Ethical practice of social workers in Slovenia

This paper will present the results of the first research in Slovenia and its follow-up (after two years) to embark on investigating (perceptions of) ethical practice(s) and decision-making processes of social workers... [ view full abstract ]

This paper will present the results of the first research in Slovenia and its follow-up (after two years) to embark on investigating (perceptions of) ethical practice(s) and decision-making processes of social workers comprised of fieldwork research in one of the core social work institutions, including interviewing and participatory observation, online questionnaire and narrative interviews with social workers. With social workers in Slovenia having no discrete training in ethics, the interview situation aimed at first exploring their practice experiences, perceptions of dilemmas, processes of dilemma resolution and strategies applied as well as beliefs about the social work roles and professional goals – and hence, ideas about what ethical solutions and ethical practice are. The research showed that the principal ideas about dilemma resolutions are based on intuitive insights marked by personal moral beliefs and judgments, and are then legitimated and shaped by the negotiation processes with different impersonal (laws, regulations, rules) and personal (managers, other professionals etc.) authorities. In this process, there is little room for reflecting the different levels of the decision-making, which is especially worrying because the interpretation of what is the most desirable decision is influenced by the most powerful (and not necessarily most ethical) voices in the negotiation processes about these decisions.The research showed, that decisions, interpreted as desirable were usually those that were recognized as acceptable by the social workers’ superiors (managers of their institutions etc., who relied mainly on the legal framework for social work practice), and those that were preferred by service users (who provided positive feedback to social workers and thus ‘confirmed the rightness’ of a decision). Based on these research insights, novel concepts related to social workers professional identity and roles will be presented.

Abstract is related to the symposium: The practice of ethics in social work - new insights from research.