A Study of Social Work Professional Institutionalization in Taiwan：Historical Analysis of the Power Structure.

• Main Authors: Pei-Jie Huang, 黃培潔
• Other Authors: Yeun-wen Ku
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/w4nhg3

博士 === 國立暨南國際大學 === 社會政策與社會工作學系 === 102 === The purpose of this research is to explore social work professional institutionalization process in Taiwan. Power structure analysis is conducted in historical context, employing the critical paradigm approach, and using social constructivism as research methodology, through critical discourse analysis as research method to describe, interpret and explain the collected data. It aims at sorting out the progress of social work professional institutionalization in Taiwan by understanding the historical elements and inducing the development of actual condition, based on which to demonstrate the three main subjects in this thesis: how social work has been professionalized and institutionalized; the justification of its institutionalization; is professionalization equal to certification. In the literature review, this study suggests that the development of Taiwan’s social work profession could be divided into three phases: before legislative of Social Worker Act; after the promulgation of Social Worker Act and before making amendment to the Social Worker Act. All these three phases have their own development characteristics and distinguished multiple outer forces plus operational strategies. While discussing the professionalization progress in different phases, it is not only essential to consider the social structures and social events in different phases as well as the intricate relation between subjects and objects of the power, but to observe and discover the decision-making and non-decision-making elements which decide the power structure’s operation in important social issues. The fourth chapter focuses on text analysis and processing analysis of social work professionalization and giving conclusion for the different point of emphasis in different development period: Before legislation period- it emphasized on pursuing the professionalization. After promulgation period- it is committed to identify the establishment. Before amendment to the Act period- it emphasized on ensuring the professionalization. The first period was the essential beginning for the academia to propose the professionalization. It was defined as ‘integrated into national institutions to maintain and recognize the profession of social work’, which makes the development of social work profession in Taiwan generated an inseparable relationship with the State. The second period developed two different ways for institutionalization due to the different attitudes toward certificationalization. Having no opportunities for mutual communication, the opposing sides acted and presented in their own ways. The mainstream groups and marginalized groups both produced multiple discourses during this period. Interacting with the power from government, academic elites and professional organizations, these discourses had found a niche in the prologue of guaranteeing professionalization before making amendment to the Act. Moreover, the action of Social Worker Act Amendments demonstrates the facts that the dialectic cannot be discussed and their dialogue was unable to parallel between the social work groups. It also emerged another power holder: the mainstream professional organizations. The result of historical texts in the three phases outlines the phenomenon of professionalization, which included：the constitutive relationship between the Social Worker Act and the professional development; the staggered relationship of alternation power between the state and the profession；the internal antagonistic relationship in the social work profession The fifth chapter applies Lukes’ Three-Dimensional Power as the social analysis framework, to describe, interpret and explain the overt power（Decision-making powers）, and the covert power（Non-decision-making powers）, as well as the power to shape desires and beliefs（The powers shaping significant social issues and forming decisions）in professionalization progress of social work. It applies the Legislative Yuan Official Gazette as Text analysis of Decision-making powers, the internal discourse of social work communities as the analysis of the content of the non-decision-making powers, the newspapers as social analysis text, then makes comparison to the three text analysis results, and discusses important social issues and the formation process of decision-making power. Further, to explain the operation, structure and distribution strategies of power, as well as the relationship between political power and professional development. The results shows that the institutionalization of the social work profession in Taiwan presents a both overlapping and broken power image The results of the research show that the social work professionalization in Taiwan is bound up with the theme of survival. It makes the government, the academic elites and mainstream professional organizations become the most decisive power holders in this institutionalization of the social work profession process. During this progress, the impact of social event is not a direct power but a force for professional social workers to face the social problems and to develop effective and practical methods in solving the problems. As a whole, the development of social work professionalization in Taiwan has never stopped in searching State authorization nor has the State stopped playing its role, endeavoring to build the social work institutionalization system. Even the social workers regard that the social work professionalization system as one of the should-have-done social policy that the State should operate. Among these three different stages (pursuing professionalization; identify the establishment and ensuring professionalization), it is very clear that the State has been considered and set as a very important part. All though different stages have different strategies to operate and practice the professionalization and institutionalization, they all have close interaction and conversation between the State, academic elites and mainstream professional organizations. This kind of ideology and development is due to the historical context and the dilemma in reality, which results in such a consequence: the social work in Taiwan which professionalized through assessment and examination that established by State is inseparable from the State. Therefore, the professionalization emerged from nation certification has fallen into a confused and temporally insolvable dilemma. The researcher is using an afterthought perspective when doing the research, facing the depression, speechlessness and puzzle-solved during the whole process. Through reflection, it finds out the dependency and monopoly that the ones who have participated in legislating and amending the social work law has presented is a state of unrealistic, insensitive and lack of thinking. The social work professionalization and institutionalization built under this circumstance is no doubt a banality of evil. What’s more, the nonfeasance and indifference have caused negative effects such as conflict, opposition even desperation to the current social work field. Due to this condition, it is essential for today’s researchers to concern about the actual result caused by the operation. Their responsibility and obligation cannot be denied by collective innocence or collective agreement however the discrimination repeats. Those people who refuse to respond, go with the crowd and practice blindly have to take their actions seriously when participating in the social work professionalization and institutionalization. By their oversight, the current social work profession in Taiwan is defectively produced. According to the analysis of Taiwan’s social work development, it argues that certificate is not the best choice for professionalization. Yet, is there any better choices? The answer may only be chased in the follow up development but insistently think and explore the nature and intention of the social work profession.