Inhabitants of some of the Panama Islands
the San Blas It illuminates the importance of policy within every society.
Social Work Dispositional Expectations
Dispositions are the values, commitments, and professional ethics that influence behaviors toward
others, and, if sincerely held, dispositions lead to actions and patterns of professional conduct. The
Grand Canyon University Social Work Program’s dispositions adhere to the university’s mission
statement, as well as to the established social work profession code of ethics. The Grand Canyon
University Social Work Program has adopted the following dispositions for its students derived
from the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics. Although these
dispositions are not all inclusive, they do represent values and qualities that are warranted by social
work students. Students who fail to adhere to or demonstrate such dispositions may be subject
to disciplinary actions.
12 Social Work Dispositions based on the NASW Ethical Values, Principles, and Standards
of Social Work Practice:
1. Value: Service
Ethical Principle: Social workers’ primary goal is to help people in need and to address
social problems.
Social workers elevate service to others above self-interest. Social workers draw on their
knowledge, values, and skills to help people in need and to address social problems. Social
workers are encouraged to volunteer some portion of their professional skills with no
expectation of significant financial return (pro bono service).
2. Value: Social Justice
Ethical Principle: Social workers’ challenge social injustice.
Social workers pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and
oppressed individuals and groups of people. Social workers’ social change efforts are focused
primarily on issues of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social
injustice. These activities seek to promote sensitivity to and knowledge about oppression and
cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers strive to ensure access to needed information,
services, and resources; equality of opportunity; and meaningful participation in decision
making for all people.
3. Value: Dignity and Worth of a Person
Ethical Principle: Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of a person.
Social workers treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual
differences and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers promote clients’ socially
responsible self-determination. Social workers seek to enhance clients’ capacity and
opportunity to change and to address their own needs. Social workers are cognizant of their
dual responsibility to clients and to the broader society. They seek to resolve conflicts
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between clients’ interests and the broader society’s interests in a socially responsible manner
consistent with the values, ethical principles, and ethical standards of the profession.
4. Value: Importance of Human Relationships
Ethical Principle: Social workers recognize the central importance of human
relationships.
Social workers understand that relationships between and among people are an important
vehicle for change. Social workers engage people as partners in the helping process. Social
workers seek to strengthen relationships among people in a purposeful effort to promote,
restore, maintain, and enhance the well-being of individuals, families, social groups,
organizations, and communities.
5. Value: Integrity
Ethical Principle: Social workers behave in a trustworthy manner.
Social workers are continually aware of the profession’s mission, values, ethical principles,
and ethical standards and practice in a manner consistent with them. Social workers act
honestly and responsibly and promote ethical practices on the part of the organizations with
which they are affiliated.
6. Value: Competence
Ethical Principle: Social workers practice within their areas of competence and develop
and enhance their professional expertise.
Social workers continually strive to increase their professional knowledge and skills and to
apply them in practice. Social workers should aspire to contribute to the knowledge base of
the profession.
7. Standard: Social Workers’ Ethical Responsibilities to Clients
Commitment to clients, self-determination, informed consent, competence, cultural
awareness and social diversity, conflicts of interest, privacy and confidentiality, access to
records, sexual relationships, physical contact, sexual harassment, derogatory language,
payment for services, clients who lack decision making capacity, interruption of services,
referral services, termination of services.
8. Standard: Social Workers’ Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues
Respect, confidentiality, interdisciplinary collaboration, disputes involving colleagues,
consultation, sexual relationships, sexual harassment, impairment of colleagues,
incompetence of colleagues, unethical conduct of colleagues.
9. Standard: Social Workers’ Ethical Responsibilities to Practice Settings
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Supervision and consultation, education and training, performance evaluation, client records,
billing, client transfer, administration, continuing education and staff developments,
commitments to employers, labor management disputes.
10. Standard: Social Workers’ Ethical Responsibilities as Professionals
Competence, discrimination, private conduct, dishonesty, fraud and deception, impairment,
misrepresentation, solicitations, acknowledging credit.
11. Standard: Social Workers’ Ethical Responsibilities to the Social Work Profession
Integrity of the profession, evaluation and research.
12. Standard: Social Workers’ Ethical Responsibilities to the Broader Society
Social welfare, public participation, public emergencies, social and political action.
© 2019. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.