Key Social Work Frameworks for Sociologists ● 29the mother was a heavy drinker of alcohol, Aleena did not feel the children
were safe, and she moved out to her current accommodation. Aleena left
school at 15 years of age with no qualifications. She became pregnant at 16,
and she has never been in paid employment. Aleena feels overwhelmed with
her current responsibilities. She tries to get Thomas to school most days, but
she struggles with exhaustion and often stays at home, doing little with the
children in terms of education and positive activities. Her doctor has diag-
nosed Aleena as suffering from depression, and Aleena has requested support
from a nongovernmental organization that helps families in crisis. We will
refer to this case study throughout the rest of the chapter as we examine the
applicability of various frameworks to Aleena’s situation.
A Framework for Critical ReflectionIn social work, reflexivity (or reflectivity) refers to awareness of how our
theories, values, beliefs, and culture shape our perceptions and interpretations
of situations. Sociologists will be familiar with the concept of reflexivity. Bour-
dieu referred to reflexivity as “the systematic exploration of the ‘unthought
categories of thought which delimit the thinkable and predetermine the
thought’” (Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992, 40). Sociologists will be less familiar
with the ideas of reflection-in-action and critical reflection that focus on
“a process of learning from experience” (Fook and Gardner 2012, 3). The
framework of critical reflection used by social workers in practice has devel-
oped from Schön’s (1983) seminal work on reflection-in-action and Fook,
White, and Gardner’s extensive theoretical development of critical social
work (Fook and Gardner 2012; Fook, White, and Gardner 2006). Schön’s
reflection-in-action is a process whereby workers, while having clear practice
frameworks, remain engaged in constant questioning of problem interpreta-
tions, goals, and professional practice theories. Both practice approaches and
professional theories can change as a consequence of reflection, as the practice
situation unfolds. To be able to reflect in action, a person must bring to the
fore underlying, unspoken, or tacit knowledge and must be curious or be able
to be surprised about the situation at hand.
Critical reflection goes beyond reflection-in-action. Borrowing from post-
modern ideas of discourse analysis of power arrangements, critical reflection
engages in a process of deconstruction and reconstruction, bringing about
alternative ways of seeing, thinking, speaking, and doing that can lead to
transformation and can enable new meanings and actions to be applied to an
issue (Fook and Gardner 2012; Fook 2012). According to Fook, White, and
Gardner (2006, 12), “critical reflection is the process by which adults identify
the assumptions governing their actions, locate the historical and cultural