Talking Knowledge — Practising Knowledge: A Critical Best Practice Approach to How Social Workers Understand and Use Knowledge in Practice

Abstract

There is strong government support in the UK for the development and implementation of evidence-based or knowledge-informed practice in social work. At the same time, despite many national and local initiatives to support evidence use, there is still uncertainty and disagreement about how best to enable organisations and practitioners to achieve this goal. This paper argues that policy and practice initiatives to promote the effective use of evidence and knowledge for practice must be based on an understanding of how social workers understand and use knowledge in their day to day practice. It reports on a small-scale research study in Scotland which uses a ‘critical best practice’ approach to take an in-depth look at how six social workers make use of research, inquiry and other forms of knowledge evidence in relation to an example of their practice. The research found that the social workers drew on a wide range of knowledge in active, critical and reflective ways that were embedded within the particular context of their practices and their own experiences and beliefs. The findings highlight a range of personal and organisational capabilities which may support best practice in using knowledge to inform social work practice.

Keywords:

• knowledge
• evidence
• social work practice

Acknowledgements

This research was funded and supported by the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (Practice-Based Professional Learning) at The Open University. The authors also wish to thank Sue Dumbleton, Staff Tutor at The Open University in Scotland as well as the participants and their agencies for their contribution to the research.