MORAL REASONING OF MSW SOCIAL WORKERS AND THE INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION

Abstract

This research examined the influence of undergraduate degree and ethics education on the moral reasoning of social workers. Statistical analyses found MSW social workers with liberal arts undergraduate degrees more likely to prefer postconventional levels of moral reasoning, defined as greater complexity of thought and principled reasoning. The overall mean Defining Issues Test scores of 44.77 place the sample in maintaining-norms levels, i.e., authority-based moral reasoning. Ethics courses were found to be somewhat related to levels of moral reasoning.