Values and Discrimination
Essay on Values and Discrimination
Gerry McGachy
Submitted on 18th December 2012
In this essay I would like to explain how social care values and principles influence practice and demonstrate to you my understanding of the causes of discrimination and its effects on people’s behaviours, experiences and life chances. Each individual has their own set of values and these values will guide and motivate us in our decision making. In a well established text on social work values, Sarah Banks (1995) states;
‘Values’ is one of those words that tends to be used rather vaguely and has a number of different meanings. In everyday usage ‘values’ often used to refer to one or all of religious, moral, political or ideological principles, beliefs or attitudes In the context of social work, however, it seems frequently to mean: a set of fundamental moral/ethical principles to which social workers are/should be committed to.
People working in social care bring their individual values but must also recognise institutional and professional values and not let them conflict with each other. The Scottish Social Service Council’s Code of Practice is a list of statements that describe the standards of professional conduct and practice required as they go about their daily work. This code of practice guides social care workers in applying core values such as privacy, dignity and choice to the people we support. Recognising that the service user I support who I will refer to as DM for reasons of anonymity has the right to be involved in decisions and make choices despite the complexity of his disability. When supporting DM with his personal care routine and after coming out of the bath I will put a towel around his waist when going to his bedroom to continue with his support. Although no one else maybe around I am aware of his dignity while supporting him in this. In order to make a choice you need to have options, therefore when supporting DM I will offer him a choice of food
Gerry McGachy
Submitted on 18th December 2012
In this essay I would like to explain how social care values and principles influence practice and demonstrate to you my understanding of the causes of discrimination and its effects on people’s behaviours, experiences and life chances. Each individual has their own set of values and these values will guide and motivate us in our decision making. In a well established text on social work values, Sarah Banks (1995) states;
‘Values’ is one of those words that tends to be used rather vaguely and has a number of different meanings. In everyday usage ‘values’ often used to refer to one or all of religious, moral, political or ideological principles, beliefs or attitudes In the context of social work, however, it seems frequently to mean: a set of fundamental moral/ethical principles to which social workers are/should be committed to.
People working in social care bring their individual values but must also recognise institutional and professional values and not let them conflict with each other. The Scottish Social Service Council’s Code of Practice is a list of statements that describe the standards of professional conduct and practice required as they go about their daily work. This code of practice guides social care workers in applying core values such as privacy, dignity and choice to the people we support. Recognising that the service user I support who I will refer to as DM for reasons of anonymity has the right to be involved in decisions and make choices despite the complexity of his disability. When supporting DM with his personal care routine and after coming out of the bath I will put a towel around his waist when going to his bedroom to continue with his support. Although no one else maybe around I am aware of his dignity while supporting him in this. In order to make a choice you need to have options, therefore when supporting DM I will offer him a choice of food