Notes on the form of knowledge in social work

TLDR: Theoretical support for social work has been a hot topic in recent years as discussed by the authors, with a concern with sociology, social policy, philosophy, and so on, which has led to an apparent plethora of theoretical perspectives being made available to social workers.

Abstract: The theoretical base of social work appears to have undergone a considerable expansion in recent years. The era of the 'psychiatric deluge\" seems to have passed and a concern with sociology, social policy, philosophy, and so on, has led to an apparent plethora of theoretical perspectives being made available to social workers. Theorists in social work have consequently concerned themselves with attempting to 'rescue' social work from confusion by proposing means by which ±is new theoretical eclecticism can be transformed into a set of coherent practices. These attempts can be seen as beginning with Halmos, whose Faith of the Counsellors^ can be seen as double edged, being both an analysis and a eulogy, followed by Nokes's' attempt to replace philosophy with primarily administrative and practical skill. The major present attempts are centred around Marxist formulations on the one hand^ and the unitary and integrated perspectives' on the other. However, in making these 'rescue' attempts, these conflicting theories may in fact share a common philosophical problem, namely, epistemological idealism. The radical critique of social work, for example, sees the caseworker as an integral part of professional culture :