Human dignity as a value in social work ‒ challenges for education

Social work is a specific profession that has a clear axiological aspect. It is based on the humanitarian and democratic ideals and human dignity is considered a core value in social work. It is in human dignity that the remaining values of social work are rooted. Their catalogues could be found in manuals of social work and above all in ethical codes adopted by associations of social workers in different countries. In the first part of the article, the author deals with some difficulties associated with the term “human dignity”. The term is widely accepted, but is it really understood? And although existing ethics codes of social workers do not define the concept of dignity, they use it to express the conviction of exceptional and unique value of each human being. The answer to the question what human dignity is, is all the more important because axiological dimension of social work a significant element of social workers education is. Therefore, the second part of the article discusses the problem of how to prepare social workers to solve the ethical dilemmas. It’s not just about presenting the theoretical knowledge of values or studying ethical codes. Analysing the results of research on the professional ethos of social workers is also not enough. Future social workers should experience the core values of social work in direct contact with people living in conditions that contradict human dignity, for example: in homeless shelters, hospices or sometimes in prisons. In addition, a visiting place where people commemorate humiliation (such as former concentration camps) can also help raise awareness of the value of human dignity. The author suggests that even literature and films are well suited to the axiological education of future social workers. 

Social work is a specific profession that has a clear axiological aspect. It is based on the humanitarian and democratic ideals and human dignity is considered a core value in social work. It is in human dignity that the remaining values of social work are rooted. Their catalogues could be found in manuals of social work and above all in ethical codes adopted by associations of social workers in different countries. In the first part of the article, the author deals with some difficulties associated with the term “human dignity”. The term is widely accepted, but is it really understood? And although existing ethics codes of social workers do not define the concept of dignity, they use it to express the conviction of exceptional and unique value of each human being. The answer to the question what human dignity is, is all the more important because axiological dimension of social work a significant element of social workers education is. Therefore, the second part of the article discusses the problem of how to prepare social workers to solve the ethical dilemmas. It’s not just about presenting the theoretical knowledge of values or studying ethical codes. Analysing the results of research on the professional ethos of social workers is also not enough. Future social workers should experience the core values of social work in direct contact with people living in conditions that contradict human dignity, for example: in homeless shelters, hospices or sometimes in prisons. In addition, a visiting place where people commemorate humiliation (such as former concentration camps) can also help raise awareness of the value of human dignity. The author suggests that even literature and films are well suited to the axiological education of future social workers.