Paraprofession and profession: significant relationship in the process of professionalisation of social work in the Czech Republic

Social work’s professionalisation focuses primarily on social workers. However, there are other positions within the field whose activities and competencies overlap with those of social workers, but the processes of professionalisation are not related to these positions. This brings unexpected challenges to the professionalisation of social work, which has not yet received the attention it deserves. This text aims to analyse para-professions in the context of the professionalisation of social work. We performed a literature review and thematic analysis of scientific publications indexed in the Web of Science database. We analysed the use of paraprofession and semiprofession in 10 studies, along with 45 studies focused on the professionalisation of social work. First we conceptualise the paraprofession. Second, we argue for the importance of a clear definition of the profession and para-profession, which will allow us to define particular roles in social work better and link these definitions to specific positions. We illustrate this need with the example from the Czech Republic. Our findings recommend a detailed delineation of distinct competence frameworks for paraprofessionals and professionals in social work. In addition, we suggest conducting empirical research to gain deeper insights for a more precise understanding of paraprofessional roles.