigid classifications of problems that allow
  little room for peoples views and personal
  experiences.

16

• On the contrary, the reflexive style is less
  legitimated and recognized, however, it offers a
  model for taking what people experience face
  value.