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Do you struggle to get your head around the application of theory and associated methods of intervention to social work practice? Making sense of theory and its application to social work practice is here to help you with a fresh approach written with the 'non- theoretician' in mind. After exploring the expectations and limits of application of theory to practice, Phil Musson sets about describing theories of explanation and their associated methods of intervention in an accessible way. He follows this by looking at theoretically driven approaches and their associated methods of intervention. One generic case study is used throughout, tweaked slightly but maintaining the same service users and issues so you can see how the theory of explanation or approach and the associated method of intervention is applied. You are also able to sharpen up your critical thinking skills as the author invites you to reflect on the theories of explanation and approaches discussed.Making Sense of Theory and its Application to Social Work Practice will be immensely valuable to both social work students and practitioners.

\" Feminist Perspectives on Social Work Practice is a contemporary look at the issues across a wide spectrum, beyond just equal pay for equal work and reproductive rights, with which women struggle on a daily basis. The Trump administration's call to roll back the progress that women have made over the decades in terms of social welfare benefits, reproductive rights, and employment recognition, alongside the continuing victimization of women who have survived sexual violence, are just a few examples demonstrating why social workers and other human service professionals need to continue to advocate and care for women in particular ways. This book aims to continue keeping the lives of women and the issues that affect and matter most to them at the forefront of the discussions about society and social services. The text will help readers to gain an understanding of populations of women that they might/will work with in the field of human services. Using demographics, case studies, and best practice/evidence-based programs, the authors collectively provide students and practitioners with a comprehensive knowledge of women from a feminist perspective. \"-- Provided by publisher.

This paper builds on existing research investigating CSR and ethical consumption within luxury contexts, and makes several contributions to the literature. First, it addresses existing knowledge gaps by exploring the ways in which consumers perform ethical luxury purchases of fine jewellery through interpretive research. Second, the paper is the first to examine such issues of consumer ethics by extending the application of theories of practice to a luxury product context, and by building on Magaudda's (J Consum Cult 11(1):15-36, 2011) circuit of practice framework. This is significant in that, to date, consumer research using practice theories has focused mainly on routine and habitual practices. Our findings and discussion provide an analysis of intentional and less intentional ethical consumer performances within the interconnected nexus of activities of consumers' fine jewellery consumption practice, where meanings, understandings and intelligibility of social phenomena are worked through the various activities that shape such a practice. Finally, the paper concludes with significant managerial and policyrelated implications, as our extended circuit of practice analysis conveys that if ethics and sustainability dimensions are to be embedded in fine jewellery consumption practice, they must first be made an intrinsic part of the nexus of the social and material environment of trading and consumption places.

Work-integrated Learning (WIL) is renowned for providing a bridge between ‘theory’ and ‘practice’ that fosters ‘employable graduates’. This study critically argues that the WIL discourse continues to ascribe a dualistic meaning to graduate employability that primarily contributes to creating the so-called theory–practice gap for students. As an argument towards such a conclusion, a genealogical discourse analysis of how the graduate employability idea operates in 87 present and past official documents concerning the Cooperative Education (Co-op) WIL model is used. Two accounts of graduate employability, the antagonistic practice acclaiming account and the harmonious theory and practice account, recur in both the present and past documents. Both accounts contribute to creating the gap, while the latter also contributes to bridging it. The non-dualistic account, which involves knowing that the key to becoming employable is understanding how both research-based and informal theory shape daily occupational work, could be a useful alternative to these accounts. This is because it could encourage students to see how theory is a form of knowledge manifested in, rather than disconnected from, this work. However, the usual WIL design, whereby universities and workplaces outside universities are respectively institutionalised as the places where ‘theory’ and ‘practice’ is learnt, is not so much instrumental in spreading this non-dualistic account, but rather implies to students that ‘theory’ is absent from daily work until they apply it. Thus, I discuss how establishing physical and/or virtual countersites to the usual WIL design could potentially spread this account to students.

An unresolved dilemma facing many disciplines is how theory and practice can better work together to enhance the decision-making processes on the ground. This widely-known theory-practice gap often contributes to the misdiagnosis of problems and undermines the effectiveness of responses. Despite decades of research into why this gap remains, there is still a continuing and heated debate as to why it exists and how it could be resolved. This article examines the theory-practice gap through a systematic review that draws insights across diverse disciplines such as health, science, governance, and business. It builds a conceptual framework based on the findings, allowing for the analysis of the various drivers and solutions for addressing the gap. The findings show that to resolve this gap is necessary to change our perspective of the gap and understand it as a bilateral issue, where both theory and practice play a role in creating the gap. Thus, solutions to the gap need to follow a cyclical and integrative approach. As the gap may never be fully closed, the framework provides the tools to respond to it whenever it arises. Future research will be required to empirically test and advance the framework. Plain language summary This study aims to tackle the persistent problem known as the “theory-practice gap,” which has puzzled various fields, including public health, education, nursing, and many others, for decades. The gap refers to the challenge of applying theoretical knowledge to real-world situations effectively. Despite much research, the causes and solutions for this gap remain unclear. The study takes a multidisciplinary approach to answer three key questions: 1) What is the theory-practice gap, and what does it involve? 2) What causes this gap? 3) How can we address it? By answering these questions, the study creates a theoretical framework to understand the underlying issues of the gap. The review identifies various drivers that hinder the integration of theory and practice and evaluates their significance. It also suggests an innovative model centered on learning and reflection, emphasizing that theory and practice are interdependent. This model suggests that practical situations can generate theory through reflection and that theory can influence and improve practice. The study’s results provide a holistic approach to addressing the gap, integrating perspectives from multiple disciplines. It also highlights the need to develop tools for assessing the gap, particularly in knowledge translation. While this study is a crucial first step in accumulating and integrating knowledge about the gap, future research should aim to validate its findings among practitioners from different sectors and regions. Understanding and addressing the theory-practice gap is crucial in fields like climate change and ensures that theoretical knowledge can be effectively applied in practical contexts. This study offers a promising starting point for further research and practical solutions to bridge this persistent divide.

Aim To describe experiences and perceptions of theory‐practice gap in nursing in a resource‐constrained setting. Theory‐practice gap is extensively discussed and studied in some parts of the world. Interventions to bridge the theory‐practice gap have been varied and depend on an understanding of the contextual healthcare environment. Experiences and perceptions of the theory‐practice gap in a resource‐constrained setting have not been comprehensively described. Design A qualitative description methodology was used. Methods Maximum variation sampling based on role in the events of theory‐practice gap was used to recruit student nurses, nurse faculty and clinicians from two study sites for focus group discussions. Data were analysed using conventional content analysis. Results Five themes were identified: system inadequacies; resource constraints; challenges of the clinical learning environment; clinical placement and supervision; and nurse faculty factors. Systems inadequacy and resource constraints formed the spine of the challenges contributing to the theory‐practice gap in the research setting.

The aim of this review and discussion paper is to advance the debate on competence in nursing, simulation education, and literacy in simulation education pedagogy. Building on our previous patient-safety critical translational research work on drug dosage calculation-competence modelling, and safeMedicate® virtual learning and diagnostic assessment environment design, we introduce three new concepts. First, we re-conceptualise the cognitive and physical modalities of a theory-practice gap, created by the traditional organisation of health professional education practice. Second, that simulated clinical environments occupy the liminal spaces between the ordered, symbolic and abstract world of the classroom, and the situated, messy world of clinical healthcare practice. Third, technology-enhanced boundary objects (TEBOs) function as simulation pedagogy modalities that (a) support students’ transition across the liminal space and boundaries between classroom and practice setting, and (b) support competence development and integration in nursing. We use a constructivist-based clinical simulation education model as a guiding pedagogical framework for applying TEBOs and an integrated nursing competence model. The e-version of the paper has embedded animation and illustrative video content to demonstrate these constructivist principles, using technology and computer animation to make complex education ideas accessible to experienced educators and clinicians, early-stage educators, and nursing and healthcare students.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to expand the competence-led structuring and understanding of sustainability education by analysing the practices of professional individuals who have completed university education geared to the development of sustainability change-makers. Design/methodology/approach The research scope was initially on examining professional practices following the boundary work theory. Social practice theory was used as a methodological approach in conducting and analysing thematic interviews with 19 sustainability-focused master’s programme alumni. The interviews were analysed against the theoretical framework while also noting findings that fell outside of this framework. Findings A framework for understanding materials, competences and meanings of practices connected to the professional field of sustainability was introduced. The framework suggests that in the practices of sustainability-educated professionals, meanings emerge as a top priority and are conveyed using position-based materials and various complexes of competency. Research limitations/implications The authors suggest that boundary theory informs well the emergence of the professional field of sustainability, and the utilisation of a practice theory furthers the understanding of sustainability professionalism and its education. Practical implications The authors’ suggest that practice theory could thus provide deeper insights on how sustainability science alumni use their education after graduation, how they practice their profession and in return offer applicable reflections to sustainability education. Originality/value Research using practice theory in reflection on sustainability education and the professional practice of sustainability has not been widely conducted and in the authors’ opinion brings value to the education and practice of sustainability and to the research of sustainability education.