Reimagining the pedagogy of professional judgment and decision making in social work
Teaching evidence-based practice in parallel with field practicum
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21495719 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kristen Lwin (0000-0003-4644-0629, University of Windsor, corresponding author), Eavan Brady (0000-0002-0115-3944, Trinity College Dublin) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 82-98 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Work Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0261-5479 • E-ISSN: 1470-1227 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02615479.2025.2482096 |
| OpenAlex | W4408612118 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 42 |
Social work practice occurs in varied practice contexts. To promote successful service user outcomes, professional judgment and decision making are key. However, services are delivered in settings that may be complicated by a myriad of factors, all of which may negatively impact professional judgment and decision making. This complexity of service delivery makes it difficult for social work education to promote the knowledge and skills required for ‘real world’ practice. Evidence-based Practice (EBP) is one route to ethical and effective service, as it is a method of promoting decision making skills. However, EBP is not taught consistently in pedagogy, conceptualization, or application. A pedagogical model for teaching social work students professional judgment and decision-making skills through EBP is presented in this manuscript. EBP is the equal consideration of four key factors—case context, service user values and preferences, worker and organizational biases and experiences, research—which are assessed and integrated via critical thinking. This model presents teaching EBP within a seminar in parallel with field placements, where students are required to work through a case from their field placement. This model provides the time necessary for students to engage meaningfully in the process of learning and applying EBP
Engineering ethics · Medical education · Pedagogy · Political science · Practicum · Sociology · Engineering · Interprofessional Education and Collaboration · Medicine · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work
Organizational climate, services, and outcomes in child welfare systems
Evidence based medicine
Unpacking evidence-based practice in social work education
Rethinking evidence-based and evidence-informed practice
How to Teach Evidence-Based Practice in Social Work
Interventions to Mitigate Bias in Social Work Decision-Making
Effectiveness of approaches to stimulate critical thinking in social work curricula
Exploring the relationship between child welfare workers’ wellbeing, attitude towards responsibility for child safety, and their assessment of risk of future child maltreatment
The Missing Link
Evidence-Based Practice Knowledge and Utilization among Social Workers
Critical Thinking and the Process of Evidence-Based Practice
Revisiting the Pink Triangle Exercise
Evaluation of a BSW Research Experience
Problem-Based Learning in Social Work Education
Social workers use of knowledge in an evidence-based framework
Teaching Evidence-Based Practice
A Comparison Study of Live Instruction versus Interactive Television for Teaching MSW Students Critical Thinking Skills
Training Social Work Graduate Students in the Evidence-Based Practice Process
Use of data to assess performance and promote outcome achievement by public and private child welfare agency staff
Social Work Research and Its Relevance to Practice
Let’s Clearly Distinguish Evidence-based Practice and Empirically Supported Treatments
Exploring child welfare worker wellbeing, organizational social context, and staff recommendations for change
| Highly cited | No |
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