Meaning and Values: Developing Empowering Practice
Values are central to being human: nothing we do is unconnected with values. If we want to understand, and be able to work with people, then we need to have an understanding of the complexities of values in people’s lives. Any attempt to understand people that does not consider the values dimension is doomed to failure as values are so central to everything we do, both as individuals and professional social workers.
Adapted from: Moss, B. & Thompson, N. (2008) Meaning and Values: developing empowering practice.
Russell House Publishing
The above statement is essentially saying that an individual’s set of values play an imperative part in every decision, action or behaviour in their everyday lives. A person’s value system can be made up of personal, ethical, cultural or political vales. Along with their own personal values, social workers must also adhere to a strict set of professional values outlined by the General Social Care Council’s (GSCC) codes of conduct. It can be difficult for a practitioner to find a balance between these often conflicting and opposing value systems.
Values and ethics have been of fundamental importance throughout the development of the social work profession. Founded in 1869, the Charity Organisation Society is often identified as the roots of modern social work. (Smith, 2002) It was set up in response to the belief that the poor were taking advantage of charitable donations and was a means of controlling the distribution of contributions. Their aim was not to provide charity but to re-moralise the poor and make them more self reliant. A particular element of the work of the COS was its focus on individual casework which is still prevalent today, although it has altered and improved from its origins. The casework method was designed to ensure relief was given to truly destitute and âdeserving poorâ and aimed to improve peopleâs lives and morality. It was a personalised approach which criticised how people lived and
Adapted from: Moss, B. & Thompson, N. (2008) Meaning and Values: developing empowering practice.
Russell House Publishing
The above statement is essentially saying that an individual’s set of values play an imperative part in every decision, action or behaviour in their everyday lives. A person’s value system can be made up of personal, ethical, cultural or political vales. Along with their own personal values, social workers must also adhere to a strict set of professional values outlined by the General Social Care Council’s (GSCC) codes of conduct. It can be difficult for a practitioner to find a balance between these often conflicting and opposing value systems.
Values and ethics have been of fundamental importance throughout the development of the social work profession. Founded in 1869, the Charity Organisation Society is often identified as the roots of modern social work. (Smith, 2002) It was set up in response to the belief that the poor were taking advantage of charitable donations and was a means of controlling the distribution of contributions. Their aim was not to provide charity but to re-moralise the poor and make them more self reliant. A particular element of the work of the COS was its focus on individual casework which is still prevalent today, although it has altered and improved from its origins. The casework method was designed to ensure relief was given to truly destitute and âdeserving poorâ and aimed to improve peopleâs lives and morality. It was a personalised approach which criticised how people lived and
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