ERIC Number: EJ1113384
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Oct
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1049-7315
EISSN: N/A
Evidence, Expertise, and Ethics: The Making of an Influential in American Social Work
Burnette, Denise
Research on Social Work Practice, v26 n6 p609-621 Oct 2016
The extent to which people choose their professions and professions choose their practitioners is not always clear; it is in all likelihood a "simpatico" process. But, growing attention to the study of careers can help elucidate the nexus of personal and professional forces that underpins this complex dynamic. This line of inquiry can also advance knowledge of how it is that individual scholars come to shape the essential features and directions of a profession at a particular point in its history. I use oral life history methods to develop an account of Eileen Gambrill's emergence as an "influential" in the course of American social work. I begin with a brief overview of the context of the project. I then describe the range of narrative methods which I drew on to craft an account of her personal and professional development vis-à-vis the profession's "zeitgeist" at the time. I begin the account itself by defining an influential to establish her status in the field. I then turn to the alchemy of dispositional and situational conditions which, beginning in early life and extending throughout her formal education, furthered her development in this role. I close with a few examples of the significant outcomes of her influence as an integrative scholar who focused her career on bettering the lives of others through evidence-informed, expertly delivered, ethically responsible social work practice.
Descriptors: Social Work, Change Agents, Oral History, Biographies, Profiles, Professional Identity, Professional Development, Individual Characteristics, Career Development, Trend Analysis, Ethics, Evidence, Expertise
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A