Ethical Dilemmas in Human Rights Field Education: A Case Study on Macro Practice in a Reproductive-Rights Policy Setting
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Ethical Dilemmas in Human Rights Field Education: A Case Study on Macro Practice in a Reproductive‑Rights Policy Setting Heather Witt1 · Karyn Levin1 Accepted: 14 September 2020 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract In the article that follows, the two authors, a professor/field supervisor and a social work student intern in a conservative western state in the USA, discuss a values-based ethical dilemma in field-based social work education. While having to choose between particular values or perspectives in social work practice is relatively common—perhaps even part of the unique expertise we bring as social workers—the dilemmas faced by social work students in their field placements present particular challenges for the students, their field supervisors, and their instructors. The authors present a case study regarding birth control legislation that highlights those challenges—where an ideal solution for helping a particular population must be weighed with a marginally better but incomplete solution. Ultimately, this case and the authors’ reflection on it suggest the need for ethical training articulated by Gray and Gibbons (2007) that recognizes the limitations of ethical frameworks and the “Kantian and utilitarian ethics that [have] been taken to extremes” and dogmatized in some corners of the social work field (p. 234). Instead, the authors argue in favor of a broader, more flexible ethical training that includes virtue ethics and a focus on human rights. Further, case studies in courses need to include policy practice dilemmas, as these often challenge the dogmatic ethical frameworks that are often ill equipped to inform effective decision making under stressful circumstances. Keywords Field education · Human rights · Policy practice · Ethical dilemmas
Introduction As social work educators, we know that the notions of dilemmas and tradeoffs are embedded within the field of social work (Hood, 2018). So embedded are these ideas that we have a code of ethics—a formalized set of guiding principles that help focus the field on making choices in the best interests of those we serve. In addition, explicit ethical training for social workers is common, as the field relies upon ethical practice to thrive. A human rights focus is intrinsically tied to ethical social work practice. The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW, 2000) recognizes social work as inseparable from human rights, and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) formally included human rights as part of the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) in 2008. How can social work field students, working in * Heather Witt [email protected] 1
School of Social Work, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, MS 1940, Boise, USA
human-rights-focused macro placements, navigate the ethical issues that appear? How do these ethical dilemmas play out in real time in the real-world space of a student’s field experience? And what are the specific valences of these dilemmas when working towards a human rights
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