The Promotion of Avoidable Ignorance in the British Journal of Social Work

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 455-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen Gambrill
Keyword(s):  
British Journal ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Evidence Based Practice ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Professional Journals ◽  
The Status ◽  
Dangerous Knowledge

The manifest purpose of professional journals is to share important knowledge. Increasing revelations of flaws in the peer-reviewed literature shows that this purpose is often not honored and that inflated claims of knowledge as well as other concerns such as misrepresentations of disliked or misunderstood views are rife. In this article, avoidable misunderstandings of science and evidence-based practice (EBP) in publications in the British Journal of Social Work 2005–2016 are described as well as strategies used to forward misinformation. Such discourse misinforms rather than informs readers and decreases opportunities to accurately inform social workers about possibilities to help clients and to avoid harming them and to involve clients as informed participants. Those writing about avoidable ignorance highlight how it is used strategically, perhaps to neutralize what is viewed as dangerous knowledge—the process of EBP and science generally, which may threaten the status quo.

scholarly journals Evidence-based practice in social work: Who are the critics?

2020 ◽  
pp. 146801732095513
Author(s):  
Joakim Finne
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Evidence Based Practice ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Social Sector ◽  
The Social

Summary The aim of this study is to analyse attitudes towards and the utilisation of evidence-based practice among social workers in Norway. The data were collected in 2014–2015 from social workers in four Norwegian counties. The sample consists of 2060 social workers registered as members of the Norwegian Union of Social Educators and Social Workers. Findings The main findings in this study indicate that social workers in child welfare are generally less critical of evidence-based practice than those within social welfare. Higher education and knowledge about evidence-based practice are seen as predictors for less critical attitudes towards the concept. The findings further suggest that social workers who use manuals and standardised procedures are less critical of evidence-based practice. Applications Understanding social workers’ attitudes towards evidence-based practice is important in order to facilitate the best possible practices. This study emphasises the importance of increasing knowledge of evidence-based practice in the social sector, and the need to further investigate how research methods and evidence-based practice concepts are translated into practice.

The Promotion of Avoidable Ignorance in the British Journal of Social Work (Gambrill, 2018): A Very Short Reply

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 470-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Holloway ◽  
Malcolm Golightley
Keyword(s):  
British Journal ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Evidence Based Practice ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Short Reply

This reply from the Editors of the British Journal of Social Work to a recently published invited article in Research on Social Work Practice (a substantially similar version of which had been previously rejected by the BJSW), affirms the importance and timeliness of rigorous debate within social work about science and evidence-based practice but summarises the BJSW reviewers reasons for rejecting the article submitted to the BJSW. The reply concludes by calling for wider contributions to this debate.

scholarly journals Implementing Evidence-Based Practice in a Dutch Social Work Organisation: A Shared Responsibility

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (7) ◽  
pp. 2212-2232
Author(s):  
Renske J M van der Zwet ◽  
Deirdre M Beneken genaamd Kolmer ◽  
René Schalk ◽  
Tine Van Regenmortel
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Evidence Based Practice ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Shared Responsibility ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Work Organisation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Organisational Model ◽  
Ebp Implementation

Abstract This article presents the findings from a case study, exploring the factors that support and impede implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) in a Dutch social work organisation that has recently committed to EBP. Qualitative data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with ten staff members and twelve social workers (service providers for adults and families). The organisational model for EBP implementation, recently developed by Plath, was used to examine how EBP was implemented and the factors that support and impede it. Findings revealed that EBP occurs predominantly at the organisational level. Research & Development (R&D) staff take responsibility for the key steps of gathering, appraising and translating research insights into practice activities, whilst social workers are primarily involved in implementing interventions. R&D is also involved in the internal evaluation of interventions in order to support ongoing practice development. Several factors affecting EBP implementation and facilitative strategies have been identified. Most of these are congruent with the organisational model for EBP implementation, with the exception of two impacting factors (negative attitudes about EBP and an organisational culture that values and encourages innovation and learning) and one facilitative strategy (research partnerships). These findings were used to develop the model further.

scholarly journals Exploring How Practicing Social Workers Define Evidence-Based Practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1237-1249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill M. Chonody ◽  
Barbra Teater
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Continuing Education ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Evidence Based Practice ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Social Work Practitioners ◽  
Work Education

This research note presents findings from a study that sought to garner a better understanding of the way in which practicing social workers defined Evidence-Based Practice (EBP). As part of a larger quantitative study, 137 social work practitioners provided a definition for EBP through an online survey and indicated the extent to which they: consider themselves an evidence-based practitioner; believe practitioners should apply EBP in social work; and were prepared through their social work education to use EBP. Content analysis of the practitioners’ definitions of EBP revealed that the majority of respondents described EBP as an intervention or a product versus a process. Regardless of the definition that was provided, descriptive statistics revealed practitioners reported on average that they identified somewhat as an evidence-based practitioner, believed that practitioners should apply EBP in practice moderately to always, and felt only moderately prepared by their social work education for EBP. The findings suggest an opportunity in social work education may exist to further reinforce the process of EBP to delineate it from the evidence-based interventions that may also be taught, especially in clinical programs. Dissemination may also need to occur through mandated continuing education hours, much like ethics has been added as a requirement in some states.

Identity of clients and social workers in service provision: an institutional logics perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Filip Wollter
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Evidence Based Practice ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Family Group ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Family Group Conference ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
Core Elements

This article illustrates how the theory of institutional logics can be used for analyzing the identity of social workers and clients, focusing on people processing that precedes treatment (control access, assessment, and treatment deliberation, among others). The article has two research questions: (1) What identities of social workers and clients can be distinguished by institutional logics? (2) How are identities intertwined in practice (exemplified by well-established decision-making models such as evidence-based practice, family group conference, and government by voucher)? Identity is examined using institutional logics and the findings reported in the current body of social work literature. The article derives two conclusions. The first conclusion is that institutional logics can be used for distinguishing ideal type identities: three client identities, namely taken care of community member (community logic), active citizen (participatory democracy logic), and consumer (market logic); and three social worker identities, namely professional (professional logic), bureaucrat (State logic), and executor of management directives (corporation logic). The second conclusion is that identities and institutional logics coexist in well-established models for processing people and treatment deliberation, but the conditions for coexistence differ. For instance, evidence-based practice is characterized by segregation (a bureaucratic and a professional alignment have been separated from the original version of EBP), whereas family group conference and government by voucher are typified by assimilation (logics coexist with the core elements of original logics preserved). Keywords: social work, institutional logics, people processing, decision-making

AGENCY–UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP FOR EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE IN SOCIAL WORK

2008 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 55-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Bellamy ◽  
Sarah E. Bledsoe ◽  
Edward J. Mullen ◽  
Lin Fang ◽  
Jennifer I. Manuel
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Evidence Based Practice ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
University Partnership
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