Thinking Like a Social Worker: Examining the Meaning of Critical Thinking in Social Work

Critical thinking is frequently used to describe how social workers ought to reason. But how well has this concept helped us to develop a normative description of what it means to think like a social worker? This critical review mines the literature on critical thinking for insight into the kinds of thinking social work scholars consider important. Analysis indicates that critical thinking in social work is generally treated as a form of practical reasoning. Further, epistemological disagreements divide 2 distinct proposals for how practical reasoning in social work should proceed. Although these disagreements have received little attention in the literature, they have important implications for social work practice.