for educationn

1. PRINCIPLES AND
VALUES OF
SOCIAL WORK
Discussants : Janah Jacob,Charlene Kate Erum
Jero Dizon, Adelfa Garcia
DIASS - Q1
MODULE 12:

2. LEARNERS OBJECTIVES:
After studying this module, you are
expected to:
1. identify the Principles of Social Work;
2. explain the Values of Social Work;
3. express personal how social work
intervenes in a society crisis.

3. PRINCIPLES
- A fundamental truth or proposition
that serves as the foundation for a
system of belief or behavior or for a
chain of reasoning.

4. SOCIAL JUSTICE
- Is “neither communism, nor despotism, nor
atomism, nor anarchy,” but the humanization of laws
and the equalization of social and economic forces by
the State so that justice in its rational and objectively
secular conception may at least be approximated.
Social justice means the promotion of the welfare of
all the people, the adoption by the Government of
measures calculated to insure economic stability of
all the competent elements of society, through the

5. maintenance of a proper economic and social
equilibrium in the interrelations of the members of the
community, constitutionally, through the adoption of
measures legally justifiable, or extra-constitutionally,
through the exercise of powers underlying the existence
of all governments on the time-honored principle of
salus populi est suprema lex. Social justice, therefore,
must be founded on the recognition of the necessity of
interdependence among divers and diverse units of a
society and of the protection that should be equally and

6. evenly extended to all groups as a combined force
in our social and economic life, consistent with the
fundamental and paramount objective of the state
of promoting the health, comfort, and quiet of all
persons, and of bringing about “the greatest good
to the greatest number.” (Calalang vs Wiiliams,
G.R. No. 47800. December 2, 1940).
UNANIMITY
-The quality or state of being unanimous.

7. CORE VALUES OF SOCIAL WORK
VALUES
- are fundamental norms and preferred behavior
patterns, shared by members of a society or a
subgroup which aim at integrating and channeling
the organized activities of the members. A value
specifies whether to follow or not to follow a
particular behavior.

8. Mendoza (2002) cited that the Council on Social
Work Education identified and described six (6)
values that are shared by the social work
profession.
1. Right to Self-Fulfillment- Each person
has the right to self-fulfillment which is
derived from his/her inherent capacity and
thrust toward the goal;

9. 2. Responsibility to Common Good- Each
person has the responsibility as a member of
the society to seek ways of fulfillment that
contribute to common good;
3. Responsibility of the Society- The society
has the responsibility to facilitate self-
fulfillment of the individual and the right to
enrichment through the contribution of its
individual members

10. 4. Right to Satisfy Basic Needs- Each
person requires for the harmonious
development of his powers socially
provided and socially safeguarded
opportunities for satisfying his/her basic
needs in the physical, psychological,
economic, cultural, aesthetic, and spiritual
realms.

11. 5. Social Organizations required to
facilitate individual’s effort at self-
realization – The notion that individual and
society has the responsibility to provide
appropriate social resources, it is the right
of the individual to promote change in
social resources that do not serve his/her
need-meeting efforts.

12. 6. Self-realization and contribution to
society- To permit both self-realization and
contribution to society by the individual,
social organization must make available
socially-provided devices for need-
satisfaction as wide in range, variety, and
quality as the general welfare allows.

13. These values according to the Curriculum Study
sponsored by the Council on Social Work
Education as cited by Mendoza (2002) comprise
a minimum commitment from the social worker
and the following concepts are implied in these
values:
1. Concept of human potentials and capacities-
This is premised on the belief that a person is
inherently endowed with potentials and capacities.

14. 2. Concept of social responsibility- an
individual has the obligation to contribute
to the common good and society.
3. Concept of equal opportunities- This
is premised on the ideal of social justice,
two elements of which are fairness and
equality.

15. 4. Concept of social provision- This
is based on the premise that there will
always be everywhere with unmet
needs or problems which are beyond
their own capacity to solve.

16. The National Association of Social Workers
(NASW) stated that the mission of the social
work profession is rooted in a set of core
values. These values include: service, social
justice, dignity and worth of the person,
importance of human relationships, integrity,
and competence (Morales and Sheafor, 1983).
These core values are reflected in the IFSW
Code of Ethics’ Preamble:

17. “Social work originates from humanitarian ideals and
democratic philosophy and has universal application
to meet human needs arising from personal-societal
interactions and to develop human potential.
Professional social workers are dedicated to service
for the welfare and self-realization of human beings;
to the development of resources to meet individual,
group, national and international needs and
aspirations; and to the achievement of social justice
(IFSW as cited by Morales and Sheafor, 1983)

18. Social Work values focus on three
general areas: values about people,
values about social work in relation
to society and values that inform
professional behavior.
(Dubois & Miley, 1999)

19. The First Value is the conviction in the
Inherent Worth, Integrity and Dignity of
the Individual (Friedlander, 1977). When a
person fails to perform of follow what is
expected of him to do in a prescribed
manner, the person is considered not
worthy and not desirable person by the
people in a society.

20. The person’s dignity is denied and
viewed as person with no integrity and
inhumanely treated by the society.
People are not interested about why
the person has not been constituting a
good performance on his social
responsibilities in a suitable and
acceptable way.

21. The Second Value is Belief in
Democratic Functioning. It relies on
the democratic process while dealing
with the client system. This alludes that
promptness and firmness in deciding is
through unanimity and nothing is
forcibly imposed on the client.

22. The worker, the client and others, are
all actively participating in the process
of decision making. Similarly, and at
the same, the right of the client in
having a preference for the solution is
given the highest attainable point.

23. The Third Value is the Firm Belief in Equal
Opportunity for All, Limited only by the
Individual’s Capacities (Friedlander, 1977).
This value conveys an impression the need for
social justice. Social work put forth a
determined effort against social injustices
giving out to the disadvantaged and
defenseless members of society.

24. Regardless of caste, religion, race,
economic status and intelligence.
Each person must have equal
access to the resources of our
society.

25. The Fourth Value is Social Worker’s
Social Responsibility towards Himself,
his family and his society (Friedlander,
1977). This value admonishes the social
worker not to neglect himself, his family
and the society in which he is living while in
the performance of duty and obligation and
professional duties.

26. If he unsuccessfully performs his
obligation and commitment towards
himself and his family, then he himself or
his family may fail to carry out their
social functioning and may become
omission of performance and failures
needing social work intervention.

27. The Fifth Value is to Transmit
Knowledge and Skills to Others
(Sheafor & Morales, 1989). This value
provides instruction to the social worker
to give the information that he has, that
would enable the client to take care of
himself, in case the client faces connate
challenges and problems in the future.

28. This is to guarantee that the client
becomes independent on the social
worker throughout his life. Withal, it also
proposes that sharing of information,
talent and skills among co-professionals
goes a long way and is hard act to follow
in nurturing the capability of the
professional practice.

29. The Sixth Value is Separating Personal
Feelings from Professional Relationships
(Sheafor & Morales, 1989). This value reminds
the social worker that he should not allow
personal feelings to intrude in a professional
relationship, as this may make him over
concerned or develop a biased prejudiced
view about the client and his problem situation

30. The social worker may have endured the same
experiences and been in a resembling social
circumstances in his personal life. Further, it is
possible that the social worker might relate
these situations to the present client and may
lose his objectivity needed for social work
intervention. As a result, he must be vigilant
about any of his personal feelings are affecting
thereby evoking strong emotional response in
his professional relationship.

31. The Seventh Value assumes High Standards of
Personal and Professional Conduct (Sheafor &
Morales, 1989). It accentuates that the conduct of the
social worker should be commendable and
exemplary at both personal and professional levels.
As a professional, he should follow the Code of
Ethics for Social Work Practitioners. The
achievement of any profession depends on the
virtuousness and character of the professionals
actively engaged in a specified career or way of life.

32. In social work practice situations, clients
come with a number of fears, indecision,
skepticism and distrust about everything
around them. They have to profess a
number of confidential and emotional
information and ardent emotional
information and hope a lot of trust from
the social worker.

33. PRINCIPLES
OF SOCIAL
WORK

34. PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL WORK
Social Work is based on respect for the
inherent worth and dignity of all people and
it is cultivated by altruistic and democratic
principles. Friedlander (1958) and Biestek
(1957) as cited by Mendoza (2002)
indicated seven principles adhered by
social workers including the following:

35. 1. ACCEPTANCE
- Respecting clients under different
circumstances
- Understanding the meaning and
causes of client’s behavior
-Manifests warmth, interest and
concern about the client and her/his
situation

36. 2. CLIENT’S PARTICIPATION IN
PROBLEM-SOLVING
- Client is expected to participate in
the process.
- Gathers information in defining the
nature of the problem
- Participates in planning ways in
resolving such problems

37. 3. SELF-DETERMINATION
- The idea behind this principle is
that the clients-individuals, groups,
or communities) who are in need
have the right to determine their
needs and how they should be met.

38. 4. INDIVIDUALIZATION
- Recognizing and understanding the
client’s own unique characteristics and
using different principles and methods
for each client.
- No two clients are exactly alike
- Social interventions differ for each
client considering their unique qualities
and situations

39. 5. CONFIDENTIALITY
- Client should be accorded with
appropriate projection, within the limits of
the law, with no any harm that might
result from the information given to the
social worker
- The client should be assured that what
he or she divulges will be kept in
confidence.

40. 6. WORKER SELF-AWARENESS
- Social worker is conscious about her/his role
in making use of her/his professional
relationship with the client in a way that will
enhance the client’s development rather than
his/her own.
- The social worker consciously examines
her/his feelings, judgments, biases and
responses whether these are professionally
motivated.

41. 7. CLIENT-WORKER RELATIONSHIP
- The purpose of client-worker
relationship is to help the client in some
area of his/her social functioning in which,
at the present he or she is experiencing
some difficulty, and where the worker is in
the position to offer help.

42. “A helping hand can be a ray of
sunshine in a cloudy world.”
—SOMEONE FAMOUS
QUOTE FOR TODAY

43. THANK YOU
FOR LISTENING!