KEF Emerging Theory

Emerging Theory
of Professional Adaptation
Annie Pullen-Sansfacon, Marion Brown,
Amy Fulton, Alice Gerard Tetrault &
Stephanie Ethier

Theory building
• Grounded Theory seeks to understand
processes, continually asking “how does this
happen?”
• In this study we were seeking to understand
how the process of adaptation occurs:
What constitutes adaptation?
How does adaptation happen?

We theorize that
adaptation is an interaction between
external systems & structures
and
internal factors, such as ways of interpreting,
ways of being & ways of engaging in experiences
each of which sits on a continuum from
protective vulnerabilizing

Adaptation is an interaction of
External Factors:
socio-cultural similarity/differentiation between country of origin and
Canada
+
similarity/differentiation between ethics and practices in social work
between country of origin & Canada
+
experience with policies for licensure
+
workplace climate & relations with colleagues
+
proximity to discrimination

and
Internal Factors:
personal disposition
+
proficiency with language
+
capacity for reflective practice

Each of the external and internal factors is on a
continuum from
The external and internal factors are overlapping
& not mutually exclusive, which, combined with
each being on a continuum, suggests the
process of adaptation is non linear and
multidimensional.

protective
protective
vulnerabilizing
vulnerabilizing
ease finding social work position +
timely experience with credential recognition
Depending on one’s unique interaction among
the external and internal factors, the balance
can shift:
experiences of
discrimination + lengthy
process for SW licensure
proficiency with language
challenges with new field of practice

Socio-cultural similarity/differentiation between
country of origin and Canada
Protective examples:
I think New Zealand is not considered too foreign so I suspect that was an
advantage to me too. ... I think New Zealand and Canada are very
aligned in some important fundamental things that make for a very
smooth transition and I have spoken to Canadians who have moved to
New Zealand and they have said that same thing. So I think culturally it’s
easy. (New Zealand)
I do realize that I am from the Netherlands which is a, kind of a rich
country, like it’s a like a western country, much like Canada kind of I guess.
Which is why my cultural barrier isn’t as big. I talk about humour and
rudeness whereas other people might talk about way more life changing
things and so I do understand that my background isn’t as radically
different than what other people might experience. (Netherlands)

Vulnerabilizing examples:
It is so different here from Germany, it comes out in lots
of ways. The Canadian life style, it’s completely different
than German…they’re more laid back I would say in
Canada. In Germany we’re really strict. (Germany – did
not find social work post in __ of being in Canada)
Everything that is related to legislation, this is
complicated because during all your life, you learn
automatically those things by listening to the
conversations between your parents and other people
around you... the retirement system, or the health
system... how medical care works, etc. This is the sort of
thing I had no idea about when I arrive and I had to lean
it al, very quickly, in order to be functional. (France)

Similarities & differences between socio-cultural
context of country of origin and Canada
paralleled the degree of similarity to
differentiation in social work practice between
country of origin and Canada:
socio-cultural similarities socio-cultural differentiation
similarities in social work differentiation in social work
between country of origin & Canada

Similarity/differentiation between ethics and practice in
social work between country of origin &Canada
Protective:
…we speak the same language so that helps, we’re
similar in our social work ethos, I would say between the
two countries, and I found, generally that I didn’t have a
problem. ….Working as a professional team, that’s
transferable, that’s the same across the two countries,
and the States…and confidentiality, that’s the same, the
whole process of confidentiality and disclosure of
information, that was exactly the same. (England)

Protective:
…there is a kind of universality of social work knowledge
which is there in my social work knowledge and in
Canadian context also, so especially when we talk about
say for example when we talk about a key concept in
social work, communication, social work interviewing
and all that, it was very easy for me because I had been
doing the same kind of training and counselling all that
stuff, back home and it was ok, alright for me to
understand, communicate. (India)

Vulnerabilizing:
…you have no idea how social working here really
works, how the field is, what kind of field I will see
available…my experience from Brazil coming to here,
how much I could use that, or how much I could not.
What kind of resources I have here, how people
accept me, what kind of agencies I could apply, I was
totally ignorant and I feel of course, incompetent.
(Brazil)

Vulnerabilizing:
I received a phone call from a woman who asked for
our services and who told me "My protection worker
told me that I must ask for your services because I
have 4 kids from 4 different fathers, one of which is
in the family of my ex husband, the second with his
father and two small children are placed in foster
homes." That [family constellation] I have difficulty
understanding . Four children, four different fathers,
youth protection, it is a little difficult for me….
(Lebanon)

A distinction was made, however, when working
with distinct populations. This participant from the
US acknowledged socio-cultural similarity between
the US and Canada, and between social work ethics
and values between the US and Canada, however
he struggled in adapting to working with a new
population:
I was much more comfortable where I was in Rhode
Island working with a large Hispanic population and a
large African American population because I’ve known
these people my whole life and I kind of felt a little bit
more culturally adaptable to that….[working with First
Nations people] was a bit of a challenge and I’m not sure
that I ever got very far with that. (US)

Experiences with policies for licensure
Protective:
…like in terms of the work Visa and just being here as
a worker, I found the process pretty straight forward
and pretty accepting and pretty much, welcoming,
really. Then, in terms of the social work credentials,
generally, very good all around. (England)

• Vulnerabilizing:
…they sent it back and said ‘there’s a gap in your
employment history’. And I said ‘no, there’s not’. We
had several hiccups…just them reading paperwork.
They wouldn’t read it correctly. So they’d send it back
and say ‘you haven’t provided this information’. I
was extremely thorough….But I couldn’t talk to
them. (Australia-2)

Workplace climate, relations with
colleagues & networks
Protective:
Fortunately, I started working in a place where
colleagues were... had much experience and have helped
me to experience this stage of anxiety while giving me
much support, accompanying me in this process... they
reassured me and from that, I know I was good at doing
the job. (France)
You know good working environment, good managers,
good agencies that I’ve worked with and support and
them embracing me as a person, my profession and
giving me the opportunity also to grow and show my
potential and my capacity. (Philippines)

Protective:
[I] ended up finding a job through a personal
connection. So even though I had a very limited
network, in the end that was how I got a job. (New
Zealand)
It has been easy [to find work]. It was really the
networking. It was a girl I had met here who worked
for the same organization, the same employer than
me, who had to intermediate resources and told me
there was a place in one of them. It was extremely
fast. (France)

Vulnerabilizing:
Sometimes you arrive at work, and the night before,
you had a very big issue with you child, and you
would like to have some support with that. But I feel
that my organization is not the place to talk about
this. And I feel that this lead me to become
isolated.... and this has contributed to my burn out.
(Lebanon)

Proximity to Discrimination
Protective:
I have to say, just as a comment, and I know it’s very
sad that I’m saying that, but …I was lucky that I’m
Caucasian. It’s very sad for me to tell this. I know
that that’s a factor in the ability to get a job. It’s
unfortunate. (Israel)

Vulnerabilizing:
…I said, ‘it’s unfair. I feel unfairly treated. At this point I
feel targeted and I feel discriminated against because I’m
the only person of color here and I don’t think you’re
giving me the support.’ (Nigeria)
…in my job itself, there was some complaints against me
by some staff which my bosses told me were frivolous.
And in my opinion I don’t think - I think if I was
mainstream Canadian - I don’t think that would have
made any - that would have been a big deal that
someone would make such a frivolous complaint
(Liberia)

Vulnerabilizing:
I felt sometimes some people don’t trust your skills and I felt this also in
that job. I don’t want to judge anybody but especially Canadian co-
workers tend to - not to judge, but you know to think if you didn’t do
your training in Canada, then maybe it’s not the same or good enough.
I had over all a good experience working everywhere in this field but of
course there are different people everywhere so I met people that
didn’t really trust my skills and they were looking at me differently
(Romania)
…in my job itself, there was some complaints against me by some staff
which my bosses told me were frivolous. And in my opinion I don’t
think - I think if I was mainstream Canadian - I don’t think that would
have made any - that would have been a big deal that someone would
make such a frivolous complaint (Liberia)

Internal Factors
All external factors are negotiated through a lens through which we
interpret the world, a combination of factors we are calling personal
disposition.
Protective:
I think it is more of a state of mind, and a personality trait. Like, as soon
as you have decided to get involved in a process of migration, and that
you have a certain capacity of adaptation, I think this help me to adapt to
my context, in fact. (Czech Republic)
I am very flexible in my practice and even with my managers. When they
ask me “can you do this?” I say “I don’t know how to do it but if you show
me how to do it I will know how to do it”. So I am open up to learning new
things and to developing new skills. (Liberia)

The capacity and supports to stay positive and
motivated to adapt was identified by about a
quarter of the participants as being important:
I really wanted, I care about social work and I
wanted to be a good social worker, it motivated me
to learn as quickly as I could and spend my free time
figuring things out, figuring out resources and so, I
think it made me adapt really quickly because I had
to and because I wanted to. (England)

For me, I think the best way to adapt is to really be
open to others. ... (laugh)... For me, it is about being
flexible with regard to my values, with my way of
thinking, my way of being.. this is really what
allowed me to adapt. (Venezuela)

… it’s a hard process, right? Apply for credentials, apply
for job, getting used to a new environment, so if you kind
of, if at any point you stop and look, like the self-pity and
being sorry for myself, I don’t think that’s very useful, you
kind of have to think about what’s at the end. ...the
benefits you will get eventually. (Czech Republic)
I think one needs to be open minded. You have to accept
that you will have to question yourself along the way.
Because we have a diploma, yes, but in another country
which operate with a different legal contact, other ways
of doing, other habits. And you need to accept that to
start with, other colleagues will scrutinize your work, you
need to accept to start from scratch again. (France)

Vulnerabilizing
I am a really, really quiet and sometimes it's to my
disadvantage because people feel that they don’t
know me. And I don’t know, maybe I'm a little
mysterious ... and not very charming. I have had
trouble with it here. ( United States)
I need a little time to tell a lot about my life and
really reveal myself. Often I seem a little cold at
first glance. Here it’s been three months before I
started to get along with my colleagues. (France)

Proficiency with the Language
All participants had a functional level of English
or French (required for licensure). More
challenging were the subtleties of language.
This example is in between protective and
vulnerabilizing:
It’s not about English, it’s about accent. Because we
have a kind of British system of education, like British
accent, British language. And Canadian and North
American accent is much different. (India)

Vulnerabilizing:
I remember my first family [case] was a nightmare. I
met with father of one of my patients and he had a
mental illness himself and I had no idea what he
was talking about, because I didn’t understand and
it was hard to follow anyway because he was all, he
wasn’t really consistent in what he was saying but I
remember that it was like my first week I started at
the job and I thought maybe I should give up and
just go back to babysitting because I had no clue
what he was saying. (Czech Republic)

Reflective Practice
• Participants all had a sufficient level of knowledge
of social work to practice in Canada; they all had
their qualifications recognized and were
members of their provincial regulatory body
• However, not all knowledge & experience gained
in the country of origin was always directly
transferable to Canadian context
• In those situations, reflective practice and
introspection assisted the process. Together,
these offset some of the external factors explored
earlier.

• Participants characterized reflective practice
as the capacity to:
• make links between past experiences and the new
context of work
• identify gaps
• being open to ongoing learning
• engage with questions and critiques of their
knowledges, experiences and practice
…all of which are shaped by one’s internal
frames: ways of interpreting and being in the
world

We need to adapt ourselves according to the place
you are, you know? I cannot do some things here,
like I said I was more involved with more political
side of the story and here my work it’s more involved
the clients and groups, community not so much, but
more clients individually. You have to adapt yourself
into reality, you cannot be 100% what you just
wanted, but you need to adapt yourself according to
the reality, according to your needs as well, you need
to survive, you need to work as well, right? And
sometimes the things you believe, you need to put in
a drawer, waiting for the right time. (Brazil)

A variety of interpretations of
experience:
I've been me ... I do see how I adapted and I ... I was
really very, very determined. But I will not deny that
I did that to the detriment of my health because at
some point, I had a burnout. (Lebanon)
It gave me, it made me shed, it brought me back to
myself, as I say. I can tap into my resources and build
the best I could. It is an identity crisis I think, feeling
vulnerable like that. (Romania)

The experience of immigration is ... I think it is that
each person will get an opportunity to feel a little bit
like a minority. So whether it is a big change like
immigration or just to travel or do ... to live off your,
out of your comfort zone. I think it helps in your
journey as a social worker in any case, to live a little
the experience of others. Not always be at home and
be so comfortable. (USA)

Experiences taken into practice:
I think I am very lucky because I work for a service to
immigrants and I can definitely understand them
better. (Romania)
Canada is a country full of immigrants and many
people I see in my work are immigrants - either from
another country or another part of Canada, or their
parents are immigrants.... [ My experience ] gives me
empathy. (New Zealand)

…because my clients know that I immigrated ... that
changes things. It's difficult, and sometimes you can get
through difficult experiences by making changes .... I
used myself as an example to better understand them.
(United States)
When I'm with someone who has cancer and is dying….I
don’t have cancer and I'm not dying, but it's as if I could
perhaps understand the …difficulty to adapt. I had to
adapt myself to something strong and hard, and not just
a job. Because for sure when I started working there was
adaptation. In my life, I had different adaptations. It was
really a big adjustment.... It's hard to express, it’s
probably not as clear as it is in my head! (France)

Conclusions
• Participants described in detail the experiences,
systems and structures that have been
problematic and the interpretations, connections
and structures that helped to facilitate their
adaptation in the Canadian context.
• Participants have both influenced and been
influenced by the changes to their context; they
both have experienced changes and have enacted
changes.
• These changes have been at the level of the
personal, professional, and structural.

The process involves a continuum of:
education & experience in social work & life
+
experiencing moves, changes & challenges
+
negotiating & strategizing

AND Each of the external and internal factors is
on a continuum from
The external and internal factors are overlapping
& not mutually exclusive, which, combined with
each being on a continuum, suggests the
process of adaptation is non linear and
multidimensional.

Where we started:
We wondered if the adaptation of
internationally educated social workers
might be difficult given the contextual nature of the profession.
As we continue to develop a theory of adaptation grounded in
the experiences of internationally educated social workers, we
are drawn to the question:
Might being a social worker facilitate the process of adaptation,
given that social work is based on the importance of
building relationships, reflective practice, systems analysis,
and recognition of internal capacities and strengths?

The research participants have talked of their abilities and
methods of negotiating internal and external factors, and
their protective and vulnerabilizing effects, which is
central to social work to “encourage people and
structures to meet the challenges of life and improve the
wellbeing of people.” ( IFSW, 2014)
Perhaps being a social worker - having the knowledges,
values, ethics and skills – facilitates the process of
adaptation, given the profession’s focus on negotiation
among the external and internal domains of influence
(marginalization, oppression & privilege) and their
vulnerabilizing and protective effects.

Process of Professional Adaptation
Vulnerabilizing
possibilities: internal
and external factors or
a combination of both
Protective
possibilities: :
Internal and external
factors or a
combination of both
Negotiating,
strategizing &
adapting at
individual,
professional and
structural levels

• Does this emerging theory have ‘face validity’ to you?
– Does it make sense in reference to your experiences?
• What structural changes can be made to facilitate the
adaptation of internationally educated social workers?
• What are the mutual benefits for internationally
educate social workers, communities, schools, clients
and agencies when we facilitate the migration of
internationally educated social workers?

KEF Emerging Theory

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