Ethics and value perspectives in social work (original) (raw)

Conclusion: Practising Values in Social Work

Ethics and Value Perspectives in Social Work, 2010

Social workers face especially hard moral choices. They are often caught between a rock and a hard place. There are situations in which, whatever they do, moral blame and guilt will

Ethics and Values in Social Work

Oxford Bibliographies Online Datasets, 2009

The topic of social work values and ethics has always been central to the profession. Scholarly literature on the subject has burgeoned in recent years. Earlier in social work’s history discussions focused primarily on the profession’s core values. Beginning in the 1970s, professional literature started to focus on complex ethical dilemmas in social work, ethical decision making, and ethics risk management. Various scholars have explored the nature of conflicts among professional duties and obligations, and developed conceptually based protocols for ethical decision making. Key topics include self-determination, paternalism, and informed consent; confidentiality and privileged communication; conflicts of interest, boundary issues, and dual relationships; digital and electronic technology; ethics committees and ethics consultation; ethics education; administration and organizational ethics; supervision ethics; impaired practitioners; and ethics risk management.

The Routledge Handbook of Social Work Ethics and Values

2019

Professionals caring for children and young people face moral dilemmas. Moral case deliberation (MCD) supports professionals and future professionals by stimulating reflection and dialogue on moral dilemmas, following a structured method guided by a trained facilitator. This article presents a description of an MCD in an educational context with future professionals learning to care for children and young people, structured in line with the dilemma method. The dilemma related to how to deal with a pregnant woman with a mild intellectual disability: should one let her decide for herself, or intervene for the sake of safety of the unborn child? The paper describes the process of deliberation in the student group, following the steps of the dilemma method. The discussion presents reflections of three MCD facilitators involved in the teaching program. The reflections focus on the role of experience in MCD with students, the added value of the step of making an individual judgment, and t...

The ethical implications of current theoretical developments in social work

British Journal of Social Work, 1995

This paper examines the ethical implications of current theoretical developments in social work and proposes that in attempting to achieve as accurate an understanding of social work reality as possible, social work should not forsake its worthwhile ideals. Social work needs to overcome its preoccupation with the development of ethical principles and rather find ways to understand what it means to respect other people, for this is the fulcrum on which its value system turns. Social workers need to develop empathy with the plight of their clients and a true concern for their well-being. It is from this that their moral disposition to help stems. The technical application of moral rules does not necessarily result in ethical behaviour. Moral sensitivity develops from seeing clients in a moral light and being mindful of their value as human beings. It is the product of a special kind of understanding which can be developed only through reflection and an appreciation of the all encompassing nature of morality.

Values, ethics and professionalization: A social work history

THE VALUE BASE OF SOCIAL WORK AND …, 2008

It has long been argued that social work is a value-based and professional activity. In the field of professional ethics,'values' usually take the form of general ethical principles relating to how professionals should treat the people they work with and what sorts of actions are ...

Journal of Social Work Values & Ethics

2007

Our subscription rates do not follow a seasonal trend, but illustrate slow growth. The subscription rates also suggest that social workers have a growing interest in values and ethics. Based on experience with other journals, we felt that a subscription rate of 600 would be very good. Thus, the entire editorial board is delighted by the interest in our work! Dear Editors: Congratulations on trying to use video as a way of extending the journal, I think it is important that we extend the range of media available to further discussion of ethical issues in the profession. Your observations about the difference in teaching between Britain and the USA were interesting, although I do question whether we should generalise in this way when there are such a range of approaches used in each country. For the future, I would like to see shorter and more focused video content, as I found I was drifting off after about 8 minutes. Certainly our experience of using podcasting and video podcasting h...

Focusing on Values in Theoretical Models of Social Work

Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 2023

Values are at the basis of a large part of social work. They are states or modes of action considered to be desirable, assessments and orientations included in the systems of preference and reference of individuals, groups, and communities. Although the values represent beliefs or convictions that are not based on scientific arguments, they lead and direct the professional activities in social work, being an integral part, often with a directive role in the theoretical and methodological models that guide the action in this field. Starting from the outline of the definitions of values and the delineation of the types of values, this paper deals further with the ways in which the significance and the roles of values are highlighted in the theoretical and methodological models of intervention developed over time in social work.