SOCIAL WORK VALUES

ARPITA CHRISTIAN

MEANING OF VALUE..
A

value determines what a person thinks he

ought to do, which may or may not be the same as what he wants to do, or what is in his interest to do, or in fact what he actually does. Values in this sense give rise to general standards and ideals by which we judge our own and others conduct: they also give rise to specific obligations
Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work (CCETSW, 1976, 15)

PERSONAL VALUES

Caring Courage Creativity

Honour Independence Integrity

Friendliness
Honesty

Spirituality

CULTURAL VALUES
Celebration

of Diversity

Ethnic
Faith

roots

Linguistic
National

ties

ties

Regional
Tradition

ties

SOCIAL VALUES
Altruism Diversity Eco-consciousness Equality

Fairness
Family

closeness Lovingness Morality Reliability

WORK VALUES
Autonomy Competitiveness Conscientiousness Dedication Equanimity/Ethics Loyalty Professionalism Punctuality Remunerative Team

worth

player

SOCIAL WORK VALUES FOCUS ON THREE GENERAL AREAS:

VALUES ABOUT PEOPLE

DUBOIS & MILEY 1999

VALUES ABOUT SOCIAL WORK IN RELATION TO SOCIETY

VALUES THAT INFORM PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR

GENERIC VALUES OF SOCIAL WORK

1. the conviction in the Inherent worth, integrity and dignity of the individual (Friedlander, 1977).

2. Belief in democratic functioning. Social work relies on the democratic process while dealing with the client system. This implies that decisions are taken through consensus and nothing is imposed on the client.

3. Firm belief in equal opportunity for all, limited only by the individual's capacities (Friedlander, 1977). This value expresses the need for social justice. Social work fights against social injustices meted out to the disadvantaged and vulnerable sections of society.

4. social worker's social responsibily towards;

himself,
his

family, his society (Friedlander, 1977)

This value cautions the social worker not to neglect himself, his family and the society in which he is living while discharging his professional duties.

5. To transmit knowledge and skills to others (Sheafor & Morales ,1989). This value instructs the social worker to provide the information that he has, that would enable the client to take care of himself, in case the client faces similar problems in future. This is to ensure that the client does not become dependent on the social worker through out his life.

6. Separating personal feelings hm professional relationships (Sheafor & Morales 1989). This value reminds the social worker that he

should not allow personal feelings to intrude in a

professional relationship, as this may make him

over concerned or develop a biased or prejudiced

view about the client and his problem situation.

7. The seventh value assumes high

standards of personal and professional

conduct (Shaefor & Morales 1989).

It emphasizes that the conduct of the

social worker should be exemplary at

both personal and professional levels.