Practice wisdom: the art and science of social work

Abstract

Practice wisdom is the foundation for effective practice and encompasses both the art and science of social work. The divide between practice and theory has existed since the profession emerged and practice wisdom is the bridge to this gap. The epistemology and ontology of practice wisdom highlights its importance for research, education and practice for the next generation of social workers. The work of Howard Goldstein is critical in the examination of the artistry of practice wisdom, which can be taught and measured by supporting the development of critical thinking and reflection skills of students. Capturing the essence of practice wisdom lays the foundation for developing a pedagogy that promotes its development in social work students.

Being a valuable contributor on the frontline: The self‐perception of staff in group homes for people with intellectual disability

“…The findings demonstrate that frontline staff believed they were valuable stakeholders, despite feeling powerless in their roles. They demonstrated knowledge and insight that could be described as “practice wisdom,” whereby frontline workers drew on lived experiences to “accumulate information, assumptions, ideologies and judgements that have been useful in working with clients” (Samson, , p. 123). In the social work literature, Klein and Bloom () argued that practice wisdom allows frontline staff to combine knowledge from practice experiences with theoretical and empirical knowledge, accrued from research and organizational policy, to influence practice.…”

‘We know what we are, but know not what we may be’ – research-minded practitioners and their possible futures in social work

“…It seems that recent research has worked on narrowing the gap between the proponents of evidence-based practice and the proponents of practice wisdom, characteristics that may coincide in the RMP. Proponents of practice wisdom in social work have lately been less inclined to talk about social work as an art, and instead view it as both an art and a science (Samson 2015). Samson (2015) suggests that practice wisdom is a bridge between art and science.…”

Por uma agenda centrada na dimensão técnico-operativa em Serviço Social: proposta portuguesa | For an agenda focused on the technical-operative dimension in Social Work: Portuguese proposal

“…Tais questões motivam acesas discussões sobre a dialética entre a teoria e a prática (FOOK, 2002(FOOK, , 2014PARTON, 2000;PAYNE, 2002;RESTREPO, 2003;SAMSON, 2015;STEPNEY & FORD, 2000;VISCARRET, 2007) Numa lógica dualista, esta discussão pode colocar-se entre a ciência e/ou a técnica e a arte (BRENNER, 2009;MARTÍNEZ, 1991;PARTON, 2000;SAMSON, 2015), entre a "cabeça" e o "coração" (AMARO, 2012) ou, na metáfora de Edgar Morin (1997), entre a "prosa" e a "poesia".…”

“…, que constitui um dos debates epistemometodológicos polarizadores no Serviço Social que chega até aos dias de hoje envolto em polémica(FERREIRA;PENA, 2014;RESTREPO, 2003;ROBERTIS, 2011;SAMSON, 2015;VISCARRET, 2007), mas sublinhamos que vinculação identitária da profissão mormente à prática Por uma agenda centrada na dimensão técnico-operativa em Serviço Social: proposta portuguesa perfis construídos teoricamente é o posicionamento face às conceções de ciência que os distingue, assim como a relação com as ferramentas metodológicas. Se no perfil científico-burocrático a autora enquadra os procedimentos metodológicos padronizados e ditos neutros como fins em si mesmos, aceitando o profissional as regras predefinidas (numa lógica centrada no que pode chamarse de tecnologia e engenharia sociais), no perfil científico-humanista os instrumentos são definidos e mobilizados em função da análise sobre dada situação, exigindo uma postura reflexiva e crítica sobre os mesmos.…”