Social work and social care: The struggle for knowledge

Abstract

This article, written in the context of the redefinition of public service professionalism, and the roles of public service professionals by government policies and market interventions, examines the role and implications of the new movements of welfare state service users for professional practice, knowledge and analysis. Its particular focus is the field of social work and social care. It raises questions about the nature, purpose and social relationships of research, the credibility and claims of different knowledges, and the relationship between direct experience, research and knowledge. This article argues that currently a hidden battle is taking place in the context of social care between traditional sources of knowledge and service users' knowledges. It sets out ways of enabling the equal inclusion of service users and their knowledges, and suggests that this is likely to be supportive of progressive understandings of professionalism and public service, as well as contributing to more appropriate, rights-based approaches to policy and practice in public service occupations. © 2001, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.