Social Work / Maatskaplike Werk (E-Journal)
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GLOBAL AGENDA FOR SOCIAL WORK AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: A PATH TOWARD SUSTAINABLE SOCIAL WORK
The Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development (2012) reflects the commitment of social workers, educators and social development practitioners to the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, effective from September 2015, provides a framework for positioning the Global Agenda to contribute towards a more just society. This paper explores how the four commitments of the Global Agenda link with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Implications and opportunities relating to the Global Agenda for social work practice and education are discussed, and guidelines are presented for more sustainable development outcomes for social work practice and education
SOME CHALLENGES OF POLICING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Domestic violence is one of the most prevalent forms of violence dealt with by police officers on a daily basis. In order to understand their experiences and response to domestic violence incidents, a purposive sample of twenty-eight police officers in the Western Cape Province were involved in a qualitative phenomenological study.The paper reports on the experiences and challenges of police officers in policing different types of domestic violence. Recommendations on how to equip police officers to deal more effectively with the challenges inherent in domestic violence are offered
REVISITING THE ESOTERIC QUESTION: CAN NON-SOCIAL WORKERS MANAGE AND SUPERVISE SOCIAL WORKERS?
A dilution, and eventual denigration, of the social work profession, such as through the practice of social workers being managed by non-social workers, can increasingly be traced to neoliberal utterances and resultant managerial discourses. Social workers may unwittingly be contributing to the handover of management practices to non-social workers. This paper outlines the reasons for the tension between general management and social work management, presents a conceptualisation of social work management and supervision, and examines the impact of the global neoliberal discourse and resultant managerial tenets on social work in the South African contex
“IF A PERSON USES ALCOHOL THE REAL YOU COMES OUT”: EXPLORING THE SELF, SEXUAL EXPERIENCES AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE
The article aims to describe the role substances play in relation to the experiences of the self and sexual behaviour of the substance users, which may be of significance for the rehabilitation process. Based on Carl Rogers’s person-centred approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a voluntary sample of seven participants in a treatment centre in Pretoria, South Africa. The findings suggest that the use of substances assists the individual in relieving psychological tensions and to experience euphoric sexual encounters in the process in a way that is congruent with the self-perception. These aspects needs to be taken into consideration in the treatment regime
CHILD ABANDONMENT AND PROTECTION OF ABANDONED CHILDREN IN LESOTHO: PREVENTION STRATEGIES
Abandonment creates risks for the wellbeing of children, while compromising their prospects for social adjustment and advancement. This implies pressure on a country’s fiscal base through probable lifelong dependence on public resources. The need for prevention of child abandonment in Lesotho and elsewhere can therefore not be overstated. This article, based on research in progress, discusses possible dangers of child abandonment and neglect, using attachment theory as its theoretical grounding. It considers findings based on two samples (professionals and adoptive mothers) and offers recommendations for the prevention of child abandonment and the protection of abandoned children, with specific reference to Lesotho
THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED LEARNING (TEL) TO FACILITATE AUTHENTIC LEARNING: EXPERIENCES OF SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIAL WORK EDUCATORS
Pedagogies incorporating technology-enhanced learning (TEL) are growing in social work education. However, there have been few explorations of the effectiveness of use of particular pedagogical designs based upon authentic learning principles in social work education. This paper contributes to such scholarship on teaching and learning using technologies through the analysis of five qualitative case studies of South African social work educators in order to ascertain whether and how the principles underpinning authentic learning are present in their teaching practices. The paper concludes by arguing that the use of TEL in combination with the principles of authentic learning have the potential to support social work students become work-read
Management and Supervision of Social Workers, edited by L.K. Engelbrecht, 2014 Andover: Cengage Learning EMEA, (242 pp, ISBN:968-1-4080-8210-2)
PREVALENCE OF MULTIPLE ADDICTIONS AND CURRENT TREATMENT BY DRUG TREATMENT CENTRES IN DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA
Substance-use disorders (SUD) cause severe problems both globally and locally. Research suggests that multiple addictions create a more complex illness. This study investigated whether in-patients admitted for SUD at three drug treatment centres in Durban, South Africa had other, undiagnosed addictions. It utilised a three-phase concurrent mixed-methods design and initially screened for gambling and sex addiction. Results showed that, of the sample of 123 participants, 54% had either sex or gambling and 24% had both addictions which current treatment programmes neither assessed for nor treated. Recommendations include suggestions to update current assessment and treatment approaches and the need to train professional staff at drug treatment centres
TEACHING SOCIAL WORK VALUES BY MEANS OF SOCRATIC QUESTIONING
This article provides an outline of the challenging process of teaching, acquiring and internalising social work values, which form an important aspect on which ultimate ethical decision making with clients rests. The supposition is that treating clients impartially, reasonably and justly is dependent on students’ understanding and awareness of their thinking about their thinking. Becoming a strong-sense thinker implies a cultivated disposition of mind without privileging one’s own views and being skilled in the ability to formulate a disciplined line of questioning. The use of Socratic Questioning (SQ) as a form of professional socialisation to teaching professional values may enable students to eventually develop into reflective practitioners.
INTERVENTION STRATEGIES USED TO ADDRESS ALCOHOL ABUSE IN THE NORTH WEST PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA
One of the purposes of the Alcohol Sub-Study of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study was to identify the socio-economic effects of binge drinking from the perspective of community support networks and assess their intervention efforts to address the alcohol abuse problem in the selected areas of study. Emphasis was placed on implementation of plans and legislation; however, eradication of the problem seems to be insignificant for various reasons. This article reports on these identified challenges and proposes appropriate intervention strategies that take cognisance of the nature of the communities for which intervention efforts are intende