Open Access Peer-reviewed Research Article

Dimensions of professional knowledge

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Submitted   Apr 29, 2019
Published   Jun 5, 2019
Issue    Vol 1 No 1 (2019)
DOI   10.25082/SWSW.2019.01.002

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Thomas Winman corresponding author
Department for Economics and IT, University West, Sweden
Marie Westerlind
Department for Social and Behavioural Studies, University West, Sweden

Abstract

This study concern how professional knowledge is discussed, understood and employed by integration workers in an integration activity in Sweden called Civic Orientation. The changing and complex nature of integration work imply that integration workers need specialized knowledge to ensure quality of the activity. Defining what is meant by professional knowledge is especially important and to address these issues, this study focuses on what constitutes professional knowledge with respect to the efforts made to support immigrant integration. Our study reveales that professional knowledge in Civic Orientation encompasses the understanding and responding to the heterogeneity of the groups in daily interactions, developing standardized procedures; and knowledge about how to establishing a cumulative approach to knowledge in the organization. We argue that these motives are embedded in different perspectives on culture and knowledge. Furthermore, these different perspectives are expressed as tensions between values of creativity and standardization as well as between equality and heterogeneity.

Keywords
professional knowledge, communication, integration work, standardization

Article Details

How to Cite
Winman, T., & Westerlind, M. (2019). Dimensions of professional knowledge. Social Work and Social Welfare, 1(1), 13-22. https://doi.org/10.25082/SWSW.2019.01.002
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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