The Family as Moral Community: A Social Work Perspective

Abstract

Social work, while rich in literature about practice with families, has largely ignored the moral dimensions of this work. Conceiving the family as a moral community draws our attention to this neglected dimension. A framework, drawn from the literature on moral behavior, is used to conceptualize the moral life of families. The components are: (1) moral sensitivity – interpreting the situation; (2) moral reasoning – deciding what to do; and (3) moral character – following through and doing what is seen as right. These are offered as conceptual tools for focusing our attention and providing practice direction.

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