values building, social work education, visegrad countries

Even though values are one of the key aspects of social work education, they still remain under-researched. The aim of this chapter is therefore to analyse and understand the possibilities of value-building education in the field of social work. The paper draws on the results of a qualitative study based on qualitative research based on interviews with 86 students and 16 teachers from 10 universities in the Visegrad countries (Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Poland, and Hungary; in the following “V4”). The data analysis helped identify four positions of a possible educational setting in relation to the values building in social work students, theoretical teaching without (necessary) dynamism, non-existence of a system and disconnectedness of values, and the ideal of an integrated approach to values building in social work education. The text sets out specific implications for the area of values building in social work education that are relevant for education of social work managers.