Values Comparison Paper:
Exploring the Core Values of Social Work
“Never get tired of doing little things for others, sometimes those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts.” - Unknown. There are six main core values for the field of social work. These values are; (1) Service, (2) Social Justice, (3) Dignity and Worth of Person, (4) Competence, (5) Integrity, and (6) Importance of Human Relationships. I found that I agree with all six of the core values, not one of these are different from my own beliefs.
First, I’ll address the value of Service. A social worker is expected to serve others to the best of their ability and put them above their self. They should offer their knowledge to help the client and find the way to best serve them. As a social worker, one should want to volunteer and help out without any expectation of compensation or getting anything in return. I have always felt a strong calling to provide help and care for those who are in need. I have done this before in my own community, working closely with my local center to help homeowners with repairs to their house, such as; painting, roofing, cleaning, etc. When needed, I have also packed boxes of food, sorted through donations, delivered meals to shut-ins, and worked in a secondhand clothing distribution center. I enjoy using my time to help someone else out.
The second value of the social work profession is Social Justice. A social worker must be an advocate, they should challenge a system
Iruonagbe, Chiazor, & Ajayi (2013) beautifully described the sentiments of my heart regarding family making mention it is not only the oldest social institution, but indeed the most important. The responsibilities of families are great ranging from guidance, to support, and more importantly it gives the individual a sense of belonging and commitment. My personal value as a social worker is family is a bond that is not to be broken. When one of us is made weak, the other steps in and pick up the pieces. We are guided by love respect and sacrifice. I come from a strong background of caregivers. I have watched my mother care for her elderly mother until she took her last breath, or family unable to care for their child and most assuredly another member will raise that child. In like manner of Mrs. Vishnick being a widow myself I bore the responsibility of my children and applaud her for doing the same. I understand she is 87 years of age, and her adult daughter has a mental disability, still I am empathic to her situation. In my culture, it is expected other members will step in as no one is a throw away. Mrs. Vishnick should not have to carry the burden alone. Family must be able to depend on each other, as we are one another’s protective factor. God and our faith in him will see us through.
The National Association of Social Work (NASW) has identified a set of values that all social workers must consider during the course of their work (NASW, 2008). Social work values are broadly covered when you define social work as being a profession of aiding those in need and addressing oppression. Helping those in need directly relates to the value of supporting the needs of others. The definition also addresses the importance of bringing awareness to oppression. This relates to the values of addressing injustice, individuality and promoting harmony. On a broader perspective, all social workers are encouraged to continually pursue knowledge in their area and maintain ethical practices. Values have the purpose of ensuring that helpers always strive for what is best for the client. Manning (1997) points out that “the power to intervene in people’s lives carries
Social work is a profession which has the objective to improve the quality of life of other individuals. The NASW code of ethics is used as a guideline for social workers and the interaction they have with their clients. In addition, within the code of ethics, there are six values, which include service, social justice, dignity and worth of a person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. Therefore, going into the social work field it is important to understand that your
– My personal values will have to be respecting others, education, and helping and caring for others. The person(s) who I feel influenced me the most in forming my values is my parents and my grandmother. They influenced me because growing up they always preach about treating others with respect even if I feel like they don’t deserved it. They also made sure that education was a priority and not an option. For as helping and caring for others I always saw them helping when they didn’t necessary didn’t have too and not one complain or threw it in the person face. The value that lead me into social work is helping and caring for others wanting to see them do better and make better decision in life.
Looking at the values listed in the National Association of Social Workers (NASW, 2008) and the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW, 2010) code of ethics, I can see that the values held by the profession are also values I regard highly, such as respect for persons, social justice, professional integrity, service, importance of human relationships, and competence.
My first personal value that will impact my work as a social worker is respect. In terms of social work and ability to influence my additional values, respect is the most important. For me, respect means to honor others and appreciate their perspective. While my definition of respect may seem simple, its usefulness is multifaceted. One may respect a person, a place, a situation, a circumstance, etc. I learned concepts of respect as a child as my parents were teaching me to observe boundaries. They wanted me to respect my room, and keep it clean, and they explained to me how they respected my personal space. In return, my parents taught me to respect their boundaries, their room, and
Values which social workers are assumed to have are; unspoken understanding that social work can at times be pro bono, meaning no compensation for services provided, social workers must possess a knowledge of understanding regarding social injustice, they must be respectful when assisting individuals and be able to plan any type of intervention around beliefs and values the individual holds, whenever possible and social workers need to
The values set by their profession bind social workers by guiding their actions and decision-making in a professional setting. They are to respect the dignity and worth of persons, to strive for social justice, to offer humanity service, and to show integrity, confidentiality, and competence in their professional practice (CASW, 2005, p. 4).
My understanding of the social work profession and its core values is that social workers are caregivers, they provide assistance to people in need, and they address social problems. The social worker goal is the improvement of society to ameliorate the lives of individuals in need. The social work profession mission is to enhance the well-being of people and to assist them in meeting their basic needs, with particular emphasis on the needs of the poor, and the vulnerable individual. The Social Work profession has six core values. These core values are the foundation of the social work profession. The social worker incorporates these core values into his daily practices. Service to others is one of the fundamental values of social work. Social workers goal is serving others and putting the needs of their clients ahead of their own. Social justice is another core value of social work. Social workers aim at improving the lives of the disadvantaged, vulnerable people who are less fortunate or unable to advocate for themselves. Social workers understand the essential value of every human life, regardless of ethnic background, cultural differences or religious beliefs. Their goal is to respect the dignity and worth of every person. Another key value of social work is integrity. The social workers conduct themselves in a trustworthy, honest, and responsible manner at all times. Competence is another important core value of the social work profession. The
Social work practice is involve around service , social justice , dignity , worth of individual , importance of relationships, integrity and competence . The way I will maintain and develop the values throughout my career is to continue my education, conducting research, self-assessments, engage in interventions and participate in giving service on micro, macro and mezzo level.
The six core values of social work are integrity, social justice, competence, dignity and worth of the individual, service, and importance of human relationships. It is vital that a social worker shows that they have integrity, meaning that they should have trustworthy tendencies. Social workers must entice social justice. They should assure that social change is okay and be there for those who are considered oppressed. Social workers should always remain competent and be willing to expand their knowledge and use it to the best of their abilities. Having dignity and knowing the worth of the clients is very important. Social workers should always remain respectful no matter the situation. The goal of a social worker is to provide service
I was in grade 10 when I thought of becoming a social worker. As social worker practitioner the fields that interest me to work in is domestic violence and child abuse because I want to make change to the society. Also Mahatma Gandhi was my major inspiration through this quote “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”. Than an idea came to me, why not involve my contribution to the wide variety of communities. My communication with school counsellors and social workers has impacted my choice of desiring to study social work. I realised that if I have had a chance of seeing a social worker when I was young, things would have been much easier and less stressful. I want to provide opportunities that I did not encounter to other people. This essay will reflect my past experience, motivation and why I want to be a social worker, values, beliefs and theory of practice.
Assumed social work values include compassion and empathy for people who are in need, as well as selflessness to provide help to those who happen to be less fortunate and could benefit from professional assistance. Social workers must be able to understand the misfortunes of society and its individuals, without necessarily having experienced the same misfortunes firsthand. Being able to empathize for people without knowing from personal experience what they are going through is one example of the many assumed social work values. Furthermore, being able to advocate for social change, as well as for the rights of people who cannot advocate for themselves. Empathy, compassion, advocacy, and social justice are all examples of the
Improving the lives of individuals is the objective of the social work profession. There is six values within National Association of Social work Code of Ethics (NASW): Service, Social Justice, Dignity, and Self-worth of the person, Importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. These values are for social workers and their work with the client(s). Regardless of one’s race, religious belief, sex or sexual orientation each value benefits all individuals. Social workers should always practice professional values. Clients suffer from when the social worker does not uphold values. Code of Ethics is established for all social workers to obey and follow them. In this this paper, I will discuss the how “Importance of Human Relationship” will be the easiest to uphold and how “Social Justice” will challenge me as a social worker working with future clients, community and organizations.
These core values, embraced by social workers throughout the profession’s history, are the foundation of social work’s unique purpose and perspective: services, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity and competence.” (p. 1) In addition to; being in the social work profession you will work with three general practice skills, which are Micro skills, Mezzo skills and Macro skills. According to Ashman &