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The Process of Professionalisation

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Blame, Culture and Child Protection

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Abstract

This chapter explores the process of professionalisation and examines how social work in England developed into a profession with different specialist areas. By discussing the various contexts which have been experienced by the ever evolving profession, the importance of professional identity is revealed. It is recognised that child protection discourse has had to emerge amidst a number of complex ethical issues. This has meant that social workers have had to learn how to make difficult decisions and handle conflicting values during pressured times. Yet these issues of complexity are often used as a powerful shaming device, employed to question the credibility and reputation of social workers. However, it is then revealed that life may be different in Flanders because the Flemish are part of a ‘social welfare’ system and this leads to different approaches towards child abuse emerging in practice.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A child protection register is a confidential list of all children in the area who had been identified as at risk at a child protection conference. The term ‘register’ is now no longer used, instead they are referred to as ‘plans’.

  2. 2.

    Marc Dutroux is a Belgian serial killer and child abuser who was convicted of having, during 1995 and 1996, kidnapped, tortured and sexually abused girls ranging in age from eight to nineteen, four of whom he murdered (Desair and Adriaenssens, 2011).

  3. 3.

    Bulger case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_James_BulgerRedergard case: https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/mar/20/norway-town-forgave-child-killers

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

    Jadwiga Leigh

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  1. Jadwiga Leigh
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Leigh, J. (2017). The Process of Professionalisation. In: Blame, Culture and Child Protection. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47009-6_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47009-6_2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-47008-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-47009-6

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