Humanum

Międzynarodowe Studia Społeczno-Humanistyczne

Wydawca / Publisher: 39 (4) 2020
Instytut Studiów issn 1898-8431
Międzynarodowych
i Edukacji HUMANUM Copyright © 2018 by
www.humanum.org.pl Humanum
All rights reserved

Paweł Czarnecki
Faculty of Aeronautics, Technical University of Košice
Slovakia

The Role of Ethics in Social Work

Summary
In social work, there are many difficult situations with a disputable character. Also, some of those
situations have implications and the decisions which should be taken ought to be considered from the
point of view of ethics. Wonderings on what the reflections should be based and how people should
develop a line of reasoning which would serve as dialogue in the work team serve as a basis for this
research. This paper aims to identify the ethical rules in social work. The Code of Ethics approved
published in 1996 and revised in 2017, served as the valuable source.

Key words: Social Work; Social Worker; Ethics; Morality; Law.

INTRODUCTION

E
thics is relevant to people in their everyday lives as, at some point, they will have
to deal with an ethical question or problem in their personal or professional
life. Such questions or concerns may include what the level of responsibility
towards protecting another person from threat is, or whether or not a person should
tell the truth in a particular situation (The South African Institution of Mechanical
Engineering, cit. 2020)

As stated in previous research (Czarnecki, 2011; Czarnecki, 2013; Vartiak, 2015;

Jaseckova, 2019; Majerova, 2019), in everyday language, the distinction between
the terms ethics and morality is not always clear. The most significant difference is
pointed out by Gammel (cit. 2020): Even in some philosophical texts, both are used
synonymously, while others seem to draw a clear distinction between them. For the
sake of clarity, it is possible to assume that morality means the customs, the special
„what to do“ and „what not to do“ that are shared and widely accepted – accepted
as a basis of life that doesn‘t have to be questioned. On the other hand, ethics is the
philosophical reflection upon these rules and ways of living together, the customs
and habits of individuals, groups or humankind as such.

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THEORETICAL BACkGROUND
A few definitions may help demystify the terms and to better orient with regards
to morality and ethics concepts. The term moral refers to the ensemble of the rules
governing people‘s actions and values and which function as the norm in society.
According to Phaneuf (2004), there is a slight difference, for instance, morals are
prescriptive, and when misinterpreted is seen as negative and restrictive. These
unwritten rules tell people what they should or should not do to conform to society‘s
rules. Thus, morality is the normative moral Code, or codes, of behaviour acceptable
and prohibited behaviour within a particular group at a specific time (Mesa
Community College, cit. 2020).

On the other hand, ethics proceeds in a dialectic manner, that is, it uses rigorous
analysis to reveal the flaws of logic and the contradictions of the reasoning and
seeks to go beyond them (Phaneuf, 2004). It is possible to conclude that ethics is
the systematic philosophical study of morality (Mesa Community College, cit. 2020).
Ethics also deals with what people should or should not do, but it does so by applying
reasoning, for or against, to decide on the conduct to be taken when faced with
a moral problem (Phaneuf, 2004).

Nowadays, it is common to divide ethics into descriptive ethics, metaethics and

normative ethics (Gammel, cit. 2020):
• descriptive ethics aims at empirically and precisely mapping existing morality
within the society, while no normative prescriptions are intended;
• metaethics seeks to understand better the logical, semantic and pragmatic
structures of moral and ethical argumentation;
• normative ethics represents the methodological reflection upon morality tracking
its critique and rationale, while norms and standards for acting are set up or torn
down.

Pic. 1. A basic sketch of ethical disciplines.

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In fact, it is a critical examination of morals, questioning its rules and seeking

orientations which are well thought out and correct. Ethics does not impose
restrictions in an authoritarian manner because ethics is not prescriptive as are
morals. There are significant relationships between these two concepts and their
connection to the law. Morals and ethics raise questions, bring to the fore various
dilemmas, whereas the law, via legislation, applies sanctions. The most obvious
manifestations of these relationships can be seen in the multiple charts that govern
our society‘s rights and the laws that ensue from them (Phaneuf, 2004).

METHODOLOGy
The paper deals with the terms ethics and morality and their role in social work
while comparing these terms, finding their shared and diverse characteristics and
linking them with the law. This paper aims to identify the ethical rules in social work.
The information needed for secondary research was obtained from the National
Association of Social Workers (NASW) website. The Code of Ethics approved by the
1996 NASW Delegate Assembly and revised by the 2017 NASW Delegate Assembly
served as the primary source. The NASW Code of Ethics is intended to serve as
a guide to social workers‘ everyday professional conduct. This Code includes four
sections (NASW, 2017):

• the first section named Preamble summarises the social work profession‘s mission
and core values;

• the second section named Purpose of the NASW Code of Ethics provides an
overview of the Code‘s main functions and a brief guide for dealing with ethical
issues or dilemmas in social work practice;

• the third section named Ethical Principles presents broad ethical principles,
based on social work‘s core values, that inform social work practice;

• the fourth section named Ethical Standards includes specific ethical standards to
guide social workers‘ conduct and provide a basis for adjudication.

Methods of analysis, selection and comparison are used in the secondary research.
The results obtained by secondary research are presented in conclusion.

RESULTS
Preamble
The social work profession‘s primary mission is to enhance human well-being and
help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs
and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.
A historic and defining feature of social work is the profession‘s focus on individual
well-being in a social context and society‘s well-being. Fundamental to social work
is attention to the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address living
problems (NASW, 2017).

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Social workers promote social justice and social change with and on behalf of clients.
„Clients“ is used inclusively to refer to individuals, families, groups, organisations,
and communities. Social workers are sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity and
strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other social injustice forms.
These activities may be in the form of direct practice, community organising,
supervision, consultation, administration, advocacy, social and political action,
policy development and implementation, education, and research and evaluation.
Social workers seek to enhance the capacity of people to address their own needs.
Social workers also seek to promote organisations, communities, and other social
institutions to individuals‘ needs and social problems (NASW, 2017).

Purpose of the NASw Code of Ethics

Professional ethics are at the core of social work. The profession must articulate its
fundamental values, ethical principles, and ethical standards. The NASW Code of
Ethics sets forth these values, regulations, and measures to guide social workers‘
conduct. The Code is relevant to all social workers and social work students, regardless
of their professional functions, the settings they work, or the populations they serve
(NASW, 2017).

The Code offers a set of values, principles, and standards to guide decision making
and conduct when ethical issues arise. It does not provide a set of rules that prescribe
how social workers should act in all situations. Specific applications of the Code must
consider the context in which it is being considered and the possibility of conflicts
among the Code‘s values, principles, and standards. Ethical responsibilities flow from
all human relationships, from the personal and familial to the social and professional
(NASW, 2017).

Further, the NASW Code of Ethics does not specify which values, principles, and
standards are most important and ought to outweigh others in instances when
they conflict. Reasonable differences of opinion can exist among social workers
concerning how values, ethical principles, and ethical standards should be rank
ordered when they disagree. Ethical decision making in a given situation must apply
the informed judgment of the individual social worker. It should also consider how
the issues would be judged in a peer review process where the profession‘s ethical
standards would be applied (NASW, 2017).

Ethical decision making is a process. When conflicting obligations arise, social

workers may be faced with complex ethical dilemmas that have no simple answers.
Social workers should consider all the values, principles, and standards in this Code
relevant to any situation in which ethical judgment is warranted. Social workers‘
decisions and actions should be consistent with the spirit and the letter of this Code
(NASW, 2017).

A code of ethics cannot guarantee ethical behaviour. Moreover, a code of ethics

cannot resolve all ethical issues or disputes or capture the richness and complexity
involved in striving to make responsible choices within a moral community. Instead,
a code of ethics sets forth values, ethical principles, and ethical standards to which
professionals aspire and how their actions can be judged. Social workers‘ ethical

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behaviour should result from their commitment to engage in the ethical practice
(NASW, 2017).

Ethical Principles
The following broad ethical principles are based on social work‘s core values of
service, social justice, dignity and worth, the importance of human relationships,
integrity, and competence. These principles set forth ideals to which all social workers
should aspire (NASW, 2017):
• Social workers‘ primary goal is to help people in need and to address social
problems.
• Social workers challenge social injustice.
• Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of the person.
• Social workers recognise the central importance of human relationships.
• Social workers behave in a trustworthy manner.
• Social workers practise within their areas of competence and develop and enhance
their professional expertise.

Ethical Standards
The following ethical standards are relevant to the professional activities of all social
workers. These standards concern (NASW, 2017):
• social workers‘ ethical responsibilities to clients,
• social workers‘ ethical responsibilities to colleagues,
• social workers‘ ethical responsibilities in practice settings,
• social workers‘ ethical responsibilities as professionals,
• social workers‘ ethical responsibilities to the social work profession,
• social workers‘ ethical responsibilities to the broader society.

Some of the standards that follow are enforceable guidelines for professional conduct,
and some are aspirational. The extent to which each measure is enforceable is a matter
of professional judgment to be exercised by those responsible for reviewing alleged
violations of ethical standards (NASW, 2017).

ConClusion
This paper aimed to identify the ethical rules in social work. The aim‘s fulfilment
was based on information obtained from the National Association of Social Workers
(NASW) website. The Code of Ethics approved published in 1996 and revised in 2017,
served as the valuable source.

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According to the Code, it was possible to identify the following core values, embraced
by social workers throughout the profession‘s history:
• service,
• social justice,
• dignity and worth of the person,
• importance of human relationships,
• integrity,
• competence.

Also, there are six purposes of the NASW Code of Ethics used in social work:
• The Code identifies core values on which social work‘s mission is based.
• The Code summarises broad ethical principles that reflect the profession‘s core
values and establishes a set of specific ethical standards that should be used to
guide social work practice.
• The Code is designed to help social workers identify relevant considerations when
professional obligations conflict or ethical uncertainties arise.
• The Code provides ethical standards to which the general public can hold the
social work profession accountable.
• The Code socialises practitioners new to the field to social work‘s mission, values,
ethical principles, and ethical standards.
• The Code articulates standards that the social work profession can use to assess
whether social workers have engaged in unethical conduct.

Based on the Code, social workers should follow the ethical principles backed up
by the preamble values, while the Code is the best proof of the crucial role of ethics
in social work. After reviewing and analysing the Code, it can be confirmed that
the paper‘s aim was fulfilled and a space for a more detailed analysis of 51 ethical
standards of a social worker was uncovered.

ResouRCes
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ctwo Naukowe, 2011. ISBN 978-83-62074-37-2.
2. Czarnecki, P. 2013. Some remarks of professional ethics of social worker. In:
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3. Gammel, S. Ethics and Morality. [online]. [retrieved 2020-12-15]. Available from
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mačnej vedy). Bratislava: Comenius University, 2019. ISBN 978-80-223-4857-7.
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6. Mesa Community College. An Introduction to Ethics: How do I know what is

right and wrong? [online]. [retrieved 2020-12-15]. Available from http://www.
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