The layers of the knowledge used in social work practice and the continuous need to ‘reinvent the wheel’. Exploring the understanding and perception of social workers in the financial assistance department on their knowledge use.
(2025) WPMM41 20251School of Social Work
- Abstract
- The financial assistance department of social service organisations is a department where variations in experiences and perspectives regarding the work are apparent. Social workers in this department are the primary practitioners and enforcers of decisions regarding applicants’ cases, making their perspectives and understanding of the knowledge they use valuable to have insight into, and to gain some comprehension of the practice from their point of view. The objective of this research was, therefore, to examine individual social workers’ perspectives and understanding of their knowledge use in their practice, as well as investigate potential factors they attributed to influencing their knowledge use. The participants consisted of social... (More)
- The financial assistance department of social service organisations is a department where variations in experiences and perspectives regarding the work are apparent. Social workers in this department are the primary practitioners and enforcers of decisions regarding applicants’ cases, making their perspectives and understanding of the knowledge they use valuable to have insight into, and to gain some comprehension of the practice from their point of view. The objective of this research was, therefore, to examine individual social workers’ perspectives and understanding of their knowledge use in their practice, as well as investigate potential factors they attributed to influencing their knowledge use. The participants consisted of social workers working within the financial assistance department of social service organisations in Sweden, and they were recruited from multiple municipalities across the country. Recruiting participants from various municipalities was considered valuable to receive a wide range of narratives and experiences in the sample. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore the participants’ perspectives, and to interpret the empirical data produced, interpretivism and street-level bureaucracy theory were applied. The analysis was conducted using a thematic approach, and from the participants' responses, themes relating to knowledge use being considered fixed and flexible were established. Together, these themes reflect that the participants of the study perceive their knowledge use to be multifaceted, meaning many and varying sources of knowledge are required in their practice. The fixed forms of knowledge were presented as being stagnant in development, but a requirement and at times a reliable source of knowledge to use, while the flexible forms of knowledge were presented as essential for making individual assessments, and they were perceived by the participants to contribute to their knowledge progressing and expanding. Regarding factors influencing their knowledge use, the organisational context appeared to generally be considered influential. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9211605
- author
- Hurtig Allik, Nova LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- WPMM41 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- financial assistance, knowledge use, social service organisations, social workers
- language
- English
- id
- 9211605
- date added to LUP
- 2025-09-03 16:07:52
- date last changed
- 2025-09-03 16:07:52
@misc{9211605,
abstract = {{The financial assistance department of social service organisations is a department where variations in experiences and perspectives regarding the work are apparent. Social workers in this department are the primary practitioners and enforcers of decisions regarding applicants’ cases, making their perspectives and understanding of the knowledge they use valuable to have insight into, and to gain some comprehension of the practice from their point of view. The objective of this research was, therefore, to examine individual social workers’ perspectives and understanding of their knowledge use in their practice, as well as investigate potential factors they attributed to influencing their knowledge use. The participants consisted of social workers working within the financial assistance department of social service organisations in Sweden, and they were recruited from multiple municipalities across the country. Recruiting participants from various municipalities was considered valuable to receive a wide range of narratives and experiences in the sample. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore the participants’ perspectives, and to interpret the empirical data produced, interpretivism and street-level bureaucracy theory were applied. The analysis was conducted using a thematic approach, and from the participants' responses, themes relating to knowledge use being considered fixed and flexible were established. Together, these themes reflect that the participants of the study perceive their knowledge use to be multifaceted, meaning many and varying sources of knowledge are required in their practice. The fixed forms of knowledge were presented as being stagnant in development, but a requirement and at times a reliable source of knowledge to use, while the flexible forms of knowledge were presented as essential for making individual assessments, and they were perceived by the participants to contribute to their knowledge progressing and expanding. Regarding factors influencing their knowledge use, the organisational context appeared to generally be considered influential.}},
author = {{Hurtig Allik, Nova}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The layers of the knowledge used in social work practice and the continuous need to ‘reinvent the wheel’. Exploring the understanding and perception of social workers in the financial assistance department on their knowledge use.}},
year = {{2025}},
}