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British Journal of Social Work (2001) 31, 845-861
© 2001 British Association of Social Workers

Beyond Social Constructionism: Critical Realism and Social Work

Stan Houston

School of Social Work, Queen's University Belfast, 7 Lennoxvale, Belfast BT9 5BY, UK. s.houston{at}qub.ac.uk

Summary

Theories within the social and psychological sciences continue to shape social work practice. However, recent debates within these sciences on the shortcomings of ‘social constructionism’, and the attempt to overcome them through a critical realist position, have so far failed to capture social work's attention. This paper provides a critical overview of these theoretical debates, highlighting the shortcomings of social constructionism for social work. The critical realist challenge to social constructionism, as articulated by the British philosopher Roy Bhaskar, is considered and its relevance to social work formulated in terms of a return to ‘depth’ in practice.


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