Developing Professional identity:Social Work students in Social Media environments

A small-scale, empirical study was undertaken using an evaluation study, an on-line survey and a focus group involving Year 1 social work students at Huddersfield University, examining the use of social media in the context of an emerging professional identity. What emerged was the need for a more nuanced understanding of students’ use of social media across a number of domains that traverse personal, academic and professional life. Much of the writing around the use of social media and learning experiences rightly highlights policy, noting the ethical and practical concerns of developing and maintaining a professional social media presence (most visibly when social workers fall-foul of the Health and Social Care Professions Council (HCPC) conduct policy, the regulator for social work registration in England and Wales).