Using evidence from research with practitioners, integrated with wider material about virtue ethics in the helping professions, this book explores important types of virtue that are central to developing and sustaining excellence in social work.
Comprised of ten chapters and drawing on extensive research with social workers as well as wider debates and analysis, the discussion carefully concentrates on everyday experiences and achievements. This approach enables the book to avoid an idealized and prescriptive approach by making clear that virtues vary between contexts and individuals, while at the same time clearly marking out qualities and characteristics of social work that are foundational to the development of practitioners and of the profession as a whole.
It will be required reading for students on all BSc/BSW and MSc/MSW courses on professional ethics or preparation for practice. It will also be of interest to practitioners in other professions, including human services, health, education and social development or development studies.
Richard Hugman is Professor of Social Work at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. He originally qualified and practised as a social worker in the UK before migrating to Australia, where he has taught and researched at several universities and continued some practice. From 2002 to 2014 he was a member of the International Federation of Social Workers Committee on Ethics, chairing it for six years; he has also been a member of the Asia-Pacific regional committee of the International Federation of Social Workers. Richard has undertaken research and consultancy with international organizations, including with UNICEF Vietnam. He has published extensively about social work and social work ethics, including the book Culture, Values and Ethics in Social Work (Routledge, 2013).
Manohar Pawar is Professor of Social Work at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Australia, and is President of the International Consortium for Social Development. He has over 35 years of experience in social work education, research and practice in Australia and India. He is the lead chief investigator of research funded by the Australian Research Council's Discovery project that focuses on virtues and social work practice, which inspired this book. Manohar's interests and publications include Community Development in Asia and the Pacific (Routledge, 2010) and Social Development (co-edited, Routledge, 2010).
A. W. (Bill) Anscombe is Adjunct Associate Professor with the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture at Charles Sturt University, Australia, with a long career in social work practice (predominantly corrections and child protection), social work education and research. His practice has included senior positions as Operations Manager for New South Wales (Southern) Corrections and Director of Child and Family Services (Western) in the Australian state of New South Wales. He is currently a voluntary director of five not-for- profit human service companies or associations. Bill's research interests have been broad, including Indigenous housing and governance, multicultural Australia, rural social services and the rural Church. He has undertaken many evaluation projects ranging from chaplaincies, early-childhood services, disability through to multicultural health.
Amelia Wheeler is a Lecturer in Social Work at the Australian Catholic University. Amelia previously practised in the fields of child protection, youth homelessness and family law and has taught and researched at the University of New South Wales. Her recently completed PhD involved an ethical analysis of child-inclusive practices in Australian post-separation family mediation. Amelia has held research positions with the Gendered Violence Research Network at UNSW and the Australian Institute of Relationship Studies, and has been engaged in research consultancies with a number of non-government organisations. Her research interests include domestic and family violence, child and youth participation in social services, anti-racist social work and the use of ethics in everyday professional life.
