Elements promoting critical thinking skills in report writing of forensic social workers: a rapid review
Abstract
As a social worker having practised statutory social work, foster care, group work, community work and forensic social work, the researcher can safely say that social work in general requires a range of emotional and psychological skills in addition to formal academic training. Critical thinking skills necessitate utilising a variety of skills to critically appraise opinions, arguments, claims and actions to arrive at well-reasoned judgements or evaluations (Mathias, 2015: 458). Practising forensic social work requires specialised skills and knowledge relevant to civil and criminal court settings (Hewitt, 2012). Therefore, forensic social work requires training and experience beyond that provided only in social work education programs. Acquiring specific skills and knowledge will assist and guide the practicing forensic social worker to become an expert in their field.
As such, the product of a forensic assessment namely the forensic court report, should reflect how the social worker argued the case based on critical thinking principles, formulating their own arguments based on different perspectives. Not only should the social worker form their own opinions but their arguments should be strengthened and grounded in a theoretical framework. Meintjies-van der Walt (2003) reiterates the importance of independently testing the expert’s opinion, stating “it is of the greatest importance that the value of the opinion should be capable of being tested and unless the expert states the grounds upon which he bases his opinion, it is not possible to test its correctness so as to form a proper judgment upon it.” (Meintjies-van der Walt, 2003:49).
Different studies advocate the role that critical thinking plays in encouraging rational, thorough assessments and demonstrating effective oral and written engagement with various client systems. In forensic court reports, critical thinking should play an important role as report writing is not only an intricate process but further involves careful and thorough attention to deliver a written product of outstanding quality (Monosi, 2017). The aim of this study is to synthesise information by conducting a rapid review. A knowledge synthesis will gather evidence to identify key elements that promote critical thinking skills in forensic report writing of social workers practising forensic social work. Identifying these elements will improve the development of critical thinking skills, specifically in forensic report writing and contribute towards the knowledge base of social work education and practice as well as guide future studies.
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- Health Sciences [2060]