Essay on Social Work Values and Ethics

Essay on Social Work Values and Ethics

Awareness of ethical issues and values is an essential part of the social work for the practitioners to perform their roles in a professional manner. The ability of social workers to carry out their duties in an ethical manner while still applying accepted values is a fundamental aspect of the quality of the services they offer to the users of social work services. Social work values and ethics are meant to encourage social workers across the world to effectively reflect on dilemmas and difficulties that they face when making ethically informed decisions regarding the action to take in a particular case. Social work ethics and values vary from one country to the other supported by the fact that some ethical challenges and problems that face social workers are unique and relates to a particular country while others are common (Garthwait, 2012).  

Principle of Human Rights and Humanity Dignity

This principle emphasizes the need for social workers to uphold and defend spiritual integrity, emotional, physical and psychological well-being of all individuals. These values could relate to the field of education and experience through guiding on how to respect the right of self-determination of the fellow students and colleagues, treating every person as a whole, promoting rights to participation and identifying and developing strengths in the groups (Gallina, 2010).

Social Justice

This principle guides on values and ethics of a social worker to embrace the responsibility to promote social justice in society and in the working place. This principle could enable in education and experience to challenge negative discrimination, recognize diversity, and support equal distribution of resources and challenging unjust policies and practices in school or working environment (Kimball & Kim, 2013).

Professional conduct

Social workers are required to acquire the required skills and competence to be equipped to carry their duties effectively. In the field of education and experience one would appreciate following the set guidance and rules act with integrity and be accountable for own actions. These principles are hence important and could play a significant role in the field of education and experience to an individual (Garthwait, 2012).

References

Gallina, N. (2010). Conflict between professional ethics and practice demands: Social workers’ perceptions. Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 7(2), 1-9.

Garthwait, C. (2012). The social work practicum: A guide and workbook for students (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

Kimball, E. & Kim, J. (2013). Virtual boundaries: Ethical considerations for use of social media in social work. Social Work, swt005.

Essay on Social Work Values and Ethics