Caring to Know or Knowing to Care? The Relationship between Knowledge Creation and Caring in the Theological Education of Christian Social Work Professionals

Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate the relationship between knowledge creation and caring in the education of one of the Scandinavian churches' care professions: deacons. Care professionals are knowledge workers in the sense that their knowledge and skills influence quality of care. They not only need to have a certain knowledge base, but they also need to handle knowledge development in the context of complex practice. This means that learning how to create knowledge with participants and professionals is necessary to professional caring education. Further, knowledge creation depends on the provision of care in these contexts. Therefore, 1) knowledge creation is important in providing quality care, and 2) care itself may speed up the knowledge creation processes. In this article, we investigate how the relationship between care and knowledge creation is understood in key educational texts, namely education, curriculum documents. Findings indicate that care is understood as the purpose of the education, but less as a condition for the creation of knowledge. Also, the curricula prepare students for knowledge creation and care with participants, but not with other professionals.

Keywords:

• care
• knowledge creation
• deacons
• Christian social worker
• profession
• curriculum

Notes

1 The diaconal programme at Ersta Sköndal University College closed in 2014, and merged with the final year of theological education and pastoral training practice.

2 The authors' translation from Norwegian, as the other quotes from NC and SC.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marianne Rodriguez Nygaard

Marianne Rodriguez Nygaard is PhD candiate in Diaconia.

Geir Afdal is Professor Dr Theol.

Correspondence to: Marianne Rodriguez Nygaard, MF Norwegian School of Theology, PB 5144 Majorstuen Oslo, Norway. Email: [email protected]