the process of critical thinking employs quizlet social work

What Is Critical Thinking in Social Work?

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Effective Communication Skills for Social Workers

Top 5 values in being a social worker, legal & ethical issues facing social workers.

• Clinical Model Vs. Developmental Model in Social Work Practice
• Emotional Stresses of Being a Clinical Psychologist

Social workers offer many valuable services to people in need. They provide mental health services, such as diagnosis and counseling, advocate for clients who are unable to do so themselves, provide direct care services, such as housing assistance and help clients obtain social services benefits. The ability to remain open-minded and unbiased while gathering and interpreting data, otherwise known as critical thinking, is crucial for helping clients to the fullest extent possible. Critical thinking is one of the top skills required to be a successful social worker.

Meaning of Critical Thinking

The Foundation for Critical Thinking describes critical thinking as the ability to analyze, synthesize, evaluate and apply new information. Critical thinking in social work practice involves looking at a person or situation from an objective and neutral standpoint, without jumping to conclusions or making assumptions. Social workers spend their days observing, experiencing and reflecting on all that is happening around them.

In your role as a social worker, you obtain as much data as possible from interviews, case notes, observations, research, supervision and other means. Social workers must be self-aware of their feelings and beliefs. Stereotypical biases or prejudices must be recognized and not allowed to influence thinking when assembling a plan of action to help your clients to the highest level possible.

Importance of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is important for the development of social work skills in direct practice. Social workers help people from all walks of life and come across people or populations with experiences, ideas and opinions that often vary from their own culture and background. Clients may be misunderstood and misjudged if thinking critically does not take place in a social context.

Applying critical thinking and analysis in social work helps social workers formulate a treatment plan or intervention for working with a client. First, you need to consider the beliefs, thoughts or experiences that underlie your client's actions without making a snap decision. What seems crazy or irrational to you at first may in fact be better understood in the context of cultural and biopsychosocial factors that play a role in your client's life. Critical thinking helps you objectively examine these factors, consider their importance and impact on your course of action, while simultaneously maintaining professional detachment and a non-biased attitude.

Interrelated Critical Thinking Skills

To develop critical thinking skills as a social worker, you need to have the ability to self-reflect and observe your own behaviors and thoughts about a particular client or situation. Self-awareness, observation and critical thinking are closely intertwined and impact your ability to be an effective social worker. For example, observing your gut reactions and initial responses to a client without immediately taking action can help you identify transference and counter-transference reactions, which can have a negative or harmful impact on your client.

Self-reflection is particularly important when working with clients who have very different or very similar backgrounds and beliefs to your own. You don't want your abilities to be clouded by your own preconceived notions or biases. Likewise, you don't want to merge with a client with whom you over-identify because you come from very similar situations or have had similar experiences.

Purpose of Clinical Supervision

Social workers engage in clinical practice under professional supervision to hone their critical thinking abilities. According to the Administration for Children and Families , clinical supervision not only encourages critical thinking but also helps social workers develop other core social work skills. Clinical experiences focus on maintaining positive social work ethics, self-reflection and the ability to intervene in crises.

Many, if not most, social work settings require or, at least offer, the opportunity to participate in peer, individual or group supervision. Discussing your cases or clients with a supervisor or with colleagues can help you sort out your own opinions and judgments and prevent these issues from impacting your work.

• The Center for Critical Thinking: Defining Critical Thinking
• Administration for Children and Families: Clinical Supervision

Related Articles

Why acceptance is important as a social worker, how not to impose your values on clients, what are some assumptions for working as a social worker, skills needed to be a clinical social worker, distinguishing characteristics of social work, what qualities make a good developmental psychologist, social work interviewing skills, social counselor pay scale & education required, differences between psychologists & clinical social workers, most popular.

• 1 Why Acceptance Is Important as a Social Worker
• 2 How Not to Impose Your Values on Clients
• 3 What Are Some Assumptions for Working as a Social Worker?
• 4 Skills Needed to Be a Clinical Social Worker

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Critical Thinking and Professional Judgement for Social Work

• Lynne Rutter - Bournemouth University, UK
• Keith Brown - Bournemouth University, UK
• Description

Critical thinking can appear formal and academic, far removed from everyday life where decisions have to be taken quickly in less than ideal conditions. It is, however, a vital part of social work, and indeed any healthcare and leadership practice.

Taking a pragmatic look at the range of ideas associated with critical thinking, this Fifth Edition continues to focus on learning and development for practice. The authors discuss the importance of sound, moral judgement based on critical thinking and practical reasoning, and its application to different workplace situations; critical reflection, and its importance to academic work and practice; and the connection between critical thinking ideas and professionalism.

See what’s new to this edition by selecting the Features tab on this page. Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email [email protected] . Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html .

For assistance with your order: Please email us at [email protected] or connect with your SAGE representative.

SAGE 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, CA 91320 www.sagepub.com

Good overview on foundational issues in social work eduction. Easy to read thus appropriate for ESL students. Chapter on critical style proved valuable as a guideline to literature reviews.

This book is written in such a way that it appears the authors are actually speaking to the students and in fact uses 'we' which is as if it is a collegial journey to learning. The content is relevent and is well informed, analytical in enough detail without being too intimidating for non-academic students.

This concise and clearly-written volume is useful across a range of early-career post-qualifying modules.

Very helpful introduction to some introductory reflective learning concepts.

Helpful addition to the students reading list for their unit of study

a concise, revised and accessible text for any NQSW practitioner re their evolving professional practice and beyond in terms of their continual professional development. Revisits key essential themes within a fresh context especially liked Chapters 3 and 4. A useful reference text for any Practice Educator, SW educator and ASYE assessor.

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Thinking Like a Social Worker: Examining the Meaning of Critical Thinking in Social Work

Critical thinking is frequently used to describe how social workers ought to reason. But how well has this concept helped us to develop a normative description of what it means to think like a social worker? This critical review mines the literature on critical thinking for insight into the kinds of thinking social work scholars consider important. Analysis indicates that critical thinking in social work is generally treated as a form of practical reasoning. Further, epistemological disagreements divide 2 distinct proposals for how practical reasoning in social work should proceed. Although these disagreements have received little attention in the literature, they have important implications for social work practice.

Related Papers

Journal of Teaching in Social Work

Michaela Rogers

Empathy Study

Helena Rocha

Teresa Aurora Carmona Scott

Vol. 4(2), 1-7

Kathiresan Loganathan

Social Work as an applied discipline aims to 'help people to help themselves'. Its knowledge base originates and thrives on western theories, perspectives, models and dimensions of various other disciplines, which is applied within the vast realms of social work practice. Theories of social work are broadly categorized into two types. The first one relates to theories that help social workers to understand individuals and their problems in various settings such as family, group, community and society; and thus help these professionals to intervene effectively. The second one deals with practice theories which are derived from the field. Many of these western oriented theories overlook the importance of socio-economic, cultural and political milieu of the non-western societies. While applying these theories, the practitioners thus face a multitude of challenges; and hence they tend to become dogmatic in their perseverance towards goal achievement. This paper argues that if critical reflection is used as a method of theorization, it would provide an inclusive approach (bottomup) as against the rigid deductive empirical (top-down) theories.

EDULEARN Proceedings

Inês Casquilho-Martins

Jeremiah Nyongesa

Brian Cooper

Summary This study is a preliminary definitional study that examines the idea of literacy and critical thinking in social work practice, especially as it applies to evidenced-based practice. It is not a definitive study as such, but more an exploration of what would constitute literacy and critical thinking in social work practice especially in a changing policy framework that requires greater accountability for practice through an evidence-based approach. The paper accepts the proposition that the essence of literacy is the communication of an idea or concept in a way others who are not familiar with that idea are able to understand it. The study examined five related areas, which would be considered important for the basis the background understanding required to participate in the evidenced-based discourse. These are critical thinking, statistical literacy, data visualisation, data literacy and information literacy. Findings Whilst there are differences in what is understood as literacy of the various areas, there are also commonalities between each area. The emphasis that evidenced-based practice will require in the mode and method of argument to be used will be based on the principles of argument that arise will be influenced by critical thinking, statistical literacy, data visualisation, data literacy or information literacy. Application The application of this preliminary study to social work practice is how one views and communicates information and observations to a wider audience. It provides a basis for argument for social work practice to be able to participate in a discourse dealing with evidence-based practice whilst within the ethical and values framework of social work philosophy. Key Words Critical thinking, statistical literacy, data visualisation, information literacy, evidenced-based practice, social work, disadvantage, spatial literacy

The Routledge Handbook of Critical Social Work

Christopher Thorpe

This chapter critically considers the steady turn away from social theory within social work generally, and the unintended consequences of this for critical social work specifically. Historically, social theoretical concepts and forms of argumentation have played a decisive role in shaping the ideational and normative agenda of critical social work. As the relationship between social work and social theory has steadily broken down, however, the latter has become increasingly (mis-)understood and (mis-)represented by the former. Herein, the argument is made that current (mis-)conceptions of social theory divert attention away from the fact that social workers ‘do’ a form of critical social theorizing all the time, albeit in ways that are actively and institutionally misrecognised. Putting to work various social theoretical concepts and forms of argumentation, the chapter calls for critical social workers to (re-)present the relationship between social work and social theory to social workers. Doing so constitutes a crucial step towards ameliorating the intellectual conditions of reception for the critical social work message.

Critical Social Work Praxis

Sobia Shaheen Shaikh

Chapter 1 of Critical Social Work Praxis, written by Brenda A. LeFrancois, Teresa Macias, and Sobia Shaheen Shaikh

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1.1: Critical Thinking Defined

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• Page ID 155777

• Jim Marteney
• Los Angeles Valley College via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)

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I have been talking all around critical thinking, it seems that we should finally define critical thinking. As you might guess, there is no, one simple definition of critical thinking. Below are several definitions that will give us a variety of ways of looking at critical thinking.

Authors Goodwin Watson and Edwin Glaser in their 1937 book, Manual of Directions for Discrimination of Arguments Test, define critical thinking as,

“...a persistent effort to examine any belief or form of knowledge in the light of evidence that supports it and the further conclusions to which it tends, as well as the ability to recognize problems, to weigh evidence, to comprehend and use language with accuracy and discrimination, to interpret data, to recognize the existence or nonexistence of logical relationships between propositions, to draw warranted conclusions and generalizations and to test the conclusions by applying them to new situations to which they seem pertinent .” 1

In the book, Critical Thinking, B. K. Beyer explains that,

Author W. G. Sumner back in 1940 emphasized that importance of critical thinking and that if we are educated in it, we “ cannot be stampeded .”

[Critical thinking is] … the examination and test of propositions of any kind which are offered for acceptance, in order to find out whether they correspond to reality or not. The critical faculty is a product of education and training. It is a mental habit and power. It is a prime condition of human welfare that men and women should be trained in it. It is our only guarantee against delusion, deception, superstition, and misapprehension of ourselves and our earthly circumstances.

Education is good just so far as it produces well-developed critical faculty . . . A teacher of any subject, who insists on accuracy and a rational control of all processes and methods, and who holds everything open to unlimited verification and revision, is cultivating that method as a habit in the pupils. Men educated in it cannot be stampeded . . . They are slow to believe. They can hold things as possible or probable in all degrees, without certainty and without pain. They can wait for evidence and weigh evidence . . . They can resist appeals to their dearest prejudices. Education in the critical faculty is the only education of which it can be truly said that it makes good citizens. Sumner. 3

The Foundation for Critical Thinking founded by the late Richard Paul, offers the following definition for critical thinking:

" Critical thinking is that mod of thinking--about any subject, content, or problem -- in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing it. Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem-solving abilities, as well as a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and socioicentrism ." 4

Richard Paul argued that critical thinking involves the willingness to question and challenge our deepest beliefs and prejudices. He felt that critical thinking is a call to think for oneself without prejudice so we may attain a perspective from which to reflect upon human affairs in a more objective way in order to come to an understanding of how we should act.

Authors Moore and Parker in their book Critical Thinking write,

“ Critical thinking is the careful, deliberate determination of whether we should accept, reject or suspend judgment about a claim and of the degree of confidence with which we accept or reject it. The ability to think critically is vitally important, in fact, our lives depend on it.” 5

The wording of the California State University requirement for a course in critical thinking, defines critical thinking as,

Why teach critical thinking? Most of the experts in the critical thinking discipline see students as too often being just passive receptors of information. Through technology, the amount of information available today is massive. This information explosion is likely to continue in the future. Students need a guide to sort through information and not just passively accept it. 6

Critical thinking involves questioning. It is important to teach students how to ask good questions, to think critically, in order to continue the advancement of the very fields we are teaching. Richard Paul says, "Every field stays alive only to the extent that fresh questions are generated and taken seriously ." 8

Researcher, B. K. Beyer sees the teaching of critical thinking as important to the very state of our nation. He argues that to live successfully in a democracy, people must be able to think critically in order to make sound decisions about personal and civic affairs. If students learn to think critically, then they can use good thinking as the guide by which they live their lives. 9

One way of realizing the goals of critical thinking is by learning the skills of argumentation and by applying those skills to everyday decision-making and conflict situations in our life. The key to being in charge of our life is the ability to make effective decisions. To be effective critical decision makers, we need to be able to analyze and evaluate the information we receive in order to determine the best course of action to take.

“The main part of intellectual education is not the acquisition of facts, but learning how to make facts live.” --Oliver Wendell Holmes 11

As Patterson and Zarefsky conclude,

"The view of argumentation as a critical device depends on certain assumptions. The premises that actions should be reasonable, that decisions should be justified through critical inquiry and persuasive explanation of ideas, and that a clash of ideas helps arrive at the probable truth are fundamental to such a view. Argumentation allows people to resolve differences, permits opposing views to be considered before decisions are made, and enhances the quality of social decisions .” 12 (Patterson, 1983)

• Watson, Goodwin and Edwin Glaser Manual of Directions for Discrimination of Arguments Test, 1937
• Beyer, Barry K. Critical Thinking. Bloomington : Phi Delta Kappa Edcuational Foundation, 1995
• W. G. Folkways: A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals (New York: Ginn and Co. 1940) 6323, 633
• http://www.criticalthinking.org/page...l-thinking/411 (accessed on December 5, 2019)
• Moore, Brooke Noel and Richard Parker. Critical Thinking. (Dubuque: McGraw-Hill , 2015)
• Oliver, H. & Utermohlen, R. An innovative teaching strategy: Using critical thinking to give students a guide to the future (Eric Document Reproduction Services No. 389 702, 1995 )
• The Foundation for Critical thinking, International Pre-Conference Sessions, 2006, https://www.criticalthinking.org/pag...e-sessions/425 (accessed November 6, 2019)
• Beyer, Barry K. Critical Thinking. (Bloomington : Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation) 1995
• What is Science Quotes, https://www.famousscientists.org/wha...cience-quotes/ (accessed November 6, 2019)
• BrainyQuote, https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/o...lmes_jr_138605 (accessed November 6, 2019)
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The Thinking Process

• First Online: 20 December 2016

Cite this chapter

• Balu H. Athreya 3 , 4 &
• Chrystalla Mouza 5  

1288 Accesses

In this chapter, we discuss the basic mechanisms of mental functions involved in the thinking process and the universal, intellectual standards for critical thinking, as suggested by the Foundation for Critical Thinking. We will also discuss the basic structure of the parts of the brain involved in the thinking process and their interconnections ( neural circuitry ). Other mental functions, such as emotions, which influence thinking, are reviewed. We discuss the importance of listening in the process of collecting information to think with. We also emphasize the importance of language and semantics in thinking.

Nullius in verba. (Take no one’s word for it.) – Royal Society of London

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University of Pennsylvania – Perelman School of Medicine and Thomas Jefferson University – Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Balu H. Athreya ( Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Teaching Consultant )

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School of Education, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA

Chrystalla Mouza

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Athreya, B.H., Mouza, C. (2017). The Thinking Process. In: Thinking Skills for the Digital Generation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12364-6_4

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Definition of Evidence-Based Practice

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is not a catchphrase. It is not a cookie cutter approach to social work practice. It is a process which involves critical thinking and evaluation of information to determine the most effective and efficient treatment for your client or community. It is a three pronged approach, taking into consideration:

• The practitioner's individual expertise
• The client's values and expectations
• The best evidence

Other Definitions of EBP

"Placing the client’s benefits first, evidence-based practitioners adopt a process of lifelong learning that involves continually posing specific questions of direct practical importance to clients, searching objectively and efficiently for the current best evidence relative to each question, and taking appropriate action guided by evidence." (Gibbs, 2003 )

"EBP is a process in which the practitioner combines well-researched interventions with clinical experience, ethics, client preferences, and culture to guide and inform the delivery of treatments and services." ( N ational Association of Social Workers )

Why Use It?

• EBP discourages the use of pseudoscientific or harmful interventions.
• It encourages professional social workers to base their interventions on evidence-supported treatment.
• It is part of the Social Work Code of Ethics .
• From the Campbell Collaboration: Podcast -- Four useful principles for evidence-based policy and practice

Books of Interest

Other Guides to EBP

• Evidence-Based Practice (EBP), ASHA A good general overview of EBP.
• Evidence-Based Practice, NASW Includes definitions and links to useful resources.
• Evidence-Based Practice - Taubman Health Sciences Library Guides and Tutorials on medical evidence-based practice.
• https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Research-Data/Social-Work-Policy-Research/Evidence-Based-Practice, NASW Includes definitions and links to useful resources.
• Understanding Evidence-Based Social Work From Virginia Commonwealth University, a clear overview of the why and how of EPB in social work.
• University of Buffalo SUNY Podcasts on Evidence-Based Social Work.
• University of Michigan Nursing Research Guide on EBP A research guide created by nursing librarian Deborah Lauseng which provides links to a number of articles which discuss evidence based practice and illustrates a number of models of EBP.