Aspirational impact and independent social work podcasting in England

Abstract

The number of social work podcasts has grown rapidly in recent years, and the regulator of social workers in England, Social Work England, suggests that podcasts can and should be used as a valid form of continuing professional development for social workers. Within this context, this article reports on research involving semi-structured interviews with twelve independent social work podcasters based in England. The research found that participants were positive about the potential of podcasts as continuing professional development for social workers, highlighting opportunities around flexibility, dialogue and engaging with current topics. However, participants also noted challenges around quality assurance, and voice and representation. Significantly, participants described their desires to have a broader social impact through their podcasts, but for most this was something that they did not feel they were yet achieving to the extent they would like. It is suggested that in contrast to the frequent characterisation of podcasters as an aspirational labour force seeking future monetisation, independent social work podcasters could be better understood in relation to aspirational impact, or a desire to grow their podcasts, audiences and influence in order to have a future positive impact on the profession of social work, and society in general.