1. The social work value base and Thompson’s Personal, Cultural and Structural (PCS) model of Disadvantage  

2. The Meaning of Social Work Values
What are social work values?
Are they a set of principles on which social workers base their actions ?
Or a moral code on which activity should be based?
Should all practitioners adhere to the same codes and what happens if you don’t?
Can we choose to adhere to some of the values and not others?
What happens if you don’t personally agree with some of the values?

3. Social Work and Empowerment.
Although there are differences in definitions of social work the values remain consistent and are embodied into a countries codes of practice.
A set of core values contributes to the notion of professionalisation identifying it from other professions.
Social work is based on respect and the inherent worth and dignity of all people and the rights that follow from this.
Social workers should uphold and defend a person's physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual well-being.
“We work with vulnerable individuals who experience a wide range of inequalities and discrimination and must guard against the possibility of exploiting or oppressing individuals we work with through unethical practice”.
N. Thompson

4. But how can we do this ?
Insight and integration of the core principles of social work is essential to becoming a professional.
This means embracing the following;
Respecting the right to self-determination
Promoting the right to participation
Treating each person as a whole
Identifying and developing strengths

5. Values of Social Work Individualization. Acceptance.
Non-Judgemental Attitude.
Self-determination.
Confidentiality.
Respect for the Person.
Congruence.
Empathy
Are there values that you don’t understand?
Unconditional Positive Regard.
Equality.
Social Justice.
Partnership.
Citizenship.
Empowerment.
Authenticity.
don’t agree with or think are more important than others?

6. Understanding Social Work Values
The majority of service user have complex issues and distress often with unmet needs
They are vulnerable and disadvantaged with difficulties that seem intractable.
In order to deal with such issues we must practice in an ethical way

7. Social work requires ‘emotional intelligence’:
In order not to perpetuate vulnerability and disadvantage
Social Workers require a set of principles to base their actions
And a moral code on which activities are based to ensure continuity from all workers and services
Your understanding of the significance of ethical practice and inequality is central to delivering services
To develop this understanding it is essential to explore how this connects to the social workers use of SELF

8. Anti-Oppressive Practice and Self Awareness
Before an Anti-Oppressive approach can be in place workers must start by looking at themselves to develop Self-Awareness
(Dominelli/ Banks/ Thompson)
They must examine and re-examine
Their own Values
Culture and Background
Conditioning and Prejudices
Before tackling the Intuitional and Societal Levels of Discrimination and Oppression

9. Developing Self-Awareness
Involves understanding one’s own emotional intelligence and values, your beliefs, your capabilities, your skills and knowledge and your thoughts and emotions
A difficulty we all have is that we are not aware of the things we are not aware of!
We have blind spots to the areas we can improve on and must become aware of these to develop understanding of ourself. 
We need self-knowledge to acquire the basic foundations to become a competent practitioner.
A framework that helps us to become self aware is the Johari window.

10. The Johari Window A cognitive tool created by Luft and Ingham (1955) to help people understand their communication, relationships and use of self.

11. Others can see us differently as we show different parts of the self

12. Awareness of this enables development of a conscious of this and development of the self.

13. Prejudice Stereotyping Discrimination (Give an Example)
Reflexive Questions to help this Development In groups discuss your understanding of the terms
Prejudice Stereotyping Discrimination
(Give an Example)
What are professional Values?
What are Individual Values?
What are Universal Values?
What would anti-oppressive practice mean?

14. PREJUDICE Making a prejudgement about something Before experiencing it
Before fully examining it

15. STEREOTYPING Making generalised assumptions about a person or a group.
Often based on false or misleading information.   
These assumptions apply to the group or person uncritically.
The person or the group is expected to conform to these stereotypical assumptions.

16. EXAMPLES. All Scottish people are tight
All people with their hair in dreadlocks take drugs
All people over the age of 70 years are senile

17. DISCRIMINATION.
Treating a person or a group less favourably than you would treat another person or a group based on their
Sex
Age or Disability
Sexual orientation
Religion
Gender
Marital Status
Race

18. DISCRIMINATION CAN OCCUR
Directly - treating someone less favourably than someone else is would be treated in a comparable situation. E.G staff in a restaurant refuses to serve a person because of his or her ethnic origin
Indirectly - a rule, policy, practice or procedure that is the same for everyone, but has an unequal or disproportionate effect for a specific group of people. E.G requiring that the employee be six feet tall would disproportionately disadvantage women or uniform requirements stating that employees may not wear any headwear would indirectly discriminate against Sikh men.
By means of Victimisation or exploitation: an act that exploits or victimizes someone (treats them unfairly);

19. Universal Values. Values that hold society together.
Which can be seen in societies legislation and enforced by those in power in society.
Religion, Education Institutions, Courts, Government.
E.G -You shall not
Take a life
Steal,
Marry a close relative

20. Professional Values.
Those professions and organisations that hold fundamental principals and would expect all those working in the profession to uphold
Doctors must save a life -The Hippocratic oath
Car crash -A fully trained doctor would be capable of carrying out the correct procedure and we would think it wrong if they failed to help in this situation.
Social Work Value Base and codes of practice
Social workers must respect and promote the helping relationship and it would be unacceptable to misuse this relationship in anyway.

21. Personal Values. A set of beliefs and moral codes
Which have been installed in us through the socialisation of;
Our family, our peers and our community/culture
Individuals can experience conflicts between the three systems.
In particular circumstances one set must prevail over the others.

22. Social Work values
In a work situation the professional set of Values must always prevail
You must begin to examine what this means for you
For if the professional value base is far removed from your own you will be unable to work with people and deliver appropriate Service to the core group of service users

23. ANTI-OPPRESSIVE PRACTICE
Approach which seeks to
Reduce
Undermine
Or Eliminate
Discrimination, Prejudice, Oppression and the Powerlessness of individuals and groups
This is can be done in the following ways

24. The Approach This means valuing individuals and diversity.
Understanding equality not the same as uniformity
You can not treat everybody the same as sometimes this reinforces existing inequalities and oppressions.
Recognising this and the effects of discrimination and the way it occurs
Working to promote rights
Working to counteract acts of oppression
A commitment to the social work value base.

25. The approach means:
A willingness to challenge oppressive behaviour; yours and others
A way of working which promotes empowerment, self actualisation and improves life chances for others
These actions permeates all aspects of work and service delivery
Permeates the Service user and worker relationship
Employer and employee relationship
Permeates the agency, culture and society.

26. Thompson offers a model to help us examine Oppression
There are differing levels of Oppression and we have to develop our awareness of them
These levels all have an inter-related connections
Meaning a change in one level will effect changes in the other levels
These are Personal, Cultural and Structural (PCS)
They require workers to operate within them differently and they require different levels of challenge

27. Different levels of Oppression & Discrimination

28. or psychological level
The Personal level
or psychological level
The Individuals set of values, thoughts, personal beliefs and attitudes
Taken from life experiences and early years family
Individual workers (and their values) interacting with service users at the relationship building stage and applying core values e.g acceptance is crucial

29. The Cultural level
Organisational/institutional shared way of thinking and doing things
A set of fixed values, customs, policy and procedures
Traditions which individuals take on board and internalise as their own
Ways of living, working, interacting with others.
Produces conformity and acts as a vehicle to reinforce service culture. e.g use of assessment tools, to decide who qualifies for services or not

30. The Structural level
Global values, laws and expectations which are sewn into society
The interlocking patterns of power and control in society
The social divisions in society.
This creates institutionalised discrimination and oppression which are sometimes laid down in Legislation
As social workers we must act within the law so we sometimes have to reinforce structural oppression

31. Interaction between the levels
Each level effects and relates to the other levels as they constantly change with the development of society as People, Cultures and Societies change.
Changes in one level impact on the other two levels. For example:
Personal Level; Women should have the vote
Cultural Level; Women’s political movement formed
Structural Level; Government had to eventually pass legislation giving women voting rights

32. Developing Self- Awareness
Is significant because – as a Social Worker - you are a powerful person
You will impact upon all the PCS levels as you practice both Consciously and Unconsciously
Thus taking responsibility for developing Self- awareness is key to developing an anti oppressive approach and ethical practice
And applying these to social work practice is fundamental to competent professional practice

33. Advised Reading The Social Work Codes of Practice
Thompson (2009): Chapter on the Value Base
Parrott (2006): Chapter 2 (pages 8 – 13)
N. Thompson - Anti- discriminatory practice chapter 2 the theory base of the PCS Model