Schools of social work in France are, finally, developing scientific research centers for training and social action - Prefas - or joint investigation with universities. The scientific character of social work is questioned and challenged according to the interactions among social actors and the references that they gather while competing. These methodological issues arise from the struggle between the fields of the social sciences and social work, as well as within the social work field as part of a revival of the dichotomy between theoretical knowledge, local and universal. Thus, the development of a scientific paradigm of professions such as social work and also the issue of institutional models with hybrid epistemologies may not fully fit within the existing logic due to some form of historical refusal of the Academy when articulating science and efficiency.
Social Work; Professional Knowledge; France.