English Title

Abstract

Historically the education, practice and identity of the profession of social work in Puerto Rico have been influenced by the political-colonial relation of this country with the United States. The colonized education and practice has been greatly influenced by the methodological and theory character of the social work in the United States. Likewise, the professional identity has been predisposed trough the education and professional practice. This article discusses the results of an investigation that reveals the real possibility to organize an anti-colonial social work in a colony. Ten professionals were interviewed to analyze notions about the education, practice and professional identity of the social work in Puerto Rico within an ethical-political base. The professional colonization evolved around the following: an academic program of social work based instandards of regulation of aforeign accreditation agency, a professional practice which centers in the application of social policies not based in the reality Puerto Rican context, and a confused professional identity in the why? and for what? the social work. The participants made a series of recommendations likethe necessity to change the actual curriculums and educational processes of social work, add more critics' perspectives and discuss their applications, intégrate the academics programs, more insertion in the political, socials and communities processes of the entire professional collective in Puerto Rico.