Creating knowledge in the professional practice of social workers
Jorunn Vindegg - Ph.D. Fellow
Advisor:
Professor Harald Grimen
Second Advisor:
Researcher Nicole Hennum , NOVA/Norwegian Social Research
Project period:
Autumn 2006-2010
The project is funded by Oslo University College.
Summary:
The main purpose of the study is to explore how different systems of knowledge are integrated and contribute to generation of meaning in professional practice. The problems to be elucidated will include examination of the manner in which knowledge is employed and developed in encounters between professional social workers and children and parents in the context of Norwegian child welfare. They are presented as follows:
- How is knowledge defined and perceived in the context of social workers’ practical exercise?
- How is knowledge being used and developed in encounters with children and families in the context of child welfare?
- How do children and parents perceive their circumstances of life, the ongoing interaction and the assistance provided?
The intention is to acquire knowledge on how professionals relate to knowledge and how knowledge is included in the development of professionalism and the practical competence of action. This is crucial to the content of higher education as well as in arranging for professional development in the fields of practice. To the extent that a professional attitude is perceived as a quality developed in interaction between the professional and those assisted, and not primarily as a quality of the individual acting in a professional capacity or of the methods employed, it is important to examine that interaction. A close and intensive study of social workers´ professional practice would make it possible to analyse how they are influenced by different types of knowledge, as well as how knowledge is developed, in interaction with children and parents.