Research and Social Work

Educational Paradoxes and Possibilities

Bibliographic Data

ID11214979
AuthorsDavid Austin (0000-0002-8474-0246, The University of Texas at Austin, corresponding author), David M Austin (Professor of Social Work and Administrator, Center for Social Work Research, School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712)
Year1978
Volume2
Issue2
Pages159-176
Publication date1978-03-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Social Service Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0148-8376 • E-ISSN: 1540-7314
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1300/j079v02n02_02
OpenAlexW1705986184
LanguageEN
Citations received4

From the beginning there has been a strained relationship between social work practice and research. The choice of moral imperative or empirical knowledge as a base for social work has been debated for decades. The Flexner speech emphasized science as the knowledge base for a profession at a time when social workers were, in fact, establishing practice wisdom as the intellectual foundation for practice. The result has been an official commitment to research but a very limited demand from the field for actual research. In the university the research model of the sciences dominates. Research interests of social work faculty tend to reflect the science model even though the resulting research may have little relevance for practice. There is a need for a nationwide research strategy for social work which focuses primarily on the empirical study of social work practice

Empirical research · Engineering ethics · Epistemology · Field (mathematics · Foundation (evidence · Knowledge base · Political science · Public relations · Relevance (law · Social research · Social science · Sociology · Work (physics · Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work

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