Professional intervention: legitimacies in debate

Abstract

This text discusses the supposed reversal of the professional legitimacy conferred to Social Work in recent decades, allowing the affirmation that there is a hot dispute among ethical-political projects in search of legitimacy. The demands made on the profession, both in relation to its nature and in relation to the social occupational space where it is realized, have been radically changed. This alteration has been related to a supposed change in professional ideals, established by the current Code of Ethics. The purpose of this article is to conduct an analysis of the studies and debates presented at the XI Brazilian Congress of Social Workers and reveals that the discourse, and consequently the professional practice, do not permit affirming that there has been a paradigmatic change in the intervention of social workers. It also indicates the influence of the current Ethical-Political Professional Project in the reports of the thematic consultants and analyses the trends and importance of research in the field.