Useful Knowledge for Social Work Practice

Social workers have a long-standing interest in the relation of knowledge and practice. Both the tasks of practice and the knowledge used to accomplish these tasks are defining characteristics of any profession. They are the basis by which professions differentiate themselves from one another an...

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Main Author: Jeanne Marsh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Social Work & Society 2006-01-01
Series:Social Work and Society
Online Access:http://132.195.130.183/index.php/sws/article/view/1238
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author Jeanne Marsh
author_facet Jeanne Marsh
author_sort Jeanne Marsh
collection DOAJ
description Social workers have a long-standing interest in the relation of knowledge and practice. Both the tasks of practice and the knowledge used to accomplish these tasks are defining characteristics of any profession. They are the basis by which professions differentiate themselves from one another and the means by which they legitimate their activities to the larger society and culture. Theorists and researchers of knowledge utilization have identified it as having both conceptual and instrumental aspects. To better understand knowledge utilization in the field of social work, a group of social work practitioners were asked to reflect on the utility of various types of formal information and knowledge and sources of that knowledge. Practitioner respondents expressed appreciation for theoretical knowledge, but gave highest utility ratings to knowledge that helps them solve problems they confront every day in practice, i.e., information about a social problem or information about the effectiveness of a particular social work intervention. Younger practitioners were more enthusiastic than older practitioners about the utility of formal knowledge.
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spelling doaj-art-e137f5901ec3433eabc9cfa9f5a14a4c2025-08-20T03:13:58ZengSocial Work & SocietySocial Work and Society1613-89532006-01-0141Useful Knowledge for Social Work PracticeJeanne MarshSocial workers have a long-standing interest in the relation of knowledge and practice. Both the tasks of practice and the knowledge used to accomplish these tasks are defining characteristics of any profession. They are the basis by which professions differentiate themselves from one another and the means by which they legitimate their activities to the larger society and culture. Theorists and researchers of knowledge utilization have identified it as having both conceptual and instrumental aspects. To better understand knowledge utilization in the field of social work, a group of social work practitioners were asked to reflect on the utility of various types of formal information and knowledge and sources of that knowledge. Practitioner respondents expressed appreciation for theoretical knowledge, but gave highest utility ratings to knowledge that helps them solve problems they confront every day in practice, i.e., information about a social problem or information about the effectiveness of a particular social work intervention. Younger practitioners were more enthusiastic than older practitioners about the utility of formal knowledge.http://132.195.130.183/index.php/sws/article/view/1238
spellingShingle Jeanne Marsh
Useful Knowledge for Social Work Practice
Social Work and Society
title Useful Knowledge for Social Work Practice
title_full Useful Knowledge for Social Work Practice
title_fullStr Useful Knowledge for Social Work Practice
title_full_unstemmed Useful Knowledge for Social Work Practice
title_short Useful Knowledge for Social Work Practice
title_sort useful knowledge for social work practice
url http://132.195.130.183/index.php/sws/article/view/1238
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