ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY IN UGANDA

COURSE OUTLINE
Faculty Arts and Social Sciences
Department Social Work and Social Administration
Course Title Social work Ethics and Values
Year of Study 1
Course Code BSW 1103
Credit Hours 3
Contact Hours 45
Mode of Delivery Lectures and Seminar/ Tutorial Presentations

Pre-requisites

Mode of Assessment Weight%

Assignment 15%
Test 15%
Final Examination 70%
Total 100
Course
Instructor(s)
Course Description Social Work values and ethics course is intended to engage the moral
imagination of social work students and prepare them for competent and
compassionate ethical practice as social work professionals.
The course examines the issues of social work professionalism, the
process of becoming a social work professional, the tensions inherent in
the goals of social work, and the ways these interrelate to produce
conflicts of values and ethics in social work practice.
The course focuses on acquiring and practicing the skills of ethical
decision -making, including values clarification, application of ethical
theory, utilization of codes of ethics, and models of ethical analysis. Both
clinical and macro aspects of social work are covered, with the goal of
building competencies for meeting the contemporary challenges of
practice in multicultural and urban settings.
Course Objectives Social workers regularly encounter challenging ethical issues in the
contemporary workplace. This course is designed to provide students
with the understanding of:
1. The tools for addressing and resolving ethical challenges and
dilemmas.
2. How to solidify their professional identities
3. Professional social work values.

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 4. Developing the ethical decision-making competencies necessary
for sound ethical practice.

Learning Outcomes By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Identify the characteristics of a profession and describe the
historic tensions and processes associated with social work
professionalization and its impact on current practice.
2. Current perspectives and views of the social work profession
from both within the profession and from outside, and
analyze the effect of these conflicting views on social work
practice
3. Identify social work as a profession and articulate the
professional behaviors, boundaries, and responsibilities
associated with social work professionalism at all levels:
societal, community, agency and individual.
4. Demonstrate understanding of the role of ethical reasoning
in preventing ethical harms, protecting human rights, and
promoting social justice within the practice of social work.
Teaching and The class will meet for three hours each week. Class time will be used
Learning for a combination of lectures & presentations/discussions.

Weeks Detailed Course Outline Allocated

Time
Week 1 – 2 Over view of the course 6 Hours
Definition of a profession
The context of Ethics and the Social Work Profession
Professionalism and professionalization of Social work
How does ethics relate to Social work
Implications of practice
Week 3 -4 Overview of social work ethics 6 Hours
• Principles that guide the professional practice
• Core values
• Ethical principles
Importance of ethics in social work practice

NASW code of ethics

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Week 5 -6 Codes of ethics NASW code of ethics 6 Hours
• The Social Worker’s Conduct and Compartment
• Social Worker’s Ethical Responsibility to Clients
• Social Worker’s Ethical Responsibility to Colleagues
• Social Worker’s Ethical Responsibility to
Commitment
• Social Worker’s Ethical Responsibility to Social
work profession
• Social Worker’s Ethical Responsibility to Society
International federation of social workers (IFSW) Ethics in
social work, statement of principles

Week 7-8 Principles of social work 6 Hours

• Case work principles
• Principles that focus on a social worker
• Principles that focus on social work activities
Week 9 -10 Ethical decision making 6 Hours
• Ethical decision-making models
• Critical thinking and analysis
• Cultural competence and ethical decision making
Ethical issues in practice

• Ethical issues in mental health, healthcare and

child welfare
• Ethical issues in working with vulnerable
populations
Week 11 – 13 Ethical Leadership at the Social work 9 Hours
Organizational context
• Understanding of the connections between ethical
practice and social work organizational context
• Become familiar with organization’s role in
promoting ethical climate
Ethics and supervision

• Ethical issues in supervision

• Supervisory relationships
• Ethical decision making in supervision
Digital ethics and technology

• Digital ethics in social work practice

• Technology and confidentiality
• Online boundaries

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Week 14 – 15 Ethical dilemmas and how to resolve them 6 Hours
Definitions of ethical dilemmas in social work
Types of ethical dilemmas
The Ethical principles screen
Other measures of resolving ethical dilemmas
Total Contact Hours 45 Hours
References
Adam, P. (2009). Letter to the editor: Limits of a code of ethics. Journal of Social Work Values
and Ethics,
Allen Meares, P. (2008). Cultural competence: An ethical requirement. Journal of Ethnic and
Cultural Diversity in Social Work,
Antle, B. J., & Regehr, C. (2003). Beyond individual rights and freedoms: Meta ethics of social
work research. Social Work.
Barsky, A. (2010). Ethics and values in social work (pp. 12–29).New York, NY: Oxford University
Press.
Goodley, T. (2007). Teaching social work students to resolve ethical dilemmas in domestic
violence. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, Bent.
Prom, K., & Anderson, S. (2005). Teaching ethical decision making using dual relationship
principles as a case example. Journal of Social Work Education,
Bryan, V. (2006). Moving from professionally specific ideals to the common morality: Essential
content in social work ethics education. Journal of Teaching in Social Work,
Christi, A. (2009). Workplace abuse: Roles of the supervisor and the supervisee. Journal of Social
Work Values and Ethics.
Dabby, M., Faisal, H., Holliam, D., Karliner, S., Pearl, D., & Silverman, B. (2008). Ethics as
activity: Building collaborative, expansive and just social work. Journal of Social Work Values
and Ethics,

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INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS AND VALUES
Course over view
This course unit provides students with a comprehensive understanding of social work
ethics and values, preparing them for ethical practice in the field. The course further
explores the ethical principles and values that guide social work practice, including the
NASW Code of Ethics focusing on the following areas core values and ethical principles
in social work, ethical decision-making and dilemma resolution, confidentiality and
privacy, boundary issues and dual relationships, cultural competence and social
justice, digital ethics and technology, supervision and consultation and self-care and
burnout prevention

Profession

A Profession is a disciplined group of individuals who adhere to ethical standards and

who hold themselves accountable and are accepted by the public as possessing special
knowledge and skills in a widely recognized body of learning derived from research,
education and training at a high level, and who are prepared to apply this knowledge
and exercise these skills in the interest of others.

A profession is an occupation that typically requires:

• Specialized knowledge and skills

• Advanced education and training
• A high level of expertise
• A commitment to ethical standards and conduct
• Autonomy and independence in decision-making
• A sense of responsibility to society
• Continuous learning and professional development
Professions often have professional associations and organizations, codes of ethics
and conduct, licensing or certification requirements, academic programs and degrees
and industry-specific standards and practices.

It is inherent in the definition of a Profession that a code of ethics governs the activities
of each Profession. Such codes require behavior and practice beyond the personal
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moral obligations of an individual. They define and demand high standards of
behavior in respect to the services provided to the public and in dealing with
professional colleagues. Often these codes are enforced by the Profession and are
acknowledged and accepted by the community (Australian Council of Professions,
2003).

A Professional is a member of a Profession. Professionals are governed by codes of

ethics and profess commitment to competence, integrity and morality, altruism and
the promotion of the public good within their expert domain. Professionals are
accountable to those they serve and to society (Evetts, 2011).

Similarly, professionalism is defined as the personally held beliefs of a Professional

about their own conduct as a member of a Profession. It is often linked to the
upholding of the principles, laws, ethics and conventions of a Profession in the form
of a code of practice.

Examples of professions include: Medicine and healthcare, Law, Engineering, Teaching

and education, Accounting and finance, Architecture, Social work and counseling,
Nursing, Science and research and Technology and IT.

The Profession of Social Work

The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and
help meet basic and complex needs of all people, with a particular focus on those who
are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. Based on that, if one is looking for a
career with meaning, action, diversity, satisfaction, and a variety of options, consider
social work.

Social work is different from other professions, because it focuses both on the person
and their environment. Social workers deal with the external factors that impact a
person's situation and outlook. And we create opportunities for assessment and
intervention, to help clients and communities cope effectively with their reality and
change that reality when necessary. Social workers help clients deal not only with how
they feel about a situation but also with what they can do about it.

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Social workers help relieve people's suffering, fight for social justice, and improve lives
and communities. Most people think of social workers when they think of poverty
alleviation and child welfare. Many social workers do that kind of work and much more
than that.

In summary therefore, social work is a practice-based profession that promotes social

change, development, cohesion and the empowerment of people and
communities. Social work practice involves the understanding of human development,
behavior and the social, economic and cultural institutions and interactions.

ETHICS
The term ethics derives from the Ancient Greek word ethikos, which is derived from
the word ethos (habit, “custom”). The branch of philosophy axiology comprises the
sub-branches of ethics and aesthetics, each concerned with values.
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing,
defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct.

Note Axiology is the philosophical study of value. It includes questions about the
nature and classification of values and about what kinds of things have value.

As a branch of philosophy, ethics investigate the questions of what is the best way for
people to live and what actions are right or wrong in particular circumstances? In
practice, ethics seeks to resolve questions of human morality, by defining concepts
such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. As a field of
intellectual enquiry, moral philosophy is also related to the fields of moral psychology,
descriptive ethics, and value theory (Laura Annabelle, 2017).

Ethics and Morality

The terms ‘ethics’ and ‘morality’ are not always used consistently and precisely in
everyday contexts, and their ordinary meanings do not always correspond with
philosophers’ use of the terms. Ethics is often used in connection with the activities of

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organizations and with professional codes of conduct: for instance, medical, social
work and business ethics among others, which are often formalized in terms of
exhaustive sets of rules or guidelines stating how employees are expected to behave
in their workplaces (such as in respect of a duty of care or confidentiality that health-
care workers owe to their patients; or the medical ethical principles of beneficence,
non-maleficence, respect for autonomy, and justice).

Morality, on the other hand, is more often used in connection with the ways in which
individuals conduct their personal, private lives, often in relation to personal financial
correctness, lawful conduct and acceptable standards of interpersonal behavior
(including truthfulness, honesty, and sexual propriety). These ‘everyday’ uses of the
terms ‘ethics’ and ‘morality’ are not so much incorrect by philosophical standards, as
too limited. The philosopher’s interest in the theoretical study of ethics is with the idea
of conduct that is right, fair and just, does not cause harm, and that can be applied
to a wide variety of cases. For our purposes, each of the terms ‘ethics’ and ‘morality’
captures the essence of that idea sufficiently. In what follows, then, it is not really
necessary to over-emphasize the distinction between ethics and morality; here, those
terms may be used interchangeably to refer to ideas about how humans ought to act.
Areas of ethical study
There are three broad areas of ethical study:
Meta-ethics
This focuses on the meaning of ethical terms themselves (for instance, ‘what is
goodness?’), and on questions of how ethical knowledge is obtained (for instance,
‘how can I distinguish what is good from what is bad?’), rather than on the more
applied question of ‘what should I do in a particular situation?’. Meta-ethics is therefore
concerned with the nature of ethical properties, statements, attitudes and judgments.
Meta-ethics examines such themes as what moral questions mean, and on what basis
people can know what is ‘true’ or ‘false’.

Normative ethics

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In contrast, this is the study of ethical acts. It therefore focuses explicitly on questions
of ‘what is the right thing to do?’ in general. Normative ethics is concerned with
questions of what people ought to do, and on how people can decide what the ‘correct’
moral actions to take are. In other words it is the practical means of determining a
moral course of action.

Applied ethics
This is concerned with how people can achieve moral outcomes in specific situations.
Therefore, it is concerned with the philosophical examination of particular and often
complex – issues that involve moral judgments. Areas such as bioethics,
environmental ethics social work ethics, development ethics and business/corporate
ethics may be regarded as areas of applied ethics. This generally concerns what a
person is obliged or permitted to do in a specific situation.

VALUES
According to Milton R. Oketch, a value refers to the type of belief centrally located in
one’s total belief system about how one ought to behave or not. In short values guide
our thinking about how we should behave and what we want to accomplish. Milton
went on to say that values are the fundamental criteria that lead us in making faithful
decisions.
William Gordon 1960 noted that values refer to things that are preferred, these are
premises that professional social workers should operationalize like respect for dignity,
uniqueness of individuals and belief in client self-determination.

Albeit, the values that underpin social work have been central to its practice and what
makes it distinctive among other professional groups. Maintaining behavioral codes
and standards of practice aimed at protecting the public are undoubtedly essential,
however, social work values are perceived to be more than adhering to a set of rules.
Due to the types of situations social workers encounter and have to deal with, they
also have to explore personal aspects of their value base and be aware of how their
values affect the work they do. In this way their professional identity and standards

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of professional integrity inform the complex and difficult situations they deal with
(Wiles, 2012, Banks, 2010).

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