Module 3 - Social Work Knowledge for Practice Flashcards
What is critical thinking?
the questioning of the source of truthfulness and the reliability of knowledge; reasoned, purposive, and reflective thinking used to make decision, solve problems, and master concepts; a combination of several processes and characteristics that include both skills and attitudes or values that resonate with those required of social workers
What are the 5 essential critical thinking skills for social workers?
- Analyzing
- Thinking creatively
- Problem solving
- Reasoning
- Evaluating
What is ontology?
a theory about what is real; social work’s ontological perspective about clients and their problems is that they are contextually based in the client’s history or life space
What is epistimology?
the study of knowledge and knowledge-generating processes; a theory about how to know what is reality, or the study of how knowledge is created
What is the difference between ontology and epistimology?
Ontology is what we believe to be true, while epistimology is a way of studying knowledge and how we create it
What are concepts?
general words, terms, or phrases that represent a class of events or phenomena in the observable world and help us make sense of experience (ex. Social class, gender, racism, etc.)
What is a conceptual framework?
a set of interrelated concepts that attempt to account for some topic or process; less developed than theories; a conceptual scheme consisting of a set of interrelated concepts that can help explain human behaviour in the context of environment
What is a model?
a symbolic, pictoral structure of concepts, in terms of metaphors and propositions concerning a specific problem, or a piece of reality, and of how it works; a problem solving device
What is a construct?
a way of defining or describing something that is abstract (ex. By determining, defining, and measuring specific aspects of wellbeing, such as the degree of ability to obtain decent housing or health care, a construct of well-being can be created)
What is a theory?
a reasoned set of propositions, derived from and supported by established evidence, which serves to explain a group of phenomena; a proposition or set of propositions that seeks to explain or predict something; function to give us directions or act as guides that suggest some explanation about why something happens as it does; theories are only guesses based on observations and do not offer absolute answers (examples: Freudian theory, conflict theory, feminist theory)
What is meant by the phrase “human behaviour is acausal”?
action generally cannot be predicted from prior behaviour, and prediction is really only possible when based on the aggregate behaviour of large groups; this is an important limitation of statistics that present aggregate data as we cannot use it to predict an individual’s behaviour within a group, just the average behaviour of the group itself (ex. Statistics might show us an increase in teen pregnancies over time, but we can’t predict which teenage clients will become pregnant nor the factors which may lead an individual client to become pregnant)
What is language?
not simply words or even vocabulary and a set of grammatical rules, but rather a meaning-constitution system; any system, strictly verbal or other, through which meaning is constructed and cultural practices organized and by which, accordingly, people represent and understand their world including who they are and how they relate to others
What are texts?
not only books or documents, but also a wide range of expressions through which we communicate at many levels including rituals such as those surrounding marriage, birth, and death
What is discourse, and how does it relate to texts?
the process through which meaning is constructed, conveyed, and enforced (this includes language and texts, but also goes beyond to include organizations and institutions that make up our worlds; the notion of discourse also includes the concepts of conflict and power through which meanings are contested, controlled, or changed)
What is labelling theory?
a large body of sociological theory that focuses on labeling; describes the ability of some groups to impose a label of “deviant” on certain other members of society groups
