Ethics and professional identity among Ecuadorian social workers:critical reflections on values, responsibilities, and leadership challengesin community contexts

This qualitative study explores the intersection of professional ethics, identity formation, and leadership challenges among Ecuadorian social workers practicing in diverse community contexts. Using a phenomenological-hermeneutical approach, data was collected through 18 in-depth interviews and 4 focus groups with 20 professionals across indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian, urban-marginal, and peasant communities in the Amazon. The analysis, based on Constructivist Grounded Theory, reveals that professional identity is not a static attribute but a dynamic process of ethical negotiation, forged in the tension between the foundational "ethos" of social justice and the structural constraints of practice, such as job precarity and political pressure. The findings identify a prevalent systemic ethical dissonance and characterize a situated ethical leadership model, manifested through dialogical, resilient-adaptive, and socio-political styles. A significant gap was found between the deontological code and daily practice, highlighting the need to move from a normative ethics to a situated and deliberative one. The study concludes that strengthening this ethically negotiated identity and leadership requires academic training connected to complexity, improved labor conditions, and the creation of localized ethical support structures.