Toward a Third Space: Improvisation and Professionalism in Social Work

Abstract

Pressured to be a “proper profession,” social work often failed to attend to its ambiguous and improvisational nature. In this article, the author recasts social work in a performance framework and repositions the profession between traditional categories such as art or science. In an indeterminate “third space of the borderlands” the critical yet unrecognized improvisational arenas of social life and social work become visible. Exploring improvisation, the author discusses theater literature and provides insights as to how social work is an improvisational profession that always performs and re-forms various identities.

Social work professionalism in self-help organizations

“…The postmodern crisis has called into question the definition of legitimate knowledge (Fook, 2000), and purports critical examination of the provisional and diverse nature of knowledge and skills (Hugman, 2003). Critics assert that knowledge and professional expertise is contextual and socially situated, embedded in everyday knowledge of the service users (Cooper, 2001;Fook, 2000;Schon, 1983;Walter, 2003). Professionalism in the postmodern paradigm is hence not just about the application of knowledge, but about its ongoing production through conversation and dialogue with the service users (Parken et al, 1999;Parton, 2003;Pease and Fook, 1999).…”

“…Professionalism in the postmodern paradigm is hence not just about the application of knowledge, but about its ongoing production through conversation and dialogue with the service users (Parken et al, 1999;Parton, 2003;Pease and Fook, 1999). This new perspective on professionalism shifts knowledge concern in social work from the 'what' to the 'how' -instead of looking at what basis of knowledge constitutes social work professionalism, social workers begin to look at the improvisation process whereby everyday knowledge of the clients is incorporated into formal knowledge (Walter, 2003). Noordegraaf (2007) proposes an image of professionalism that emphasizes 'reflexive searches' by the professionals for ways to establish meaningful connections with clients (Noordegraaf, 2007).…”

Playful Postmodernism: Building with Diversity in the Postmodern Classroom

“…The emergence of performance as a theoretical construct in diverse academic fields coincides with the shift in interest from the modern ''what'' to the postmodern ''how'' (Carlson, 1996), seeking the meaning of social action and interaction ''in its praxis, its performance'' (Carlson, 1996, p. 195). To us, this means that the classroom, like learning itself, is an improvised ensemble performance (Holzman, 1997;Walter, 2003). Performing as learners is a process by which students build upon what is given and self-consciously create their own collective learning environment (Newman & Holzman, 1997;Holzman & Mendez, 2003;Pozatek, 1994).…”

“…In her article, Toward a Third Space: Improvisation and Professionalism in Social Work, Walter (2003) comments that the activities ''social workers do and eventually who they are seem far more improvisational in character than traditional social work education and the technical-rational paradigm of professionalism allow us to see' ' (p. 321). Martinez-Brawley (1999) suggests that when providing social work services, ''each serving encounter is a new occurrence and, while the social worker's schemata may have been enriched or changed by other encounters, each new interaction with a client or a community requires new artistry, appropriately fitting the situation'' (p. 343).…”

Practicing in the Uncertain: Reworking Standardized Clients as Improv Theatre

“…Over the course of two years, I gradually began to encourage both students and actors to play with their roles and to work together to craft themselves in relation to each other. I began to read more about theatre and social work, finally encountering Uta Walker's (2003) writing on improvisation and social work. Through Walker's writing I discovered that Viola Spolin, considered the foremother of improvisational theatre, had trained as a settlement worker at Chicago's Hull House, which is often considered the birthplace of 304 S. Todd modern North American social work.…”