Transition into social work practice: Experiences of newly qualified Māori social workers

INTRODUCTION: Research is scarce about the experiences of newly qualified social work students, as they transition into the workplace after a 4-year Bachelor of Social Work degree in Aotearoa New Zealand. There has been little interest in the spaces where a student and beginning practitioner navigate the complexities of social work theory and actual social work practice. Additionally, research into the experiences of newly qualified Māori social workers (NQMSWs) is also rare. This research is aimed at capturing the transitional experiences of NQMSWs from the Bachelor of Social Work at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology (Bachelor of Social Work Te Tohu Paetahi Tū Tāngata) as they embark on social work practice. METHODS: Māori graduates of the Bachelor of Social Work Te Tohu Paetahi Tū Tāngata were invited to engage in one-to-one interviews, in a qualitative research study underpinned by the values of Kaupapa Māori Research that highlighted a cultural nuance of the graduates’ first experiences of being independent practitioners. CONCLUSION: Findings include the alignment of whakawhanaungatanga and manaakitanga which underpin the sense of safety that the NQMSWs expressed as supportive for this transition. Additionally, these Māori concepts were embedded during the time of their studies in the Bachelor of Social Work Te Tohu Paetahi Tū Tāngata, and provided a transitional space that encouraged and propelled them to seek those types of relational skills of practice when engaging with clients in their everyday mahi (work).