ABSTRACT

The student is invited to consider a number of options for a response to the client and to discuss the implications of choosing different lines of inquiry. This chapter helps students to develop the professional skills of inquiry out of the social skills associated with curiosity. Integrity and authenticity are evident when students are able to channel their natural curiosity into skilled inquiry. The social workers use the term inquiry skills to mean the ability to initiate and sustain a dialogue with the client—a dialogue which moves with careful purpose to a clearer picture of the client's concerns and wishes. Students need an understanding of any established patterns of inquiry which they bring to their work. Self-aware practice means the student can develop a broader repertoire of inquiry skills, and understand how the shape of questions influences the outcome of work later.