MOTIVATIONS, VALUES, AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION: STUDENTS' INTEGRATION OF PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL IDENTITIES

• Published in: Journal of social work education Vol. 47; no. 3; pp. 423 - 444
• Main Author: Osteen, Philip J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Routledge 01-10-2011; Council on Social Work Education; Council On Social Work Education; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Accreditation (Institutions); Career Choice; Clinical medicine; Conflict management; Conflict Resolution; Correlation; Curricula; Curriculum; Education; Educational Policy; Graduate Students; Identity; Individual Characteristics; Interviews; Masters Programs; Motivation; Motivation in education; Professional Education; Professional Identity; Self Concept; Social aspects; Social justice; Social Work; Social Work Education; Social Workers; Student Attitudes; Student Motivation; Students; Values; Work Values; United States
• ISSN: 1043-7797; 2163-5811
• DOI: 10.5175/JSWE.2011.200900131

Edicts within the Council on Social Work Education's 2008 Educational Policyand Accreditation Standards address the importance of understanding theintersection of personal and professional values. Twenty MSW students, chosenon the basis of diverse cultural and personal characteristics, were interviewedabout their motivations for pursuing a MSW degree and their personal and professionalvalues. Thematic analysis yielded an emergent model relating theintersection of multiple forms of motivation, encountering and resolving valueconflicts, and integrating personal and professional identities. Implications foreducation and practice are (1) the intersection of personal and professionalidentities should be explicit components of curriculum; (2) strategies for managingvalue conflicts should be an integral part of the curriculum; and (3) therelationship between identity integration and practice needs to be delineated.