Prestige of social work as profession: Social worker's perspective

Rıga Stradiņš University, Latvia

Abstract

Various studies show that the rating of the social workers profession is not very prestige in comparison with other professions. Often the leading motives why people choose to do social work are those guided by relative ideals, such as the desire to help people or to accomplish something socially significant not because of the prestige of profession. However, judgements about the occupational prestige in the wider community depend largely on the professional beliefs of social workers themselves and on how social workers themselves are positioning their profession. The focus of the authors of this article on the occupational prestige is analysed from the perspective of social workers in the sector. The study was carried out using a quantitative approach. In this study, the occupational prestige is considered in the context of symbolic capital. According to P. Bourdieu all forms of symbolic capital accumulates through relations of exchange The study results indicate that a significant part of the respondents feel the lack of authority and symbolic power. The symbolic capital in the form of professional capital is an essential factor of the authority and symbolic power of the social worker's profession, which, in turn, affects the occupational prestige in the society.