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This article was downloaded by: [University of Connecticut]On: 11 October 2014, At: 09:03Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
Social Work Education: TheInternational JournalPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cswe20
Professional Commitment in NoviceSocial Work Students: Socio-Demographic Characteristics, Motivesand Perceptions of the ProfessionAnat Freund a , Edith Blit-Cohen b , Ayala Cohen c & Nicole Dehana
a Haifa University , Israelb Hebrew University , Israelc Tel-hai College , IsraelPublished online: 28 Aug 2012.
To cite this article: Anat Freund , Edith Blit-Cohen , Ayala Cohen & Nicole Dehan (2013)Professional Commitment in Novice Social Work Students: Socio-Demographic Characteristics,Motives and Perceptions of the Profession, Social Work Education: The International Journal, 32:7,867-887, DOI: 10.1080/02615479.2012.717920
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2012.717920
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Professional Commitment in NoviceSocial Work Students: Socio-Demographic Characteristics, Motivesand Perceptions of the ProfessionAnat Freund, Edith Blit-Cohen, Ayala Cohen &Nicole Dehan
The article attempts to define the characteristics of students at the beginning of their social
work studies in institutes of higher education in Israel, including demographiccharacteristics, motives for choosing the profession, perceptions about the profession, and
commitment to the profession. The study was conducted among a sample of 450 students,all beginning their first academic year, at four social work schools in Israel. Study findings
show a demographic range, such as: nationality, level of religiosity, and political attitudes.Findings indicate that three of these socio-demographic variables predict commitment to
the profession at the onset of academic studies: psychometric score, level of religiosity, andprevious academic learning experience.
Findings indicate two profiles of novice students: students who choose to study social work
out of a desire to bring about social change; and students who choose to engage only in clinicalsocial work. The latter are not committed to the profession in its essence, but rather recognize
the importance of its professional individual activities only. The article discusses these findingsand implications with regard to both the social work profession and social work training.
Keywords: Professional Training; Social Work Schools; Motives for Studying theProfession; Commitment to the Profession
Introduction
In an era when social work schools assimilate new reforms and strategies in an attemptto adapt to the rapidly changing environment, it is evident that students’ commitment
to the profession is a basic requirement, in addition to the acquisition of professional
q 2013 Taylor & Francis
Correspondence to: Anat Freund, School of Social Work, Haifa University, Har Hacarmel, Haifa, Israel. Email:
Anat Freund & Nicole Dehan, Haifa University, Israel; Edith Blit-Cohen, Hebrew University, Israel; Ayala Cohen, Tel-hai
College, Israel
Social Work Education, 2013Vol. 32, No. 7, 867–887, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2012.717920
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knowledge, skills and values (Loewenberg and Balalty, 1989 ). Social work is a profession
based on its own ethics and values. In many ways, this professional commitment is basedon these same ethics and values. Therefore, the assumption is that a high level of
commitment to the profession is a precondition for being able to cope with the types ofcomplex tasks demanded from social workers (Arkin et al., 1999) today. Because social
work is a profession founded on specific ethics and values, it is important that those whochoose to study social work already have prior experience that relates to community
involvement and social change ideology. This is especially important in Israel, wheremost of the activity carried out by welfare agencies was, and remains, clinical in nature(Eran and Lev-Sadeh, 1993). In Israel, the practical training courses given at most
schools of social work are clinically oriented (Bar-Gal, 1978; Peleg-Oren et al., 2003),and social work graduates prefer clinical work (Aviram and Katan, 1989). A background
that includes community involvement and some type of social change ideology allowsfor further development of students’ commitment to the profession and socialization
within it.
Literature Review
Purposes of the Study
The present study examines the relationship between socio-demographic character-istics, motives for choosing the profession, perceptions about the profession, andcommitment to the profession.
The second study goal relates to the identification of factors that either encourage orhinder the perception of professional commitment in novice students. The study attempts
to answer questions about how students’ socio-demographic characteristics, motives forchoosing the profession, and perceptions about the profession (the importance of
professional practice in clinical and community settings) are interrelated and linked totheir professional commitment.
Motives for Choosing Social Work
Choosing a profession is an important decision. The individual coordinates self-
perception, interests, attitudes, characteristics, and opportunities of the profession byconsidering social, normative, and structural restrictions (Enoch, 1993). Several
scholars believe that choosing a profession can only be understood within a certainsocial context, according to conventional social expectations of the particular group
(Solas, 1994; Christie and Kruk, 1998).Choosing the social work profession has to do with a wide range of personal and
social factors related to individual needs, such as self-realization and skill improvement(Pearson, 1973; Holme and Maizels, 1978; Solas, 1994; Cory and Cory, 1998), as well asenvironmental factors, such as assisting the disabled and making a social contribution
(Wilson and McCrystal, 2007). Several studies show that students’ socio-demographiccharacteristics, such as level of religiosity or family of origin with religious values, are
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related to choosing the social work profession (Bar-Gal, 1978; Rompf and Royse, 1994;
Ashencaen Crabtree and Baba, 2001; Wilson and McCrystal, 2007). Further studiesreveal that previous personal life experiences, such as growing up in a dysfunctional
family, contact with social workers, treatment frameworks, and assisting and caring forfamily members are all related to choosing social work as one’s profession (Black et al.,
1993; Russel et al., 1993; Rompf and Royse, 1994; Hackett et al., 2003; Sellers andHunter, 2005; Furness, 2007; Wilson and McCrystal, 2007).
Religious Background of Novice Students
In the past, the variable of religiosity in relation to professional training received only
minimal attention. When mentioned in the literature, it was regarded as a pre-trainingvariable associated with moral judgments and the development of social values during
one’s years at school (Bar-Gal, 1978). However, over the past several decades, students’religious identity has gained a renewed perspective in the United States, and othercountries worldwide. Recent research studies have found that 87% of the students who
chose social work at five universities in the United States were strongly influencedby religious values during their childhood (Rompf and Royse, 1994). Additional studies
show that many Muslim students choose a career that somehow relates to their religiousfaith. This issue challenges the dichotomous Western perception of social work as
a profession that is unrelated to individuals’ personal beliefs (Ashencaen Crabtree andBaba, 2001).
Perceptions of the Profession in Novice Students
Research studies that examined students’ motivation to choose social work as their
profession have reached diverse and often contradicting outcomes (Segal-Engelchinand Kaufman, 2008). Some studies show that this choice of profession derives from
the desire to engage in clinical social work and psychotherapy (Rubin and Johnson,1984; Land, 1987; Butler, 1990; Bogo et al., 1993), whereas others find that the motive
for choosing a profession reflects the profession’s traditional tasks; that is, the desire tocontribute to society, work with vulnerable populations, and ensure entitlements andservices to all eligible individuals (Albek, 1987; Abell and McDonell, 1990; Butler,
1990; Bogo et al., 1995; Csikai and Rozensky, 1997; Arkin et al., 1999; Hackett et al.,2003; Limb and Organista, 2003, 2006; Furness, 2007).
Additional research has examined the kind of people novice students prefer to workwith and found that most of them choose to work with a high-functioning population.
On the other hand, less preferred populations by the students included the poor, theelderly, developmentally disabled persons, and those suffering from chronic mental
illness (Rubin and Johnson, 1984; Weiss and Gal, 2001; Weiss et al., 2002, 2004 ; Wilsonand McCrystal, 2007). A study supports the point that the training process does notaffect this approach, as dealing with these populations becomes less attractive for social
work students (Rubin et al., 1986). Recent support for this approach has been found ina study (Limb and Organista, 2003) that examined a sample of more than 7,000 novice
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students in the United States, where students were strongly attracted to clinical practice
as well as to non-clinical social work fields. In another study with opposing results,researchers claimed that traditional perceptions of the profession are reinforced and
strengthened during the professional training period (Limb and Organista, 2003).Recent studies on novice social work students in Israel show that most students
prefer clinical social work to community and policy social work (Weiss and Gal, 2001;Weiss et al., 2002, 2004). In contrast, research conducted by Segal-Engelchin and
Kaufman (2008) indicates that approximately half of the participants had a macro-orientation in social work. In other words, they expressed a high interest in workingwith communities and taking action related to policy practice and social change, while
the other half were highly motivated to work with individuals, couples, and families.
Commitment to the Profession
Commitment to the profession is defined as the measure of relative outstanding
attitudes towards the profession, as expressed by the extent of mental, conceptual, andemotional efforts invested by employees in their professional development (Kanungo,
1982; Gifford, 2009). This attitude reflects professional autonomy and demandsactivity based on a conventional social mandate, professional ethics, identification
with colleagues, and the values leading the profession (Lafleur, 2007; Lawler, 2007). Anemployee who is highly committed to the profession is committed to his job andwilling to invest many personal resources in order to promote his field—often at the
expense of other commitments (Cappelli, 2000; Freund, 2006; Gifford, 2009).In general, personal variables such as age or gender were found to have
a bi-directional effect on commitment to the profession. On the one hand, thesevariables may increase employees’ autonomy and opportunities for additional
benefits. On the other hand, they might also lead to disappointment, while reducingcommitment to the profession, as high expectations often remain unfulfilled
(Carmeli and Freund, 2009). Thus, the bulk of the new research is based on, orexpands upon, other studies on professional commitment and assumes that socio-
demographic characteristics are linked to professional commitment. In spite of theimportance of this commitment to working outcomes, research reports on theformation of professional commitment in students are very scarce. We propose that
commitment to the profession expressed by a desire to contribute to theorganization will be affected by previous social activity, perception of the profession,
or a desire to bring about social or individual change.Research studies on professional commitment relate to its large-scale effects on working
outcomes and fulfillment of professional goals among social workers and students inprofessional training processes (Whiting et al., 2008). Research findings show that
professional commitment affects organizational effectiveness (Angle and Perry, 1981),role performance (Carmeli et al., 2009; Freund, 2005), the tendency to leave theorganization, and civil behavior in the organization (Freund, 2005). This commitment is
also highly important with regard to professional socialization processes (Coetsee, 1999)and influences professional development processes (Carmeli et al., 2009). Additional
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studies found that a high level of professional commitment enables the fulfillment of
training goals and the development of a clearer professional identity among students
(Neale and Griffin, 2006). Since the present research deals with novice students,
commitment to the profession is significant, providing them with a clear basis for
developing a professional identity.
Professional identity is defined as the process whereby students, at different phases of
their professional training, learn their roles and adopt a professional identity, in order to
belong to the specific profession of their choice (Bauer et al., 2007). The professional
identity building process focuses on the way students learn the art, beliefs, values,
conventional behaviors, and skills related to the profession, in order to carry out their
function to the best of their ability (Lopez and McMillan-Capehart, 2009). Research
studies show that a solidified and clear professional identity contributes to
reduced role ambiguity, role conflict, burnout, the tendency to leave the profession
(Hidalgo and Moreno, 2009), and anxiety (Bauer et al., 2007). Additional positive
correlations were found between a clear professional identity, proactive behavior
(Gruman et al., 2006), personal and professional suitability (Kim et al., 2005), personal
adjustment to the profession, professional satisfaction, and identification with the
profession (Boswell et al., 2009). In social work, the building and formation of one’s
professional identity is important and significant during professional socialization
stages, as well as with regard to social workers in welfare organizations. Professional
commitment can contribute to deepening one’s professional identity beyond the basic
attitude of novice students, emphasizing the importance of commitment as an attitude
(Lopez and McMillan-Capehart, 2009).
Hypotheses
The study’s first hypothesis proposes the existence of a correlation between
socio-demographic characteristics (social activity prior to studies, performance of
social work-like tasks during military service, level of religiosity), and professional
commitment. That is, the more students were involved in social activity, executed
a social work-like function during their military service, or regard themselves as being
religious, the higher their professional commitment.The study’s second hypothesis proposes the existence of a positive correlation
between perceptions about the profession (importance of individual and community
activity) and professional commitment. In other words, the more important the
profession is perceived, the higher the professional commitment.The study’s third hypothesis proposes the existence of a positive correlation between
the desire to bring about social change and professional commitment, meaning that
the stronger the desire for social change, the higher the professional commitment.
The last study hypothesis proposes the existence of a positive correlation between
the desire to engage in individual intervention and professional commitment,
meaning that the stronger the desire to engage in individual intervention, the higher
the professional commitment.
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Method
Sample
The research was conducted during the 2007–2008 academic year at the schools ofsocial work in two universities and two colleges: Haifa University (including the Haredi
[ultra-Orthodox] College in Bnai Brak, sponsored by Haifa University), The HebrewUniversity of Jerusalem, Tel-Hai College and Ariel University Center. The research was
based on a convenience sample, including four institutions of higher education at thefirst stage, representing a variety of institutions: university, college, center, and periphery.This diversity reflects the heterogenic society of Israel and is typical for Western societies.
As will be shown, it is important to take into account the society’s different constituentsand the fact that social work students come from different sectors of society.
The sample included 450 novice social work student subjects. Institutionalparticipation was divided as follows: 28.32% (n ¼ 129) Haifa University; 13.17%
(n ¼ 54) Haredi College in Bnai Brak; 22.36% (n ¼ 99) Hebrew University ofJerusalem; 10.12% (n ¼ 47) Ariel University Center and 25.73% (n ¼ 120) Tel Hai
College. The sample characteristics are presented in Table 1.The sample analysis shows that 11.54% of the research population were males and
88.46% were females, with an average age of 24.53 years (SD ¼ 12.49). The averagematriculation score was 97.75 (n ¼ 393, SD ¼ 10.49) with an average psychometric testscore of 601.32 (n ¼ 355, SD ¼ 59.34). Regarding self-reported religious affiliation,
81.43% were Jewish, 11.65% were Muslims, 4.03% were Christians, and 0.89% wereDruze. Nearly a quarter of them were traditionalists (21.82%), one quarter said they
were religious (25.23%), and another 5% defined themselves as Haredim. Regardingpolitical attitude, an equal percentage of students (38%) considered themselves left-
wing or right-wing, while the rest described themselves as having a centralist affiliation(23%). Most students had served in the army and/or completed national service before
their studies (85%) and more than 60% of them reported having experienced socialwork-like functions during their military service. Most of the students had some priorexperience with some aspect of social work, such as being guides, counselors or
members in youth movements (over 70%).
Research Tools
A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to social work novice students at the
beginning of the academic year. The subjects were required to specify their position on a1–5 Likert scale, and responses included: 1 ¼ ‘to a very small extent/do not agree at all’,
expressing a low level of agreement to 5 ¼ ‘to a very large extent’, expressing a high levelof agreement. In addition, the students were required to respond to socio-demographic
characteristics.The first part of the questionnaire measured subjects’ perceptions about the
profession (importance of clinical and community social work); that is, the students’
perception about the important elements characterizing social work. A special measurewas built for this assessment, including 15 items, which were taken from the professional
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literature on social workers’ roles and student tasks during practical training in
community and individual settings in Israel (Ben Oz and Gur, 1996; Sherer and Peleg-
Oren, 2001; Itzhaki, 2002). The measure included similar and shared items selected
from the professional literature and was tested by Boehm and Cohen (in press).
This measure consisted of two scales: community—including 10 statements, which
expressed community activities run by social workers. For example: ‘development
of community/social enterprises’ and ‘group counseling and community/social
organization’. The score compounded average values assigned by participants for
Table 1 Characteristics of Participants
Characteristic N (Valid) % M SD
Academic institutionUniversity of Haifa 130 28.89Hebrew University of Jerusalem 99 22.00Ariel University Center 47 10.44Tel Hai College 120 26.67Bnai-Brak Haredi College 54 12.00GenderMales 83 11.54Females 365 88.46NationalityJewish 364 81.43Muslim 61 13.65Christian 18 4.03Druze 4 0.89Age 24.53 12.49Matriculation score average 97.75 10.49Psychometric score average 601.32 59.34Level of religiositySecular 210 47.73Traditionalist 96 21.82Religious 111 25.23Ultra-orthodox 23 5.23Military serviceServed in the military 307 84.34Did not serve in the military 57 15.66Social work-like military functionNot at all 76 24.84Slightly 36 11.76Moderately 50 16.34Largely 49 16.01Very largely 95 31.05Social activity prior to studiesNone at all 29 7.09Slightly 78 19.07Moderately 126 30.81Largely 133 32.52Very largely 43 10.51Political spectrumRight-wing 153 38.15Centrism 92 22.94Left-wing 156 38.90
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such items. The Cronbach’s alpha measurement of internal consistency shows a reliability
coefficient of 0.86 for these items in the research. The second scale was individual—including five statements expressing social workers’ activities related to individual
intervention such as: ‘clinical social work’ and ‘economic assistance to the client’. TheCronbach’s alpha measurement of internal consistency shows a reliability coefficient of
0.69 for these items in the research.The second section of the questionnaire measured motives for choosing the
profession. A special measure of 13 items was designed for this study, showingcontents expressed by social work applicants during personal interviews (held in oneof the academic institutions participating in the research) as part of their admissions
process. The measure was comprised of three identified components:
1. Motive for learning and gaining a profession in general (five items): ‘learninga profession’; ‘ability to be admitted into the program’; ‘getting a first degree’; ‘familyencouragement toward studies’; and ‘friends who study’. The Cronbach’s alphainternal consistency measurement shows a reliability coefficient of 0.76 for these items.
2. Motive expressing the desire to bring about social change (four items): ‘education forsocial equality’; ‘desire for a more righteous society’; ‘social activity prior to studies’;and ‘previous social involvement’. The Cronbach’s alpha internal consistencymeasurement shows a reliability coefficient of 0.76 for these items.
3. Motive to engage in individual intervention (four items): ‘learning a profession relatedto treatment’; ‘learning a similar profession to psychology’; ‘desire to open a privateclinic’; and ‘interest in this field of study’. The Cronbach’s alpha internal consistencymeasurement shows a reliability coefficient of 0.69 for these items.
The third part of the questionnaire assessed the students’ commitment to the professionaccording to Kanungo’s (1982) measure, translated and edited by Freund (2006), and
adapted to social work students for the research. The original measure attempted toanalyze employee professional commitment, whereas in the present research, studentswere required to express their attitude toward commitment to the profession. The
measure includes nine statements: three of them relate to their confidence in professionalgoals and values, such as: ‘social work goals and my goals are very similar’. Another three
relate to professional belonging, such as: ‘I consider myself part of the social workprofession’; and the last three refer to emotional involvement in the profession, such as: ‘I am
proud of being part of the social work world’. A reliability coefficient of 0.862 was foundfor the entire questionnaire.
The fourth part of the questionnaire assessed the students’ socio-demographiccharacteristics, such as: gender, age, weighted matriculation score, psychometric test
score, nationality, level of religiosity and political attitudes, military service, and socialactivity prior to studies (Table 1).
Research Procedure
The research was conducted as a correlative field study in order to examine how theindependent variables affect subjects’ commitment to the profession. Research
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questionnaires were distributed by the researchers to students in the university where
they work or by lecturers of practical training courses in all of the institutions. Theoverall response rate was 86%.
Prior to the research, an official request was filed with, and approved by, the EthicsCommittee of the university in which the principal investigator works.
Data Processing
Data analysis was carried out using the SPSS Data Collection Software. Research
hypotheses were assessed by means of conventional statistical methods used in socialsciences: Cronbach’s Alpha Measurement of Internal Consistency, Central and
Dispersion Tendency Measures (mean and standard deviation), Correlation Analysis,and Stepwise Regression Analysis. According to the power analysis, assuming a medium
effect size, p , 0.01 and a statistical power of 0.80, a total sample size of 450 is required,which is the actual number of participants.
Results
Regarding student motives for choosing the profession, results indicate that the strongest
motive encouraging students to study social work is the desire to bring about socialchange (a mean of 4.04 and an SD of 1.05). Next is the desire to engage in individualintervention (a mean of 3.72 and an SDof 0.9). The desire to gain an education was found
to be the weakest motive. Concerning the perception of professional activity importancelevel, the importance of individual professional activity was found to be higher than that
of community professional activity (4.34 and 3.98, respectively, with similar standarddeviations of 0.53 and 0.58, respectively). In addition, novice students’ commitment to
the profession was very high (a mean of 4.4 and an SD of 1.05).Regarding research hypotheses, findings show that the first hypothesis, which
predicted a correlation between socio-demographic characteristics (i.e. social activityprior to studies, performance of social work-like tasks during military service, level of
religiosity) and commitment to social work was partly confirmed. Significantcorrelations were found between social activity prior to studies and professionalcommitment (r ¼ 0.317, p , 0.001), level of religiosity and professional commitment
(r ¼ 2.775, p , 0.01). The second hypothesis relates to the relationship betweenperceptions about the profession and commitment to the profession. As expected,
a positive correlation was found between perceptions about the profession expressedby the importance of individual skills and commitment to the profession (r ¼ 0.261,
p , 0.001), as well as the importance of community skills and commitment tothe profession (r ¼ 0.215, p , 0.001). The third hypothesis, which predicted a positive
correlation between the desire to bring about social change and commitment tothe profession, was strongly confirmed (r ¼ 0.547, p , 0.001). That is, the strongerthe individual’s desire to bring about social change, the higher his/her commitment to
the profession. The fourth hypothesis, which predicted a positive correlation betweenthe desire to engage in individual intervention and commitment to the profession, was
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confirmed, so that the stronger the desire to engage in individual intervention, the
higher the commitment to the profession.Table 2 shows the correlation between independent research variables and the
dependent variable—commitment to the profession. The desire to bring about socialchange was found to be significantly correlated with commitment to the profession
( p , 0.001; ***0.547), whereas the ambition to gain an education and the desire tolearn a therapeutic profession were not significantly correlated with commitment to
the profession. The perception of the importance of professional community activityversus professional individual activity was positively correlated with commitment tothe profession ( p , 0.001; ***0.261; ***0.251).
Furthermore, a Stepwise Regression Analysis was used in order to assess the researchvariables that predict professional commitment. In the first model, socio-demographic
characteristics (Block 1) and motives for choosing the profession (Block 2) wereintegrated. This model explains approximately 47% of the variance. In the second model,
socio-demographic characteristics (Block 1) and perceptions about the profession(Block 2) were integrated, explaining approximately 33% of the variance in commitment
to the profession. In the third model, socio-demographic characteristics (Block 1) wereintegrated with two motives for choosing the profession (Block 2) and with perceptions
about the profession. This model explains approximately 49% of the variance.An observation of the different models indicates that socio-demographic
characteristics and motives for choosing the profession best explain the variance,
while the perceptions about the profession variable explains only 2% of this variance(Table 3).
Discussion
The present research study presents the current situation of novice students in foursocial work schools throughout Israel. The students who participated in the research
come from different backgrounds. In the sample, approximately 17% of the studentsare Arabs, more than three times the number of students who graduated in 1982
(Aviram and Katan, 1987). However, this finding matches the percentage of Arabs inthe entire population. Variables such as nationality, age, and gender had no effect oncommitment to the profession. These data strengthen the assumption that other
variables are more significant with regard to commitment.The study shows that students begin their studies based on perceptions about the
profession, in general (importance of both individual and community skills), and a veryhigh level of professional commitment. The level of religiosity was found to be significant
with regard to professional commitment. This finding is supported by other studies,which linked level of religiosity with choosing a profession (Bar-Gal, 1978; Rompf and
Royse, 1994; Ashencaen Crabtree and Baba, 2001; Wilson and McCrystal, 2007). Thus, wemay assume that religious values, such as social justice or helping others, are consistentamong social work students, which probably contributes to the increased professional
commitment of novice students prior to their studies. Also noteworthy is the fact thatHaredi students have only recently become involved in the profession over the last decade.
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Table
2P
ears
on
’sC
orr
elat
ion
An
alys
iso
fR
esea
rch
Var
iab
lesN
¼45
0
Var
iab
leC
om
mu
nit
ysk
ills
Ind
ivid
ual
skil
lsD
esir
eto
ob
tain
aned
uca
tio
nD
esir
eto
stu
dy
ath
erap
euti
cp
rofe
ssio
nD
esir
efo
rso
cial
chan
geP
revi
ou
sso
cial
acti
vity
Ind
ivid
ual
skil
ls0.
257 *
**D
esir
eto
ob
tain
aned
uca
tio
n0.
039
0.07
2D
esir
eto
stu
dy
ath
erap
euti
cp
rofe
ssio
n0.
013
0.20
2 ***
0.18
6 ***
Des
ire
for
soci
alch
ange
0.16
5 ***
0.17
7 ***
0.03
50.
071
Pre
vio
us
soci
alac
tivi
ty0.
125 *
*0.
106 *
0.04
00.
147 *
*0.
301 *
**C
om
mit
men
tto
the
pro
fess
ion
0.21
5 ***
0.26
1 ***
0.07
70.
041
0.54
7 ***
Notes
:p,
0.00
1 ***
;p,
0.01
**;p,
0.05
*.
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The fact that approximately half of the students define themselves as being
traditionalists, religious or Haredi (ultra-orthodox) demands special attention. The
phenomenon of novice students’ religious background, as mentioned (Rompf andRoyse, 1994), has implications with regard to the importance of training, bringing
together social work and religious values, while developing teaching and training
strategies that allow these students to integrate the personal, religious, community, and
social beliefs they bring with them to their studies, with universal professionalperceptions and values. At the same time, it is also important to qualify the academic
staff and instructors so that they can cope with the students’ training process, as they
encounter their varied and diverse acquired identities—personal, religious, and
professional (Black et al., 1993; Dahan, 2004).An analysis of political attitudes reveals that most of the students are on one or the
other side of the political map, rather than at the center. The divergent political
attitudes of social work students, and particularly the fact that most of them are eitherright-wing or left-wing—meaning that they identify themselves as being at both ends
of the political map rather than the center—reflects the need to cope with rather
extreme political heterogeneity, in addition to religious diversity. Therefore, it is
necessary to bring together professional values and students’ political attitudes in
order to find ways to integrate professional moral demands together with personalpolitical attitudes (Lackie, 1983; Land, 1987).
Table 3 Hierarchical Regression: Prediction of Commitment to the Profession by Socio-Demographic Characteristics, Attitudes Toward the Profession and Motives for Choosingthe Profession (N ¼ 450)
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3(B t) (B t) (B t)
Socio-demographic characteristicsAge (1.567) 0.103 (1.446) 0.113 (71.56) 40.10Religion (1.302) 0.087 (0.941) 0.758 (1.302) 0.083Gender (0.732) 0.055 (1.014) 0.798 (0.735) 0.058Political attitudes (0.095) 0.912 20.003 (–0.024) (0.024) 0.189Matriculation score 0.035 (0.319) 20.011 (–0.085) 20.056 (–0.411)Psychometric score 0.265 (3.665***) 0.314 (3.858***) 0.166 (3.532**)Level of religiosity 0.420 (2.679**) 0.602 (3.443***) 0.265 (2.775**)Previous social activity 0.280 (7.685***) 0.249 (7.055***) 0.164 (5.085***)Motives for choosing the professionDesire for social change 0.270 (9.365***) 0.253 (8.825***)Desire to engage in individualtreatment
0.126 (1.433) 0.103 (0.918)
Desire to gain an education 0.039 (1.345) 0.038 (1.034)Perception of the professionImportance of communityactivity
0.155 (2.705**) 0.110 (2.215*)
Importance of individual activity 0.226 (3.775***) 0.136 (2.565*)R 2 0.468 0.326 0.494Adjusted R 2 0.448 0.302 0.471F 22.786*** 13.796*** 21.266***
Notes: p , 0.001***; p , 0.01**; p , 0.05*.
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One of the findings relates to the fact that social activity prior to studies
characterizes social work students. The current research updates and strengthens theavailable knowledge that experience prior to studies predicts professional
commitment. Thus, these data emphasize experience for the sake of professionaltraining.
However, an additional surprising finding relates to the correlation betweenpsychometric test score and commitment to the profession. This test is a mandatory
entrance exam and a precondition to studying at any academic institution in Israel—university or college. The maximum score is 800, and the minimal 200. One can
reasonably speculate that a higher psychometric test score increases the alternativesavailable for students when choosing a profession; therefore, those who achieved a high
score on the psychometric exam chose social work out of a deep social commitment.
This finding is very significant. The psychometric score, as a precondition foradmission has been a strong controversial issue in social work schools, questioning the
fact that a high psychometric test score predicts a more professional and successfulsocial worker. On the other hand, additional compatible personality characteristics
should also be examined. It seems that the research results answer these questions,while supporting the current approach demanding a high psychometric test score for
admission to social work studies. This conclusion is drawn not only for academicreasons or professional academic status, but in light of the profession’s relation to
professional commitment and for objective reasons as well.Among the three motives for choosing the profession, the desire to bring about
social change is the only one that is significantly correlated with commitment to theprofession. In contrast, the desire to engage in individual intervention and the desire
to gain an education are not significantly correlated with professional commitment.These data indicate that students who choose social work out of a desire to bring about
social change are the most committed to the profession, at least at the beginning oftheir studies.
Regarding students’ perception about the importance of clinical or communitysocial work, results indicate that all novice students consider clinical social work
activity to be more important than community social work. This finding seems toreflect the perceived character of social work in the eyes of the general public,
as a profession whose importance lies in its clinical intervention (Schindler, 1989).This character is anchored in Israeli reality, while most of the activity carried out by
welfare agencies was, and remains, clinical (Eran and Lev-Sadeh, 1993). The sameimage is also anchored in practical training courses at most schools of social work
throughout the country (Bar-Gal, 1978; Peleg-Oren et al., 2003), as well as in theprofessional preferences of social work graduates (Aviram and Katan, 1989). Evidently,
this approach also prevails in the United States, where the focus is on clinical socialwork, rather than community intervention, and includes a stronger emphasis on
micro-practice instead of macro-practice (Makaros, 2006).The fact that clinical and community social work was graded high in the research
provides important information on the state of the profession and its autonomy.Throughout the years, social work has been identified with individual and community
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work. The research suggests that, despite the history of the profession, it still leaves its
mark on the perception of novice students, who consider individual intervention to bemore important than community activity (Weiss and Gal, 2001; Weiss et al., 2002, 2004).
Nevertheless, it seems that changes have taken place in the United States (Segal-Engelchinand Kaufman, 2008) and, according to the present study, in Israel as well. We may
probably point out that the professional call to find the balance between training andindividual and community activity, while focusing on the community aspect of
the profession’s identity (Doron, 1989; York et al., 1993; Rosenfeld and Sykes, 2000; Weiss,
2005), has been beneficial. We can further consider this finding as an initial sign of aclearer definition of the social work niche, while increasing the profession’s differentiation
from psychology (Spiro et al., 2002).The research shows a significant correlation between students’ perceptions of the
profession regarding the importance of individual and community professional activity,while both are related to commitment to the profession. A professional integration or
intervention at different levels—individual, group, community, organizational, andpolicy development—has concerned social workers with regard to practice, teaching,
and policy development over many years of professional activity. Today, the integratedprofessional scheme of social work is reflected in the perceptions of novice students who,
at this stage, perceive the profession as being composed by several levels of intervention.This finding seems to reinforce the successful integration of social work programs and
different fields into an integrative definition of the profession.The significant correlations found between the desire for social change and the
perception that both individual and community activities are essential is, in turn, animportant finding in itself. It reflects the notion that students believe social change can
be achieved through an integration of individual and community intervention. Thisfinding is different than that found in recent research by Segal-Engelchin and Kaufman
(2008), showing that only students with a macro-orientation expressed interest insocial change. Similar to their study, the present research found that students consider
both individual and community activities as important. In Segal-Engelchin andKaufman’s (2008) research, both groups of students (with a macro- and micro-
orientation) expressed a desire to work with the poor, each group according to its ownorientation. In contrast, the students in this study who expressed a desire to bring
about social change are divided into two groups, according to individual andcommunity orientations, respectfully.
An analysis of the entire correlation system for predicting novice students’commitment to the profession of social work indicates that the desire to bring about
social change best predicts commitment to the profession, followed by social activityprior to studies. However, perceptions about the profession, expressed by the
importance of professional individual and community activity, psychometric testscore, and level of religiosity, each separately predict commitment to the profession
more than the desire to bring about social change. At the same time, the second modelshows that perceptions about the profession variable explains only 2% of the variance,
probably due to the fact that novice students have very little knowledge of professionalperception at the beginning of their studies. These data further indicate that the desire
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to bring about social change together with a wide perception of the profession—both
individual and community activity—enhance commitment to the profession.A further analysis of the entire correlation system for predicting commitment to the
profession shows that motives, such as desire to engage in individual intervention anddesire to gain an education do not enhance commitment to the profession. In other
words, the research findings indicate two directions regarding motives for choosing theprofession among novice social work students: participants with a desire to promote
social change, above all, feel more committed to the profession. On the other hand,students who choose social work based on their desire to engage in individual
intervention or gain an education tend to be less committed. The former, with socialexperience prior to studies, show a positive correlation to professional commitment and
perceptions about the profession, including the importance of both individual and
community activity. In contrast, the rest of the students claim that individual activity ismost important, while their commitment to the profession is linked to professional
individual activity. These findings reveal that the social perception variable and socialactivity prior to studies variable contribute to a high level of commitment to the
profession on the part of novice students. This information is significant for socialworkers, in general, and in regard to training processes, in particular.
The group of novice social work students participating in the present research is highlydiversified and heterogeneous regarding age, nationality, level of religiosity, and political
attitudes. Other than the psychometric test score, level of religiosity, and previous socialexperience, no additional socio-demographic characteristics were found to affect
commitment to the profession. This evidence shows that neither socio-demographiccharacteristics nor student divergence affect commitment to the profession, but rather
that the social work profession is comprised of different types of people who sharea common desire to bring about social change (Gambrill and Pruger, 1992).
The heterogeneity found in the group of novice students has implications with regardto professional training and its future. This is especially true regarding the divergence
found in socio-demographic characteristics related to religion and political attitudes.These variables involve moral and social perceptions that may have implications when
relating to professional values. Therefore, academic staff in both classrooms as well aspractical training settings should pay close attention to this issue and its significance. The
wide diversification characterizing participants in the present research emphasizes thequestions asked by Neikrug (1997) regarding behavioral divergence. These questions
relate to the different behaviors, values, and perceptions that students, lecturers, andinstructors in the training system hold, and the range of what can be accepted or not
accepted in the light of universal professional perceptions. He also discusses thecontribution of students’ cultural divergence and the extent of what can be accepted or
even encouraged; this refers to the ability of teachers to use, and benefit from, divergenceas a facilitating tool in the training process. Interestingly, these questions from past
studies are more relevant now than ever before.The fact that most students previously engaged in social activity and that a large
number of them performed social work-like tasks during their military service has twofacets: first, this reality contributes to the profession, while previous experience
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encourages maturation and develops communication and care skills. Secondly, provided
that this previous experience lacked professional guidance, lecturers and instructors arecompelled to cope with de-socialization and/or re-socialization processes, which are
more complex than socialization processes. This is not a new phenomenon, but added toheterogeneity and other student socio-demographic characteristics, the task of social
work educators is even more complex and challenging (D’Aprix et al., 2004).Furthermore, research findings indicate that previous social activity predicts
commitment to the profession; therefore, it is an advantage in the admission process
(Falck, 1988).The desire of social work students to bring about social change reinforces the
perception of the social worker as a social change agent, providing this profession with
a different niche than that of psychology (Marsh, 1988). Not all novice students
understand that individual problems result from social factors, and that social workersmust, as a result, support disadvantaged populations and make changes in the
political, economical, and legal infrastructures and institutions, in an attempt tobenefit their clients. Some of the social work schools in Israel still emphasize programs
aimed at helping individuals initiate change and better adjust to their environment(Weiss and Gal, 2001; Weiss, 2007). Within this context, the social work profession
functions as a social supervisor, which expects social workers to guide their clients’socialization processes, so that they can integrate into society (Weiss-Gal, 2006). Thus,
it seems advisable that the profession should continue to reinforce the perception ofsocial workers as social change agents, even if this places the social worker in conflict
with the workings of social and institutional bodies/entities. Therefore, it is necessaryto keep developing training programs whose aim is to provide knowledge and tools for
coping with social problems, such as neglect and exploitation of disadvantaged andindigent groups, in order to create a more just society (Ratner, 1985; Payne, 2005).
Training programs do not operate in a vacuum. Therefore, the expansion ofcommunity programs is linked to job availability for social work graduates. Thus,
besides the profession’s strengthening of the community facet, it is important to createnew job opportunities in the field.
The fact that future social workers have diverse socio-demographic characteristicsallows this profession to more easily approach different communities and target
populations, while strengthening their confidence in professionals and increasing therelevance of the social work profession, in general. Commitment to the profession enables
the consolidation of divergences towards a common goal. Therefore, these differences areessential both during and after the training process. Study findings indicate that students’
identification with the desire to bring about social change, and their drive to assistindividuals and families—together with the desire to work in the community—
maximizes commitment to the profession. These data indicate the need to strengthencommitment to the profession by operating programs whose clear objective is to expand
individuals’ perceptions of the profession, by focusing on the desire to bring about socialchange through community and individual professional activity (Lundy, 2004).
An initial search of curricula or practicum shows few references to ethics and values,and even less reference to commitment to the profession. Hence, we suggest expanding
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the theoretical discussion and practical applications of commitment to the profession
in social work education and practice.
Limitations
The research has several limitations. Its main restriction relates to the fact that the
study does not include all of the social work schools in the country. An integration of
all the institutions would have increased the sample, providing a wider picture of social
work students, nationwide. However, the study’s participating institutions largely
validate the research and its findings, as they represent diversified status, geographic
location, and socio-political range. This limitation is quite reasonable, especially when
attempting to test hypotheses in terms of correlations between variables. On the other
hand, this restriction may have a certain effect on descriptive data related to
characterization of the students’ population.An additional research limitation relates to the assessment of students’ attitudes and
perceptions concerning their motives for choosing the profession, importance of
professional activity, and commitment to the profession. As in any study that attempts
to assess attitudes, the present study is limited in terms of social desirability, which
may affect the way in which students completed the questionnaire.An explanation of why some students failed to complete the questionnaire is the fact
that they were not compelled to participate in the study. Thus, this limitation relates to
maintaining research ethics. Indeed, research results reflect the answers of students
who chose to participate, as opposed to those who abstained. Ultimately, the high
range of participation in all institutions and the large number of students reinforce the
study and the validity of its findings.
Summary
This is the first systematic and comprehensive research study to provide a current
analysis of the attitudes and motives of novice social work students in Israel. Its results
may serve as a point of reference and comparison for future studies dealing with the
perception and importance of the different elements of social work, and the
development of professional identity in novice social work students.The development of professional commitment and the professional identity of social
work students in training processes is one of the main objectives of social work schools.
A major emphasis of socialization processes and the promotion of these goals is the
possibility to strengthen social commitment and moral social perception of novice social
work students. Professionalization and classification processes of future social workers
are directed towards the promotion of learning aims based on these components. The
present research examined initial attitudes and basic stages of professionalization.
Results reflect the initial socialization process of social work students, although changes
are still likely to occur with regard to readiness and socialization effectiveness, due to
learning processes and professional adjustment during students’ BA degree studies.
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