The Big Picture
People make choices based on ideas about right and wrong, what they value, and what they believe is true. These ideas affect everyday decisions and relationships.
Culture and life experiences can influence a person’s views and behaviour. In support work, these influences matter because your own choices and professional conduct are also guided by ethics, morals, and values.
Look for Nova Scotia CCA Notes throughout this page for current provincial guidance.
Quick tip: Tap, click, or press Enter on any term with a dotted underline and an ⓘ icon to see its plain-English definition.
Start Here If You’re Overwhelmed
Focus on these core ideas:
- ethics are rules of conduct that guide decisions about right and wrong.
- morals are personal principles about what you believe is right or wrong.
- values are qualities you consider worthwhile or desirable.
- A belief is something you are convinced is true.
- Culture and personal circumstances can influence a person’s beliefs, values, morals, ethics, and behaviour.
- Ethics and morals affect both everyday decisions and professional relationships.
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Course Notes: Key Ideas You Need to Know
What Ethics Means
Ethics are rules of conduct that guide decisions about what is right or wrong, and what is good or bad.
Conduct means personal behaviour.
Ethical rules come from society’s expectations about how people should behave. A choice or action described as unethical is not morally correct.
The word immoral describes something that conflicts with traditionally held moral principles. It is often used for behaviour regarded as indecent or outside accepted moral standards.
What Morals Means
Morals are the basic principles a person believes are right or wrong for themselves, apart from legal rules or customs.
Ethics and morals are related, but they do not mean exactly the same thing. They are often incorrectly used as if they were identical.
Some people also use the word morals more narrowly for standards of behaviour related to sexual activity. That is not the full meaning of morals.
What Values Means
Values are qualities a person considers worthwhile or desirable.
Values can influence a person’s actions and choices. They are one part of what guides a support worker when difficult decisions arise.
What Belief Means
A belief is a conviction that something is true.
Beliefs can influence a person’s actions. A person’s culture and life circumstances can influence those beliefs.
Ethics, Morals, Values, and Decisions
Ethics and morals affect both large and small decisions in everyday life.
They also have a strong influence on personal and professional relationships. When a support worker faces a difficult choice, ethical beliefs, morals, and values help guide the worker’s conduct.
Culture and Life Circumstances Matter
A person’s culture and personal circumstances can influence:
- ethical beliefs
- morals
- values
- beliefs
- behaviour
This means people may develop different views based partly on what they have experienced in life.
Support workers should understand that a client’s values, beliefs, morals, ethics, and behaviour may reflect the client’s culture and life circumstances.
Nova Scotia CCA Note
Sorrentino’s Canadian Textbook for the Support Worker, 5th Edition explains that culture and life circumstances can influence beliefs, values, morals, ethics, and behaviour. In Nova Scotia, current CCA standards connect this broad idea to Ethical Practice and EDIRA. Ethical Practice is one of four core CCA competencies and includes integrity, accountability, respectful responses, confidentiality, knowing when to report or escalate, and following applicable standards and workplace requirements. (novascotiacca.ca)
EDIRA stands for equity, diversity, inclusion, reconciliation, and accessibility. Nova Scotia uses it as part of the CCA philosophy of care. It recognizes diversity in people’s experiences, backgrounds, and identities and supports independence, individuality, control, and agency in care. (novascotiacca.ca)
Why this matters in Nova Scotia: Ethical Practice is part of the current provincial CCA Competency Framework, and these standards help shape the CCA Program and provincial certification exam. (novascotiacca.ca)
Official source: Continuing Care Assistant Occupational Standards of Practice
Last checked: August 30, 2026
Personal Views and the Law Are Different Ideas
Morals describe what a person believes is right or wrong for themselves without relying on legal rules or customs.
At the same time, people in Canada are obligated to obey the laws that govern them.
These ideas should not be treated as the same thing. A personal moral view and a legal requirement come from different sources.
Past Experiences Can Affect Beliefs
A home support client had been seriously injured by a drunk driver and was partially paralyzed. Years earlier, he had also survived a mass shooting in which soldiers tried to destroy his village.
During care, the client expressed strong beliefs about punishment. He said drunk drivers, rapists, and drug dealers should be shot and killed.
The support worker found these statements upsetting. She felt uncertain about whether to ask the client to explain his feelings further, so she spoke with her supervisor.
The example shows how past experiences can influence a person’s beliefs and sense of what is right or wrong. It also shows a support worker recognizing uncertainty and bringing that concern to a supervisor.
Common Mix-Ups
| Wrong Idea | Better Idea |
|---|---|
| Ethics and morals mean exactly the same thing. | Ethics are rules of conduct about right and wrong. Morals are personal principles about right and wrong. |
| Morals only refer to standards about sexual behaviour. | Morals have a broader meaning. They are a person’s fundamental principles about right and wrong. |
Fast Review
The four main terms sound similar, so focus on the core meaning of each one.
- Ethics: rules of conduct that guide decisions about right and wrong.
- Morals: personal principles about what a person believes is right or wrong.
- Values: qualities a person considers worthwhile or desirable.
- Belief: a conviction that something is true.
- Culture and personal circumstances can influence beliefs, values, morals, ethics, and behaviour.
- Ethics and morals affect everyday decisions as well as personal and professional relationships.
- A support worker may rely on ethical beliefs, morals, and values when facing difficult choices.
- Past experiences can influence a client’s beliefs, values, morals, ethics, and behaviour.
Final Pep Talk
If these terms start to blur together, review one definition at a time and focus on what makes each one different. A few short reviews will make the distinctions easier to recognize.