Theorizing as a pedagogical project: how to teach theorizing in social work doctoral education

ABSTRACT

Social work doctoral education is charged with developing stewards of the discipline who can contribute to conserving professional values and generating knowledge to serve marginalized populations and society at large. However, recent studies on doctoral education found that there have been (1) unbalanced curricula between research courses and other courses, such as critical theories and ethics; and (2) a significant gap between research and social justice in doctoral education. Inspired by Swedberg’s work on ‘a process of theorizing’ as a pedagogical project, I have incorporated his ideas into the teaching of a critical theory course in a social work doctoral program. This article aims to articulate how I taught theorizing: I provide an overview of the course, demonstrate how I explain theorizing to students, and outline dialectics of teaching between theories and theorizing to be considered when developing a critical theory course in a doctoral curriculum. I discuss a pedagogical stance and the role of the teacher in theorizing, and suggest practical exercises (such as a ‘theory note’) to assist students in developing their skills in theorizing. Finally, I reflect on lessons learned from teaching this critical theory course, including how I have negotiated with student resistance to theorizing.

KEYWORDS:

• Theorizing
• doctoral education
• social work
• types of knowledge and knowledge building
• professional stewardship
• social work

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. As of September 1, 2021, CSWE is piloting the Professional Practice Doctoral Program (i.e. DSW programs) accreditation process and its accreditation standard (Council of Social Work Education [CSWE], 2021) is available.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eunjung Lee

Eunjung Lee, PhD, MSW, RSW is a Professor and Endowed Chair in Mental Health & Health at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. Analyzing praxis of cross-cultural practice, social policy and regulations, her research interrogates how everyday practice, policies, and their underlying politics construct dominant discourses that impact immigrants and refugees, and theorizes Canadian multiculturalism and welfare state.