Practising professionalism in activation work: Developing and testing a questionnaire

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The professional nature and professionalisation of the street-level delivery of activation policies have received increasing attention in academic debate. The study reported in this article contributes to this debate in two ways. The first way is to elaborate a multidimensional conceptualisation of practising professionalism in activation work, distinguishing eight dimensions: knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing, knowledge use, innovation, accountability, client-centred practice, collaboration and methodical work. The second way is to have developed and test a questionnaire for studying professional practice in activation work. Two models were compared in the study. The first model hypothesised that professional practice is a construct capturing all eight dimensions. The second model hypothesised that the eight dimensions reflect a knowledge-oriented and a service-oriented aspect of professional practice. The models were tested using data from a survey among Dutch activation workers. Both provided acceptable fits with our data. What model researchers consider most appropriate will depend on the focus of their research. Key Practitioner Message • This article helps practitioners in discussing and developing the professionalisation of the frontline delivery of activation policies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)139-153
Number of pages15
JournalInternational Journal of Social Welfare
Volume31
Issue number2
Early online date3 May 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
For this study, we received a grant from ZonMW, The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development, file number 535004001. We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and helpful suggestions.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. International Journal of Social Welfare published by Akademikerförbundet SSR (ASSR) and John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Keywords

  • activation
  • frontline work
  • measurement
  • policy implementation
  • professional practice

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