BJSW Advance Access originally published online on December 20, 2007
British Journal of Social Work 2008 38(5):988-1008; doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcm122
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Building Research Capacity in Social Work: Process and Issues
Joan Orme is Professor of Social Work at the Glasgow School of Social Work, a joint School of the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde, she has taught Social Work for a number of years and has been committed to developing the research base for social work practice. She has been involved in Doctoral training in the Social Sciences and was a member (and Vice Chair) of the ESRC Training & Development Board.
Jackie Powell is Professor of Social Work Studies and a Co-director of the ESRC funded National Centre for Research Methods located in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Southampton. She is also a registered Social Worker with a longstanding interest in the nature and purpose of social work research and its relationship to both professional practice and theory development.
Correspondence to Joan Orme, Professor of Social Work, Glasgow School of Social Work, Sir Henry Wood Building, Jordanhill Campus Glasgow G13 1PP, UK. E-mail: j.orme{at}socsci.gla.ac.uk
 |
Abstract |
|---|
This article is based on a background paper produced to inform the process of developing a research strategy for social work. First, it explores the current capacity of social work to undertake research that will inform practice. It analyses the impact of context on the imperative for, and capacity of, social work to undertake research and suggests that two interrelated factors have contributed to the limited development of methodological expertise and rigour in building the research capacity of social work: the level and content of qualifying professional training and the recruitment of staff to universities primarily as social work educators. It then argues that any developmental and/or remedial work undertaken has to address historical influences and, at the same time, be responsive to changes that are taking place within social work as both profession and discipline within the wider context of the social sciences. Drawing on theories of organizational learning, it concludes that any strategy must address staff development issues for academics and practitioners to facilitate the creation of vibrant learning communities across academic and practice settings.
Keywords: research, development, education
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  W. LaMendola, N. Ballantyne, and E. Daly Practitioner Networks: Professional Learning in the Twenty-First Century Br. J. Soc. Work, June 1, 2009; 39(4): 710 - 724. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Scourfield and N. Maxwell Social Work Doctoral Students in the UK: A Web-Based Survey and Search of the Index to Theses Br. J. Soc. Work, January 21, 2009; (2009) bcn165v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|