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Concept, act, and interest in social work practice: Implications of an empowerment perspective
Kondrat, Mary Ellen
Kondrat, Mary Ellen
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Abstract
Within recent social work literature, the concept of empowerment as a practice
perspective has received wide endorsement. In this article, I argue that adopting
the notion of empowerment as a framework for practice requires not only that we
think differently about professional practice but, more fundamentally, that we think
differently about professional knowledge. Using the work of philosopher Jiirgen
Habermas, particularly the distinction he makes among three arenas of human
activity—work, interaction, and power—I outline ways in which the functional
and cognitive interests associated with these arenas dictate differing orientations to
practice, alternate commitments to various forms of knowledge as applicable in
practice settings, and different accounts of practitioner error. Implications for professional
education are addressed.
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1995-09
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University of Chicago Press
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Kondrat, M. E. (September 1995). Concept, act, and interest in social work practice: Implications of an empowerment perspective, Social Service Review. 69(3), pp. 403-428.