Migrant Social Workers' Experiences of Professional Adaptation in Alberta Canada: A Comparative Gender Analysis

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atmire.migration.oldid5153
dc.contributor.advisorWalsh, Christine
dc.contributor.advisorGraham, John R.
dc.contributor.authorFulton, Amy Elizabeth
dc.contributor.committeememberBrown, Marion
dc.contributor.committeememberPullen Sansfacon, Annie
dc.contributor.committeememberBhuyan, Rupaleem
dc.contributor.committeememberGuo, Shibao
dc.date.accessioned2016-12-20T16:50:47Z
dc.date.available2016-12-20T16:50:47Z
dc.date.issued2016
dc.date.submitted2016en
dc.description.abstractThere is limited global research addressing the professional adaptation of migrant social workers in general, and a dearth of scholarship specific to the unique context in Alberta, Canada. While academic attention on the broad topic of professional migration of social workers has gained some traction over the past decade, the emerging literature has so far lacked a comparative gender analysis of the experiences of professional migration among social workers. The purpose of the present study was to develop enhanced understanding of the experiences of professional adaptation of migrant social workers in the Albertan context through a comparative gender analysis. This dissertation emerged from my involvement as a research assistant on a national study on the professional adaptation of migrant social workers in Canada. While coordinating data collection for the Alberta site of the national study, I conducted in-depth interviews with 17 male and female migrant social workers that had migrated to Alberta, Canada within the past decade. From these 17 interviews, 10 transcripts of interviews were selected as cases for secondary analysis in order to answer the question: How do female and male migrant social workers in Alberta experience their professional adaptation to practice in their new context? The research method employed in the secondary study was interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA), a form of qualitative inquiry that examines how people make sense of significant lived experiences. Intersectionality theory and postcolonial feminisms provided the theoretical framework for the study, facilitating attention to both the macro-level factors that structure lived experiences and interactions, and the micro-level processes and interpretations that shape social identities. Engaging with the detailed personal accounts of the participants provided new understandings of how male and female migrant social workers both similarly and differentially interpret and make meaning out of their experiences of professional adaptation. The study makes an important contribution to existing knowledge about professional adaptation in the context of transnational labour mobility. Notably, it is among the first studies to explore the professional adaptation processes of migrant social workers in Alberta, as well as among the earliest works to engage in a qualitative comparative gender analysis that explores these experiences.en_US
dc.identifier.citationFulton, A. E. (2016). Migrant Social Workers' Experiences of Professional Adaptation in Alberta Canada: A Comparative Gender Analysis (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26916en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/26916
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11023/3494
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studies
dc.publisher.facultySocial Work
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subjectGender Studies
dc.subjectSocial Work
dc.subjectPublic and Social Welfare
dc.subject.classificationprofessional adaptationen_US
dc.subject.classificationAlbertaen_US
dc.subject.classificationImmigrationen_US
dc.subject.classificationSocial Worken_US
dc.subject.classificationsocial workeren_US
dc.subject.classificationGenderen_US
dc.titleMigrant Social Workers' Experiences of Professional Adaptation in Alberta Canada: A Comparative Gender Analysis
dc.typedoctoral thesis
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
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