Researching professionalizaton of social work in contemporary Russia: a potential of neo- Weberian approach

Researching professionalizaton of social work in contemporary Russia:
a potential of neo- Weberian approach


Romanov P.V.

National research institute ‘Higher school of economics; Moscow, Rvssia

Yarskaya-Smirnova Ye.R.

Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), PhD, Full Prof., Director of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Studies, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia eiarskaia@hse.ru

ID of the Article:


For citation:

Romanov P.V., Yarskaya-Smirnova Ye.R. Researching professionalizaton of social work in contemporary Russia: a potential of neo- Weberian approach. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2014. No 10. P. 60-69




Abstract

The paper demonstrates cognitive potentialities of neo-Weberian approach to studying professional groups as exemplified by the social work specialists. The data of inter-regional survey serve to illustrate specifics of economic, power and cultural component parts of professions’ status in their interrelation. The study has shown that the model of social work is characterized by a nothigh economic resource and insufficient prestige, by marked independence of employees and a limited sphere of their influence, by dominant departmental regulatory mechanisms, and informal mechanisms. Appeals to legal norms of professional context permitted to conclude that practical competences outweigh analytic and administrative competences with a majority of specialists; however, a considerable share of them possess experiences in social structural work.


Keywords
professions; neo-Weberian approach; survey; social work; professionalism; status; prestige
Content No 10, 2014