Social Work Values and Principles - Essay Example

Social work values and principles Introduction Since the beginning of creation, mankind has wrestled with problems of injustice, violence, hatred,segregation and many other short comings. It is against this backdrop, that the social work profession was born. With the main purpose of caring for the well being of humanity, curing individuals with problems in social functioning, and changing the social environment for the betterment of people's lifestyle (Morales and Sheafor, 1989, P.19). Like every other profession, social work has its principles and values, which govern and asses workers performance, in order to facilitate the attainment of tangible services. Defined by Morales & Shearfor, as "the professional activity of helping individuals, groups or communities enhance or restore their capacity of social functioning and creating societal conditions favourable for that to go on" (1982, P.19This indeed is a profession after humanity's heart And unlike other helping professions, social work upholds values and principles most. These values like, "integrity", "service", "propriety" and others, all serve for the better functioning of society and the profession. It is true then that, social work values and principles are a fundamental base for the development of the social worker and the profession itself. 2. History of Social Work Born in the 18th century, the first class of social work was held in Colombia University in the summer of 1898 ("Social work history, PP.1). Pioneers of Social work like Frances Perkins, Jane Addams, Janette Rankins and others, have struggled to enable the equal access of people to opportunities and resources for their basic needs (promoting the profession - enhancing social well being"). However, over the years, pioneers had struggled with opposition that declined social work as a profession. One of such opposition Abraham Flexner did not mince words in the 1915 National Conference of Charities, when he referred to it as a "semi-profession (qyt in Netting Kettner and Mcmurfy, 1993, P. 27). Sparked by this criticism, social workers hurried to improve their discipline by making it more professionally define. 3. My Personal and Professional development as influenced by Social work. Like most professions, you need an inner call, to be a social worker, so that you will be able to adjust willingly to the personal and professional demands of the profession. This is in relation to the high demanding values and principles of this profession. Looking at the fact, the social worker is the "object" of practice he/she has to make certain changes on values, lifestyle and knowledge base. Looking at the code of ethics of the international federation of social workers, there is a great demand on the workers commitment to self and professional development (Morales and Sheafor, 1989, P. 221). Thus, I have struggled with prioritizing my values digesting the values of the profession in order not to mix up things. I also realised that I would need to improve on my communication skills, so as to be able to aptly communicate an idea and to listen properly in order to understand. It is amazing how your little habits and some aspects of your style have to change and yet you still maintaining your uniqueness. This was a dilemma for me, but commitment is proving to be fruitful. 4. An analysis of my reading about Social work values. According to Danny Ursery, values are our believes or attitudes about what is proper, good, desirable etc. which gives us a foundation from which we can make personal and professional judgements and choices (2002 PP. 1). He further explains that values might be based on "knowledge", "aesthetic", combination of all (Ursery, 2002, Pg. 1). Similarly, Milton Riokeach defines value as "a type of belief, centrally located in one's total belief systems, about how one ought or ought not to behave, or about some end state of assistance worth or not worth attaining (qyt in Morales and Sheafor P. 209). Both accounts, stress the fact that values help us to identify choices, but do not make them for us. They both imply that the end of acts of value, is for the good of humanity, whether "natural goods" or moral goods" (wikipedia encyclopaedia). There is a general worry, among schools about what kind of values should e taught, owing to the diversity of culture and religion (Heath, 1994, P.198). however, Heath encourages that meta values, that is, values that have transcended time cultures and religions, should be upheld in intellectual circles, an example of such values are "Honesty and truth", "fairness and compassion", "integrity" "commitment" and "freedom" and "courage" (Heath, 1994, P.198). With these Meta values, and other cultural values, social workers associations have made their code of ethics, that suit practise in that society. A code of ethics is a necessity, so as to avoid numerous personality conflicts in the profession and society as a whole. Frankel puts it in better words that: "Undoubtedly, tensions between community sentiments and professional values are particularly acute in social work. The nature of the profession itself is such that the choices the professional worker must make between his profession itself, is such that professional values and broader social values are more difficult and ambiguous." (Qyt in Morales and Sheafor P. 212). There are also worries expressed by the social workers as to how to practise some these principles for example, what does respect in practice mean The principles mainly state what ought t be, but no comprehensive approach to the application of these principles. However, looking at the moral laws that guides principles can help in practice. (Ursery, 2002, PP. 9).One moral rule that birthed the principle of "respect", states that "one should not lie to other people". (Ursery, 2002, PP. 9). Still, learning principles in writing is not the same as with the tensions of real life situations. Often times, there are serious contradictions between the professional values, the law and the realities of unusual situations. In Robert Schneider and Ellen Metting's article "influencing social policy in a time of devolution", Thompson states "the profession remains at war within itself about the extent to which it should engage in matters of social justice and reform", (qyt PP. 1). Handler also wonders, if the law can be an effective mechanism in changing society (Handler, 1978, P. ix), as opposed to social work profession. This was the major issue in 2002, conference of the National Association Social Workers: New York Chapter, by the Committee on ethics and professional development, participants raised the following dilemma: Does the social worker always obey the law Ethics can be politicized; power is an issue as we manipulate systems on behalf of our clients. Is it our responsibility to manipulate or negotiate How does the social worker in a multidisciplinary setting, manage when other professions have conflicting codes of ethics. These dilemmas, through more light on the workers worries when confronted with the law and his own value expectation in relation to the profession and the realities of unusual situations. This is an area in the profession that need of constant further development. 5. An Evaluation of areas for further development and professional development in relation to social work values. Constant self-evaluation is a vital aspect for further development in this helping profession. The social worker needs to periodically review the "purpose", "scope", and "sanctions" of social work (Sheafor, Horejsi and Horejsi, 1991, P.4), so as to positively influence practice behaviours. More so, awareness of one's responsibilities towards school practice, colleagues and clients will ensure practice stays with professional ethics, in order to give the best quality service possible (Sheafor, Horejsi and Horejsi: P.5). Another area for further development, is the bringing to consciousness our conscious values and prejudices. Since values are deeply rooted in our belief system, and our belief systems have been affected by our culture, gender and society (Charon, 1995, P.166), there are some dormant values in our unconscious mind, and these values can get in the way of practice. So too, there are unconscious prejudices, which need to be dealt with, so as to prevent them from influencing practice. As defined by social psychologists, prejudice is "one person's prejudgement, that is based on another person's membership in one social group" (Lippa, P. 129). Due to their unpleasant nature, prejudices are usually repressed or suppressed. Thus to deal with them, the individual needs to get objective, and without any defensiveness, analyse his or her prejudgements. Still, becoming more interactive with other ethnic groups, races and the other sex will uncover our sentiments toward them (Lippa P. 139). This inter-group communication will also help the social worker to become more versatile. In fact, Gilgun puts it in better words "mindful critical reflection can help identify and manage personal bias, such a stance includes developing capacities for challenging assumptions and preferred ways of viewing self, others and the world (P. 55). The greatest way I challenge my self in the profession, is by practicing. Practice entails "knowledge related to how one directly interacts with clients or indirectly works on behalf of clients by seeking to improve human services or change social conditions" (Sheater, Horjsi and Honjsi, 1991, P.31). To offer quality services, a good knowledge base is a must, I have learnt, to be committed to my studies in other disciplines of social science and the humanities. However, reading is not enough to help you in practice, because, abstract ideas take more than reading them to be translated into practice. Thus I look for the moral value behind abstract principles and apply. Many social workers have oppressed their clients with their approach, but since I read this quote, from 'Social work Macro practice', my approach has changed, "a valuable contemporary lesson that has emerged in dealing with oppressed populations, is the importance of language. The words that social workers use in describing special population groups can eventually reinforce stereotypes and further oppress it says it all, I watch my language and not oppress the clients. 6. Conclusion In all, social work values and principles are the core of profession. These values and principles define the expectation and limitations of this profession. Thus the professional and personal development of the social worker and the profession itself is ensured. Thus there is a never ending need for constant research on methods to further develop the values principles and knowledge base on this profession. REFERENCES Challenges. reference.com (online) available, http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/social_works Charon, J.M. (1995) Ten Questions! A Sociological Perspective. California: Wadsworth Publishing Committee on Ethics and Professional Standards (NASW) New York Chapter (2002) Encyclopaedia of Social Work. (Online) available http://www.naswnyc.org/ethics.html Geneva facts sheet. Social work history. (Online) available http://www.socialworkers.org/pressroom/features/general/history.asp Gilgun, J. F. (2005) Research on Social work practice. The four cornerstones of Evidence - based Practice in Social work. Sage Publications. Handler, J.F. (1978) Social movements and the legal systems: A theory of law reforms and social change. New York: Academic Press. Heath, D.H (1994) schools of Hope. San Francisco. Jossey - Bass Publishers. Lippa, R. A. (1990) Introduction to School Psychology. California: Wadsworth Publishing. Netting, F.E., Hettner, P.M and McMurtry, S.L. (1993) Social Work Macro Practice. New York: Longman Promoting the Profession - enhancing Social well being National Association for Social workers. (online) Available http://www.socialworkers.org/advocates/issues/default.asp Schneider, R.L. and Metting, F.E. Influencing Social work's great tradition. Questia Journal. (Online) http://www.questia.com Sheafor, B.W., Horesjsi, C.R. and Horesjsi G.A. (1991) Techniques and Guidelines for Social Work Practice. Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon. Sheafor, B.S. and Morales A. (1989) Social Work: a Profession of many faces. Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon Value Theories Wikepedia Encyclopaedia. (Online) available http://en.wikepedia.org/wiki/value_theory Ursery, D. (July 2002) Exploring values, Rules and Principles. (Online) http://www.stewards.edu/ursery/value.htm Read More