The Missing Link: The Role of Social Work Schools and Evidence-Based Practice

Grady, Melissa D.

doi:10.1080/15433711003591101

Cited by 29 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The necessity for critical and careful reflection concerning these dilemmas is highlighted by Grady's (2010) suggestion that knowledge be converted into an answerable question, that best evidence is found with which to answer that question, that the evidence is critically appraised for its validity and usefulness, that the evidence is then integrated within a matrix of expectations, client values, and professional and clinical circumstances, from which outcomes may then be evaluated. In the aggregate, these elements may limit the likelihood that a court may impose some form of knowledge.…”

Section: The Host Environment As a Missing Linkmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social Workers as “Experts” in the Family Court System: Is Evidence-Based Practice a Missing Link or Host-Created Knowledge?

Prescott

2013

Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work

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The graduate school curriculum for social workers requires that students learn to critically distinguish between opinion-based knowledge and evidence-based practices, or empirically-supported interventions. Once graduated, licensed social workers are often called upon to offer diagnostic and predictive opinions as experts in a variety of macro-environments. When the family courts are that "host" environment, social workers proffer expert opinions that may categorize and label parents or children for purposes of a judge's allocation of physical or legal custody. In this article, it is suggested that the social work profession, within all three domains of education, practice, and research, should more precisely link the design and fidelity of an evidence-based practice (EBP) with its potential misapplication or warping when proffered as science in "host" environments like family courts. As Foucault and other scholars warn, the failure to verify that an intervention is applied correctly may actually enhance the risk of social injustice by interpreting and translating EBP knowledge in the non-empirical form of authority-by-license. This article, therefore, proposes that the social work profession, from the classroom to the field, has an obligation to thoroughly understand and engage interdisciplinary practices that assure respect for the strengths and limits of social work knowledge.

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Section: The Host Environment As a Missing Linkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the risk of oversimplification, the symmetrical needs of both disciplines to render and impose judgments defining and dividing parents are too deeply embedded to unravel today. As Grady (2010) implies, however, the objective should be to disseminate expert knowledge in a manner that does not warp or contort the purposes and meanings of EBPs.…”

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confidence: 98%

Social Workers as “Experts” in the Family Court System: Is Evidence-Based Practice a Missing Link or Host-Created Knowledge?

Prescott

2013

Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work

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“…In order to lessen anxiety and apprehension commonly associated with research methods courses, and increase the knowledge and skills needed to acquire and assess appropriate interventions for practice, graduate social science programmes need to be more creative in engaging students in research methods and the implementation of EBP (Cameron & Este 2008, Grady 2010. Students need to understand research methods in order to be critical consumers and producers of research, and evaluate their own practice (Moore & Avant 2008).…”

Section: Research Resistance In the Social Sciencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in order to make EBP a reality in practice settings, research methodology must be highlighted and valued within social science graduate training and related coursework (Mullen et al 2007, Moore & Avant 2008. Second, within the many social science fields, research courses were previously consigned to doctoral students, and only recently have the benefits of incorporating evidence-based practice into social work curricula been recognised (Lewis 2003, Grady 2010. Third, the timing of one's training and how much continuing education has been sought can also impact the implementation of EBP.…”

Section: Barriers To Implementing Evidence-based Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Better Engaging Social Science Graduate Students in Introductory Research Methods Courses: A Class Activity

Zerden

Powers

Wretman

2014

Enhancing Learning in the Social Sciences

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This paper outlines a classroom activity to help students engage in research methods and lessen anxiety and apprehension commonly associated with research methods courses. The described class activity offers students a shared research experience to promote the skills necessary to understand, conduct and translate research into ethical social science practice. The activity was conducted in a graduate social work programme but is applicable across the social sciences. Content covered includes sampling, research design, ethical considerations, brief evaluation and helping students think critically about ways to improve research methods in order to facilitate competencies necessary for evidence-based practice (EBP). An introduction to the activity, class discussion points including integration throughout the course, and implications for curricula and practice are discussed.

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“…Evaluating the effectiveness of social work education has recently been the focus of considerable attention (e.g., Grady, 2010;Longhofer & Floersch, 2012;Sullivan, Antle, Barbee, & Egbert, 2009;Wilson & Kelly, 2010), and this coincides with the call throughout Europe for some strategy of continuous quality assurance of higher education in general (Rauhvargers, 2010). Naturally, the basic aim of any effort towards quality assurance should be to obtain input on how to improve the preparation of social work students.…”

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confidence: 99%

Prepared enough to practise? Evaluating a study programme in social work

Engelberg

Limbach-Reich

2016

Journal of Social Work

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Summary: Following the so-called Bologna reform in Luxembourg, 70 supervisors assessed the knowledge and skills of employees having qualified with a Bachelor's degree under the recently introduced curriculum in social work and pedagogy. The supervisors were solicited as part of quality assurance regarding the study programme and their assessments were gathered by means of a questionnaire. The University of Luxembourg funded the study.Findings: The newly qualified practitioners were evaluated as adequately trained, while the need was highlighted for a better understanding of the process through which beginner practitioners are socialised into the profession. The results furthermore suggest that practice proficiency extensively draws on generic skills of particular relevance to the social professions.Applications: The findings prompt a more specific focus on generic skills and their role in developing proficiency during practice placements as well as during the first year of employment. Overall, the study serves as one example of how to evaluate the readiness to practise of newly qualified practitioners in the social professions. The output of such skills assessments could inform on any need for curriculum revision at a local level. With a cross-national and comparative approach, evaluations of this kind could potentially guide any adaptations needed in response to the increasing internationalisation of social problems.

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The Missing Link: The Role of Social Work Schools and Evidence-Based Practice

Cited by 29 publications

References 26 publications

Social Workers as “Experts” in the Family Court System: Is Evidence-Based Practice a Missing Link or Host-Created Knowledge?

Social Workers as “Experts” in the Family Court System: Is Evidence-Based Practice a Missing Link or Host-Created Knowledge?

Better Engaging Social Science Graduate Students in Introductory Research Methods Courses: A Class Activity

Prepared enough to practise? Evaluating a study programme in social work

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