THE STATUS OF THEORY AND KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT IN SOCIAL-WELFARE ADMINISTRATION

The author's purpose is to examine the status of theory and knowledge development in social welfare administration by means of a content analysis of thirteen major texts on human service management, published in the last decade. The study found that despite a proliferation of literature on the topic, there are few theoretical models of human service management that fully can meet the criteria of a good theory. In order to strengthen the knowledge-base of the discipline, it is recommended that more indigenous theories be developed which are well-grounded in the distinctive characteristics of human service organizations and have a clear outcome measure of performance.