Resisting Dogmatism in Social Work Knowledge Generation: Theorising, Social Justice and Implications for Social Work Doctoral Education.

This article focuses on the role of theorising in social work doctoral education as a means to advance social justice and diversify knowledge production within the profession. It critiques the current dominance of positivist and empirical paradigms in social work scholarship, which often marginalize alternative epistemologies and social justice concerns, and highlights the need to teach doctoral students how to engage in theorising—a reflective, creative process of generating new theoretical insights. Drawing on Foucauldian concepts of knowledge–power and Richard Swedberg's four-step process of theorising (observation, naming, building, and explaining a phenomenon), the article argues for revitalizing theory development to resist dominant discourses and better represent marginalized voices. It also discusses pedagogical challenges in fostering theorising amid prevailing empirical emphases and calls for a cultural shift in academia to support critical, value-driven scholarship in social work.