Comprehensive Handbook of Social Work and Social Welfare, Volume 2, Human Behavior in the Social Environment
Chapter One
HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND THE SOCIAL
ENVIRONMENT: EXPLORING
CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS
Susan I. Stone, Stephanie Berzin, Sarah Taylor,
and Michael J. Austin
Social and behavioral science theories represent a key source of knowledge for social work
practice. One core function of social work scholarship is to select, synthesize, and translate
this knowledge for specific use within the profession, including research, practice, and
social work education. Because these theories have been generated for purposes that are
oftentimes loosely related to goals and needs of the social work profession, a complex set
of factors shape the "borrowing" process, including assessments of fit between theories
and professional values, their evidentiary base, and their applicability and transportability
to practice.
There is surprisingly little social work literature explicitly addressing theory selection,
synthesis, and translation in terms of constructs related to human behavior and development,
environme ... read full excerpt from Comprehensive Handbook of Social Work and Social Welfare ebook
