ABSTRACT This paper uses a large-scale national survey of students who completed a three-year deg... more ABSTRACT This paper uses a large-scale national survey of students who completed a three-year degree between 2004 and 2010 to analyse the employment found by sociology graduates in Italy. We especially focus on graduates working in the research sector that, while representing the ‘future’ of the discipline, are facing major employment challenges, due to the problems both the public and private italian research industries are grappling with. The analysis explored various aspects of this subpopulation. Firstly, it investigated whether graduates in research differ from other groups in terms of their social backgrounds and/or previous education pathways. Secondly, the employment found by such people was examined, looking at the contractual terms, the nature of the work being done, the skills required and the contribution provided by their learning pathways. The result is a detailed picture of graduates employed in the research sector, that shows critical elements (job insecurity, low pay and several deficiencies in the education received) along with positive ones (a significant use of the skills acquired and a general sense of job satisfaction). The conclusion seeks to translate these results into practical policy considerations for training future researchers in sociology.
Social work training in Italy, at the instigation of the Italian professional Association of Soci... more Social work training in Italy, at the instigation of the Italian professional Association of Social Workers, was delegated entirely to the universities in 1990. This has given the profession an enormous boost in terms of its public status, and at the same time an enormous task to find ways of utilizing the new opportunities. While the incorporation into the university sector underlined the scientific standing of the profession, its development is overshadowed by the absence of a specific disciplinary category that would give social work an independent base in the Italian academic system. The Ministry of Universities and Research until now has not instituted a category for academic appointments in social work and the discipline is represented vicariously by sociology. Professors responsible for teaching relevant subject areas are chairs either in General Sociology or in Sociology of Communicative Processes, and many social work courses are managed by other disciplines like politics, medicine, law or pedagogy. Not even the title of social work (‘assistente sociale’)appears in the academic qualifying award; instead the degree is called ‘Laurea in Servizio Sociale’, i. e. Bachelor in Social Service, which begs the question of the boundaries of this field. Several professions are currently contesting the ground of social services, among them social pedagogy, educators and care workers, sociologists and latterly also community nursing. Although there is a national register of title-holders of social work and being registered is a precondition for appointment to certain public posts of responsibility in social services the field of social services is undergoing profound changes.
The article analyses the re-organization of social services established by the Welfare Department... more The article analyses the re-organization of social services established by the Welfare Department of the Milan municipality. In 2013, following the analysis conducted with the Local Social Plan, the Welfare Department decided to profoundly modify the organisation of social services. It has changed from a system with services aligned with different category of needs (as elderly, family and children, people with disabilities), the so-called «organ pipe» system, to a system organised around types of services (territorial, residential, home-based services) transversal to different needs. This article reports the opinion of the Department employees (social workers and administrative staff) collected through questionnaires distributed to 690 practitioners, asking their opinions on the effect of the new organisation for service users and the impact of their own work, such as on their workload, relations and their capacity to provide qualified service. The difference between centre and periphery as well as between professional and administrative staff is presented and discussed.
ABSTRACT This paper uses a large-scale national survey of students who completed a three-year deg... more ABSTRACT This paper uses a large-scale national survey of students who completed a three-year degree between 2004 and 2010 to analyse the employment found by sociology graduates in Italy. We especially focus on graduates working in the research sector that, while representing the ‘future’ of the discipline, are facing major employment challenges, due to the problems both the public and private italian research industries are grappling with. The analysis explored various aspects of this subpopulation. Firstly, it investigated whether graduates in research differ from other groups in terms of their social backgrounds and/or previous education pathways. Secondly, the employment found by such people was examined, looking at the contractual terms, the nature of the work being done, the skills required and the contribution provided by their learning pathways. The result is a detailed picture of graduates employed in the research sector, that shows critical elements (job insecurity, low pay and several deficiencies in the education received) along with positive ones (a significant use of the skills acquired and a general sense of job satisfaction). The conclusion seeks to translate these results into practical policy considerations for training future researchers in sociology.
Social work training in Italy, at the instigation of the Italian professional Association of Soci... more Social work training in Italy, at the instigation of the Italian professional Association of Social Workers, was delegated entirely to the universities in 1990. This has given the profession an enormous boost in terms of its public status, and at the same time an enormous task to find ways of utilizing the new opportunities. While the incorporation into the university sector underlined the scientific standing of the profession, its development is overshadowed by the absence of a specific disciplinary category that would give social work an independent base in the Italian academic system. The Ministry of Universities and Research until now has not instituted a category for academic appointments in social work and the discipline is represented vicariously by sociology. Professors responsible for teaching relevant subject areas are chairs either in General Sociology or in Sociology of Communicative Processes, and many social work courses are managed by other disciplines like politics, medicine, law or pedagogy. Not even the title of social work (‘assistente sociale’)appears in the academic qualifying award; instead the degree is called ‘Laurea in Servizio Sociale’, i. e. Bachelor in Social Service, which begs the question of the boundaries of this field. Several professions are currently contesting the ground of social services, among them social pedagogy, educators and care workers, sociologists and latterly also community nursing. Although there is a national register of title-holders of social work and being registered is a precondition for appointment to certain public posts of responsibility in social services the field of social services is undergoing profound changes.
The article analyses the re-organization of social services established by the Welfare Department... more The article analyses the re-organization of social services established by the Welfare Department of the Milan municipality. In 2013, following the analysis conducted with the Local Social Plan, the Welfare Department decided to profoundly modify the organisation of social services. It has changed from a system with services aligned with different category of needs (as elderly, family and children, people with disabilities), the so-called «organ pipe» system, to a system organised around types of services (territorial, residential, home-based services) transversal to different needs. This article reports the opinion of the Department employees (social workers and administrative staff) collected through questionnaires distributed to 690 practitioners, asking their opinions on the effect of the new organisation for service users and the impact of their own work, such as on their workload, relations and their capacity to provide qualified service. The difference between centre and periphery as well as between professional and administrative staff is presented and discussed.
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Papers by Carla Facchini