Students’ Perception of the Profession of Social Work

Abstract

Social work faces multiple challenges. Some of them include inadequate public understanding and acknowledgement of the profession of social work’s significance, as well as inadequate understanding and distinction of social work from other professions. Additionally, there is a generally poor impression of social work, which may be attributed to a number of things, including individual experiences and media coverage. Investigating how the profession is perceived by individuals who have received the necessary training for it, as well as by those in related (helping) professions, is crucial in addition to looking at how the general public perceives it. The paper presents the results of research that deals with the perception of students about social work, social workers and the position of social work in the Republic of Serbia. 
In this study participated 139 students of the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš. A questionnaire was used to collect data. The results show that there is a dominantly positive perception of the social work profession and its role in society. However, there is also agreement with the statement that this profession is undervalued compared to others, despite the fact that students do not consider professionals in this field to be less competent than those from other helping professions. Also, agreement was expressed with the fact that the public is not sufficiently informed about the profession of social work, as well as with the fact that the representatives of this profession are not sufficiently represented in the media.