Review of Shaping a Science of Social Work: Professional Knowledge and Identity by John Brekke and Jeane Anastas, Oxford University Press (2019)

Li, Yawen

English

ScholarWorks at WMU

Review of \u3cem\u3eShaping a Science of Social Work: Professional Knowledge and Identity\u3c/em\u3e by John Brekke and Jeane Anastas

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare Volume 47 Issue 2 June Article 9 2020 Review of Shaping a Science of Social Work: Professional Knowledge and Identity by John Brekke and Jeane Anastas Yawen Li San Diego State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw Recommended Citation Li, Yawen (2020) "Review of Shaping a Science of Social Work: Professional Knowledge and Identity by John Brekke and Jeane Anastas," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 47 : Iss. 2 , Article 9. Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol47/iss2/9 This Book Review is brought to you by the Western Michigan University School of Social Work. For more information, please contact wmu-scholarworks@wmich.edu. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare • June 2020 • Volume XLVII • Number 2 181Book ReviewsJohn Brekke and Jeane Anastas, Shaping a Science of Social Work: Professional Knowledge and Identity. Oxford University Press (2019), 252 pages, $45.00 (hardcover).  Over the one-hundred-year history of the social work profession,	 different	 generations	 of	 social	 workers	 have	 dis-cussed,	clarified,	and	debated	the	relationship	between	social	work and science. Those recurring debates were pursued in the hope of creating theoretically-based social work practice, to professionalize and standardize social work education, to identify the best guiding perspectives for the profession of social work, and to give the social work profession a strong footing	 among	 other	 scientific	 disciplines.	 Such	 efforts	 have	not	 yet	 resulted	 in	 a	 definite	 understanding	 or	 agreement;	nevertheless, they have provided social work professionals with abundant intellectual wealth and a springboard to further this important topic. 	 The	 book	 carries	 into	 the	 present	 that	 self-reflective	 dis-cussion. It is a culmination of roundtable consultations under-taken within a circle of social work leaders from North America, Europe, and Asia between 2012 and 2016 at the IslandWood conference	center	near	Seattle.	The	book	is	largely	a	collection	of	the presentations, discussions, and consensus reports made by various scholars at those meetings, organized into four sections: Why?	What?	How?	Then	what? Part 1 answers the question why;	 it	provides	a	background	and rationale for organizing the IslandWood roundtable meetings, and delineates its process, content, and overarching consensus achieved at those meetings. Part 2 seeks to answer the what is a science of social work question by articulating the intellectual foundations for social work science. In this section, John Brekke and others outline the domains, constructs, and characteristics of a social work science, exploring the identify issue faced by the social 182 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfarework profession within the larger context of academic sciences. They detail rigorous analyses of social work values and social work science and explore the centrality of theory in social work.  Part 3 examines how the application of a science of social work	 to	 practice	 and	 identifies	 essential	 issues,	 such	 as	 the	challenges	 in	 converging	 the	 different	 concerns	 held	 by	researchers (rigor) and practitioners (relevance), elucidating the conundrum of whether we ought to pursue evidence-based practice or practice-based evidence. Part 4 answers the question of then what by discussing the implication of adopting a realist/critical-realist informed perspective for future social work education and practice. The accomplishments represented in this book are best summarized by the initiator and core sponsor of the IslandWood roundtable meeting, namely Marilyn Flynn, former Dean of the Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California. In a succinct Forward, Flynn stresses that these chapters	provide	clarity,	reaffirmation,	and	a	comprehensive	sense	of science and the meaning of science in relation to social work. Through these intellectual discussions and debates, the roots of science	can	be	firmly	secured	in	all	the	professional	undertakings.	Building upon this secure foundation, future learning, teaching, and problem solving for social good can be nourished.  The book is an open invitation to the wider social work profession	for	participation	in	this	important	reflective	process.	Readers are invited to ponder the question of where and how the social work profession should position itself in the 21st-century. Such a soul-searching exercise is especially relevant to the social work profession in face of the grand challenges American society will encounter as it undergoes what has been called a “4th industrial revolution,”  which will entail radical reconstructing of many social institutions and communities, as well as individual lives. This book serves as a valuable resource for social work academics, students, and practitioners as we seek	to	rethink	just	what	does	and	will	define	our	profession. Yawen LiSan Diego State University

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Review of \u3cem\u3eShaping a Science of Social Work: Professional Knowledge and Identity\u3c/em\u3e by John Brekke and Jeane Anastas

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