Social Work / Maatskaplike Werk (E-Journal)
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PERSPECTIVES ON THE FACTORS INFLUENCING STUDENT SOCIAL WORKERS IN THE EXECUTION OF THEIR RESEARCH PROJECTS AT FOURTH LEVEL IN AN OPEN DISTANCE-LEARNING CONTEXT
Get PDFThe inability of the fourth-level student social workers to complete their research projects on time has a negative impact on the throughput of the Department of Social Work at UNISA and hampers the implementation of the recruitment and retention strategy of social workers initiated by the National Department of Social Development. With reference to the latter, Mr Mnguni, a policy developer in the Service Standards Directorate of the National Department of Social Development states that “The Recruitment and Retention Strategy for Social Workers has been adopted and implemented since 2004 by the Department of Social Development; it is now part of the bigger Human Resource Strategy in the department. The implementation of the following programmes bears reference to the implementation of the strategy: the regrading of social workers’ salaries in 2004, the Occupational Specific Dispensation (OSD) in 2010, the scholarship programme, career fairs and now the exchange programme with the United Kingdom. The department is now preparing for evaluation of the strategy.
BARRIERS HINDERING THE EFFECTIVE INTEGRATION OF ORPHANED CHILDREN LIVING IN CHILD-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS INTO EXTENDED FAMILY FOLDS
Get PDFPatel (2005:167) states that the family is a basic unit of society and plays an important role in the lives of all people, especially children. However, the HIV and AIDS epidemic has devastated the family structure, which is already strained by other detrimental factors such as urbanisation, poverty, political and economic migration, and the changing roles of women (Amoateng & Richter, 2007:1-3)
ATTITUDES OF SECONDARY SCHOOL LEAVERS TOWARDS MANUAL WORK: IMPLICATIONS FOR YOUTH EMPLOYMENT IN BOTSWANA
Get PDFThe importance of generating opportunities for citizens to participate in the development of self and country cannot be exaggerated. Employment is usually the main way in which people contribute to the economic growth of a country. Work is an essential part of human life that helps in determining, among other things, one‟s social status. Therefore, it is important that at a certain stage in life one should acquire a job. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2008) notes that at some point in their lives youths will enter the world of work as a path toward social integration and as a means to earn an income. Youth unemployment has progressively emerged as a major problem in many developing countries and the world at large. For many youths entry into the labour market comes directly after completing school, depending on the schools‟ exit points of the particular country. Botswana‟s Secondary School education, which is completed in five years, has two exit points. The Junior Certificate (JC) runs for three years, and those who do not pass exit after Form 3. The Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) takes two years and the exit point is Form 5 for those who do not qualify to proceed to the tertiary level
HOUSEHOLD AND FAMILY STRUCTURE: A BASELINE STUDY AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL LEARNERS IN CHATSWORTH, SOUTH AFRICA
Get PDFThis article is based on a study that was designed to understand household and family structures in one designated community in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It discusses the results of a quantitative survey with 328 primary school learners in the Chatsworth area. Before the presentation of the empirical data, a brief history and description of Chatsworth is presented as background to the stud
EDITORIAL
Get PDFThis special issue of Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk comprises ten papers presented at the annual conference of the Association of South African Social Work Education Institutions (ASASWEI) held in Cape Town in September 2010.The theme of the conference was Social Work educators and practitioners: partners in teaching and learning. The purpose of the conference was to bring together educators and practitioners as partners in teaching and learning. The themes of the articles reflect some of the major issues that confront teaching and learning in South Africa today
CHALLENGES AND CHANGES IN TEACHING PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING TO SOCIAL WORK LEARNERS VIA DISTANCE EDUCATION
Get PDFThis article focuses on the quest to be learner-centred in social work training and on the challenges faced by the Department of Social Work at the University of South Africa (UNISA) in teaching person-centred counselling skills to Social Work students via open distance learning. The author first explores the meaning of open distance learning and learner-centeredness, then briefly discusses the theoretical framework supported by the department in teaching Social Work and lastly discusses the strategies used and challenges faced in teaching person-centred counselling skills to Social Work students at UNISA, with recommended changes in addressing these challenges
WOMEN AND CHILD ABUSE IN SOUTH AFRICA: LESSONS FROM PRACTICE
Get PDFA South African exploratory research study (Hanson, 2008) focusing on the phenomenon of the co-occurrence of woman and child abuse in the same family system confirmed international findings (Beeman & Edleson, 2000; Park & Kahn, 2000) that this phenomenon, although poorly recognised, does exist. Although international research findings point to an increase in the co-occurrence of woman and child abuse, it remains largely misunderstood in South Africa, with organisations and social workers addressing either woman abuse or child abuse, but not the two together (Hanson, 2008; Hanson & Patel, 2009; Hanson & Patel, 2010).The study revealed that organisational policies and mandates as well as the theoretical frameworks of the social workers shape the way in which the co-occurrence of woman and child abuse is understood and limits intervention directed at both the mother and the child (Hanson, 2008; Hanson & Patel, 2010)
Book Review
Get PDFAccording to editors Midgley and Conley, despite a growing awareness of the potential of developmental social work (also known as the social development approach to social work) and an increasing number of social workers throughout the world who believe that developmental ideas have relevance, there is still uncertainty about exactly what the approach involves. This book is a successful and valuable response to the need to illustrate developmental social work in tangible, practice terms
PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR THE INTEGRATION OF CHILD-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS INTO EXTENDED FAMILY FOLDS
Get PDFFoster (2004:2) emphasises that even with the advent of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the “extended family safety net is still by far the most effective response to economic and social crises throughout sub-Saharan Africa.” Webb (in Foster, Levine & Williamson, 2005:241) agrees that the extended family system, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, generally serves as an alternative arrangement to provide care to orphaned children. However, Foster (2004:2-3) states that this system is becoming stressed and its capacity to care for orphans may be weakening as some of the orphaned children do slip from this traditional method of orphan care and end up living by themselves in child-headed households (CHH). Phiri and Tolfree (in Foster et al., 2005:16-17) assert that these families need support to enable them to cope with the strain of shouldering the burden of taking in orphaned children. It is in light of this that the researchers were motivated to conduct the study to explore the suggestions on how barriers that hinder effective integration of these children into extended family folds can be overcome with a view to formulating practice guidelines to support this traditional method of orphan car
STREET CHILDREN‟S STORIES OF ESCAPING TO, AND SURVIVING ON, THE STREET – “SLUMDOG” LIFE AND “MILLIONAIRE” ENDING?
Get PDFMost movie enthusiasts were intrigued by the film Slumdog Millionaire. This story reflects, amongst other issues, the survival strategies of kids living on the streets in towns in India and the happy ending for one of them. The findings of the research on which this article was based could likewise have been dramatised into a script with similar story lines. It would reflect stories of kids trying to escape deprivation and violence and getting caught up in drugs and criminal activities. The authors of such a script could, however, argue that the researchers‟ interpretation of the findings would not substantiate any story with a “millionaire” ending. Nevertheless, according to the perspectives of research participants, street life could indeed be likened to a “millionaire‟s life”, compared to their home circumstances.The discussion that follows clarifies and substantiates this introductory statement. The rationale for, and the goal of the study, are presented, followed by a summary of the research methodology. The article then reports core findings in an inductive, narrative style and concludes with a summary and certain recommendations. Relevant literature is compared to the findings of the study