Attitudinal Professionalism under Administrative Embedding: Evidence from Social Workers in Urban China

Ziyu Liu^1*Hung Wong²

• ¹Jimei University, Xiamen, China
• ²Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR China

This study examines social workers' attitudinal professionalism—individual-level values, role orientations, and perceived discretion—within China's administratively embedded service regime. Drawing on an online survey of 667 practitioners in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Shanghai, we measure five attitudinal dimensions (professional organization reference, public service, self-regulation, sense of calling, perceived autonomy) and estimate associations with professional socialization indicators (education, certification, tenure, gender) and organizational embedding (dependence on government purchase-of-service contracts). Results show comparatively strong commitments to public service and calling alongside lower perceived autonomy, a pattern we characterize as a value–discretion divergence consistent with managerial and contractual logics. Organizational independence (lower reliance on government contracts) is positively associated with value-oriented facets, whereas higher education and formal certification exhibit negative associations, plausibly reflecting exam-centric entry pathways and uneven practice-integrated socialization. Interpreted dimensionally, the findings suggest that occupational values may remain resilient even as discretionary space is compressed by organizational embedding. The study contributes methodologically by operationalizing a multidimensional, attitudinal measure and conceptually by situating micro-level orientations within a layered framework linking macro policy, meso governance, and individual socialization. Implications for policy, education, and organizational design are discussed.