SOCIAL WORK: A VALUES-BASED

PROFESSION

Values

Now that you have a better idea of what social workers do in their field, let’s

take a closer look at the profession’s ideological foundation. The profession of

social work is based upon a set of core values. These values are service, social

justice, the dignity and worth of the person, the importance of human relationships,

integrity, and competence.26 In terms of service, the primary goal of social

work is to help people in need and to address social problems. This is the reason

that many people choose to become social workers. Social workers believethat service to others is more important than self-interest, the dominant value of

the market economy. A second core value is social justice. Much of what social

workers do involves social and economic justice. Social workers promote social

change with and on behalf of vulnerable populations—groups such as women,

racial and ethnic minorities, children, and people with disabilities. To accomplish

this, social workers strive to develop more just policies, programs, and

services for these groups in need. (Note: By “racial and ethnic minorities,” we

mean groups that, based on their race or ethnicity, are rendered subordinate to

society’s more dominant groups. More information on this topic will be

provided in Chapter 5.)

They also emphasize “human rights” such as freedom, privacy, safety, education,

health care, and decent standards of living. The aforementioned groups

often suffer from social problems, including poverty, discrimination, unemployment,

and oppression. Often these are groups that are either too young or

too old to participate in the market or, because of race or gender, have been

discriminated against in their efforts to participate in the market economy.

Social workers, therefore, work to promote more just and humane policies as

well as programs to address these issues.

Another core value in social work is the dignity and worth of each person.

All social workers must respect the inherent dignity and worth of every

individual. This is a prerequisite for developing effective helping relationships

with individuals, families, and groups. In the process, social workers need to

understand the unique cultures and backgrounds of the people with whom

they work. This requires an openness and sensitivity to the unique experiences

of every individual. It also involves the promotion of self determination for

each individual.

A fourth core value of social work is the importance of human relationships.

One reason for this is that social workers use human relationships to

promote change in individuals, families, groups, and communities. Social

workers also understand that helping people to develop healthy human relationships

is a means to a high-quality life and happiness for all people. Healthy

human relationships are a prerequisite for meeting the needs of love and

belonging and for developing healthy families.

Integrity is a fifth basic value in social work. Professional social workers

must act with integrity at all times. In so doing, social workers develop the trust

of clients and coworkers. Social workers also work to promote ethical policies

and practices in the organizations in which they are employed. Furthermore,

integrity is an important factor for social workers if they are to have the credibility

needed to promote social justice.

A final core value of the social work profession is competence. Social workers

must practice within the areas of their competence and must continually

work to develop and enhance their professional expertise. What is more, social

workers should look for opportunities to contribute to the profession’s knowledge

base through education, scientific inquiry, and evaluation of programs and

their individual practice.

Ethics

Values relate to what people consider desirable, while “ethics” relates more

directly to what people consider right or wrong.27 That is, ethics pertain to

values in action. When considering the profession of social work, ethics are

important because they relate to expectations associated with professionalthat service to others is more important than self-interest, the dominant value of

the market economy. A second core value is social justice. Much of what social

workers do involves social and economic justice. Social workers promote social

change with and on behalf of vulnerable populations—groups such as women,

racial and ethnic minorities, children, and people with disabilities. To accomplish

this, social workers strive to develop more just policies, programs, and

services for these groups in need. (Note: By “racial and ethnic minorities,” we

mean groups that, based on their race or ethnicity, are rendered subordinate to

society’s more dominant groups. More information on this topic will be

provided in Chapter 5.)

They also emphasize “human rights” such as freedom, privacy, safety, education,

health care, and decent standards of living. The aforementioned groups

often suffer from social problems, including poverty, discrimination, unemployment,

and oppression. Often these are groups that are either too young or

too old to participate in the market or, because of race or gender, have been

discriminated against in their efforts to participate in the market economy.

Social workers, therefore, work to promote more just and humane policies as

well as programs to address these issues.

Another core value in social work is the dignity and worth of each person.

All social workers must respect the inherent dignity and worth of every

individual. This is a prerequisite for developing effective helping relationships

with individuals, families, and groups. In the process, social workers need to

understand the unique cultures and backgrounds of the people with whom

they work. This requires an openness and sensitivity to the unique experiences

of every individual. It also involves the promotion of self determination for

each individual.

A fourth core value of social work is the importance of human relationships.

One reason for this is that social workers use human relationships to

promote change in individuals, families, groups, and communities. Social

workers also understand that helping people to develop healthy human relationships

is a means to a high-quality life and happiness for all people. Healthy

human relationships are a prerequisite for meeting the needs of love and

belonging and for developing healthy families.

Integrity is a fifth basic value in social work. Professional social workers

must act with integrity at all times. In so doing, social workers develop the trust

of clients and coworkers. Social workers also work to promote ethical policies

and practices in the organizations in which they are employed. Furthermore,

integrity is an important factor for social workers if they are to have the credibility

needed to promote social justice.

A final core value of the social work profession is competence. Social workers

must practice within the areas of their competence and must continually

work to develop and enhance their professional expertise. What is more, social

workers should look for opportunities to contribute to the profession’s knowledge

base through education, scientific inquiry, and evaluation of programs and

their individual practice.

Ethics

Values relate to what people consider desirable, while “ethics” relates more

directly to what people consider right or wrong.27 That is, ethics pertain to

values in action. When considering the profession of social work, ethics are

important because they relate to expectations associated with professionalconduct. Ethics are so important in social work that the profession has a “code

of ethics.” This code of ethics spells out social workers’ ethical responsibilities

to clients, to colleagues, to the social work profession, and to society at large,

among other things. They are, in essence, guidelines for professional conduct.

Ethics become a challenge for social workers when the professional social worker

has a choice between two options, both seemingly ethical, but only one can

be chosen. In such a case, which course of action is more ethical and how does

one determine this? In other cases, a social worker may have ethical responsibilities

to two different parties, say a parent and child, but can only meet his or

her responsibility to one party at a time.28

Social workers also confront ethical dilemmas involving confidentiality.

They are not supposed to share certain personal information conveyed to

them by clients; however, some circumstances may require social workers to

do just that in order to protect other people from harm or to protect clients

from harming themselves. Examples include suicidal clients and violent

spouses.

Other ethical dilemmas faced by social workers involve paternalism. Social

workers believe in self-determination for clients; however, there are certain

circumstances in which social workers may ethically have to direct client

behavior in order to keep a client safe. An example would be a mentally ill

homeless person who desires to sleep outside during a New England winter

instead of using a nearby community shelter. Another illustration would be a

social worker who works with children and youth, a population that is not fully

mature and therefore does not always exercise mature judgment involving

decisions on issues such as sexual relations, alcohol use, and other risk-taking

behavior.

Social workers in policy and administrative jobs deal with ethical dilemmas

that concern the allocation of scarce resources. How do social workers

make ethical choices to fund one program instead of another program? In an

environment of scarce resources, social administrators and policymakers must

make these decisions frequently. Again, the question is, what is the most ethical

option when choosing among several good options?

Furthermore, social workers must make ethical decisions involving their

professional colleagues. When should a social worker report a colleague who

divulges personal client information to others? At what point should a professional

social worker report a colleague who makes a sexual comment? When

should a social worker report a colleague suspected of drug abuse?

Social workers face these and other ethical dilemmas all too frequently. It is

the task of professional social work education to assist students in acquiring

specific knowledge about social work values and ethics and applying these

values and ethics in the field. This includes an awareness of the student’s

personal values and how they may conflict with the values of the social work

profession. It also requires teachers to stimulate awareness of ethical issues on

the part of students and help them develop analytical skills to deal with these

issues. What is more, by the time students graduate with a social work degree,

they should have a sense of moral obligation and personal responsibility concerning

the values and ethics of the profession.29

As previously stated, the NASW Code of Ethics provides social work students

and professionals with values, principles, and standards to guide their professional

conduct. Specifically, the NASW Code of Ethics serves six purposes.

First, it identifies the core values of the profession. Second, the code summarizes

the broad ethical principles related to social work values and provides ethical

16 Chapter 1

standards to guide social work practice. Third, the code offers social workers a

set of considerations for use in ethical dilemmas. Fourth, it provides ethical standards

by which the general public can hold the profession of social work

accountable. A fifth purpose, particularly important for students, is that the code

helps to socialize practitioners who are new to the field in terms of the profession’s

mission, values, ethical principles, and ethical standards. And finally,

the code of ethics provides the profession with criteria for judging whether or not

practicing social workers have been unethical in their conduct.30

More specifically, the aforementioned values and associated ethical principles

provided by the NASW Code of Ethics to guide social work practice are

quoted as follows:31

Value: Service

Ethical Principle: Social workers primary goal is to help people in need

and to address social problems.

Social workers elevate service to others above self-interest. Social

workers draw on their knowledge, values, and skills to help people in

need and to address social problems. Social workers are encouraged to

volunteer some portion of their professional skills with no expectation of

significant financial return (pro bono service).

Value: Social Justice

Ethical Principle: Social workers challenge social injustice.

Social workers pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf

of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people. Social

workers’ social change efforts are focused primarily on issues of poverty,

unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice.

These activities seek to promote sensitivity to and knowledge about

oppression and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers strive to

ensure access to needed information, services, and resources; equality of

opportunity; and meaningful participation in decision making for all

people.

Value: Dignity and Worth of the Person

Ethical Principle: Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth

of the person.

Social workers treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion,

mindful of individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity.

Social workers promote clients’ socially responsible self-determination.

Social workers seek to enhance clients’ capacity and opportunity to

change and to address their own needs. Social workers are cognizant of

their dual responsibility to clients and to the broader society. They seek

to resolve conflicts between clients’ interests and the broader society’s

interests in a socially responsible manner consistent with the values,

ethical principles, and ethical standards of the profession.

Value: Importance of Human Relationships

Ethical Principle: Social workers recognize the central importance of

human relationships.

Social workers understand that relationships between and among

people are an important vehicle for change. Social workers engage people

as partners in the helping process. Social workers seek to strengthen

relationships among people in a purposeful effort to promote, restore,

Social Work as a Profession 17

We can realistically

envision a world without

extreme poverty by the

year 2025 . . .

—Jeffrey D. Sachs, 2005, 347.

maintain, and enhance the well-being of individuals, families, social

groups, organizations, and communities.

Value: Integrity

Ethical Principle: Social workers behave in a trustworthy manner.

Social workers are continually aware of the profession’s mission,

values, ethical principles, and ethical standards and practice in a manner

consistent with them. Social workers act honestly and responsibly

and promote ethical practices on the part of the organizations with

which they are affiliated.

Value: Competence

Ethical Principle: Social workers practice within their areas of competence

and develop and enhance their professional expertise.

Social workers continually strive to increase their professional

knowledge and skills and to apply them in practice. Social workers

should aspire to contribute to the knowledge base of the profession.

Given these values and ethics, social workers feel that it is important to consistently

improve their competence in working with people from various backgrounds and

experiences. This involves a special competence in relation to diversity and individual

dignity.

Competence in Relation to Diversity

and Individual Dignity

Social work programs must be culturally relevant to be effective in assisting

all individuals and groups. That is, social work must recognize the interrelationship

between culture and personal identity. Cultural diversity in social

work often involves people of color, yet this concept also relates to gender,

class, physical ability, and sexual orientation. Using a “strengths perspective”

(to be discussed in Chapter 2 in more detail), social workers strive to recognize

and utilize the strengths inherent in each group to facilitate positivechange. That said, social workers need to be careful not to stereotype

individuals based upon membership in a specific group, but instead, recognize

that diversity exists within diversity. Each individual is unique; each is

worthy of dignity.33

“Culturally competent practice” focuses on the intersection between the

diverse worldview of the individual or group and the dominant views of a

given society; it requires social workers to understand how oppression and

discrimination contribute to a set of values, roles, adaptations, and coping

behaviors on the part of diverse individuals. This is because individuals

from diverse groups often attain a set of values that include survival, combat,

and street values that are quite different from the values that ordinarily

would characterize a diverse social group free of oppression and discrimination.

In short, social workers must develop a comprehensive understanding

of clients, an understanding that includes their diverse background and

associated characteristics—in contrast to using preconceived notions based

upon demographic categories.34

Cultural diversity, by definition, includes social, racial, and ethnic diversity.

“Social diversity” refers to differences based on age, class, or sexual orientation

for example. The concept of “race” relates more to physiological

differences. Because racial differences such as skin color are relatively noticeable,

discrimination against individuals based on racial group membership is

common and historically persistent. In contrast to race, “ethnicity” refers to distinct

population groups that share common traits and customs. These customs

are distinct in terms of their underlying values and the way these values are

conveyed in language, traditions, child rearing, male–female relations, art,

music, and so on.35

The concept of “cultural pluralism” seeks to respect and maintain ethnic

differences. Cultural pluralism allows diverse groups to express themselves without

suffering discrimination or oppression—even when they’re a minority in a

dominant culture. Respect for cultural pluralism demands that social workers

avoid imposing their own culture on people they are trying to assist.36 Social

workers who understand cultural pluralism understand that every individual is

like no other human being. That is, individuals are unique. Yet every individual

is like some other individuals in that they belong to subgroups, whether male or

female, or any other differentiator. And every individual is like all other individuals

in terms of their basic human needs. We all need food, water, shelter, and

relationships. Social workers must be knowledgeable about all three levels of

diversity. Why? Because a knowledge of cultural diversity is the first step in

respecting the dignity of every individual and a key to building trust in a helping

relationship.

To respect cultural pluralism, social workers must develop cultural competency

in their practice. Cultural competency may be understood through a

five-dimensional framework.37 This framework consists of informational,

intellectual, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and interventional competencies.

With regard to “informational competence,” social workers must become

aware of traditional and nontraditional knowledge in relation to oppressed

and stigmatized populations. This knowledge would include information

about theory, treatment, rehabilitation, empowerment, and community services.

“Intellectual competence” requires social workers to adapt information

in a way that best assists clients. This often requires or involves creative ways

of thinking, particularly for social workers involved in difficult individual

and social problems.

Social Work as a Profession 19

“Intrapersonal competence” involves empathy. That is, intrapersonal competence

requires social workers to not only understand their own perspective,

but also to understand another person’s view of the world. In doing so, social

workers need to understand, anticipate, and effectively deal with their own

emotional and behavioral reactions to individual problems in relation to a distinctly

different culture. This often requires that social workers monitor their

own culturally learned behaviors in order to effectively help persons from other

cultures.

“Interpersonal competence” includes the ability to work with people

distinctly different from oneself. It involves communicating with and effectively

engaging clients from different backgrounds. It involves empathy,

warmth, and respect for clients even if one finds the client unappealing or

frightening. “Interventional competency” refers to the synthesis and culmination

by social workers of the first four competencies. To the extent that

the social worker is competent in obtaining information about the client,

applying information to strategies for helping the client, being able to

understand and control his or her own cultural beliefs and behaviors in relation

to a different culture, and work effectively on a personal basis with

another person, then one can say that a social worker has achieved interventional

competence.38

In developing interventional competence, social workers expect to find

strengths and capabilities in clients even while helping a client to address a

specific problem. In short, social workers must understand the influence of culture

as a factor in problem definition and resolution. This involves the social

worker’s ability to view a client and their problems through the cultural lens of

the client as well as that of a social worker. It involves an ability to feel comfortable

with differences. It involves an ability to keep an open mind and examine

presuppositions when viewing people of different cultures. It may also involve

the ability to change one’s own perspective in the face of new information about

human differences. Overall, it requires an ability to be flexible in thinking and

behavior.39

Social workers believe that cultural competence enables them to better promote

social justice and human rights in their work. Because social justice is discussed

at length later in this text, we briefly describe its importance to social

work next.

Social Justice and Human Rights

Social work education programs examine the many factors that contribute to

oppression and discrimination against certain populations, including racial and

ethnic minorities, children, older adults, and women. People in these groupsare more likely to suffer from poverty and related problems such as substance

abuse and mental illness. Social work education examines strategies for producing

laws, institutions, and services that better meet the needs of these

populations, and therefore are more socially and economically just. In so doing,

the concepts of distributive justice, human rights, civil rights, and global

oppression are typically examined.41

Social work educators, students, and practitioners believe that these topics

are important. They also believe that finding people’s strengths and empowering

them through those strengths are also important in their work as social

workers.

Strengths and Empowerment

Social workers, as previously stated, believe in empowering their clients,

whether those clients are individuals, families, groups, organizations, or communities.

Each client has strengths that can be used in the helping process.

The social worker’s job is to collaborate with clients to discover those strengths

and to use them for positive change and empowerment.43

Empowerment is defined as a multidimensional construct that applies to

individuals, families, groups, organizations, and neighborhoods. It involves a

psychological sense of self-control as well as actual influence and power in the

greater society. In this sense, empowerment involves the study of “people in

context,” a primary distinction of the social work profession.44 Empowerment

refers not only to a state of mind, but also to a reallocation of power that results

from altering social institutions.

Social workers who seek to empower clients see their clients as functional

and healthy when given access to resources and opportunities. For individuals

and families, informal social networks, such as friends and relatives, are important

sources of support in the empowering process. In any case, if empowerment

is to take place, client goals, means, and outcomes must be defined by

the clients themselves in collaboration with a social worker. Social workers

help to provide information to create client self-awareness in setting goals for

positive change; they also help clients to access available resources and use

them effectively.45

In short, social workers empower clients when they increase the clients’

ability to control their destinies. This involves an ability to recognize client

strengths and to find, increase, and/or redistribute opportunities and resources

throughout society. For many clients, this is achieved by linking personal and

political power.46