Carolyn Taylor

Bio: Carolyn Taylor is an academic researcher from Lancaster University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Social work & Reflexivity. The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 23 publications receiving 904 citations. Previous affiliations of Carolyn Taylor include University of Salford & University of Manchester.

Practising reflexivity in health and welfare :making knowledge

Abstract: Part 1 Developing a theoretical framework: arguing and thinking - implications for professional practice knowledge, truth and reflexive practice analysing talk and text - building a conceptual framework conversational strategies - lessons from everyday talk. Part 2 Analysing talk and text in health and welfare: "the appropriate client" - service users constructing their case doing professionals authority -practitioners constructing accounts arguing the case -professionals talking together analysing written text - documents, records and reports making knowledge -the Louise Woodward case practising reflexivity -beyond objectivity and subjectivity.

Knowledge and Reasoning in Social Work: Educating for Humane Judgement

Abstract: Much has been made of the uncertainties and contingencies of practice, and of the need for social workers to make more explicit use of formal knowledge in order to reduce this uncertainty. However, we argue that this focus on making certainty out of uncertainty glosses over the ways in which both knowledge and practice often propel practitioners towards early and certain judgements when a position of ‘respectful uncertainty’ might be more appropriate. Facilitating learning that will help social workers to deal with uncertainty raises challenges for social work educators. If they are to equip social workers with the skills to exercise ‘wise judgement under conditions of uncertainty’, they will need to recognize the ways in which both theory and popular knowledge are invoked to make unequivocal knowledge in case formulation. In this paper, we suggest ways in which students can be helped to remain in uncertainty and interrogate their knowledge and case reasoning.

Knowledge, Truth and Reflexivity: The Problem of Judgement in Social Work

Abstract: • Summary: The authors argue that social work is as much a practical-moral activity as it is a technical-rational one. In order to pursue these themes, they explore the place of realist knowledge in social work and their alternative position on the complexities and ambiguities of practice.• Findings: Social work has long been troubled by the adequacy of its claims to professional status and about its possession of appropriate levels of knowledge and expertise. The dominant responses to this have been managerialist and procedural, or rational and technical, as represented in the evidence-based practice movement. This article acknowledges the contribution of such approaches, but argues that they are unrealistic in that they fail to recognize the practical-moral dimensions of social work and the role of emotion and normative judgement in assessment and intervention.• Applications: The problem of judgement is an essential area for exploration. The range of rationalities upon which social workers depend in mak...

Narrating practice: reflective accounts and the textual construction of reality

Abstract: Background. Two approaches dominate current thinking in health and welfare: evidence-based practice and reflective practice. Whilst there is debate about the merits of evidence-based practice, reflective practice is generally accepted with critical debate as an important educational tool. Where critique does exist it tends to adopt a Foucauldian approach, focusing on the surveillance and self-regulatory aspects of reflective practice. Aim. This article acknowledges the critical purchase on the concept of reflective practice offered by Foucauldian approaches but argues that microsociological and discourse analytic approaches can further illuminate the subject and thus serve as a complement to them. Methods. The claims of proponents of reflective practice are explored, in opposition to the technical–rational approach of evidence-based practice. Findings. Reflective practice tends to adopt a naive or romantic realist position and fails to acknowledge the ways in which reflective accounts construct the world of practice. Conclusions. Microsociological approaches can help us to understand reflective accounts as examples of case-talk, constructed in a narrative form in the same way as case records and presentations.

Narrating Significant Experience: Reflective Accounts and the Production of (Self) Knowledge

Abstract: Notwithstanding the rise of evidence-based practice, other tendencies within social work scholarship are also discernible. One of these is the study of the everyday, routine accomplishment of practice, drawing on microsociological methods and techniques. In this article, I apply techniques drawn from narrative and discourse analysis to the study of reflective practice accounts, which hold an important place in social work education. In particular, it is relevant to examine the form that reflective accounts take and the rhetorical and narrative devices deployed within them to accomplish a competent professional identity. My argument is not that such accounts of practice are untruthful, rather I propose that we would do well to move beyond taking texts (and talk) for granted and treating language as merely the medium for expressing inner thoughts and feelings. Social work should take seriously the need to explore its modes of representation and to cultivate a more self-conscious approach to the way professional and client identities are produced in practice.

Reflexivity, its Meanings and Relevance for Social Work: A Critical Review of the Literature

Abstract: The concept of "reflexivity" has become increasingly significant in social work literature in relation to social work education, theory and practice. However, our reading of the literature indicates that there is a lack of clarity about the concept in terms of who is being exhorted to be "reflexive," when and how. This article addresses these questions through a critical review of social work literature since the 1990s that discusses the concept of "reflexivity." Given that many authors seem to use the concepts of "reflexivity" and "(critical) reflection" interchangeably, we also apply this analysis to "reflection" and "critical reflection." This article raises important questions about how the concepts of "reflexivity," "critical reflection" and "reflectivity" are defined and the different consequences such definitions might have for social work education, theory and practice.

Changes in the Form of Knowledge in Social Work: From the ‘Social’ to the ‘Informational’?

Abstract: This paper examines the changing form of knowledge in social work over the past thirty years and its implications for theory and practice. In particular, it considers the impact of new systems related to a range of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the shift from a narrative to a database way of thinking and operating. In doing so, it attempts to identify a series of key challenges and questions which need to be considered in order to engage with the changes. In particular, it addresses how far social work is still primarily concerned with subjects and their social relationships and argues that social work now operates less on the terrain of the ‘social’ and more on the terrain of the ‘informational’. Such changes have implications for the relationship between theory and practice in social work and the nature of ‘social’ work itself.

Practising Critical Reflection: A Resource Handbook

Abstract: Critical reflection in professional practice is popular across many different professions as a way of ensuring ongoing scrutiny and improved practice skills. This accessible handbook focuses on a description and analysis of the theoretical input as well as the approach involved in critical reflection. It also demonstrates some skills, strategies and tools which might be used to practise it. The cross-disciplinary approach taken by the authors will appeal to a wide range of students and professionals and combines neatly with useful discussion of the complex educational and professional issues which arise from the practice of critical reflection. Throughout the book, the authors provide pertinent examples from their own practice, referring to relevant literature, providing annotated bibliographies, and noting where additional resource materials are available to provide further illustration. Practising Critical Reflection is key reading for a variety of students across social work, health sciences and nursing, as well as health care and social welfare professionals.

Critical Realist Grounded Theory: A New Approach for Social Work Research

Abstract: This article explores the potential for grounded theory to be adapted for use within a critical realist paradigm. Critical realism can provide a solid philosophical framework for social work research, but its lack of connection to a familiar research methodology may be limiting its application. Grounded theory is one of the most widely used and well-described methodologies in the social sciences. Its recent adaptation by constructivist and critical researchers demonstrates the ways in which concerns about the methodology’s empiricism, individualism and focus on induction might be resolved to meet the needs of critical realist inquiry. Critical realism and grounded theory then become highly compatible, sharing a focus on abduction and commitment to fallibilism and the interconnectedness of practice and theory. Attending to evidence and meaning, individual agency and social structure, theory-building and the pursuit of practical emancipatory goals, the resulting approach is ideally suited to social work research.