Through the course of studying social work and beyond it can be difficult to take a step back and reflect upon what it is to be a social worker, such are the demands of the process of qualification and the role itself. Using this as a starting point, How to be a Social Worker critically examines the knowledge base of social work - from human growth and development to social work research - and explores how your own values, principles and experience combine to shape your social work identity and practice alongside this. Stimulating your thinking in new ways, both about yourself and your life as a social worker, this book: * Uses a number of innovative exercises and case studies to help you to actively apply theory to practice. * Encourages reflexive thinking to support you in developing your own social work identity. * Considers the ways in which your social work identity can be maintained when working alongside other professional groups. Linked to a range of core modules on pre-qualifying social work programmes but written also for those practitioners committed to nurturing their own social work identities, How to be a Social Worker is a must have text from one of social work's most up-and-coming authors. Priscilla Dunk-West is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of South Australia, Australia. A sociologist and social worker, Priscilla has held university appointments in both Australia and England, teaching across a wide range of modules on the Social Work curriculum. (Bookdata)