The Professional Competence of Social Workers Who Have Developed Social Resources Through Collaboration with Local Residents

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the professional competence of social workers who collaborated with local residents and developed social resources as a result. The subjects of the interview survey were social workers from the community general support center with practical experience in this field. The collected data underwent qualitative data analysis and generated a total of 20 competency codes and 8 categories along the process of practice. This study found that while social workers are aware of the limits of support, they do not avoid problem-solving; rather, they understand social resources that must be developed from a flexible perspective, formulate strategies, and execute, modify, and evaluate them. They also make positive decisions through dialogue and information sharing and build a highly mobile basecamp for development. Social workers “take off” their professional attitude depending on the situation and engage as people, connect with various actors, and demonstrate their practical competencies as social workers through practice. This is described as “putting on and taking off one’s profession.”