Ethics, Values and Social Work Practice

A framework of ethics and values forms the foundation of social workers' professional identities. Ethics and values should shape the way that social workers practice and how they impact upon the lives of the service users they work to support. In a fast-moving world influenced by shifting policy, tight budgets and changing practice standards, students and practitioners need to anchor their understanding of themselves to clear principles for ethical practice.

Ethics, Values and Social Work Practice is a brand new text offering students and social work practitioners a contemporary and relevant introduction to the central role of ethics and values in their work. In addition to a grounding in the major trends in ethics applied to social work, this book also provides perspectives on:

• How to situate ethics and values in social work practice
• How to understand ethics as part of reflective practice as both student and practitioner
• How ethics and values link to concepts of power, diversity and social justice
• The role of ethics and values in interprofessional and partnership working
• The guiding principles and ethics inherent in relationship-based social work.

The book supports student learning by providing:

• Discussion points to allow time for individual reflection or ethical debates
• Case studies based on likely scenarios from practice, with reflection points to help social workers engage with the issues raised
• Chapter summaries and key points for social work practice to reinforce the relevance of your learning to real social work practice
• A glossary of key terms as a reference for key ethics terms and concepts.

Contributors: Pat Cartney, Jean Dillon, Souzy Dracopoulou, Ann Flynn, Alison Higgs, Mina Hyare , Colin Whittington, Margaret Whittington and Tom Wilks.

"This is an excellent edited reader providing students and practitioners with a grounding in ethics and values whilst linking these to specific practice and the development of professional identity, inclusion and reflective practice. This book will be an essential reader for those in qualifying social work programmes, ASYE staff, practitioners and academics."
Hugh McLaughlin, Professor of Social Work, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

"This book provides an exceptional exposé of ethics and values in social work practice. Conceptual clarity and critical presentations of contemporary debates are presented in a systematic text. It is written in an accessible style and the content will prove valuable to social work students, practitioners and researchers alike. This is one of the most comprehensive books on ethics and values in social work practice available in the market."
Professor Lambert Engelbrecht, Department of Social Work, Stellenbosch University, South Africa