Coherence and transition. Meaningful connections and challenging transitions in social work

Abstract

Coherence between theory and practice, and transition between education and the profession are central challenges in social work and social worker education. This article analyzes how students and professional social workers within a Norwegian social work education establish such connections and how this changes in the transition between education and the profession. The study is inspired by Aaron Antonovsky’s concept, sense of coherence, and is based on qualitative data from focus group interviews with students, and with social workers after one year, and after five years in the profession. The analysis shows three different patterns for establishing meaningful connections. For students, notions of competence requirements in the profession create practice anxiety and an instrumental approach to coherence. For newly graduated social workers, this changes radically to understanding theory as a source for reflection on practice, and that the more instrumental connections can be developed within various occupational positions. The more experienced social workers describe the sense of coherence more as an individual development of personal competence. Finally, these empirical results are used to discuss challenges for social work as an ‘practice-based profession and an academic discipline’, and implications for social work education.