Learning for Work: Social Identities and Professional Education in Social Care

The education of social care practitioners is a current issue in Ireland, as in other countries, with concerns about the qualifications and work practices of those caring for vulnerable members of society. Despite this, little research on the experience and impact of education on practitioners has been conducted. This book examines the process of social care education from the perspective of the participants' developing and changing identities as students and practitioners, thus bringing together research on adult students, professionalism and professional learning. Identities are viewed as located within the social structures of the profession, workplaces, prevailing discourses about education and the educational institution. Factors which influence the relationship between the identities of student and worker and the transfer of learning are identified. This analysis provides the reader with an insight into the students' perspective of professional education and provides suggestions for social care educators to facilitate the learning and professional development of social care practitioners.

Dr. Fiona McSweeney: Completed B.A. and M.A degrees in psychology at the National University of Ireland and a M.Ed. and doctorate in education with The Open University. Currently lecturing in psychology and research methods in the Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland.