SOCIAL WORK ETHICS RESEARCH GROUP (SWERG)
Convenors: Sarah Banks (s.j.banks@durham.ac.uk) and Ana M. Sobočan (AnaMarija.Sobocan@fsd.uni-lj.si)
To join the mailing list, please contact Sarah and Ana.
Description and aims
The SWERG (Social Work Ethics Research Group) is dedicated to researching ethics in social work practice, involving aspects such as ethics and professional identity, ethical decision-making, the role of virtue ethics, professional wisdom, ethical dilemmas, ethics education etc. The aims of SWERG are to explore these perspectives in international contexts, with their specific education traditions and social policy frameworks. The validity and relevance of such research rests also on including cross-national and cross-institutional perspectives – and these can be reached through collaboration of researchers across countries. The SWERG group members believe the ESWRA SIG facilitates an establishment of a pan-European (and wider) network of researchers interested in social work ethics.
The aims of the SWERG SIG are to develop a strong SIG membership base to initiate exchanges of research interests, projects, methods and results in the field of ethics in social work. Steadily we hope to establish a wider network of researchers and generate joint research endeavours, among other activities (such as small conferences, seminars, joint publications etc.). SWERG is usually organises a Pre-Conference workshop at the annual European Conference for Social Work Research and sometimes a symposium or workshop as well. We hold regular online meetings every few months when we often have a paper presentations or discussion. If you want to join a meeting please contact Sarah Banks or Ana Sobočan.
Pre-conference in-person SIG meeting in Munich, Wednesday 12 March, 2025, 13.00-15.30, Re-imagining social work ethics. This meeting is supported by the Ethics and Social Welfare journal and we will produce a short article based on our discussions. All welcome. Further information, s.j.banks@durham.ac.uk. Booking via ESWRA.
Pre-conference joint meeting with the Social Work and More-than-Human SIG in Munich, Wednesday 12 March, 2025, 9.30-12.00, More-then human ethics for social work. Booking via ESWRA.
Recent research and publications
Article on 'Slow ethics in an age of fast technology' - following the pre-conference workshop at the Vilnius conference in 2024, members of the group worked together over several months to create an article for submission to the Ethics and Social Welfare Journal.
Research on professional ethical identity - Members of the group held symposia at several ESWRA conferences and worked together to explore the theme of ‘professional ethical identity’ in social work. This resulted in an article in the journal Ethics and Social Welfare: In Conversation with a Case Story: Perspectives on Professionalism, Identity and Ethics in Social Work (2020) https://doi.org/10.1080/17496535.2020.1726982
Research project: Ethical challenges for social workers during Covid-19 - Members of SWERG worked in partnership with the International Federation of Social Workers to conduct an international survey on ethical challenges for social workers during Covid-19. The survey was conducted in May 2020, and received 607 responses from 54 countries. A small grant was received for this work from Durham University (UK) ESRC Impact Acceleration Account. Members of the group are now looking at ethical challenges post-pandemic. For further details contact: s.j.banks@durham.ac.uk Various publications have been produced from the research, including:
‘Co-building a new eco-social world: leaving no one behind’ – people’s summit 2022 - SWERG was a partner with IFSW and others in working towards a people’s summit held online, 29 June-1 July 2022. This initiative was stimulated by the experience of the inequities highlighted by Covid-19 and the growing crisis generated by climate change. Details can be found here: https://www.newecosocialworld.com/ A report was produced: BEYOND THE PANDEMIC: EXPLORING SOCIAL WORK ETHICS AND VALUES AS A CONTRIBUTION TO A NEW ECO-SOCIAL WORLD An article was also published: Social work beyond the pandemic: Exploring social work values for a new eco-social world
Steering group of the SWERG SIG:
Pre-conference SIG Workshop, European Conference for Social Work Research, Munich
Social Work Ethics Research Group (SWERG), Wednesday 12 March, 2025, 13.00-15.30
Reimagining social work ethics
The aim of this workshop is to provide a forum for participants to share their current research in the field of social work ethics, stimulate new ideas and make links with others with similar interests. In particular, this year we will consider what messages we take from our own research, and research reported in the literature, about the state of social work ethics, both as a topic and as a practice.
In recent years SWERG workshops have focussed on ethical challenges in times of turbulence and fast-paced change: during the Covid-19 pandemic; in co-building a new eco-social world; and in the context of the digital revolution in social work. This year, we are also co-hosting an additional SIG workshop on Wednesday 12 March morning (9.30-12.00) in partnership with the More-than-Human SIG on the theme of ‘More-than-human Ethics for Social Work’.
All these topics have raised questions about: do we need to rethink social work values and ethics in challenging times - in the context of pandemic conditions, the global ecological crisis, the digital revolution and the prospect of a post-anthropocene era? Is it enough to keep adding new clauses to codes of ethics and new modules to the teaching curriculum, or do we need to reconfigure and extend existing values and virtues or create new ones designed for new times and to re-embrace a democratic and participatory social work practice? What does it mean to rethink or invent social work values? Is it possible, desirable or necessary? What further research is called for?
Programme
13.00: Introductions: Sharing interests, passions and the work of SWERG to date.
13.20: Introduction to the theme: ‘Reimagining social work ethics’, Sarah Banks, Durham University, UK.
13.25: A series of short provocations linked to the topic of reimagining social work ethics
1. What is the relevance of ‘soul’ to the social work values of today and tomorrow? François GILLET, Haute Ecole Bruxelles-Brabant, Belgium.
The way we look at human beings differs depending on places, cultures and times. Our aim in this discussion will be to see how in the 21st century we can clarify our definition of a human being made up of body, heart and mind in the light of what today's sciences tell us, and the relevance of ‘soul’.
Question: How could the concept of ‘soul’, or eventually ‘Soul’, be updated to restore coherence to the contemporary human being and redefine certain values of social work today and tomorrow.
2. Reimagining ethics in social work in the current trend of (re)psychologization of social work, Maria Irene de Carvalho, ISCSP, Lisbon, Portugal.
There is currently trend to (re)psychologize social work that is visible in: published research concerned with addressing social problems with a focus on individual behaviours; in social work education, where an individualized operational approach is favoured over conceptual frameworks that aim to change power structures and conditions of social inequality; in social work practice as social workers adopt person-centred methods rather than community/participatory methods to address systemic problems.
Question: How can ethics reinforce social work's commitment to tackling structural social issues and conditions of oppression, increasing the resistance of researchers, teachers and professionals and decolonizing individualized social work globally?
3. Interviewing as a disciplinary technique in social work: Sit down and listen to my questions! Sibylle Ulbrich, PhD student, KSH Munich, Germany.
Ethical decision-making in social work is often considered a rational-cognitive process. But what about embodied experiences, affects, and incorporated dispositions? Disciplinary techniques (Foucault), such as hierarchical observation, normalizing judgment, and examination, not only constrain clients’ agency but also shape their embodied autonomy (Andresen 2023). In times of multiple crises—pandemic conditions, ecological catastrophe, digital transformation—it becomes increasingly urgent to rethink ethics beyond cognitive reflection: as an embodied, relational, and interactive practice.
Question: What are the ethical implications of viewing the social work interview, or indeed the research interview, as a disciplinary technique that shapes the embodied autonomy of people who use social work services?
4. To surrender or stand firm? Rethinking practical wisdom in social work ethics within the neoliberal framework, Michelle Shum, City University of Hong Kong, China.
The neoliberal paradigm prioritizes efficiency and cost-effectiveness, undermining the ethical obligations of social work and posing dilemmas in public services, as seen during the Covid-19 pandemic. Are we merely acquiescing to this systemic pressure, or are we compelled to confront it? Is there a way to balance our professional values with neoliberal demands? Is there a role for practical wisdom (phronēsis), regarded as both an intellectual and moral virtue, integrating rational and emotional elements of thought and feeling to apply sound reasoning in specific circumstances.
Question: How do we cultivate practical wisdom in ethical decision-making within the current socio-political context?
5. The Case for Cultural Humility in Social Work Ethics, Netanel Gemara, University of Haifa, Israel.
The current approach to ethics in social work often assumes a universal value system that can be applied in all cultural contexts. However, this assumption reflects a Western-centric worldview that can unintentionally perpetuate cultural imperialism in social work practice. Our current ethical frameworks often treat cultural sensitivity as an "add-on" rather than a fundamental restructuring of how we conceptualize social work ethics. For example, the concept of 'individual autonomy' - which is central to many social work ethical codes - can conflict with collectivist cultural values that prioritize family and community in decision-making.
Question: Rather than simply adding cultural competence clauses to existing codes of ethics, how do we fundamentally reconceptualize social work ethics through a pluralistic lens that recognizes multiple valid ethical frameworks that coexist in practice.
14.00: World Café Dialogue groups exploring different questions/themes based on provocations
15.00: Feedback, conclusions and next steps - What issues came up, new ideas for further research and collaborations, future activities of the group.
15.30: Close
This workshop is organised in conjunction with the journal Ethics and Social Welfare, https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/resw20 We anticipate that a report/article may be published in the journal based on the workshop contributions.
For further information about SWERG, please contact: Sarah Banks, s.j.banks@durham.ac.uk or Ana Sobočan, AnaMarija.Sobocan@fsd.uni-lj.si
