Measuring student perception of ethics instruction in social work programs at the BSW and MSW level
Abstract
Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Master of Social Work (MSW) programs lack a universal method to teach ethics, and it is at the discretion of the program to determine the type of ethics education received. The purpose of this research was to determine the level of ethics instruction received by graduating students at the BSW, advanced standing (BSW and MSW), and two-year MSW level (two years of graduate education) by asking students their perspective on their ethics education. This study involved a demographics and ethical questionnaire, The Nathanson and Giffords Ethics Scale (NGES) that allowed students to report their perception of ethics in their programs. Results indicated significant differences were present, with BSW students scoring significantly better than advanced standing and two-year MSW students on the NGES. This finding was not correlated with perception of ethics training. Implications are discussed in terms of future research directions.