“I believe that homosexuality is a sin – can I be a social worker?” Rawlsian reflective equilibrium and value reconciliation

This paper explores how students with different ideological world views, based on religion or political inclination, for example, can reconcile those views with the essentially liberal nature of social work. Even ideologically based viewpoints that seem to be opposed to social work values can often, within a politically liberal framework, find reconciliation with those values. Although the internationalization of the social work student body has brought many benefits in terms of cultural learning and a departure from a wholly Eurocentric position in the classroom, it has also brought challenges in terms of diverse cultural beliefs and practices. Challenges also emerge with younger students who increasingly self-censor in the classroom and may have heterodox political views. This paper will describe Rawlsian liberalism and will demonstrate how liberal principles form the bedrock of the social work value base in liberal democracies like the UK. The paper will explore how Rawls’ concept of ‘reflective equilibrium’ and the explicit teaching of liberalism can help students make the personal journey to reconciliation between their own worldviews and social work values. Finally, some examples of value reconciliation will be worked through, and the limits of this will be delineated.<br/>