The primary issue that was addressed in the Journal article, “Moral Reasoning of MSW Social Workers and the Influence of Education” written by Laura Kaplan, was that social workers make critical decisions on a daily basis that effect others. They influence their clients’ lives through giving timely and appropriate funding to them and their families, through deciding should a family stay together or should they have a better life with another family, or connecting the client with appropriate resources that can enhance their lives. The article addresses data from an array of students from various universities. The researcher posed these questions; “Would social workers use moral reasoning (what is right and what is wrong) more prevalent if it was taught through an individual class during your MSW graduate studies, or if you obtain any other undergraduate degree, or if the ethic course was integrated in the curriculum?”
The background information provided by the author on this issue was determined by an instrument that captures how a person would use moral reasoning. The pre and post test of the Defining Issues Test (DIT) formulated by Rest, Narvaez, Thoma &Bebeau in 1999, was the primary instrument used in collecting data. She also reflected on several social work ethics literature, psychology, marriage, family therapy, counseling that focused on ethical decisions. Kaplan also indicated the Rest’s Neo-Kohlbergian Theory which progressed throughout the year played a significant part in the research study. It focused on how a person can reach their highest stage of development. Lastly, McNeel in 1994 determined that liberal arts programs had the greatest influence on moral reasoning.
The surveys were randomly mailed to a thousand...
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...rowing up by parents that would allow someone to make ethical decisions as a social worker.
Social Work Reference
Kaplan, L.E. (2006). Moral reasoning of MSW social workers and the influence of education. Journal of Social Work Education, 42, 507-522.
McNeel, S. (1994). College teaching and student moral development. In J. Rest, & D. Narvaez (Eds.), Moral development in the professions: Psychology and applied ethics (pp. 27-49). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
National Association of Social Workers. (1999). Code of ethics. Washington, DC: Author.
Rest, J., Narvaez, D., Bebeau, M., & Thoma, S. (1999). Postconventional moral thinking: A neo-Kohlbergian approach. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Rest, J., Narvaez, D., Thoma, S., & Bebeau, M. (1999). DIT2: Devising and testing a revised instrument of moral judgment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(4), 644-659.
Social workers have many tools at their hand to enabling personal values to remain in check. The general practitioners communication with supervisors and collages can provide guidance on this issue. They can attend professional workshops pertaining to subjects such as ethics, and maintaining professional relationships. Social workers can continually evaluate their own values and beliefs and seek professional help such as therapy when
The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) Code of Ethics (2010) proposes three core values of Social Work, respect for persons, social justice and professional integrity (pp.12). These core values establish “ethical responsibilities” for the social worker (AASW, 2010, pp.12), specifically, the value of respect for persons, which sustains the intrinsic worth of all human beings as well as the right to wellbeing and self determination consistent with others in society (AASW, 2010,p.12). This Code of Ethics stipulates the duty of care a social worker must provide, a...
National Association of Social Workers [NASW]. (1998). The New NASW Code of Ethics Can Be Your Ally: Part I. Retrieved from: http://www.naswma.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=96
The NASW Code of Ethics is the premier source of social work values, especially for students. It “is relevant to all social workers and social work students, regardless of their professional functions, the settings in which they work, or the populations they serve” (Code of Ethics - NASW, n.d.). These teachings are especially applicable in direct practice, no matter which client is being treated. Throughout the CSUB Social Work program, this worker is constantly reminded to “treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences” (Code of Ethics - NASW,
A fundamental element that brings society together can be summarized in one term: ethics. This concept is deep-rooted in each individual’s interaction with others, and themes such as conscience and righteousness are often taught to children from a young age. In order to promote the proper, humane growth of a person, parents and guardians instill moral guidelines into children and students in their beginning years of education. While discipline and judgemental education continue on through one’s youthful years, the notion tapers off during the adolescent age where most assume that ethical judgement becomes common sense. As adults and supervisors no longer preach the importance of doing the right thing, teens in the high school age may become
According to the National Association of Social Work (NASW), Social work is defined as, “The professional activity of helping individuals, groups, or communities enhance or restore their capacity for social functioning and creating societal conditions favorable to this goal.” As such to pursue a career as a Social worker one must contain some key values. Such values include: one must be able to provide help, resources, and benefits to people so that they can achieve their maximum potential in life, they must also uphold that all citizens should be treated equally despite their socioeconomic background. In addition, they have to be willing to maintain trustworthiness and sound adherence to moral ideals, value the dynamic reciprocal interactions
Lawrence Kohlberg conducted research on the moral development of children. He wanted to understand how they develop a sense of right or wrong and how justice is served. Kohlberg used surveys in which he included moral dilemmas where he asked the subjects to evaluate a moral conflict. Through his studies, Kohlberg observed that moral growth and development precedes through stages such as those of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development. He theorized that moral growth begins at the beginning of life and continues until the day one dies. He believed that people proceed through each stage of moral development consecutively without skipping or going back to a previous stage. The stages of thought processing, implying qualitatively different modes of thinking and of problem solving are included in the three levels of pre-conventional, conventional and post conventional development. (2)
Ethics consists of factors such as culture, religion, and these continuously affect a person’s beliefs and ethics. As individuals continue to develop and adapt to different values and ethics. This is through past experiences and the expectations as our life pattern changes. Core values in social work practice are the code of ethics, informing our understanding of the difference and diversity. The social work profession is evaluated by a whole set of guidelines, measures put in place by regulatory bodies, allowing the movement to put in place new governmental laws and guides within this field.
All social workers are beholden to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics. Professional ethics are the main core of social work. The profession has an obligation to articulate its basic values, ethical principles, and ethical standards. The code is composed of thematic sections that outline a social worker’s responsibility to clients, colleagues, employers, and the profession. Some responsibilities that a social worker has to a client are that the clients are their primary responsibility, fostering maximum self-determination in clients, respecting the privacy of clients, keeping information that has been shared during the course of their duties confidential and charging fees for services that are fair and considerate
The social work profession and its Code of Ethics dictate that social workers must act in the best interest of the client, even when those actions challenge the practitioner’s personal, cultural and religious values. In practice; however, ethical decision-making is more complex than in theory. As helping professionals, social workers are constantly faced with ethical decision-making or ethical dilemmas. As noted by Banks (2005), an ethical dilemma occurs “when a worker is faced with a choice between two equally unwelcome alternatives that may involve a conflict of moral principles, and it is not clear what choice will be the right one” (as cited in McAuliffe & Chenoweth, 2008, p. 43). In addition, ethical decision-making is a process that
Press. Parrott, Lester. (2010). Principles and consequences. In: Values and Ethics in Social Work. 2nd ed. Exeter: Learning Matters. P47-67.
Kohlberg, L. (1984). The psychology of moral development: the nature and validity of moral stages. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
Moral development “focuses on the emergence, change, and understanding of morality from infancy through adulthood. In the field of moral development, morality is defined as principles for how individuals ought to treat one another, with respect to justice, others ' welfare, and rights.” (Citation) Essential to the success of every society is moral development. Lawrence Kohlberg cultivated and advanced the framework of Piaget’s life’s work in the area of moral development. He theorized that we formulate ways of thinking through our experiences. Such experiences included but weren’t limited to an understanding of the moral concepts of human welfare, rights, equality and justice. Through his research Kohlberg ascertained that we go through various
Throughout this course, I have learned essential ways to behave as a social worker. Prior to having this class, I was caught in an ethical dilemma at my former job. Without prior knowledge of ethical decision making models, I was able
There are certain ethics that social workers must follow and is a guidance for professional standard of work. However sometimes people are not aware of their own values, though the more fully conscious someone is about their values, the more people are able to ensure that their actions are consistent with the values. As a social worker it is vital to know the dangers of not taking account of values and the ethical dimension of practice. A social worker should see their client for who they are and not just another object that is unclear by their own emotions hence why self-awareness is a key to