Project type: Postdoctoral project
Code: Z5-7192
Beginning: 01.01.2016
End: 30.06.2020
Funding: Slovenian Research Body
Coordinator: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Work
Leader: Doc. dr. Ana Marija Sobočan
Associates:
Gre za samostojni podoktorski projekt, vendar v njegovem okviru raziskovalka vzpostavlja tudi sodelovanje z mednarodno priznanimi raziskovalci: prof. dr. Sarah Banks (Durham University, Združeno kraljestvo), prof. dr. Kim Strom Gottfried in prof. dr. Rebecca Macy (obe University of North Carolina, ZDA), dr. Ed de Jonge in dr. Sabrina Keinemans in prof. dr. Peter Hendriks (vsi Hogeschool Utrecht, Nizozemska), prof. dr. Hugh McLaughlin (Manchester Metropolitan University, Združeno kraljestvo), dr. Julia Franz (FH Neubrandenburg, Nemčija), Heidrun Wulfekuehler (University of Iceland, Islandija).
V drugem delu projekta je načrtovano tudi sodelovanje z Institutom Jožef Stefan, in sicer pri razvoju modela odločanja.
This is an independent research project, nevertheless the researcher will cooperate with internationally recognized researchers: prof. dr. Sarah Banks (Durham University, GB) prof. dr. Kim Strom Gottfried, prof. dr. Rebecca Macy (obe University of North Carolina, USA), dr. Ed de Jonge, dr. Sabrina Keinemans, prof. dr. Peter Hendriks (vsi Hogeschool Utrecth, NL), prof. dr. Hugh McLaughlin (Manchester Metropolitan University, GB), dr. Julia Franz (FH Neubrandenburg, DE), Heidrun Wulfekuehler (University of Iceland, IS.)
Second part of the project involves also cooperation with Jožef Stefan Institute (in creating a decision-making model).
Keywords:
Social Work Ethics, Social Work Indentity, Decision-making in social work
Summary:
Organisation: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of social work
Project leader: doc.dr. Ana Marija Sobočan
Social workers are mandated to help people – and so daily participate in decisions about the relevant areas of lives of individuals, families and communities. A profession, marked by conflicting demands by different interests and agents, as well as complexity of situations and responses to them, and foremost the responsibility of social workers, demands a formation of tools and supports that can aid social workers in pursuing ethical practice and support professional conduct and approaches.
The goal of the proposed research project is to first understand, how (ethical) decision-making and conduct in social work evolves, and then structure a reference framework or a platform that will serve as a tool in decision-making in social work practice and present a foundation for evaluating ethical practice. Both is necessary in the Slovenian context, where knowledge about ethics just began to develop, while also the mechanisms to monitor, evaluate and judge professional practice are not sufficiently institutionalized and standardized. The research will study: normative – value basis and professional identity in social workers in Slovenia to identify the specific moral orientations, which currently guide social workers. This should contribute to understanding how can social workers be equipped with knowledge and sensibility to recognize the ethical dimensions of situations and decisions (dimensions, which are mostly overlooked) and to more easily understand, what choices are ethical (concepts of morality, based on social work values can be different that those, which are generally accepted in society). Built on this knowledge, a model to aid in decision-making in practice and evaluation and monitoring of ethical practice will be developed. Understanding the value base that prevails in practice and the impact of professional identity will enable planning education, policies and standards in social work, and give an answer to the question on how to resist bureaucratization of professional roles in social work and assure encouragement and support for ethical practice.
The research results are thus relevant on more levels: for social work science (strengthening social work as science), for social work education (educating the future and existent social workers), for social work as a profession with own identity (standards in social work, social work as autonomous in relation to other related professions or disciplines), for the knowledge base, methods and social work apparatus (broadening the existing frameworks of knowledge and practice), for social work practice (information about practice and formation of recommendations for conduct and decision-making in practice), for evaluating social work practice from the perspective of the profession itself, of other professions and the public (producing measures), for developing support mechanisms and standards for ethical conduct in practice (on the level of organizations, social politics etc.).
The orientation of the research plan follows the idea, that social work is an autonomous practice, based on independent, reflected and ethically conscious evaluations of situations, which should lead to reasoned decisions for an ethically responsible conduct and solutions. In social work, a practice of multi-level and multi-contextual ethical considerations, such professionally independent evaluation can only be grounded in clear professional goals; the consciousness and sensibility for ethical questions demands setting up a solid, clearly defined ethical framework, that can serve as a measure for ethical reasoning and as a necessary tool to produce ethical decisions. A clear idea about the ethical background and a defined professional orientation is needed not only for responsible professional conduct and ethical practice, but also as a screen against which the conduct and practice can be measured and evaluated. Both is currently in the context of Slovenian social work deficient or inadequate.
Other:
Contribution to profession and science
The research project will provide findings, which represent a novuum in the Slovenian context (both from the perspective of content as well as perspective of methodology); only the topic of the research can be compared to international research, while the focus and methodology used for the analysis mean a new approach also in the international context, so I intend to present the research in at least two international conferences (Lisbon, Paris). The research project will significantly contribute to the scientific level of social work as a science, as it will respond to the gap in social work ethics and ethical decision-making research - currently almost non-existent(except for the research authored by Sobočan 2013). Theoretical insights, that the research will offer, will present a key contribution to the understanding and vindication of social work as a discipline. A contribution to science is also the methodology of empirical study of ethical decision-making and value choices (documentary method), which could be transferable from ethics in social work to other fields of decision-making.
The project outputs: two scientific articles and a monograph, materials and a textbook for social work educators and practitioners; new technology – tool (decision tree) for social work decision-making support; an outline of a training for social work practitioners.
