Virtue Ethics in Social Work Practice


Book Description

Using evidence from research with practitioners, integrated with wider material about virtue ethics in the helping professions, this book explores important types of virtue that are central to developing and sustaining excellence in social work. Comprised of ten chapters and drawing on extensive research with social workers as well as wider debates and analysis, the discussion carefully concentrates on everyday experiences and achievements. This approach enables the book to avoid an idealized and prescriptive approach by making clear that virtues vary between contexts and individuals, while at the same time clearly marking out qualities and characteristics of social work that are foundational to the development of practitioners and of the profession as a whole. It will be required reading for students on all BSc/BSW and MSc/MSW courses on professional ethics or preparation for practice. It will also be of interest to practitioners in other professions, including human services, health, education and social development or development studies.




Values and Ethics in Social Work Practice


Book Description

Applying values and ethics to social work practice is taught widely across the qualifying degree programme, on both Masters and BA courses. This book is a clear introduction to this subject and will help students develop their understanding by showing social work students how ethics can have positive impacts on the lives of vulnerable people. There are chapters on how social workers can make good ethical and value-based decisions when working with risk, and how the role of the social worker as professional can impact on service users. Above all the book is a timely and clear introduction to the subject, with an emphasis on advocacy and empowerment and how the beginning social worker can start to apply these concepts.




Ethics in Professional Life


Book Description

What does it mean to be a good professional? What is the role of courage in professional life? How do we develop the moral qualities of respectfulness, justice and care? Firmly rooted in practice, this book is a timely exploration of the nature and value of a virtue-based approach to ethics in health and social care. Skilfully drawing on relevant moral philosophical literature, Part I offers a clear yet critical account of virtue ethics. Virtue ethics bases ethical evaluations on the moral qualities or character traits of professional practitioners. This approach, the authors argue, is a vital counter-balance to the recent emphasis in professional ethics on the regulation of conduct by rules and procedures. Part II explores the key virtues of professional wisdom, courage, respectfulness, care, trustworthiness, justice and integrity. Each chapter starts with examples from practice and ends with strategies for cultivating these key virtues in education and practice. Ethics in Professional Life is a challenging and original text that is ideal reading for all students, practitioners and academics in the field of health and social care.




The Ethics of Care


Book Description

The author assesses the ethics of care as a promising alternative to the familiar moral theories that serve so inadequately to guide our lives. Held examines what we mean by care and focuses on caring relationships. She also looks at the potential of care for dealing with social issues and global problems.




Ethics, Values and Social Work Practice


Book Description

A framework of ethics and values forms the foundation of social workers' professional identities. Ethics and values should shape the way that social workers practice and how they impact upon the lives of the service users they work to support. In a fast-moving world influenced by shifting policy, tight budgets and changing practice standards, students and practitioners need to anchor their understanding of themselves to clear principles for ethical practice. Ethics, Values and Social Work Practice is a brand new text offering students and social work practitioners a contemporary and relevant introduction to the central role of ethics and values in their work. In addition to a grounding in the major trends in ethics applied to social work, this book also provides perspectives on: How to situate ethics and values in social work practice How to understand ethics as part of reflective practice as both student and practitioner How ethics and values link to concepts of power, diversity and social justice The role of ethics and values in interprofessional and partnership working The guiding principles and ethics inherent in relationship-based social work. The book supports student learning by providing: Discussion points to allow time for individual reflection or ethical debates Case studies based on likely scenarios from practice, with reflection points to help social workers engage with the issues raised Chapter summaries and key points for social work practice to reinforce the relevance of your learning to real social work practice A glossary of key terms as a reference for key ethics terms and concepts. Contributors: Pat Cartney, Jean Dillon, Souzy Dracopoulou, Ann Flynn, Alison Higgs, Mina Hyare , Colin Whittington, Margaret Whittington and Tom Wilks “This is an excellent edited reader providing students and practitioners with a grounding in ethics and values whilst linking these to specific practice and the development of professional identity, inclusion and reflective practice. This book will be an essential reader for those in qualifying social work programmes, ASYE staff, practitioners and academics.” Hugh McLaughlin, Professor of Social Work, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK “This book provides an exceptional exposé of ethics and values in social work practice. Conceptual clarity and critical presentations of contemporary debates are presented in a systematic text. It is written in an accessible style and the content will prove valuable to social work students, practitioners and researchers alike. This is one of the most comprehensive books on ethics and values in social work practice available in the market.” Professor Lambert Engelbrecht, Department of Social Work, Stellenbosch University, South Africa




Ethics and Values in Social Work


Book Description

Social work ethics provide practitioners with guidance on how to promote social work values such as respect, social justice, human relationships, service, competence, and integrity. Students entering the profession need to develop a real-world understanding of how to apply these values in practice while also managing the dilemmas that arise when social workers, clients, and others encounter conflicting values and ethical obligations. Ethics and Values in Social Work offers a comprehensive set of teaching and learning materials to help students develop the knowledge, self-awareness, and critical thinking skills required to handle values and ethical issues in all levels of practice--individual, family, group, organization, community, and social policy. BSW and MSW students will particularly appreciate how complex ethical obligations and theories have been translated into plain language. Additionally, the comprehensive set of case examples and exercises provides realistic scenarios to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills across a range of practice situations.




Social Work Theory and Ethics


Book Description

This reference work addresses the ideas that shape social work. Much of the social work literature addresses questions of theory and ethics separately, so that the body of thought that is represented in social work scholarship and research creates a distinction between them. However, the differences between these categories of thought can be somewhat arbitrary. This volume goes beyond this simple separation of categories. Although it recognises that questions of theory and ethics may be addressed distinctly, the connections between them can be made evident and drawn out by analysing them alongside each other. Social work's use and development of theory can be understood in two complementary ways. First, theory from the social sciences and other disciplines can be applied for social work; second, considered, systematic examinations of practice have enabled theory to be developed out of social work. These different approaches are usually referred to as 'theory for practice' and 'practice theory'. The advancement of social work theory occurs often through the interplay between these two dimensions, through research and scholarship in the field. Similarly, social work ethics draw on principles and concepts that have their roots in philosophical inquiry and also involve applied analysis in the particular issues with which social workers engage and their practices in doing so. In this way social work contributes to wider debates through advancement of its own perspectives and knowledge gained through practice. Social Work Theory and Ethics: Ideas in Practice offers a unique approach by bringing together the complementary dimensions of theory with each other and at the same time with ethical research and scholarship. It presents an analysis of the ideas of social work in a way that enables connections between them to be identified and explored. This reference is essential reading for social work practitioners, researchers, policy-makers, academics and students, as well as an invaluable resource for universities, research institutes, government ministries and departments, major non-governmental organisations, and professional associations of social work.




Mastering Social Work Values and Ethics


Book Description

This key text examines ethical concerns arising at different stages of professional development in social work and offers guidelines to overcoming them. Practice pointers equip practitioners with the skills and knowledge to move beyond professional codes and work to a broader set of values.




Ethical Practice In Social Work


Book Description

Ethical Practice in Social Work' provides social work students and practitioners with the tools to develop ethical decision-making and problem-solving skills for the changing world of welfare practice. Through case studies in each chapter, the authors demonstrate how social work principles and values can be used to transform practice into an active, effective, inclusive and empowering process for both professionals and their clients. Exercises and discussion questions assist students in developing their ethical understanding.




Virtue Ethics and Professional Roles


Book Description

Professionals, it is said, have no use for simple lists of virtues and vices. The complexities and constraints of professional roles create peculiar moral demands on the people who occupy them, and traits that are vices in ordinary life are praised as virtues in the context of professional roles. Should this disturb us, or is it naive to presume that things should be otherwise? Taking medical and legal practice as key examples, Justin Oakley and Dean Cocking develop a rigorous articulation and defence of virtue ethics, contrasting it with other types of character-based ethical theories and showing that it offers a promising new approach to the ethics of professional roles. They provide insights into the central notions of professional detachment, professional integrity, and moral character in professional life, and demonstrate how a virtue-based approach can help us better understand what ethical professional-client relationships would be like.