Kazakh cultural values and ethical choice of social work students

Aigul Mustafina, Baurzhan Mustafin

2024

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DOI 10.1080/02615479.2023.2299229
Data confidence 70 medium
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Abstract

The recognition of cultural relativism in social work ethics has grown. Kazakhstan’s society is largely collectivist and interdependent with a predominantly Muslim population and traditional values, therefore social work students must be prepared for uncertainties and ambiguities, including those related to contradictions between global professional and local cultural values. The study aimed to explore social work students’ adherence to Kazakh cultural values in ethical choice and the effect of some student-related variables on it. The participants (n = 141) were asked to complete a scale that included a series of specific practice situations in which social workers must make an ethical choice between global social work values and cultural values. The data were analyzed using ANOVA procedures. Results indicated that Kazakh cultural values determined moderately the ethical choice of students, and adherence to them varied with students’ gender, rural/urban and regional background, and religiosity. Significant interactions were found; the effects of regional background, religiosity, and year of study were influenced by rural/urban background, and vice-versa. The findings emphasize the importance of strengthening social work students’ awareness and critical reflexivity regarding possible incongruities between professional and cultural values, as well as the need to consider students-related variables in ethics teaching.