THE USE OF THEORY IN PRACTICE

Abstract

One of the hallmarks of a profession is its establishment of a theoretical base from which practice is based. In the social work profession, the linkage between theory and practice is not strong. Studies on the use of theoretical knowledge by social workers have shown that its usage is infrequent. This problem is confounded by the fact that the theories that are being used come from several disciplines and they do not seem to be linked together at an ideological level. This study is timely considering the struggle that the social work profession has in establishing itself in Singapore. It does not have the community sanction that other professions here have in terms of licensing. This study on the usage of theory in practice could provide an understanding of how the fit between theory and practice can be improved. Subsequently, the study also examines the applicability of using an existing ideological framework to link the theories together. The usage of theory was investigated by looking at two basic aspects of knowledge use, the explicit and the tacit level. Data was collected from six case recordings. The theories that were used were also fitted into the ideological framework. It is found that the explicit usage of theory in the case recordings is closely related to the casework stages, the nature of the problem encountered and the usage of standardized recording. However, since only two theories were used, it was not possible to examine the relevance of the framework in linking the diverse social work theories together. Recommendations for direct social work practice and education as well as the implications for the social work profession are discussed.