PERSONAL VALUES

PROFESSIONAL VALUES

A RESOLVEABLE CONFLICT?
 Schools of Ethical Philosophy
Kantian Duty – Principled action to individual –
universal application
Utilitarian Action based on the common good/happiness
of group/majority
Radical-marxist Challenge normative power relations
feminist
Reflective-Existential We are each the captains of
humanist our ship – essentialism
derived from experience

Modernism We can (as a human race) derive universal

values/truisms – things we hold to be self
evident

Post modernism We (as a human race) cannot

ConstructionistNarrati
ve
 Personal Values are…….

• What we choose to regard as ethically

relevant or worth owning and standing up
for
• They say something about us and who we
are
• Although we may hold values in common
with others the ‘set’ of values we come to
hold are individual to us.
 Personal Values

• Our personal value base is unique to us – there is no

written format of what they are/should be.

• We can make a marked improvement in our own lives

by committing to the values we already believe in or by
adopting new ones.

• We need to identify the values we hold as an individual

and consider how these values influence us and the
impact they may have on not only our own lives but
ultimately on others.
 Where do they come from?
Once formed are they ‘set’
• Personal influences such as family, friends and peers.
• Other factors such as culture we are brought up in.
• Education, religion, societal morals and perceptions, law and
policy.
• Internalised ethical beliefs
• Media – to name but a few.
• Can values can be adjusted and changed according to
circumstances?
Bronfenbrenner(1979)

Macrosystem – wider Chronosystem –

social and cultural factors the influence of
growth and
development over
Exosystem – local time
community, resources

Microsystem
-siblings
m
e
st
y
s
o
s
e
M
Microsystem
– parents

Crawford and Walker (2003:20)

 Moral development
Pre-conventional
Choices on the basis of immediate consequences
May choose an ethical alternative if in their own self-interest
Morality defined by fear of external influences, i.e. authority, parents
(Kohlberg: 1976)
Conventional Level
Decisions made in accordance with formal rules
Rooted in informal norms of social context
Choose ethical alternatives at a cost to themselves
Post conventional level
Decisions based on human rights, fairness, justice
Ignore self interests
May violate society’s rights and norms
Why do values matter?

Attention to our values helps us;

• Become more self-aware.
• Make ethical decisions.
• Develop credibility,
• Understanding one's own core values is integral to becoming
self-aware. Self-awareness helps us understand how people
perceive us, it enables us to identify the personal qualities that
we would like to change.
• Values influence our choices, but our choices also influence our
values.
What would you do?

Carry on walking?
Acknowledge her?
Give her some money?
How this demonstrates
our values
• A strong positive value base may result in you talking to
the woman or offering her support.
• A strong negative value base may result in you applying
blame to her.
• A neutral value base may result in you just walking by
• All of these demonstrate that you have a value based
reaction.
• This highlights that values form your every response to a
situation, and do not always imply a negative connotation.
What does this mean for our
professional work?
Social care professionals are required to make or
contribute to the making of decisions that effect
service users. Such decisions are usually very
important to the service user, sometimes they
can change the course of a service users life.
They may be based on a sound assessment and
comply with the GSCC’s CoP but the subjective
element that includes personal values not only
remains present but often influences the
outcome.
 Paternalism
A value position that social are professions have bee accused of
often adopting is Paternalism, which originates from the Latin
pater, and means to act like a father, or to treat another person
like a child. There is an implied intention to act for the good of
another person but often without that person's consent, or
limited agreement in a manner that parents might do for their
children.

Paternalists advance people's interests (such as life, health, or

safety) at the expense of their own self determination
Paternalists suppose that they can make wiser decisions than
the people for whom they act.
 Professional Values

What is our professional value base?

How have these been formed?
What is the role of professional social work
values.
 The application of professional
values
• Social workers must be able to justify their
actions
• “Social workers who can argue effectively
from a sound principled position…will be
able to advocate for service users much
more effectively than those who second
guess what might be in the interests of the
majority” Parrott,L.(2004:54)
Professional Values and Practice

An analysis of the application of professional

values to practice provides a means to
examine the many roles social workers play
and the various approaches to practice that
may be taken.
This will represent a diverse range of service
users.
It will involve reflecting on knowledge,
professionalism and accountability.
The Role of professional Values

No one value base is shared by all the professionals.

Value base of ALL professions have their own set of
“informal” rules and meanings, deriving from the sub-
cultures within the organisation.
The professionals self-image reflects the value base if
the organisation in which they work.
The professional value base of the organisation gives
that organisation its professional identity.
 A Case Study

Maisie is a 62 year old white woman who has been married to Albert, a 68
year old white male for 44 years. Albert was diagnosed as suffering with
Alzheimer’s disease when he was 65 and the illness has made significant
progress. He shows some cognition in long term memory but has limited
short-term memory and on occasion fails to recognise her as his wife.
Maisie is slight in build and is finding the physical care of Albert increasingly
demanding now she is increasingly having to undertake the personal care of
Albert. She is unsure as to whether or not his occasional angry outbursts
are the result of his frustration or whether they are the result of a far less
rational process, but her safety cannot be guaranteed at such times. Maisie
want to continue to care for her husband and feels guilty about having to
ask for help. Albert wants to stay at home and have his care undertaken by
his wife. Peter, the son lives away and wants his father to go into residential
care. Paula, the daughter wants to help support her mum to care for her dad
but suffers from depression, The GP thinks respite care is appropriate. You
are the Social Worker, Following your assessment of need you want to
recommend the level of home care is increased. However you know the
adult care budget is stretched and your manager is restricting additional
services for existing service users.
 THE OCCUPATIONAL LANDSCAPE

Its not just about your personal and

professional values
• The State
• The Agency
• Associated agencies
• The Social Worker/ Social care worker
• The Service User
• The service user’s parents, carers and families
The Roles

• Advocacy
• Community Development
• ‘Traditional’ casework
• Allocator/Controller of services
• Statutory intervention
• Care Manager/broker
Some models of practice adapted from Banks 2006 p137

Social Radical Profession Bureaucrat-

care/sw as vocation al job
object Social Client Consumer
change Skilled Service
helper provision
principles Awareness Personal Allocate
raising devPEGS resources
Org setting Independe Private/ Statutory
nt /Vol high private
autonomy sector
Professional values should be…..

Central to practice.
They are what we believe in and place value on.
Help us decide on a particular course of action.
Need to be actively implemented within our practice.
The adopting of, commitment to and acting upon
appropriate values is central to good practice.
Why do we need codes of practice?

To Protect and give recognition to:

Service users
Staff
Those who may be involved in our
service evaluation research activities
The profession
 Foundation of professional values

Biestek (1961) principles;

Recognition of a unique qualities.

Recognises the need for service users to freely express their
true feelings.
Sensitivity to feelings, and understanding of their meaning.
Acceptance of the service user for who they are.
Not to assign guilt/innocence or degrees of service users
responsibility for issues.
Freedom of choice in making decisions.
Confidentiality
 Butrym

Butrym (1976) describes three principles for social work.

Respect for Individuals, due to their inherent worth and

independent of their actual achievements or behaviour.

Belief in the social nature of man as a unique creature

depending on other men for fulfilment of his uniqueness.

Belief in human capacity for change, growth and

betterment.
 Timms

Timms (1983) identifies five typical inclusions in a social

work values list;

Respect the client.

Accept him for himself.
Not to condemn him.
Uphold his right to self determination.
Respect his confidence
 BASW’s 5 basic Values of Social
work BASW,2002:2

• Human dignity and worth

• Social justice
• Service to humanity
• Integrity
• Competence
How would your professional
values help you here?
 Professional values
The social work profession embraces and strives
to promote a strong values system.

The values we advocate don't always make us

popular.
 GSCC Code of Practice
As a social care worker, you must protect the rights and promote
the interests of service users and carers.
This includes:

1.1 Treating each person as an individual;

1.2 Respecting and, where appropriate, promoting the
individual views and wishes of both service users and
carers;
1.3 Supporting service users’ rights to control their lives and
make informed choices about the services they receive;
1.4 Respecting and maintaining the dignity and privacy of
service users;
1.5 Promoting equal opportunities for service users and
carers;
1.6 Respecting diversity and different cultures and values.
 Conflicts between personal and
professional values
These will occur but the worker should try to
reach an accommodation where possible.
Significant failure to do so could result in
the worker having a sense of cognitive
dissonance, a sense of incongruity or lack
of fit between thoughts and actions the
worker is required to carry out.
 Professional Misconduct
Professional misconduct is defined by
BASW as being anything that is;

Harmful to service users or members

of the public.
Prejudicial to the development or
standing of social work practice.
Contrary to the code of ethics.
 Conclusion
As Varidaki-Levine (2004:2) highlights:

“A brief reference to Social Work Philosophy and Values

reveals that the tremendous scope of the above issues
should be constantly studied, explored and researched.
The Social Work Code of Ethics may provide a meaningful
and acceptable base for professional accountability but
the discussion on moral issues is an on-going process.

This notion leads to the next issue, that although Social

Work is considered an Applied Discipline, the application
of its knowledge is not a simple or a mechanistic process.”
 Summary
Each of us has a set of personal values.
As each individual is unique, so is their value base they hold.
There is no set prescription/format for a personal value base.
Values can be challenged, defended or changed
Just because you do not have a strong reaction to an issue
does not mean you do not have a value base.
You are in the process of developing and hopefully adopting a
professional value base
There may be conflict between personal and professional
values.
Where possible any conflict should be reduced to a minimum
 Reference List
• Banks, S. (2006) Ethics, Accountability and the Social Professions.
London: Palgrave.
• Biestek, F. (1961) The Casework Relationship
• Butrym, Z. (1976) The Nature of Social Work. Macmillan Education:
London.
• GSCC (2005). General Social Care Council Codes of Practice [online]
UK. Available from http://www.gscc.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/041E6261-
6BB0-43A7-A9A4-80F658D2A0B4/0/Codes_of_Practice.pdf.
• Kohlberg, L. (1976). Moral stages and moralization: the cognitive
developmental approach. In T. Lickona (ed.), Moral development and
behaviour: theory, research and social issues. New York: Holt, Rinehart
and Winston, pp. 31–53. (1984). Essays on moral development, vol. II.
The psychology of moral development: the nature and validity of moral
stages. San Francisco: Harper and Row.
• Parrott. L (2006)Values and Ethics in Social Work Practice. Exeter:
Learning Matters
• Timms, N. (1983) Social work values: an enquiry
• Varidaki-Levine, L. (2004) The impact of social work philosophy and
values in praxis and in the learning process of the practitioners. ESRA