Professional Ethics in Welfare Work and Education

Fundamentally concerning the relationship and dynamics between education, professionalism and ethical awareness, this interdisciplinary, edited volume showcases novel research perspectives on professional ethics in education, practice, and the work life of welfare professionals in the Nordic countries. Contextualising the term 'welfare professions' as the collective definition of teachers, early childhood educators, social educators, social workers and nurses in the Nordic countries, the book chiefly concerns their ability to navigate within the complex political and institutional frameworks that surround their working environments. Chapters position their competence to act with strong critical, ethical awareness and integrity as a key tenet of a well-functioning education system, and provide research-based perspectives and reflections on how the dichotomy between ethical standards and realities of practice can lead to ethical pressure and moral distress. With contributions from Denmark and the Nordic countries, as well as Canada and the US, the book offers empirical and theoretical perspectives into the relationship between education, professionalism and ethical awareness, and is supported with empirical examples and research-based case studies. Ultimately, the book showcases and promotes research aimed at strengthening professionalism based on critical, innovative and practice-focused education. This enlightening book will be essential reading for global academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of pedagogy, professional development, the sociology of education, and education ethics more broadly. Those involved with issues of welfare in society, working life research, policy and professional values will also find the volume of use.

Bjørn Ribers is an Associate Professor in Professional Ethics and Educational Sciences, at University of Southern Denmark, Denmark.. Niels Warring is an Associate Professor in Working Life and Educational Research, Roskilde University, Denmark.

Editors' Introduction: Professional Ethics in Welfare Work Part 1: Professional ethics in education and praxis 1: Virtues in welfare work - ethics in education and praxis 2: Trust relationships in education - establishment, maintenance and weakening 3: Forms of ethical reflection on pedagogy and power in welfare work 4: A social-economic ethical perspective on pedagogical intervention and inclusion 5: Re-imagining the ethical-political role of teachers 6: Networks, innovative education and ethical communities Part 2: Competencies and values in working life 7: Professional social education and pedagogy as a values-based praxis 8: Professional competence in welfare work - a contested terrain 9: Ethics and gender - school leaders' balancing act in the leadership of upper secondary schools 10: Care and ethical discernment 11: Trust - a fundamental, ethical skill for social educators in welfare institutions 12: Professional integrity Part 3: Ethics, healthcare and welfare 13: Ethics and dialogue in professional welfare work 14: Empathy and compassion in social work: the case of eldercare 15: Principles of ethical transitions of Internationally Educated Nurses into practice 16: The elision of care as a matter of ethical concern 17: Ethics, professional care and digital technologies 18: Professional identity and personal experience Afterword: Professional ethics in welfare work - current perspectives and prospective visions for education and praxis