Do I not belong here? Navigating social work as a racialized professional within the Moroccan diaspora in Catalonia
El Jebary Amisnaou, Cheima (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Teories de l'Educació i Pedagogia Social)
Sánchez Martí, Angelina (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Pedagogia Aplicada)
Bertran, Marta (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Teories de l'Educació i Pedagogia Social)

Date:	2025
Abstract:	This article examines the recognition and visibility of racialized professionals in social work while also analyzing the professional practice of a racialized worker within the context of Catalan social work. The aim is to capture the elements that have facilitated or limited the process of social and educational intervention with users who are also racialized primarily from the Moroccan diaspora. Building on previous studies such as Badwall's (2015) work in the Canadian context, this article highlights how racialized social workers are often perceived by their work environment as less competent. Using autoethnography as a research methodology, this study reviews professional practice to understand the factors affecting social and educational interventions. The findings reveal a process of labor ethnicization that negatively impacts the perception of professional competencies, often discrediting their interventions. Despite this, it is evident that establishing connections with users becomes a key strategy to enhance proximity and effectiveness in professional practice. The article concludes by calling for the development of new paradigms in social work that consider the processes of racialization and the experiences of immigrant-origin professionals as tools to promote more inclusive practices.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Social work ; Racialization ; Autoethnography ; Labor ethnicization ; Racialized professionals
Published in:	Social Work Education: The International Journal, 2025, p. 1-20, ISSN 1470-1227

DOI: 10.1080/02615479.2025.2531857

Available from: 2027-01-14

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Social and Legal Sciences > ATLAS. Research group on critical intersections in education
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles