Social Work Practice Framework

It is part of the human condition to have a tendency of going through drastic measures to obtain an ideology that has been accepted as a “natural fact.” Through Anthem, Ayn Rand warned of the dangers of blindly and unquestionably following an ideology; the dangers to society that loyalty to a belief system pose are strict limitations on personal comforts, lack of individualism, and the formation of an irrational government.

The NASW Code of Ethics is the guideline for social workers in regards to professional conduct and practice. The Code of Ethics is divided into four parts: “The Preamble,” “Purpose of the NASW Code of Ethics,” “Ethical Principles,” and “Ethical Standards.” These sections educate social workers on what their mission is, and how they complete that mission with true morality. Within the Code, there are six values presented which are also used in regards to helping and practicing with clients honorably. These six values are: service, social justice, dignity and worth, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. These six values are the principles that drive social work practice, and are used by social workers everyday.

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

There are three political ideologies that are addressed by Cullen and Gilbert (2012). The first one is the conservative ideology. Conservatives place their main emphasis on traditional values, and tend to have issues when someone tries to change tradition. According to conservatives, maintaining social order is an important way to protect society as a whole. Individuals are on their own when it comes to the ideology of conservatives. They have the assumption that individuals are responsible for their own actions, good or bad. Conservatives will protect innocent citizens, but will focus on the punishment of guilty one rather than rehabilitation.

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 personal values are very similar to the NASW Code of Ethics’ values. Some of the main values of the NASW Code of Ethics are service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. These values are all important to me, as I always strive to be thoughtful of others’ feelings and opinions, work hard, and understand what is going on around me. To me, a very important part of the NASW Code of Ethics is Privacy and Confidentiality. As someone who has had a social worker, and has had multiple therapists and psychiatrists, confidentiality was very essential to me as a client. If not for confidentiality, I would not have been able to fully express how I was feeling. Another value that I believe to be critical is respect. Respect is one of my three main values for many reasons, especially when thinking about social work. My goal, as a friend and future social worker, is to

Shared values are essential in the creating a successful relationship between the client and social worker. Social workers operate within society, not only to assist the individual but to create a more cohesive society. Values and ethics permeate the whole of social work practice and the society within which it practices (Shardlow 1989). Values are afforded a high position within social work, this is highlighted in: “Social work is a professional activity. Implicit in its practice are ethical principles which prescribe the professional responsibility of the social worker” (British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Code of Ethics). However, there is a danger that any list of values will become something which is quoted

We advocate for everyone to have the opportunity to reach their full potential in life. Social workers uphold dignity and worth of the Person by treating people with respect no matter their differences or circumstances. We also support and empower self-determination so the clients are able to meet their own needs. Social workers understand and stress the importance of human relationships by strengthening relationships and enhance the well-being of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities (NASW Code of Ethics). Integrity is behaving in a trustworthy manner by being honest, responsible, and upholding the social work profession mission, values, and ethical principles/standards. This is something we must be able to uphold in both our profession and personal lives. Lastly, social workers must be competent in the profession in order to be effective. Social workers should continually seek professional development to increase their knowledge and skills. Since change is inevitable, professional development should be an ongoing practice for social

Major life events may also affect a person’s political ideology such as marriage, children, loss of loved one, and war. Military service can be a major factor in a person’s ideology such as belief in fighting a war or becoming an isolationist.

Social workers should aspire to work on values of social justice, dignity and relationships. Worth of the person must always be looked at with integrity and competence for all service users (BASW 2012)

In my research, the information suggests that there is a strong associating with biological and psychological theories can be argued that the ideology can connect some sociological and economic theories. The review of the theories provided a wide range of possible leading variables, methodologies, ideologies that could be argued as political. Furthermore, political theories can be categorized as the political ideology for political

The social work profession is based off of six core values, which are the foundation of social work’s mission. Each of these values has been utilized by past and present social workers. The six core values are service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity and competence. Each of these core values also has ethical principles associated with them. These ethical principles help set the ideals, which social workers should strive to reach.

An ideology can be defined as having a set belief of ideas and ideals with regards to how the world operates. Having a strong ideology is beneficial in multiple ways; with an ideology, one has a vision for how they think life should be. Because of this, one could assume that if a person has an ideology, then they automatically have a sense of purpose. There is little to no no evidence to support this assumption, in fact, the opposite is often true. The search for a purpose is often hindered by one’s own ideologies; if one wishes to truly obtain a sense of purpose, then they must open their mind to the possibility that their ideology and way of life may be flawed. If one is unwilling to learn outside of their own ideology, then they will forever be trapped in a constant search for purpose. Examples of this can be found in The Stranger by Albert Camus, Ellison’s Invisible Man, Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron, and in modern politics.

One of the core values of social work is dignity and worth of a person. As social workers we have to be able to treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity. Therefore, values include knowledge and appreciation of your own worldview, cultures, and beliefs systems. Diversity is a source of empowerment that allows people to establish their own self determination.

“Ideology is a cluster of ideas about life, society or government, which originates, in most cases, as consciously advocated dogmatically asserted social, political or religious slogans or battle-cries and which through continuous usage and preaching’s gradually become the