Social Work / Maatskaplike Werk (E-Journal)
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THE LEGAL AND ETHICAL OBLIGATIONS OF SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS
Get PDFIn recent years social workers have been appointed in some schools on the assumption that social work services can contribute towards improving education in schools by supporting the psychosocial development of learners. Social workers not only place a high priority on ethical conduct, but as custodians of the Children’s Act, they also have distinct legal obligations towards children. However, social work ethics and these legal obligations could create ethical dilemmas. This narrative review article provides the background to school social work and explains some of the legal and ethical obligations that social workers face in this environment. A few common ethical dilemmas are also discussed
A LIFE SKILLS PROGRAMME FOR STREET CHILDREN: APPLICATION OF THE LIFE SKILLS TECHNIQUE IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIAL GROUP WORK
Get PDF ’N LEWENSVAARDIGHEIDSPROGRAM VIR STRAATKINDERS: AANWENDING VAN DIE LEWENSKAARTETEGNIEK IN MAATSKAPLIKE GROEPWERKVERBANDThe focus of this article is to indicate how the life map technique was applied in the development of a life skills program for street children in order to promote the psychosocial functioning of street children. A literature study was undertaken to determine the existing legislature for and service rendering to street children. After the literature study a needs assessment was undertaken to determine the specific needs of street children. According to the results of the literature study and the needs assessment the programme was developed, which is scientifically based on the real needs of these children. The content of such a programme is reported on in this article
REFLECTIONS ON THE EXPERIENCES AND NEEDS OF GRANDPARENTS CARING FOR THEIR GRANDCHILDREN WITH A SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER
Get PDFIn South Africa grandparents play a significant role in family life. A qualitative study was undertaken to explore and describe the perspectives of grandparents caring for their grandchildren with substance use disorder (SUD). Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews with grandmothers and analysed following Tesch’s eight steps. Guba’s classic model was employed for data verification. The findings revealed that grandparents experience heightened levels of stress, fear, intimidation, disappointment, shame and financial constraints, which may subsequently compromise their social wellbeing. Based on these findings, recommendations are made in an attempt to provide solutions to the challenges faced by grandparent
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF SUCCESSFUL AGEING: THE CASE OF RUWARE PARK IN MARONDERA, ZIMBABWE
Get PDFSocial constructions of successful ageing provide an invaluable resource for challenging and reconfiguring approaches and models of geriatric care. This paper has established that contrary to normative framing of successful ageing as that (ageing) which is free from diseases and infirmity, older persons in Ruware Park of Marondera had some social, cultural, personal and economic conceptualisations of the notion. Based on these varied conceptualisations, this paper has advocated for the remodelling of geriatric care programmes, policies and philosophies towards infusing localised notions of successful ageing in forming comprehensive and multidimensional geriatric intervention plans. Social work is critical in effectuating the change
ENHANCING SOCIAL INTERVENTIONS BY INFORMAL PEACE COMMITTEES IN ZIMBABWE: A DEVELOPMENTAL SOCIAL WORK PERSPECTIVE
Get PDFInformal peace committees are community-based responsive and supportive mechanisms that deal with social issues such as interpersonal conflicts, small-scale violence, poverty, hunger and social injustice. As human-service-oriented structures designed and created to represent the interests of local people, informal peace committees have an often unseen correlation with developmental social work in tackling social issues in their host communities in Zimbabwe. This article, therefore, argues that developmental social workers should become involved in these peace committees and identify the contributions they can make as a profession in order to enhance these successful initiative
UNSILENCING THE SILENT SOUTH AFRICAN HIV-POSITIVE RESEARCHER: AN HIV-POSITIVE RESEARCHER'S REFLECTION ON NEGOTIATNG INSIDER- OUTSIDER POSITIONALITIES WHILEST CONDUCTING A HIV STUDY IN eTHEKWINI, KWAZULU-NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA
Get PDFThe research study that informed this article’s discussion, critically interrogates an HIV-infected research team’s positionality whilst conducting a mixed-methods’ study on HIV-positive patients’ experiences of the public ART programme at four ARV clinics in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It primarily utilises the principal investigator’s (PI) narrative to explore insider/outsider positionality, reflexivity, bracketing and participatory action research through exposure of feelings, emotions, challenges, engagements, relationships and observations. The fluid positionality of the HIV-positive research team presented both challenges and opportunities. However, the opportunities for more HIV-infected researchers to engage in HIV-related research to assist with destigmatising HIV, close research gaps and the creation of a trustworthy research environment to achieve an ethical and reliable health science study, far outweigh the challenges. Further, such research can improve patients’ support and healthcare, healthcare workers’ perceptions of patients, and provide a guide for policymakers to better understand the recipients of HIV policies. Lastly, the term ‘HIV reflexivity’ is coined as a result.
THE IMPACT OF YOUTH GANG VIOLENCE ON THE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF MALE HIGH SCHOOL LEARNERS IN KHAYELITSHA
Get PDFThis article draws on a study which explored youth gang violence amongst male high school learners in Khayelitsha. A qualitative research design and a snowball sampling were applied. A semi-structured interview schedule was used to conduct in-depth face-to-face individual interviews. The study found that most learners start engaging in gang activities between the ages of 12 and 14 years. The respondents wanted the gang violence to end because it interfered with their educational attainment. Respondents also perceived the community to be consciously and unconsciously promoting youth gang violence. Recommendations are proposed regarding the management of youth gang violence
VOLUNTARY HOUSING DELIVERY: THE CONTRIBUTION OF PARTNERSHIPS TO THE SUCCESS OF A COMMUNITY BASED ORGANISATION (WASSUP) IN DIEPSLOOT LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
Get PDFSouth Africa continues to face a persistent housing challenge. This article examines the success of a housing partnership initiated by WASSUP, a housing-based voluntary organisation operating in Diepsloot, a low-income community north of Johannesburg. Findings showed that from its inception the organisation had gained grassroots support, because it targeted the felt housing maintenance needs of the community. Local leadership and other non-profit organisations (NPOs) in the community developed a sense of ownership, as they were involved in defining the relevant needs and the establishment of WASSUP. The authors recommend purposeful support for housing partnerships through financial and advisory support, among other aspects
SINGLE MOTHERS EMPLOYED IN THE FORMAL WORK SECTOR IN GERMANY AND SOUTH AFRICA
Get PDFThis article seeks to disrupt the dominant discourses of victimhood related to single-mother family status. Drawing on a sustainable livelihood framework, we present data from in-depth interviews held with 25 single mothers sampled in Hagen, Germany, and in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces in South Africa. We discuss how participants engaged in positive human capital development, building social capital and tapped into multiple income streams for economic security. Given the intersectional injustices that single mothers face, the strengths the women drew on in their lives is worth noting. We conclude that single mothers have created a new narrative for themselves beyond a pathological on
FOSTERING AWARENESS OF SELF IN THE EDUCATION OF SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS BY MEANS OF CRITICAL REFLECTIVITY
Get PDFFostering awareness of self in the education of social work students has focused primarily on a micro-conceptualisation of the self, which implies that the attention was, and still is, mainly on the intrapsychic processes generated by theory and field practicum. But the development of the professional self should also encompass a macro-conceptualisation, where students have to ask themselves how they contribute to the maintenance of societal structures and how these structures influence them in the forming of their own assumptions and belief systems about the self and the world. Three categories of critical-reflectivity questions can be asked about a parable on death and dying, thereby sensitising students to the self as a product of, as well as a co-creator of, society in the grieving process. These questions furthermore resonate within an African-centred worldview in the understanding of the self