ABSTRACT

One of the key themes in this book is the complex relationship between research, theory and practice in social work, and in this chapter I want to consider this issue from a perspective which draws on the later work of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, particularly his notion of 'language-games', and also on social constructionist thinking. In the approach which I propose, research and theory are regarded as being neither in opposition to practice nor foundational to it, but rather as weaving into and emerging out of forms of situated practice experience. In such particular situations the issue is not only - or not so much - the application of the right rule or procedure, as being able to answer the question 'how should I act in this specific context?'