The voice of ethics as a driver toward professionalization and the scientific status of Social Work in uncertain times

Abstract

Social Work is a product of the context in which it is performed. Consequently, the dynamic of the social structure corresponds to its success and growth. Together with the economic crisis, recent social events that have been highlighted in academia and research are determining factors in the epistemology, values and ethics of social work. These circumstances have required the profession to evolve and it has transformed from an initial stage with a morality still removed from the requirements of the scientific method to its current success, characterised by the competency model and integration within social sciences on equal terms, overcoming its previous subordination. Within a few decades, social work has moved from a concern for the morality of society and the values of its recipients to unprecedented conceptual and scientific development, with improvements in undergraduate and postgraduate training, increased numbers of doctors and scientific publications with high impact factors. We explore the implication of this development in the profession in light of the change in values and the acquisition of ethical competencies applied to social work.