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Building Social Work Knowledge: Some Issues B. VIJAYALAKSHMI This article addresses issues and concerns specific to building social work knowledge and concludes with the need for indigenous social work knowledge. In the course of the article the author touches upon the very need for knowledge, the nature of social work knowledge, problems in borrowing knowledge from other disciplines and the precautions to be taken, It also discusses the failure for the social work profession to develop a knowledge base, the role of research in knowledge building, development of new knowledge and sources of knowledge transfer. Prof. B. Vijayalakshmi is Director, Centre for Women's Studies, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. There is an embarrassingly rich literature that details what the social worker needs to know, do, and feel. But that knowledge is not organized in a manner that allows one to readily specify what one will need to know about what. Thus, no where will you find a book on all knowledge necessary for social work practice." Kadushin, cited from Compton and Galaway, 1979: 43 Knowledge, no sooner grasped leaps forward again to excite new pursuit, and this is both the gratification and frustration of trying to work on problems-in-change. Perlman, 1957: 27 INTRODUCTION As social work believes in dealing with human beings as a whole, the type of knowledge needed by it becomes varied, making its base multi-disciplinary. This type of knowledge, it is felt, would enable the social workers to take care of the problems related to the various aspects of social functioning of human beings. According to Siporin (1975:93), social work knowledge is knowledge that is known, or needs to be known, by social workers for their use in effective social work 74 B. Vijayalakshmi practice. It is essentially the knowledge about the world, man, and society. Such knowledge is selected, developed and applied because it is believed that it can help achieve social work purposes and realize social work functions. The formation of such knowledge is guided also by social work values, and by feed back from practice experience and research. This explanation of social work knowledge indicates three aspects, that is, the purpose of social work knowledge, the nature of the knowledge and the dynamic nature of the knowledge base of social work. NEED FOR KNOWLEDGE For social workers to be truly effective, they need to be constantly asking why. It is this quest for understanding about, why situations arise, why people react in certain ways, and why particular interventions might be utilised, that theoretical knowledge informs practice (Coulshed and Orme, 1998). And here knowledge plays an important role in the accreditation of any profession. A profession is distinguished by its ability to train its students to acquire knowledge and skills and integrate them into practice (Devi Prasad, 1997: 245). The competence of a professional depends upon the expert use of knowledge, skills and language specific to that profession. Further, theoretical knowledge helps the social workers in dealing with people who have problems by providing insights into the causative factors of a situation. This, in turn, facilitates the much-needed interventions. According to Polansky (cited from Siporin, 1975: 102), the function of knowledge in social work is to increase the practitioner's ability to exercise conscious and deliberate mastery over his environment... it assists getting things done to the extent that it makes possible, dependable and precise predictions... it is an essential convenience to derive one's predictions from general dynamic principles ... A social worker's action may be said to be 'scientifically based' to the extent that they are derived from such general principles. Thus, there is a close relationship between theoretical knowledge and practice in social work. Nature of Social Work Knowledge As human functioning occurs in the context of interpersonal relationships and the social environment, the problems that people bring to social workers are enormously complex in their etiology, ongoing Building Social Work Knowledge: Some Issues 75 dynamics, and consequences. This required the profession to have dual emphasis on both the person and environment, and focus on the changing social needs, new knowledge from other disciplines, and technological advancements. 'Further, the dual goals (of the profession) i.e., of improving societal institutions and assisting clients within their social and cultural milieu has lead to the mining of concepts from different disciplines' (Greene and Ephross, 1991:10). The multidisciplinary knowledge, thus acquired, enabled the social workers to have a comprehensive understanding of human functioning. Much has been written on the content of the knowledge base of social work (for example, Khinduka, 1987; Siporin, 1975; Thomas, 1967). The knowledge base, mostly, consisted of the knowledge drawn from sociology, psychology, economics, political science, and anthropology. Also, philosophy, ethics and jurisprudence are considered as significantly contributing to the knowledge base of social work. That is the reason why 'if (one) look(s), at any of the theories that have been in vogue within social work for the last hundred years, almost all of them, without exception, can be traced back to one of these disciplines' (Soifer, 1999:44). This is not unique to social work alone and as pointed out by Compton and Galaway (1979: 42), 'all human service professions borrow from each other — partly because practicing professionals, social workers included, are more interested in the application of present knowledge than in the creation of new knowledge'. The argument in favour of such borrowing is that the 'social worker's primary task is not to generate knowledge about people and human system per 76 B. Vijayalakshmi se, but to select and organize knowledge developed by researchers in psychology, anthropology, sociology... and so on in light of the nature of one's tasks and the ways people change' (Compton and Galaway, 1979:49). Problems in Borrowing Knowledge It is true that social and behavioural sciences provide an essential foundation to social work practice and without them the social workers fail to make full use of their own skills, and analytical powers at the workplace with their clients and colleagues. But there are certain problems involved in borrowing knowledge from other disciplines. One of the problems is selective borrowing. According to Thomas (1967: 3), such selective borrowing occurs because, 'the social and behavioural sciences are not single units but comprise of different aspects in relation to their philosophy, methodology and knowledge... Similarly social work is also a complex amalgam of thought, practices and products'. As a result some of the social workers have developed a tendency for selective borrowing and to 'discuss the impact of that "new" theory on the profession' (Soifer, 1999: 49). At times, such selective borrowing has seeped through into field practice in a partial fragmented manner. Criticising this tendency, Rojek, Peacock and Collins (1988: 21) comment 'often confused social work educators passed on their own diluted ideas to bewildered workers and students.' The second is the problem of integration of social and behavioural science knowledge in social work practice. In the process of integration, the transition from one stage to another is not an automatic activity. A conscious effort has to be made to pass from one stage to the other. In the absence of such an effort, it is often difficult to link social and behavioural sciences to practice situations. According to Nicolson and Bayne (1984: ix) the students, found the social science interesting.... However, they still have doubts about actively incorporating social science theory into their practice, because they were not confident in their ability to make vital connections between theory, evidence and specific situations with clients or their particular agencies. The third problem is excessive dependence on any one discipline. Discussing this aspect, Khinduka (1987: 687) observed that despite the importance given by social workers to sociology, they ignored the sociological knowledge base in favour of psychology. Thus, there Building Social Work Knowledge: Some Issues 77 was a virtual deluge of social work with psychiatry and psychoanalysis as principal suppliers of concepts and insights for social work practice. This, to a large extent, made the profession have a bias toward micro, rather than macro, tools for analysis and intervention. Most often the approach of social workers, with regard to the borrowing from psychology, lead to the criticism that 'social workers treat the discipline of psychology like a super market where theories fill the shelves like cans — they take the can, open it, devour the contents and all too frequently suffer the indigestible consequences' (Breakwell and Rowett, 1982:6). The fourth problem is attachment to theories. Too much attachment to theories, be they social or behavioural, not only leads to their uncritical adoption, but also to a tendency to cling to them beyond their relevance. The Buddha put this in perspective in a saying, 'Even this view, which is so pure and so clear, if you cling to it, if you fondle it, if you treasure it, if you are attached to it, then you do not understand that our teaching is similar to a raft, which is for crossing over, and not for keeping hold of (cited from Bartley, 1990: 253). Finally, 'the problem lies not in the task of finding a consensus on (the need for and) the broad areas of knowledge but in the task of selecting the critical concepts for use by the practitioners in social work from this immense range of knowledge and in the task of relating these concepts to one another' (Compton and Galaway, 1979: 48). Two disturbing tendencies need mention here. The first one is looking towards existing theory as capable of dealing with the problem on hand and planning accordingly or accepting every emerging theory as capable of dealing with social problems. Both are considered as extreme tendencies because in the light of changing human environment and the consequent changes in the types of problems encountered by people, new theoretical insights need to be developed and such insights should also be the outcome of the already existing knowledge base. Otherwise, it may ultimately lead to a situation where 'students graduate with more inert knowledge (material that is relevant but is not used because of a lack of accompanying performance skills), more irrelevant knowledge (knowledge that does not contribute to problem solving), and more false knowledge (beliefs that are not true and that are not questioned)' (Gambrill, 1997: 319). 78 B. Vijayalakshmi Precautions to be Taken The point to be kept in mind is that while having theoretical base is inevitable, there should be discreetness in selecting theories for use. The choice has to depend on the client's needs and situations and not on the worker's own categories or theories concerning the meanings of acts. This is because social workers' particular assumptions about human behaviour can be expected to influence their professional activities and the consequences of these have important implications for their clients (Briar and Miller, 1971). In this context, they have suggested the following criteria for the selection of theory. According to them the theory must • be explicit about the question of goals; • hold an optimistic view, that is orient the practitioner to potentials for change and to search for more effective and powerful ways of bringing about such a change; • clearly indicate the use of the theory in relation to the client system; and • specify what role behaviours are expected of a practitioner to set forth guidelines for outcome assessment. The students can have useful knowledge only when they are exposed to theories, which are empirically verified and reliable. Further, there should be development of a critical outlook toward the theoretical base because critical examination of the existing knowledge and keeping oneself up to date shall enable the profession to have sound scientific base. In this context, the educators and supervisors play an indispensable role by providing instructions based on the most current knowledge. Reasons for Failure to Develop Knowledge Base What are the reasons for the failure on the part of the profession to develop a definitive knowledge base? Some of the reasons mentioned by Khinduka (1987: 688) are: • anti-intellectualism, that is a tendency to substitute polemic and rhetoric for evidence-based conclusions; • inclination to equate knowledge with raw empiricism; and • researchers taking up studies, which are a theoretical and non-cumulative, thus contributing little to the systematic development and validation of social work knowledge. Building Social Work Knowledge: Some Issues 79 These observations, though made in the context of Western social work, apply to the Indian context too. Role of Research in Knowledge Building Research plays an important role in the development of its knowledge base in any discipline. However, most social work practitioners are sceptical about research and its outcome — the theory. At times 'students and practitioners protested that theory implied distance and objectivity which contrasted with feelings and living reality of social work encounters. As such it was seen to be a stumbling block in developing style' (Coulshed and Orme, 1998: 7). Such an attitude, both toward theory and research, is seen as 'fallacious, inappropriate and self defeating...' (Siporin, 1975: 100), because knowledge building for any profession is a dynamic activity involving deconstruction and reconstruction through research. This scepticism has resulted in schism between practice and research with practitioners feeling that the research findings are depersonalised and could not be of help in practice and researchers telling that the practitioners neither put to use the research findings nor try to evaluate their intervention strategies (Riessman, 1994). Though there is an element of truth in both these arguments, the stubborn adherence to their respective viewpoints is leading to lack of productive collaboration. The Task Force on Social Work Research (1991: 92) has identified this as a major problem. It suggested that all areas of the foundation curriculum, including practice methods, be based on knowledge derived to the fullest extent possible from research in social work and from related professions and disciplines — (and) text books for practice methods courses be based to the fullest extent possible on research-based knowledge from social work and allied professions and disciplines. Another criticism against research in social work is the absence of specificity and inability to conduct purpose-based and goal driven research (Gambrill, 1994). This criticism holds well in the Indian context also. Way back in 1974, Ramachandran (1974: 222-223) quoted the observations made in a report of the Committee on Social Science Research. According to this report, there had been an obvious fragmentation of research in social work, which resulted in a series of independent and unrelated studies on different problems. Even studies, which were done on the same problem, were not comparable because 80 B. Vijayalakshmi the methodological tools were incomparable. Also, the absence of methodological diversity was considered as another major flaw. Social work research is, further, criticised on the basis of its choice of methods. In spite of their relevance to social work research, qualitative methods are not used much and most of social work research is based on quantitative methods (Vijayalakshmi, Devi Prasad and Rao, 1996). It is generally considered that the excessive emphasis on quantitative techniques is a by product of the quest for professional status (Fraser, Taylor, Jackson and O'Jack, 1991). This led, sometimes, to the framing of research questions to suit the methods rather than the other way round (Reinharz, 1979/1991). This approach is found unproductive in terms of development of knowledge in social work. Criticising this state of affairs, Riessman (1994) said that Methods are like maps; they focus inquiry and lay out paths which if followed are supposed to lead to valid knowledge of how the world works. But like maps we consult in every day life, they contain assumptions about what is important. Different maps make certain features of the terrain visible and obscure others. To strengthen social work research as a knowledge building activity Thyer, Issace and Larkin (1997: 315) suggested the following steps. • Talented and experienced clinicians and other social work practitioners should be recruited into training programmes focussing on service research. • Talented and experienced researchers can spend study leave doing social work practice. • A cadre of doctoral-level social workers be trained as practitioners and as researchers • Specialised training in conducting outcome studies be provided • Doctoral programmes should make greater use of research practice and clinical-research internships. • Doctoral graduates be given expertise in evaluative research focusing on empirical testing of the outcomes of social work interventions. If such studies are published, practitioners will naturally turn to this functional, journal based literature for guidance. Another important suggestion made by Ramachandran (1974) is to start a central agency for the promotion of social work research. Building Social Work Knowledge: Some Issues 81 Development of New Knowledge Social work, being a profession rooted in the sociocultural realities of the contexts in which it operates, it should be responsive to the changing social needs, if it is to expand its knowledge base. Such a stance will help the profession develop insights into the changing scenario in terms of client needs and available support structures by constantly expanding, reorganising and reformulating its knowledge base in the light of related literature. This would result in the orderly accretion of the knowledge. According to Hearn (1958) theory building is a continuous circular process. The same is presented in Figure 1. FIGURE 1: Theory-Building These ten steps in theory building can be of use for development of theory and knowledge in social work. Sources of Knowledge Transfer A number of sources can be identified for the transfer of knowledge to social work from related disciplines. They are: • participating in inter-professional dialogues; • using creative literature; • internalising and keeping abreast of the literature for the orderly accretion of knowledge by the practitioners; 82 B. Vijayalakshmi • giving increased attention to interpretive work, narrative studies and case studies as methods of knowledge transfer to social workers from other disciplines; and • taking part in continuous education programmes. The need for such participation has been emphasised by a number of writers (for example, Desai, 1974). Finally, to keep pace with the changing human needs, professional social workers need to dedicate themselves to a life time of study as a skillful reader of professional literature and as a student in staff development, continuing education or advanced degree programmes (Morales and Sheafor, 1995:42). Thus social workers should continue their development by reading, attending conferences, institutes and workshops, participating in professional activities; and by exchanging ideas with other professions. CONCLUSION: NEED FOR INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE It was argued that the content of social work is universal (Rosenfeld, 1976). Despite such assertions, there has been much discussion on the need for indigenous knowledge for social work on the ground that utility or relevance of the knowledge is bounded in time, place, and person (Rein and Sheldon, 1981: 37). Pyne (1997) has identified a number of reasons for the tendency in favour of culture-specific knowledge base. 1. Values and cultural bases of different societies may be incompatible with the assumptions and prescriptions within which Western social work has originated. The works of Gangrade (1970), Karnik and Suri (1995), Kumar (1994), Wadia (1961), and so on, fall in this category. 2. Societies face different problems and issues, and hence, Western models cannot be of help in intervening in the situation. The arguments of Ghosh (1984), Ilango (1988), Nagpaul (1972), Nanavatty (1981), and Ranade (1974) fall in this category. However, Payne (1997: 7-12) considered these arguments as not wholly convincing and negated them on the following grounds: • As countries are increasingly ethnically and culturally pluralist, transfer of ideas between cultures is allowed • Useful exchange can be achieved in developing locally appropriate forms of social work knowledge by adopting Western models. Building Social Work Knowledge: Some Issues 83 • Countries and cultures do not stay where they are and are always changing. Many economies, which were underdeveloped, are now economically rich and as a result their needs are also changing. The impact of globalisation is seen as contributing to an argument against cultural specificity of knowledge base of social work. In this connection, it has been observed (Midgley, 1997: 59), for the first time in human history, that the local environments no longer solely define peoples' lives in which they live. Despite the recent resurgence of nationalism and ethnic conflict, many believe that an international world system will inexorably replace the local community and even the nation state as the primary basis for social or national identity. Further, it may be pointed out that while we think of developing an indigenous base of foundation knowledge, efforts have to be first made to assess how far the social and behavioural sciences themselves have developed in this direction so as to enable our profession to draw knowledge from them. While examining the constraints of creating an indigenous knowledge base pertaining to foundation knowledge contributed by social and behavioural sciences, Pathak (1974: 179-180) observed that 'although a good deal of research has been done and literature produced since 1950s in all of the social sciences, and particularly in economics and sociology, the relevance of these to Indian society is being questioned by Indian social scientists themselves'. This observation needs serious consideration. In conclusion, it may be pointed out that in spite of the need for a strong knowledge base for social work, not much effort has been done in this direction and most of the existing knowledge base is yet to be tested and verified. Social workers need to keep themselves abreast of the fast exploding knowledge in the related disciplines so as to enable themselves to bring the insights provided by such knowledge into their practice. Unless these issues are looked into, the profession will increasingly find it difficult to maintain its relevance to current social realities. REFERENCES Bartley, W.W. 1990 Unfathomed Knowledge, Unmeasured Wealth: On Universities and the Wealth of Nations, Lasake: Open Court. 84 B. Vijayalakshmi Breakwell, G.M. and Rowett, C. 1982. : Collaboration between Social Workers and Psychologists, Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 35, 65-66. Briar, S. and Miller H. 1971 : Problems and Issues in Social Case Work; New York: Columbia University Press. Compton B.R. and Galaway B. 1979 Coulshed, V. and Orme, J 1998 Sources and Functions of Knowledge for Professional Practice. In B.R. Compton, and B. Galaway (Eds.), Social Work Processes (Revised Edition), Homewood: The Dorsey Press, 37-67. : Social Work Practice: Macmillan Press Ltd. An Introduction,; London: Desai, A.S 1974 Social Work Education in India. In B. Chatterjee and S.D. 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