ABSTRACT
This chapter should be read alongside Chapter 19, because values and ethics go hand-in-hand in social work policy and practice, where values refer to what people consider to be ‘good’, while ethics is concerned with what people consider to be ‘right’ (Dubois and Miley 1996: 122). In their exploration of values, Beckett and Maynard invite readers to locate themselves in the discussion and, in doing so, they say a little about where they are ‘speaking from’, that is, as social work academics who are white and black, atheist and Christian, British and Caribbean in family of origin. This reminds us that we need to constantly be aware of the impact of our own biography and structural position on our beliefs and values. We also need to remember that the values we hold dear are located in a specific historical and cultural context (see also Connolly and Harms 2008).
From Values and Ethics in Social Work: An Introduction, London: Sage (2005): 5–23.
