A conceptual schema to assess the professional development of the child and youth care field

Efforts to study the professional socialization process in child and youth care work and to promote and enhance the development of the field have been hampered by the limited availability of systematic, relevant data. The authors present a conceptual schema based in professionalization theory and child and youth care practice as a basis for gathering such data and organizing existing information about the field to assess its professional status, to move toward enhancing that status, and to enable workers to become more knowledgeable and reflective about their occupational concerns.