Dissenting Social Work: Critical Theory, Resistance and Pandemic

Practice ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Steve Rogowski
Keyword(s):  
10.18060/1976 ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Herz ◽  
Thomas Johansson

Social work is a multi-dimensional and contradictory field of practice, which often leads to theoretical confusion. Another tendency within social work today is the development of an evidence-based practice. This kind of social engineering, together with the theoretical confusion, might lead to the reproduction and strengthening of dominant discourses and perspectives. Pointing out the need for critical theory to transgress and resist hegemonic practices, the article aims to present ideas on how to theoretically position social work practice within a framework of critical theory. The question is how to combine an ambition to develop suitable methods and to anchor social work in a sound social-scientific context with critical theories concerning, for instance, gender, ethnicity, and class. It is suggested that a movement towards a more deconstructive and reflexive mode of thinking and practicing social work, ‘doing social work’, would enable the field to become more ethical and reflexive.


Author(s):  
Daniel Schugurensky

Hans Thiersch was born on May 16, 1935 in Recklinghausen, Germany. His work became particularly influential since the 1970s, when he applied the concept of lifeworld orientation to social pedagogy. Indeed, Thiersch can be considered one of the representatives of a critical social pedagogy. Since his retirement in 2002, he has been a professor emeritus of Education and Social Pedagogy at the University of Tübingen. He has also co-edited the handbook of social work / social pedagogy. Professor Thiersch has published extensively on a variety of topics related to education, social work, youth welfare, residential care, morality and justice. However, because most of his publications are in German, his work is not well known outside of Germany. On a rainy evening of October 2013 in Frankfurt, I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Professor Thiersch.


Author(s):  
Antonia Díaz-Valdés Iriarte

Los referentes normativos en Trabajo Social están inseparablemente ligados al dar cuenta de los resultados de las intervenciones y garantías de no aumento del daño. En el contexto chileno se observa un déficit en este sentido, pues existe una sobrevaloración de la evidencia empírica de carácter prevalentemente tecno-económica, a lo que se suma el déficit técnico de los profesionales que deben llevar a cabo la evaluación, y finalmente, la disminución de ésta. A partir de lo anterior, se hace una propuesta, de revisión teórica-critica, que pretende ponderar críticamente el Enfoque Basado en Evidencia (EBE) –de amplio uso disciplinar en la tradición anglosajona- y el cual se despliega en cinco pasos: (1) Convertir las necesidades de información en preguntas y respuestas, (2) Rastrear, con la máxima eficiencia, la mejor evidencia para responder a estas preguntas, (3) Evaluar críticamente la validez y utilidad de la evidencia, (4) Aplicar los resultados obtenidos a la toma de decisiones en la práctica, y (5) Evaluar el resultado. Políticas públicas baseadas em evidência: aperturas e clausuras para o trabalho social chilenoRESUMEMOs referentes normativos em Trabalho Social estão inseparavelmente ligados ao apresentar os resultados das intervenções e garantias de não aumento do dano. No contexto chileno se observa um déficit neste sentido, pois existe uma sobre- valoração da evidência empírica de caráter prevalentemente tecno-econômica, ao que se suma o déficit técnico dos profissionais que devem levar a cabo a avaliação, e finalmente, a diminuição de esta. A partir do anterior, se faz uma proposta, de verificação teórica critica que pretende ponderar criticamente o Enfoque Baseado em Evidência (EBE) –de amplio uso disciplinar na tradição anglosajona– e o qual se desprende em cinco passos: (1) Converter as necessidades de informação em perguntas e respostas, (2) Rastrear, com a máxima eficiência, a melhor evidência para responder a estas perguntas, (3) Avaliarcriticamente a validez e utilidade da evidência, (4) Aplicar os resultadosobtidos a toma de decisões na prática, e (5) Avaliar o resultado. Evidence-based public policies: opening and closing opportunities for social work in  ChileABSTRACTNormative references in social work are targeted at accounting for theoutcomes of interventions and for guarantying that damage does notincrease. In the Chilean context techno-economic empirical evidence isover-valued and there is technical deficiency of professionals in charge ofevaluation processes as well as an evaluation diminishing. From this, thestudy proposes to review critical theory on the evidence-based approach widely used in the Anglo-Saxon disciplinary tradition. This approachinvolves five steps: 1) convert needs for information into questions andanswers, 2) efficiently track the best evidence to answer those questions, 3)critically evaluate the validity and usefulness of the evidence, 4) applicationof outcomes in decision-making, and 5) evaluation of outcomes.


2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shari Miller ◽  
Carolyn Tice ◽  
Diane Harnek Hall

Critical thinking lies at the core of social work practice given that decision making often is swift and occurs in a climate of uncertainty. The recent changes to the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards developed by the Council on Social Work Education emphasize critical thinking by promoting an integrative curriculum design that distinguishes between explicit and implicit elements. This article presents critical thinking, embedded in critical theory, as a discipline-specific construct central to effective social work education and practice that links the explicit and implicit curricula. Definitions of critical thinking and their relationship to critical theory are discussed. The article argues that a critical theory framework can be applied to social work education via service learning to enhance critical thinking skills among undergraduates.


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