Teaching and learning social work theory: issues, challenges and possibilities

Oxford Bibliographies in Social Work includes three articles describing the scholarly writings of a select group of deceased social workers who have been especially prominent and influential in the profession within the United States. These individuals are referred to social work luminaries. These three bibliographical articles can be used to identify the publications of prominent individuals who have been most influential in the development of social work; these individuals are identified by first reviewing the biographies of significant social workers from the Encyclopedia of Social Work and obituaries collected by the Council on Social Work Education since the publication of the Encyclopedia of Social Work. From this list come the biographical material and publications, with the most prominent luminaries for each of the three articles. For each luminary is provided a brief biographical overview and one to five annotated citations of their most important publications. Respectively, the three articles describe the publications of luminaries: (1) who were involved in the founding and creation of the social work profession in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries; (2) who, subsequently, contributed to the clarification and elaboration of social work practice and theory; and (3) who contributed to social work theory and scholarship in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This article presents the luminaries who wrote primarily between the 1920s and 1960s. They were aware of the pioneer work of other luminaries who created the profession of social work and began the process of creating its theoretical, ethical, and historical foundations. During these four decades, these luminaries added to the theoretical foundation of social work while also leading the expansion of social work into many new areas. This resulted in scholarship related to different sizes of service systems (individuals, groups, families, communities); new settings for social work; and the evolution of university-based education and training for social workers. During this period, luminaries fell into several categories in terms of their contributions to the evolution of social work scholarship. One category was the development of each of the social work methods as now conceived. These consisted then of Casework (e.g., Interviewing: Its Principles and Methods, Theory and Practice of Social Casework, Social Casework: A Problem-Solving Process, A Functional Approach to Family Casework, and Common Human Needs [i.e., individual work]); Group Work (e.g., Group Work with American Youth: A Guide to the Practice of Leadership, Essentials of Social Group Skill, and Social Group Work Practice: The Creative Use of Social Process); and Community Organization (e.g., Community Organization for Social Welfare, Community Action against Poverty: Readings from the Mobilization Experience, Community Organization and Social Planning, and An Overview of the Community Organization Curriculum Development Project and Its Recommendations). A second category is the adaptation of social work for different fields of service—notably rehabilitation, health, mental health, corrections, and child welfare. Some luminaries during that time were devoting themselves to developing methods for social work research and the advancement of social work theory. Other luminaries focused on considering social work approaches to Policy development. Finally, some luminaries at that time were thinking of applications for different ethnic groups, primarily Jewish and African Americans. The following is a presentation of luminaries under these categories and some of their major scholarly publications.

• Summary: This article considers the implications for social work and social care education, policy and practice of including the viewpoints and knowledges of service users. The development of policy and practice for user involvement is critically discussed and the role of service users and their organizations in the construction of social work explored. • Findings: Disabled people’s and service users’ organizations have developed their own knowledges, theories and models, based on their first-hand experience. This paper examines the implications of such users’ knowledge for social work and social care theory, policy and practice. It draws on discussions and developments in the disabled people’s and other movements whose members are the subjects of social work theory and practice. It is informed by the authors’ work and experience as service users, educators and practising social workers, as well as writers, activists and researchers in this field. • Applications: The article examines the progress that has been made in involving service users in social work education, theory building, research, practice development and standard setting. It explores some of the practical and philosophical issues involved in developing a more inclusive and socially constructed social work and suggests that this may offer a route to restoring social work to its core values.

There is increasing attention to writing in the social work debate. However, in social work practice writing is often perceived as a bureaucratic burden that distracts from the ‘real work,’ and even social work education has dedicated little attention to the matter. This paper argues that critical report writing can play a crucial role in linking the theoretical and ethical dimensions of social work with its practical domain. According to a constructionist perspective, written texts both reflect and shape reality through the performative power of language. This makes writing a privileged tool for reflexively linking theory and practice, for supporting alternative discourses about situations and people’s stories, and, thus, for shaping reality. Based on the author’s experience as both a practitioner and a lecturer in Italy, this article reflects on the implementation of critical report writing in social work practice and education. By analyzing two experiences that involved both service users and social work students, the findings highlight the potential and challenges of critical writing underlining the importance of writing as an element of professional identity that needs to be nurtured and addressed more consistently in social work education.

This paper aims to focus on the politics of exclusion by opening up a debate about black perspectives in social work and articulates a comparative assessment between the UK and USA which includes contributions from social and political theory, particularly the ‘politics of recognition’. The paper begins by mapping the territory denoted in the growth of ‘studies’ in sociology and academia. Following these discussions, I review criticisms and possibilities of anti‐racist social work and black perspectives to argue that in the British context, the dilution of anti‐racist social work into a discriminatory practice framework undermined the place of black perspectives in social work education. In the next section, a reframing of black perspectives is envisaged with implications for social work learning and practice. By attending to these issues, social work learning and practice can support a more inclusive approach to professional knowledge which recognizes changing patterns of social life, complexity and multiple perspectives.

This article provides students and practitioners with a framework for assessing new or alternative approaches to social work practice. Drawing on the work of Sibeon (1990), I examine approaches to social work theory, the nature of social work, and the relationship between theory and practice; and present a typology for the assessment of social work theory. I look at the strengths perspective in social work (SPSW) (Saleebey, 1997) as an example of an alternative approach and critique it against Sibeon's (1990) typology and in light of two influential debates that have influenced discussions about the nature of social work, namely, welfarism and postmodernism. The article concludes that a framework for assessment enables critical analysis and reflection of different practice theories. Further, it allows for the review of established theory and practice assumptions and the degree to which alternative assumptions challenge or support existing approaches.

Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) are central to communities in Africa. They shape, influence, and define the behaviour of societies. Most communities in Zimbabwe have consistently recognised the human rights of individuals. Understanding how IKS can influence social work theory and practice to uphold human rights is important. Human rights are an inherent part of the social work profession. The article explores the views of social work educators in Zimbabwe on the intersection of IKS and human rights in social work education and practice. Data were qualitatively collected from ten purposefully selected social work educators using an instrumental case study design. Evidence from the participants shows four essential aspects, which are, the relevance of indigenous knowledge systems in social work education and practice in Zimbabwe, the role of indigenous knowledge systems in the application of human rights in social work in Zimbabwe, ways to utilise IKS best to uphold human rights; the challenges faced by educators in utilising indigenous knowledge systems in social work in Zimbabwe. The article concludes that IKS upholds human rights perspectives in social work theory and practice. The article recommends that IKS, informed by a human rights perspective, be integrated into social work education and practice in Zimbabwe and practised at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

This critical reflection is based on my encounter with a disabled woman in a district in Malawi, and how I have reflected and analyzed the encounter using social work theories. The essay reflects on the story of the disabled woman and my own perception at that time, in addition to my analysis of these perceptions using different perspectives in social work based on my current understanding of these perspectives. In line with Fook’s (2002; 68) critical reflection techniques, social work theories will be applied to deconstruct and reconstruct the critical incident. The essay highlights the challenges and dilemmas I encountered in attempting to make meaning out of this encounter, which left me helpless and powerless, as I could not offer her any sustainable help at the time.

This article explores the role and place of mad studies within social work theory, education, and practice. This includes a discussion of the role social workers have played in the past and continue to play in the present in relation to oppressive practices within mental health services; a role that includes serving as passive assistants to biogenetic psychiatric expertise and a turning away from the profession’s social expertise, all to the detriment of mad people. The interconnection between racism, colonialism, imperialism and psychiatrization is then discussed as it relates to the current treatment of mad people of colour within European and white settler state contexts. This is followed by a discussion of the potential contribution of mad theory to social work education and practice. Repositioning social workers as embracing their social expertise, a call towards developing a more thorough social justice leadership in mental health is explored. Mad studies, existing at the edges of transdisciplinary theoretical and methodological understandings, offers a potential in social work for fundamentally anti-oppressive, anti-sanist and anti-racist approaches to service provision. In effect, this article engages in the maddening of social work, through the incorporation of mad studies into critical social work theory, education, and practice.

"‘An introduction to using theory in social work practice’ and ‘Skills for using theory in social work’." Social Work Education, 36(1), pp. 122–123

During past decade evidence-based practice has become increasingly influential in social work practice and education (Gilgun, 2005). The increasing influence is evidenced by proliferation of articles and books about subject (Chwalisz, 2003). Evidence-based practice has largely been accepted as a positive advancement in profession (Fook, 2004; Gilgun, 2005). Its proponents contend that basing social work practice on research evidence is an important ethical mandate (Gibbs & Grambrill, 2002). Indeed, incorporating state-of-the-art knowledge and research has long been considered essential to good social work practice (Goldstein, 1990; NASW, 2000). It is perhaps because of this recognition that potential ethical consequences of evidence-based practice movement have too infrequently been explored. Science, and, by extension, evidence-based practice, hold elevated and privileged positions within modern societies and are commonly viewed as value free and accepted on face value. Yet, within any epistemology lies implicit values that silently guide those who adopt its approaches and methods. This is also true for social work movements, theories and perspectives; values are embedded deeply within each and have implications for what problems profession pays attention to and how it responds to them. Embedded within structure and core elements of evidence-based practice are implied organizing principles that can lead to privileging of certain sets of values, knowledge, and actions over others. Webb (2001) has asserted that the emerging panacea of evidence-based practice in social work has thus far developed without critical (p.15). The purpose of this commentary is to briefly illuminate these tendencies as a means of stimulating dialogue and debate within profession. The aim of this article is not to disparage evidence-based practice movement but to highlight some of dilemmas that call for more careful exploration. PRIVILEGING KNOWLEDGE OVER VALUES Although evidence-based practice movement does not ignore professional values, importance of validated scientific evidence is central aspect of approach and may overshadow social work values. Although science has provided many valuable insights for social work, there is a risk of overreliance on knowledge. Gordon (1965) articulated this concern over 40 years ago when she asserted following: knowledge is called on when a value is needed as a guide to action, resulting action may be unpurposeful (p. 365) That is, social workers may achieve their stated aims, but their stated aims may not be most important and necessary to achieve. Social work practice may indeed lose its depth or conscience. At its core, social work is a profession predicated on ideology and values (Perlman, 1986). For instance, one of ways in which elevation of knowledge over values can affect social work is through privileging of efficiency over autonomy. If outcome research becomes most important factor guiding social work services provision, a focus on client empowerment and autonomy may become at risk. For instance, research may show a specific medication or treatment approach to be most effective, yet clients may wish to handle these problems in a manner that is more consonant with their personal values or strengths. For example, a Puerto Rican client living in Philadelphia may wish to seek services of a healer before considering an evidence-based cognitive behavioral or pharmacological intervention for depression. Although evidence-based practice does not call for practitioners to ignore wishes of clients, it is feared that focus on outcomes research would lead practitioners to overzealously pushing certain approaches. How this may affect work with vulnerable and oppressed populations over time is still unknown. Evidence-based studies have not ascertained degree to which use of its practices affects client empowerment, freedom, or emancipation, longitudinally (Fook, Ryan, & Hawkins, 1997). …

In Vietnam the development of social work has been driven by the growth of social work education, rather than the other way round (as has happened in many parts of the world). This has raised many issues for social work education, including the lack of qualified practice teachers and university educators, as well as limited employment opportunities for graduates. Furthermore, the influence of international advice and support has been vital, while at the same time it has been necessary for social work theories and practices to be rethought in order to be socially and culturally authentic for Vietnam. In addition, the strong central direction of university curricula has meant that social work theories and practices have not occupied as prominent a place in students’ learning as in many other countries, until recently. This chapter considers these issues and examines the ways in which social work in Vietnam is overcoming obstacles to become a viable profession. It concludes that despite these challenges social work education has grown rapidly in the last 30 years and now provides a basis for the development of a contemporary social work profession.

It is within and through the body that we experience the physical, social, and emotional dimensions of life. This view draws on the existential phenomenological principal of embodiment, as described by French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Empathy is considered essential in the social work professional encounter. Prevailing conceptualisations of empathy in social work rely on simulation theory, where the social worker is expected to emulate the internal emotional and mental state of the client. Phenomenologists question the ontological plausibility of this conceptualisation. Their principal critiques are of mirroring, perspective-taking, and the associated emotional and intellectual labour. Expanding on phenomenological research, we suggest an alternate conceptualisation of empathy that integrates embodiment in social work theory, education, and practice. An embodied approach entails an interpretivist lens of subjectivity, direct perception of another’s emotional state, sensitively and bodily attending to narrative, and adopting a compassionate stance of both “understanding and not understanding”. IMPLICATIONS Empathy is an emotion-driven construct. Current views of empathy in social work rely on mentally simulating clients’ emotions. Emotions are embodied in that they are physically felt and expressed. The body is therefore a powerful instrument for better understanding and empathising with clients. Future conceptualisations of empathy used in social work theory, education, and practice would benefit from taking an embodied approach.

ABSTRACTThe profession of social work places a strong emphasis on the utilization of theories in classroom settings as well as in clinical milieus. Therefore, it is understandable that social work students, scholars, researchers, and practitioners feel compelled to make sense of theoretical underpinnings in their professional lives. This study sought to develop an instrument to critically appraise social work theories. Through Qualtrics, a panel of 14 internationally recognized experts in social work theories assessed the content of 16 items, which emanated from the literature on scale development. All of these items were described in accordance with Lawshe’s (1975) content-validity framework. Nine of the original 16 criteria survived expert scrutiny to constitute the Theory Evaluation Scale. Coherence, conceptual clarity, philosophical assumptions, connection with previous research, testability, empiricism, limitations, client context, and human agency were the final criteria on the empirically supported instrument. Implications for research, practice, and social work education are discussed.

Oxford Bibliographies in Social Work includes three articles describing the scholarly writings of a select group of deceased social workers who have been especially prominent and influential in the profession within the United States. We refer to these individuals as social work luminaries. These three bibliographies can be used to identify the publications of prominent individuals who have been most influential in the development of social work. We identified these individuals by first reviewing the biographies of significant social workers in the Franklin’s article on Encyclopedia of Social Work and obituaries collected by the Council on Social Work Education since the publication of the Encyclopedia of Social Work. From this list we reviewed the biographical material and publications, selecting the most prominent luminaries for each of the three articles. For each luminary we provide a brief biographical overview and one to five annotated citations of their most important publications. Respectively, the three articles describe the publications of luminaries (1) who were involved in the founding and creation of the social work profession in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, (2) who subsequently contributed to the clarification and elaboration of social work practice and theory, and (3) who contributed to social work theory and scholarship in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This article presents social work luminaries who made major contributions to research and practice in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Luminaries in this era often made more use of scientific findings than those luminaries in the previous two articles. They related practice and theory to the social conditions of this more current period, and they often were concerned about a research-based (i.e., empirical) practice and incorporated contemporary ideas of social justice into their thinking. In this period, as in the previous one, most luminaries fell into one of several categories in terms of their contributions to social work scholarship, although several luminaries contributed to more than one category. We have organized this article around these different categories, which include contributions to social work methods; specific fields of service; the overall field of social work; diversity, multiculturalism, and empowerment; and social work research.

The social work literature is full of discussions and debates concerning different practice theories, suggesting perhaps the need to develop more appropriate and holistic theories. Theories of social work do not seem to regard a synthesis of physical factors, mental processes and external environments as the cause of a disadvantaged situation and as aspects for intervention. Nearly all of them emphasise one or two of these factors but disregard a third. Such arguments provided the motivation to search for a more comprehensive social work perspective, undertaken as part of a master's programme. Seven main social work theories are compared with the perspective of conditioned arising. Based on their commonalities and differences, the literature indicates that the perspective of conditioned arising implies a comprehensive explanation of people's disadvantaged situation and a wider perspective for helping. This article explains how the perspective of conditioned arising can be applied in social work. The content includes a brief introduction to the perspective of conditioned arising, developing a triangular model, considering a case study for using the model and exploring the benefits of practising the perspective of conditioned arising.