Procedural Knowledge in Education for Direct Practice

Abstract

Social workers continually draw inferences, exercise iudgement. and make decisions about the client and the client's knvYronm&t. Recent advances regarding the cognitive underpinnings of these Drocesses suggest avenues for empirical investigation. This paper fuit discusses opkitionalization of thke processes,then reports findings from a pilot study to assess baseline information regarding social work students' knowledge in performing these processes, and concludes with a discussion of the results and suggestions for social work education and training. -Social workers, irrespective of theoretical orientation, work setting, or client population continually draw inferences, exercise judgment, and make decisions about the client and the client's environment. Concern in social work with "process" variables such as practitioner perception, inference, reasoning, and judgment has historically been cast in terms of intuition, wisdom, and the art of practice. Despite the importance of these variables, their empirical

Ideology, Scientific Theory, and Social Work Practice

“…There have been numerous debates in the professional literature about the nature of requisite knowledge for the profession (see, for example, Atherton, 1993;Fischer, 1981;Franklin, 1995;Fraser et al;Gibson & Nurius, 1992;Goldstein, 1992;Harrison, Hudson & Thyer, 1992;Hartman, 1990;Heineman, 1981;Herr, 1995;Hudson, 1982;Imre, 1984;Kirk, 1996;Klein & Bloom, 1995;Kondrat, 1995;Lindsey & Kirk, 1992;Minahan & Pincus, 1977;Reid, 1994;Rein & White, 1981;Rodwell, 1987;Sheldon, 1978;Staller & Kirk, 1998;Tucker, 1996;Weick, 1987;Witkin, 1991;. To date, apart from the general mandates of curricular policies set by the Council on Social Work Education, there is little consensus about essential knowledge for professional practice.…”

“…However, according to Kilty and Meenaghan (1995), the recent focus on empirical verification has, in part, contributed to an incomplete focus on better individual and family outcomes rather than an understanding of the larger issues and societal structures that contribute to risk and maintain social and economic inequality. Citing Abramovitz's (1983) concern about the narrowness of our conceptual frameworks, they propose that the selected use of scientifically based methods has unwittingly obscured the full range of value choices and research that the profession might pursue in its study of people and environments.There have been numerous debates in the professional literature about the nature of requisite knowledge for the profession (see, for example, Atherton, 1993;Fischer, 1981;Franklin, 1995;Fraser et al;Gibson & Nurius, 1992;Goldstein, 1992;Harrison, Hudson & Thyer, 1992;Hartman, 1990;Heineman, 1981;Herr, 1995;Hudson, 1982;Imre, 1984;Kirk, 1996;Klein & Bloom, 1995;Kondrat, 1995;Lindsey & Kirk, 1992;Minahan & Pincus, 1977;Reid, 1994;Rein & White, 1981;Rodwell, 1987;Sheldon, 1978;Staller & Kirk, 1998;Tucker, 1996;Weick, 1987;Witkin, 1991;. To date, apart from the general mandates of curricular policies set by the Council on Social Work Education, there is little consensus about essential knowledge for professional practice.…”

Practitioners' Perspectives on Sound Reasoning

“…To assess practitioners' strategies to correct or avoid flaws or unintended bias in practice reasoning, a 24 vignette questionnaire was developed, pilot tested, and revised for greater clarity. 1 This questionnaire, modeled after prior vignette-based research (Dawes, 1986;Gibbs & Gambrill, 1996;Gibbs & Werner, 1988;Gibson & Nurius, 1992), described common practice activities, and each vignette included a reasoning flaw or bias based on social cognitive factors that have been found significantly to influence reasoning (Fiske & Taylor, 1991;Salovey & Turk, 1990).…”

“…To develop and maintain such skills, workers need ongoing, structured opportunities for training and feedback in critical thinking and effective decision-making, including, our findings suggest, sustained attention to the impact of external factors and pressures on the reasoning process. Developing this kind of consciousness and skill set ideally begins in professional education (Alter & Egan, 1997a, b;Gibson & Nurius, 1992;Mumm & Kersting, 1997;Nurius, 1995) and continues through ongoing staff training. Alter and Egan (1997a) stress the point that this capacity does not necessarily evolve automatically with education or experience, but that learning transfer requires explicit skill training and ongoing supports to sustain this as a pattern of practice.…”