Enhancing Human Well-Being Through Social Work Research: Is Postmodern/Critical Theory Undermining the Profession’s Science Pedagogy?

Abstract

Science plays an important, if not central role, in the profession’s mission of enhancing human well-being. The benefits that flow from science do not emerge in a vacuum, but rather are contingent upon the existence of a specific value-based milieu. Included among these values are an academic discourse that: 1) supports the free expression of ideas, 2) cultivates the inclusion of diverse perspectives, 3) privileges the use of logic and reason, and 4) and acknowledges the importance of data or empirical evidence. Certain streams of thought within Postmodern/Critical Theory challenge all four concepts which, in turn, threaten to undermine the profession’s science pedagogy. The paper concludes by offering some pedagogical suggestions for retaining science as a method to enhance well-being in social work.

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