Research Paper on:
Social Work Practice and Theory

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
order to assess how far the theories of specific interest groups might affect the practice of social work, it might be useful to consider the way in which theory in  general relates to current practice in social work and which interest groups might reasonably be supposed to fall within this broad theoretical base in terms of their ability to influence  practice. For example Rowlands (2002)  makes the point that postmodernist ideas have for the past ten years been changing the way in which social work is perceived and practised, and this in itself has a  significant effect on the development and implementation of theories as a whole. She notes that, for instance, there is a now a tendency to reject totalising theories . . which  purport to assert the truth about a subject under study (Rowlands, 2002, PG) and therefore it might be asserted that within the practice of social work as a whole there  will of necessity be a number of different theoretical influences which must be taken in conjunction.  In addition, she makes the point that when considering any social phenomenon, there will invariably be a diversity of interpretations possible,  all of which must be taken into account and some of which, although conflicting, will be of equal validity. The body of knowledge which provides the base for theoretical understanding,  therefore, can only be seen in terms of a human construct of reality, as opposed to an objective reality in itself.