O ensino da metodologia de investigação na formação inicial em Serviço Social: entre a transversalidade exigida e a predominância da metodologia qualitativa

Social work is a profession recognized for its intervention with populations in situations of social vulnerability. However, it is not reduced to this dimension and research has gained more and more space in the practice of professionals and it is highlighted in the literature of the area. Thus, it is important to understand how we train students and future professionals in this field. In this article, we present a part of a broader study on the research teaching in initial training in social work, where we intend to know and understand the methodological guidelines of research taught in initial training in social work from the perspective of teachers. This is a multiple case study of a qualitative nature, whose units of analysis are three Degree courses in Social Work in Portugal, where 12 teachers were interviewed. The data revealed the concern that HEIs (Higher Education Institutions) demonstrated in guaranteeing students a transversal knowledge of the different methodological approaches, regardless of the current tendencies that mark the investigations produced by social workers, their interest or suitability to the disciplinary area and the methodologies preferably adopted by the teachers themselves as researchers. It is also concluded that, despite this transversality, there is a predominance of qualitative methodology in the works developed by social work students in association with the nature of the profession's intervention.