Professional expectations and contemporary practice features necessitate a critical approach to theoretical knowledge. However, there is little guidance. This workshop introduced a critical thinking approach and a set of theory appraisal skills for judging explanatory and practice theories by normative standards associated with professional ethics, professional values, and scientific ideals.

1. Ethics, Values, and
Theories: Thinking Critically
about Useful Knowledge
Council on Social Work Education,
Annual Program Meeting
“Advancing Social Work Education”
October 26, 2014
Professor Jim Forte, Salisbury University

2. WHY THINK CRITICALLY
ABOUT THEORIES?

3. Theories Vary, So Be Critical
 Theories vary in quality and in usefulness for
particular social work tasks.
 “If we do not critically evaluate our theories (assumptions),
they may function as prisons that limit our vision rather than
as tools to discover what is false” (Gambrill, 2006, p. 154)
 “While both theory and research findings about a broad
range of variables are essential to social work practice, they
are not sufficient. The application of theory and research to
practice requires critical thinking” ( Gitterman & Knight,
2013, p. 73).

4. Thinking Critically about Theory:
Knowledge Work (Profession)
 Social work as knowledge work.
 Profession accumulates, borrows, creates,
organizes, stores, teaches, applies,
shares, and refines knowledge for selective
use by practitioners
 Profession and professionals guided by critical
thinking (ideally) when doing knowledge work

5. Knowledge Work (By Professional)
 The active use of knowledge retrieval,
reading, memorizing, drilling, writing,
reviewing, and application strategies to
learn explanatory and practice theories
 Such knowledge work will be more
effective and responsible when guided by
critical thinking

6. Thinking Critically about Theory:
Theory Pluralism
 Theoretical pluralism characterizes the contemporary
knowledge base, one enriched from multiple sources. Social
workers borrow and make use of theoretical contributions to our
knowledge base from many disciplines, professions, and
theoretical communities. For some, it’s like working at the Tower
of Babel.
g

7. Thinking Critically about Theory:
Borrowed Theories

8. Thinking Critically about Theory:
Collaborating across Theoretical Perspectives

9. PROFESSIONAL EXPECTATIONS
FOR THINKING CRITICALLY
ABOUT THEORY

10. CSWE: Core Competencies &
Thinking Critically about Theory
 Educational Policy B2.2—Generalist Practice
 The generalist practitioner identifies with the social
work profession and applies ethical principles and
critical thinking in practice.
 Educational Policy M2.2—Advanced Practice
 Advanced practitioners refine and advance the quality
of social work practice and that of the larger social
work profession. They synthesize and apply a broad
range of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary
knowledge and skills. … they suit each action to the
circumstances at hand, using the discrimination
learned through experience and self-improvement.

11. CSWE: Core Competencies & Thinking
Critically-Ethics
 Educational Policy 2.1.2—Apply social
work ethical principles to guide
professional practice.

12. CSWE: Core Competencies & Thinking
Critically-Values & Ethics
 A past CSWE statement standard (1994) was explicit
about curriculum content related to thinking critically
about theories by using normative standards and
asserted that
“content about values and ethical issues related to bio-psycho-
social theories must be included” (cited in
Reamer, 1997, page 117).

13. CSWE: Core Competencies & Thinking
Critically-About Knowledge
 Educational Policy 2.1.3 Apply critical thinking
 Practice behaviors include
 - distinguish, appraise, and integrate multiple
sources of knowledge, including research-based
knowledge, and practice wisdom
 - analyze models of assessment, prevention,
intervention, and evaluation

14. CSWE: Core Competencies & Thinking
Critically-Human Behavior
 Educational Policy 2.1.7 Apply knowledge of
human behavior and the social environment
 Practice behaviors include
 - critique and apply knowledge to understand
person and environment

15. Thinking Critically about Theories:
Ethical Mandate (BSWE)
 Board of Social Work Examiners (2011)
“Use interventions and assessment techniques only
when the licensee knows that the circumstances
justify those interventions and techniques.”

16. Thinking Critically about Theories:
Ethical Mandate (IFSW)
 International Federation of Social Workers (2004)
“Social workers should be willing to collaborate with
the schools of social work in order to support social
work students to get practical training of good quality
and up to date practical knowledge”

17. Thinking Critically about Theories:
Ethical Mandate (NASW)
 National Association of Social Workers Code (2008)
4.01 Competence
“b) Social workers should strive to become and remain
proficient in professional practice and the
performance of professional functions. Social workers
should critically examine and keep current with
emerging knowledge relevant to social work.

18. A FRAMEWORK FOR
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT
THEORY

19. Critical Thinking & Normative Theory
 A normative theory specifies a set of conceptual resources such
as ethical standards and value convictions useful when
appraising the “goodness” of a theory and justifying the use of
theories and their components related to
 the desirability of theory-specified goals,
 the proper implementation of theory-informed directives,
 the possible intended and unintended consequences of a
theory’s use,
 the quality of evidence for theory-guided assessment and
intervention alternatives, and so on.

20. Critical Thinkers and Theory
 Critical thinkers use established standards and ask
sharp questions when appraising the quality of
theoretical claims especially claims that are taken for
granted by others (Gambrill, 2006).
 If social workers fail to think critically about
theories and their theorizing activities, they are
likely to select knowledge and to apply knowledge
in ways that harms rather than helps our clients.

23. SOCIAL WORK ETHICAL
DIRECTIVES FOR THINKING
CRITICALLY ABOUT THEORY

24. SOCIAL WORK ETHICAL DIRECTIVES FOR
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THEORY-COMPETENCE
(EVIDENCE & PROFICIENCY)

25. Thinking Critically About Theories:
Evidence
 Standard regarding theoretical knowledge
 Use empirical knowledge
 Critical theory question
 Will the theory used be scientifically sound and
supported by evidence?

26. Evidence:
Appraising Theory Elements
 Social workers should be able to find and judge evidence about a focal
theory and its elements including
 Evidence allowing the practitioner to make judgments about the
theory’s overall explanatory and predictive power.
 Evidence that the theory has been applied effectively to deal with a
similar puzzling situation faced by the worker to aid people like
those participating in the current relationship or program.
 Evidence documenting that the theory guides accurately the
assessment of PIE challenges; for instance, the theory-derived
assessment tools are valid, reliable, and culturally sensitive.
 Evidence that a worker and client partners have achieved the
desired results adapting and using the theory and its theory-derived
interventions in natural helping situations as predicted by the
theory.

27. Evidence Supported Therapy (EST)
Theory-Based Approaches
 Practice approaches derived from theoretical
traditions vary in the quality of their evidentiary base.
 Some include a set of interventions that are well
established, and possess clear evidence of
efficacy. Behavioral practitioners, for example,
have distinguished their approach by accumulating
hundreds of studies supporting behavioral
interventions.

28. Empirically Supported Therapy (EST)/
Theory-Based Approaches-List
 Behavioral therapy
 Cognitive behavior therapy
 Interpersonal psychotherapy
 Parent training
 Dialectical behavior therapy
 Family therapy (manual based)

29. Theory Based Approaches and
Interventions-Discredited: Selective List
 Orgone therapy
 Primal scream therapy
 Sexual reorientation therapy for homosexuality
 Scared Straight programs
 Family therapy for schizophrenia based on double
bind therapy
 Freudian dream analysis for mental disorders
 Insight psychotherapy for sex offenders
 Catharsis/ventilation treatment for anger disorders
 (Norcross et all, 2006, panel of 100 psychologist experts)


30. Novel Unsupported Interventions
(NUTS)
 Some use theory-based interventions
with limited or no evidence of efficacy.
 The past life regression approach used for
journeys into one’s lives before birth has a
questionable theoretical base and makes
unsupported claims about healing effects.

31. Novel Unsupported Interventions (NUTS):
Definition
 NUTS = novel unsupported therapies
 Claims made by proponents in literature or ads
exceeding available evidence
 Failed to meet Chambliss’ criteria for evidence
supported approach
 Or considered to be discredited by Norcross
 Or shown to be harmful by Lilienfeld
 (Pignotti & Thyer, 2009; Based on survey of
166 LCSW practitioners)

32. Novel Unsupported Interventions (NUTS):
Selective List
 Age regression
therapy
 Bioenergetics
 DARE programs
 EEG biofeedback
 Eye movement
desensitization
 Imago relationship
therapy
 Neurolinguistic
programming
 Past lives therapy
 QiGong
 Rebirthing
 Therapeutic touch
 Thought field
therapy

33. Thinking Critically About Theories:
Proficiency
 Standard regarding theoretical knowledge
 Be proficient
 Critical theory question
 Will the theory use comply with practical, scientific,
and professional standards for proficient
performance?

34. Standards for Critical Thinking about
Theory and Acting Proficiently

35. Overview: Competency and Theory
 Competent social workers identify and
avoid or minimize accidents, errors, and
mistakes when using theory, and
develop habits of critical and scientific
reasoning about theory and its use
 and thus, reduce the likelihood of harming
their clients (Gambrill, 2007)

36. Theorizing Errors-Assorted 1
 Ad Hoc Theorizing - The theorist attempts to “patch up” a theory with
explanations after a discrediting theory test rather than modifying or
rejecting the theory.
 Bias - a process of thinking that gives systematic favoritism to certain
theory-based interpretations and interventions over alternatives.
 Confirmation Bias - The theorist has the tendency to search for and
prioritize information that confirms one’s theoretical beliefs or
hypotheses, and to revise procedures of inquiry until obtaining a theory-predicted
result.
 Confuse Correlation with Causation - The theorist interprets evidence
of co-variation as indicative of causation without applying strict criteria for
determining causality.
 The ecological fallacy occurs when the theorist draws conclusions
about individuals on the basis of data on groups or other larger size
social systems.

37. Theorizing Errors-Assorted 2
 Ignore Anomalies- The theorist ignores non-congruent data that is
difficult to reconcile with a theory or its explanations, and necessitates
modification, elaboration, or rejection of a hypothesis.
 Ignore Alternative Theoretical Accounts - The theorist affirms an
explanation of an event without considering plausible alternative
accounts.
 Reductionism in theoretical work assumes that a whole person or social
system can be explained by reduction to its parts and that a unit at a
higher level of complexity and organization (a society) can be explained
adequately by theorizing about the qualities of the lower level and
constituent units (individual citizens).
 The theorizing mistake of reification refers to the process of attributing
the status of reality to a theoretical concept or proposition.

38. Theorizing Errors-Assorted 3
 A tautology is a circular form of theorizing. The theorist asserts that
something (the subject term) is true by definition (the explanation). The
form of a theoretical assertion is such that it can not be falsified.
 Teleology means that the theorist provides a theoretical explanation that
offers the result of something as its cause.
 Theory Belief Perseverance - The theorist clings to a preferred theory
and theoretical beliefs despite discrediting evidence or logical counter-arguments.
 Theoretical overgeneralization occurs when a theorist develops an
explanation, prediction, or description based on research on a population
with specific characteristics. Then, the theorist extends his or her claims
about the relevance of the theory to a different or larger population.

39. SOCIAL WORK ETHICAL DIRECTIVES FOR
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THEORY-DIGNITY
(DIVERSITY AND STRENGTHS)

40. Thinking Critically About Theories:
Diversity
 Standard regarding theoretical knowledge
 Affirm difference
 Critical theory question
 Will the theory use promote sensitivity to and
knowledge about diverse membership groups?

41. Theories and Affirming Differences
 “Social workers prefer theoretical
frameworks that affirm human
differences rather than elevating certain
membership groups to a conceptual
place of privilege and casting other
membership characteristics to the
depths of the condemned” (Forte, 2014)

42. CSWE and Differences
 EPAS Standard 2.1.4 (2008)
 Human differences are understood in terms of the
intersection of many different factors including
age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity,
gender, gender identity and expression,
geographic location, immigration status, political
ideology, race, religion, sex, & sexual orientation.
 Human differences are key to understanding
variations in life chances and life constraints for
persons, social groups, and communities.

43. Appraising Theory by Diversity:
Assumptions 1
Preferred Theories
Do the assumptions suggest that the theory is sensitive to clients’ diverse
identities, values, and cultural contexts in a way transcending prejudice
(McCrea, 2006)? Do the assumptions suggest that theory application
ensures
 respectful partnership between workers and diverse clients
 partnerships that are nonhierarchical
 partnerships that promote client autonomy and connectedness
 partnerships that that call for the investigation of stigma and
discrimination and their harmful effects, and
 partnerships that focus on protecting client dignity and self-determination.

44. Appraising Theory by Diversity:
Assumptions 2
Problematic Theories
The focal theory make assumptions tied to Eurocentric cultural
principles such as
 European-rooted values and traditions are superior to all
others (to the detriment of African, Asian, and other clients),
 Patriarchy is desirable and male dominance should be
reinforced (to the detriment of men and women)
 Capitalism is the best economic approach including its
emphasis on individualism and personal responsibility (to the
detriment of those who don’t hold this mainstream view and
those who are marginalized in the capitalistic system).
(Anderson & Wiggins-Carter, 2004, p. 20).


45. Appraising Theory by Diversity:
Assumptions 3
Problematic Theories
Do the theory’s assumptions indicate that the theory should be
rejected or that the theory needs modification for sensitive use with
a particular membership group?
 The theoretical assumptions of a focal theory indicate the theory’s non
suitability for healing work with a Native American tribe in ways responsive
to the tribal members’ preferences regarding engagement, goal setting,
session scheduling, the location of helping sessions, termination processes,
and so on.
 The focal theory is built on assumptions common to a deficit model, that
represents ”people of color, women, gays and lesbians, older people, and
those with disabilities as having substantial and continuous difficulties” (p.
Anderson & Wiggins-Carter, 2004, p. 20).


46. Thinking Critically About Theories:
Strengths
 Standard regarding theoretical knowledge
 Recognize strengths
 Critical theory question
 Will the theory use recognize the strengths of
client or collaborative groups and their members?

47. Theory Appraisal and Strength
Standard
 Many social work leaders, educators, and
practitioners have developed the conviction that the
best theoretical knowledge recognizes and promotes
human strengths
 Contemporary practitioners should appraise any
theory, theory element, or theorizing activity by
examining its foundations and weighing its relative
emphasis on the positive aspects (strengths) of
“person interacting in an environment”
configurations rather than negative aspects
(deficits) (Forte, 2014)

48. Theory Appraisal: Deficit
Orientations
 Many theoretical and practice orientations emphasizing
disease, deficit, deviancy, disorder, disorganization,
disturbance, or dysfunction. Designating clients or client
actions using “d” words becomes a self-fulfilling
prophecy.
 Deficit ideology - a worldview that explains and
justifies outcome inequalities— standardized test
scores or levels of educational attainment, for example
—by pointing to supposed deficiencies within
disenfranchised individuals and communities (Gorski,
2010)

49. Strengths Standard: Specific
Critical Thinking Questions 1
 Does the theory include assumptions that the past
conditions but doesn’t determine human behavior,
that each person has a degree of agency, and that
every person can choose and achieve a better
future?
 Does the theory recommend practitioners begin with
dysfunction and prescribe remedies or does the
theory begin with aspirations and urge practitioners to
invite clients to engage in projects of actualizing
desired scenarios?

50. Strengths Standard: Specific
Critical Thinking Questions 2
 What is the theoretical language like? Is it mostly a
vocabulary of pathology and problem or is it a
vocabulary of strengths and accomplishment?
 Does the theory suggest that certain people and
groups are doomed to failure or that all human beings
have unrealized potentials and with the right
circumstances can learn and grow despite past
adversity?

51. Strengths Standard: Specific
Critical Thinking Questions 3
 Does the theory contend that certain environments
are empty terrains with none of the emotional, social,
and material nourishment necessary for sustaining
life or that all environments include goods, services,
relationships, and opportunities that can be used by
members to progress toward positive and fulfilling
lives?
 How well does the theory compare to other theories
in emphasizing possibilities, potentials, and
prospects?

52. SOCIAL WORK ETHICAL DIRECTIVES FOR
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THEORY-INTEGRITY

53. Thinking Critically About Theories:
Integrity
 Standards regarding theoretical knowledge
 Be trustworthy
 Advance the profession
 Share knowledge
 Critical theory questions
 Will the theory use occur in an honest and trustworthy way?
 Will the theory use advance the profession’s distinctive
values, ethics, knowledge, mission?
 Will the theory use be contributed to the knowledge base &
shared with colleagues?

54. SOCIAL WORK ETHICAL DIRECTIVES FOR
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THEORY-RELATIONSHIP

55. Thinking Critically About Theories:
Relationship
 Standards regarding theoretical knowledge
 Prioritize relationships
 Engage clients as partners
 Critical theory questions
 Will the theory use contribute to efforts to prioritize
human relationships in social life and in helping
work?
 Will the theory use involve people as partners in
the helping process?

56. SOCIAL WORK ETHICAL DIRECTIVES FOR
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THEORY-SERVICE

57. Thinking Critically About Theories:
Service
 Standard regarding theoretical
knowledge
 Help people and society
 Critical theory question
 Will the theory and its use ameliorate
personal problems and social problems?

58. SOCIAL WORK ETHICAL DIRECTIVES FOR
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THEORY-SOCIAL
JUSTICE

59. Thinking Critically About Theories:
Justice
 Standards regarding theoretical knowledge
 Focus on vulnerable groups
 Reduce injustice
 Critical theory questions
 Will the theory use lead to positive social change
& greater justice for vulnerable groups of people?
 Will the theory use promote sensitivity to and
knowledge about inequality & oppression?

60. The Justice Stance
 NASW: Justice = “the view that everyone
deserves equal economic, political and social
rights and opportunities”
 Social Work Dictionary: Social justice “is an
ideal condition in which all members of
society have the same basic rights,
protection, opportunities, obligations, and
social benefits” (Barker, 2003)

61. Theories and Values
 Swenson (1998) rejects the position that a theoretical
framework can be considered “value free” or “neutral”
regarding justice issues and only judged by reference
to explanatory power and evidence of positive
outcomes following application.
 Theorists and theories take stands about good life.
 A theory is socially created, filtered through
cultural perspectives, and includes value positions.
 A theory can be used to protect the interests of
groups with disproportionate privilege, power, and
status.

62. Theory and Ideology
 “…theories are ideological in that even the most
neutral-looking factual claims about social
phenomenon can be taken up and used in
competition between social groups for positions of
power, wealth, and influence …” (Campbell, 1981, p. 22)
 “… the underlying assumption of any given theory
can be associated with different political positions
and are often used to support or oppose specific
interventions and policies that affect our clients” Robbins,
et al, 1999, p. 376)

63. For Theory Appraisal by Justice
Standard: Quotes
 Witkin and Gottschalk (1988) - “a distinctive feature
of social work has been its commitment to a value
base aimed at promoting a particular vision of social
justice. These values help set social work apart from
allied disciplines and professions. The evaluation of
theories must consider their relationship to these
values” (p. 216)
 Robbins et al (1998) – “. . . we must be particularly
aware of the ideological underpinnings inherent in our
theories and knowledge so that they can be
subjected to thoughtful and critical analysis” (p. 376)

64. Theory Appraisal: Ways Theories
Fail to Promote Justice
 Ignore critical factors in explaining HBSE phenomena
 Explain women’s depression in relation to unresolved psychic
conflicts while neglecting domestic violence, child care stressors, and
responsibilities for boring work tasks (conditions of inequality are not
counted or altered)
 Characterize people as unchanging with set identities and behaviors
 Use theory-based category systems and associated labels to define
youth as delinquents (public labels and stereotypes then restrict
possibilities for those categorized)
 Hide the relevance of power to theory construction processes
 Present theoretical interpretations as “God’s view” objective facts and
detached truths (deprive potential theory critics of opportunities to
question the theory, its implications for the critics’ identity and
treatment, and its enhancement of the theorist’s power) - (Prilleltensky,
2002)

65. Theory Appraisal: Specific
Critical Thinking Justice Questions 1
Which theories and theory-based interventions are most congruent
with the value of justice (economic, political, and social)?
What are the “ideological prejudices” of the theory’s author and
proponents? (Campbell, 1981, p. 23)
What interest groups are served by theory and its use, and are
those groups aligned or not aligned with the needs of client
populations especially the most vulnerable groups?
 Does the theory and its uses affirm the self-determination of
members of oppressed groups?
 Does the theory and its uses contribute to the fair allocation of
societal resources and to the extension of opportunities to more
social groups?

66. Theory Appraisal: Specific
Critical Thinking Justice Questions 2
 Does the theory and its uses contribute to the expression of
marginalized voices in helping sessions, forums for theory
appraisal, and policymaking arenas?
 such as aboriginals, LGBT persons, survivors of psychiatric
institutions, the physically challenged, women
 Does the theory and its uses expose unquestioned assertions
and discourses that obscure the structures and processes
contributing to exploitation, inequality, & oppression?
 Does the theory consider ethics and values as important to
theory building and theory use processes?

67. Theory Appraisal: Specific
Critical Thinking Justice Questions 3
 Do the theory’s assumptions, concepts, and
propositions affirm human rights, enhance solidarity,
and increase economic, political, and social equality
and opportunity for all? Or
 Do the theory and its applications support actions
and policies that threaten human rights, undermine
solidarity, and lessen equality and opportunity for
select groups in the society?
 How well do the theory and its uses promote all
forms of justice as compared to other theories?

68. THE CRITICAL AND
RESPONSIBLE USE OF
KNOWLEDGE: AN INVENTORY

69. Forte’s “Ethics, Values, and
Theory” Self Inventory
 Derived from NASW Code of Ethics
statements related to the ethical use of
knowledge
 To be shared at workshop

70. CASE ILLUSTRATIONS:
OPPORTUNITIES TO THINK
CRITICALLY ABOUT THEORY

71. Case Illustrations
 Critical thinking – John Nash on game theory
 Ethics – Applied “behavioral” boot camps
 Standard: Difference – Conversion therapy
 Standard: Evidence – Search for empirical support
 Standard: Justice – Marx on capitalism, explanations of
classroom attention problems
 Standard: Strengths – “Dysfunctional” families

72. My Name is Forte, James Forte

73. Biography: James A. Forte
Forte is professor at Salisbury University, author of four books
and 35 articles, and a presenter at international, national,
regional, and local conferences. Forte has been teaching
human behavior classes for 16 years, and recently completed 2
books: An Introduction to Using Theory and Skills for Using
Theory. His teaching awards include Outstanding Virginia Social
Work Educator, Outstanding Teaching at Christopher Newport
University, and NASW-MD Chapter Social Work Educator of the
Year.
 Contact me at jamesforte@mac.com
 More information and free teaching resources available at
http://jamesaforte.com/