Virtue-Led Social Work Practice

Pawar, Manohar; Hugman, Richard; Alexandra, Andrew; Anscombe, Arthur

doi:10.1007/978-981-10-3809-9_12

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Virtues form the centrepiece of an Aristotelian perspective of ‘good’ character, reflecting positive and intrinsic qualities that are both constitutive of and conducive to human excellence (Aristotle 2009 , p. 5 [1095a17–21]). Collectively, virtues reflect contextually appropriate traits and values—such as honesty, compassion and perseverance—which become habitually ingrained through deliberate and repetitive practice, predisposing practitioners to behave based on ethically sound habits (Pawar et al 2017 ). Although character is an inter-individual attribute, practitioners’ character dispositions, and the corresponding behaviours, can be influenced by the extent the professional context promotes or thwarts ‘good’ character (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Value of Character-Based Judgement in the Professional Domain

et al. 2019

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Dimensions of character are often overlooked in professional practice at the expense of the development of technical competence and operational efficiency. Drawing on philosophical accounts of virtue ethics and positive psychology, the present work attempts to elevate the role of 'good' character in the professional domain. A 'good' professional is ideally one that exemplifies dimensions of character informed by sound judgement. A total of 2340 professionals, from five discrete professions, were profiled based on their valuation of qualities pertaining to character and judgement. Profile differences were subsequently examined in the self-reported experience of professional purpose towards a wider societal 'good'. Analysis of covariance, controlling for stage of career, revealed that professionals valuing character reported higher professional purpose than those overweighting the importance of judgement or valuing neither character nor judgement, F(3, 2054) = 7.92, p < .001. No differences were found between the two groups valuing character, irrespective of whether judgement was valued simultaneously. This profiling analysis of entry-level and in-service professionals, based on their holistic character composition, paves the way for fresh philosophical discussion regarding what constitutes a 'good' professional and the interplay between character and judgement. The empirical findings may be of substantive value in helping to recognise how the dimensions of character and judgement may impact upon practitioners' professional purpose.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Value of Character-Based Judgement in the Professional Domain

et al. 2019

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“…Two important qualities/virtues (see Pawar et al, 2017) of community organisers can be identified in his memoir. In the midst of failure, not losing hope is critical; rather one needs to build it further.…”

Section: Obama’s Community Organising and Social Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Promised Land: Lessons for Community Organising at Multiple Levels

Pawar

2021

The International Journal of Community and Social Development

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The main purpose of this article is to review Barack Obama’s memoir, A Promised Land, from the perspective of community organising, racism and social change, and draw implications for social work education and practice. By using the theme and content analysis method, it selects relevant chunks from the memoir and reflects on it. The analysis and reflection bring out Barack Obama’s knowledge, skills and approaches of community organising and social change. It argues that in addition to his own virtues and character, the basic premises and approaches of Obama’s community organising are similar to the values, knowledge and agenda of professional social work. Further, it suggests drawing lessons from Obama’s community organising experiences and exploring the potential for social work to expand at multiple levels of macro practice.

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“…To engage in policy practice according to different cultural contexts, first social workers need to engage with themselves so as to strengthen their being in terms of their qualities, including character and virtues (Pawar, Hugman, Alexabdra, & Anscombe, 2017). This essentially means building capacity of social workers in terms of knowledge, skills and qualities.…”

Section: How Can Social Workers Engage In Policy Practice?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Work and Social Policy Practice: Imperatives for Political Engagement

Pawar

2019

The International Journal of Community and Social Development

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This article discusses why and how social workers need to engage in social policy practice and how such engagement necessitates political action. The local conditions relating to health, education, housing, employment, gender equality and socioeconomic infrastructure in majority of communities in the Asia Pacific region are largely neglected by professional social workers. To make a difference in those communities and to do justice to their own professional values and principles, social workers need to engage in policy practice in several ways. They may also need to re-examine the profession’s non-political and non-religious neutral stand. It argues that to facilitate their necessary political engagement, social workers need to understand and work with local politics and power structures. Such a stand calls for new thinking and altering some aspects of the nature of social work education and practice in the region.

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Virtue-Led Social Work Practice

Cited by 5 publications

References 11 publications

The Value of Character-Based Judgement in the Professional Domain

The Value of Character-Based Judgement in the Professional Domain

A Promised Land: Lessons for Community Organising at Multiple Levels

Social Work and Social Policy Practice: Imperatives for Political Engagement

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