The influence of field education experiences on the development of social work values and ethical conduct in MSW graduates
In the United States, over 22,000 social workers graduated from MSW programs in 2013 poised to enter professional practice (CSWE, 2013). Schools of social work are tasked with producing competent professionals able to respond to complex situations through skill development based on theory, empirical evidence, and practice wisdom while reflecting the values of the profession. NASW's (2008) six core values differentiate social work from other disciplines and serve as a cornerstone of social workers' professional education, identity, and practice. As the signature pedagogy of social work education (CSWE, 2015a), field education instructs students along three fundamental dimensions, "to think, to perform, and to act with integrity" (Shulman, 2005, p. 52), highlighting the importance of field education's ability to teach the values delineated in the NASW Code of Ethics. However, research on values is scant, dated, and inconclusive. Field education relies on intellectual learning through social interaction and the cognitive processing thereof (CSWE, 2008), which maximizes the potential for values integration toward ethical conduct. This study utilized an inductive qualitative research design with grounded theory methodology guided by a constructivist paradigm with post positivist elements (Charmaz, 2006; Padgett, 2008). The researcher conducted face-to-face, audio-recorded interviews with 12 MSW graduates using a semi-structured interview guide, which explored relationships between and among field education experiences, social work values, and ethical conduct. Findings are summarized as follows: 1. Relationships provide the context for values development, identity formation, ethical decision making, and ethical conduct. 2. Through its focus on experiential learning, modeling, and reflection, field education provides an opportunity for the integration of values into practice, contributing to professional development. 3. While values development informs professional development, social work identity formation relies on the integration of personal and professional values and the integration of those merged values into the self. The core category is the use of self through the social work identity, which is driven and motivated by human relationships. These finding may facilitate further development of field education curriculum, inspire future research on social work values, and suggest avenues for values development in higher education.
Stats
Viewed 124 timesDownloaded 19 times