Effective practice: Social work's long history of concern about outcomes

Abstract

Many social workers may believe that their profession has been behind the eight ball in practice research. They may see that the thrust for measuring effectiveness and the learning of research skills that has occurred over the last decade is a new direction for the profession. An examination of social work history in Britain and the USA indicates that an interest in assessing the effectiveness of social work interventions, an ‘empirical’ approach to practice, has existed almost in parallel with the development of the profession. This paper examines social work's interest in effectiveness research within the context of its history and reflects on its record of practice evaluation. It does not attempt to engage in the debate about the value of empirical research or evidence based practice in social work. It makes the assumption that assessing the effectiveness of their practice is a valuable and achievable task for social workers. An awareness of social work's history in assessing the effectiveness of its practice can provide useful guidelines for future research practice.