Teaching Clinical Theory and Practice Through a Constructivist Lens

Abstract

Constructivism is the view that knowledge is created by the individual's interaction with the environment. This perspective informs our teaching of social work practice and theory. We attent to "constructive activity" on three levelss: the clients' meaning-making, the clinician's formal and implicit theories, and the collaborative process of problem construction and resolution. This approach is illustrated through the presentation of experiential classroom exercises on each of these levels. A challenge for the constructivist lies in findings ways to address the realities of poverty, oppression and power while honoring individual constructions of these conditions.