Reflecting on mistakes in practice among social workers in China

Abstract

Reflection is widely practiced in human service professions, but little research has examined whether reflection actually translates into action and, if so, how. This article explores the possibilities and limits of reflective practice by drawing on data collected through reflective interviews with fifteen Chinese social workers on mistakes in practice. The findings demonstrate that social workers in China are aware of being reflective, even critically reflective, by pondering mistakes and failures they have encountered. Their reflections, however, do not extend to future action plans. Rather, they prefer to rely on manual-based knowledge providing explicit guidance, reflecting their developing reflective capacity and low professional identity. The article argues that social workers’ reflective awareness needs to be built up, while fully recognising the limits of reflection. To address mistakes, not only do we need to create opportunities for practitioners to reflect, but also to address the risk-management strategies of social work organisations and the independent roles that should be performed by professional social work associations in Mainland China.