Profession, Identities & Education: A Collective Case Study with Portuguese Social Workers.

The purpose of this study is to understand how Portuguese social workers perceive education and work as a way to grow as professionals in the field. This qualitative study takes place within a very specific organizational context--the Portuguese social security--and investigates how eight social workers: (1) perceive their education (including in-service training); (2) value educational contexts for their professional development; and (3) define their professional identities. The main conclusions of this study point to a close relationship between education, professional trajectories, professional identities, and the willingness to be educated. The dynamic among these factors is activated by the representation that subjects have of their profession, by contexts and conditions of exercising it, and by educational opportunities to improve their practice and to (re)define their professional identity. (Contains 15 references.) (Author/GCP)