59 research outputs found
A Process Model of Social Development Supervision in Social Work
No full textSupervision practice in social work is understood as the mainstay of the profession. However, various studies have pointed to the inadequacies of supervision to facilitate quality service provision. Previous studies have reflected a general misalignment between the approach to supervision practice and the approach to social work practice as one inadequacy leading to the failure of supervision practice. Although there are numerous supervision models in the profession, some of which are aligned with certain practice approaches, none is directly identifiable with the social development approach, which should be at the core of social work orientation in South Africa. Thus, this article provides a process model of supervision in social work that aims to establish a dialectical relationship between supervision and the social development practice approach. The study was underpinned by Thomas’ research and design process, which was used to design and develop a social work supervision model mirroring a social development approach. The paper concludes with recommendations related to the use of the developed model
The training needs of field supervisors in the Bachelor of Community Development and Leadership program
No full textAbstract: This research study sought to delve deeper into the training needs and challenges experienced by field supervisors in the third and Honours year Community Development and Leadership program at the university in Johannesburg. The purpose of the study was to understand the field supervisors’ perspective on training needs and the challenges they experience in light of systems theory. Systems theory concepts such as interrelatedness, adaptability and feedback loops were applied to gain a better understanding of the Field Instruction system. The objectives of the study focused on exploring the insights of supervisors in their training requirements; exploring the challenges and coping mechanisms utilized by field supervisors and contributing to the knowledge of Field Instruction in Community Development programs...M.A. (Clinical Social Work
Towards a Decolonial Higher Education: Praxis and Theoretical Foundations
No full textThis paper critically examined the praxis of decoloniality in higher education through theoretical and practical lenses, emphasising the need for an epistemic shift from colonial oppressive knowledge systems to indigenous frameworks. Grounded in critical race theory, the study explored historical and contemporary dimensions of coloniality and its persistent influence on education, knowledge production, and institutional structures in Africa. It interrogated the impact of colonial power dynamics on curriculum design, language policies, and institutional leadership, highlighting barriers to decoloniality such as Eurocentric curricula, linguistic hegemony, epistemic injustice, and structural inequalities. Furthermore, it advances a conceptual framework for decoloniality in higher education, incorporating race, narrative storytelling, critique of liberalism, commitment to social justice, interdisciplinarity, and leadership. It argued that sustainable decoloniality necessitates a restructuring of academic disciplines, integration of indigenous knowledge systems, and inclusive leadership committed to transformative change. The paper further advocates for policy shifts that support equitable access to education. By proposing actionable strategies for institutional transformation, this study contributes to ongoing scholarly and activist discourses on decolonial education, emphasising the urgency of dismantling colonial oppressive legacies and fostering a higher education system that is responsive to African contexts
Conceptualising social development supervision in social work
No full textAbstract: The practice of supervision in social work is understood as the backbone of the profession. This is underpinned by the major functions of supervision that are educative, supportive and administrative. On the other hand, various studies have pointed to the inadequacies of supervision to facilitate the functions that it is set to achieve toward quality service provision. In South Africa, social welfare service provision is underpinned by a social development approach. However, the collected data in a foregoing study pointed to a general misalignment between the approach to supervision practice and social work practice approaches (social development approach in particular). This is one of the inadequacies leading to the failure of social work supervision practice..
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHERN AFRICA IN THE WAKE OF COVID-19
No full textModern capitalism has shaped the world, but for many scholars, its principles have disproportionately favoured the prosperity of a minority while neglecting the prospects of the majority, particularly in Southern Africa. The recent COVID-19 pandemic combined with significant inequalities of wealth has put the social policies of countries in Southern Africa to the test. It exposed the inadequacies of the current capitalist order in many countries in the global south, hindering their ability to protect their populations from the pandemic’s impact. In contrast, the global north, with stronger social policies and economic flexibility, managed to cushion the severity of pandemic’s economic impact on their populations in many ways, even though they suffered the most deaths. In this article, I establish how COVID-19 and neoliberal capitalism made it difficult to achieve the social developmental objectives in Southern Africa. While scholars have documented the medical and economic harms caused by the pandemic, I highlight ways that it, along with considerable inequalities of wealth, impaired social development more broadly. I conclude by establishing how the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the shortcomings of neoliberal capitalism in Southern Africa’s social policies, emphasising the need for re-evaluating and re-alignment of these policies to foster more equitable and resilient societies
Views of parents in the Johannesburg Metro (Region 11) regarding reproductive health issues emanating from the Children's Act No 38 of 2005 as amended in 2008.
No full textThe study took as its point of departure the Children’s Act No 38 of 2005 that emanated
from the Bill of Rights enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act
108 of 1996). This Act has as its primary aims, to promote the preservation and
strengthening of families and to give effect to the rights of children as enshrined in the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, including: protection of children from
maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation and the fact that the best interest of a child are
of paramount importance in every matter concerning children. It was anticipated that the
areas of the Children’s Act with its emphasis on the rights of children would empower
them in relation to their protection and development in that particular context. When the
Act was introduced, it evoked mixed reactions with certain segments of society
applauding the government for its efforts, and others condemning the government’s
approach towards reproductive health issues affecting children. The primary aim of the
research project was to explore the views of a group of parents in the Johannesburg Metro
Region 11 regarding reproductive health care as embedded in the Children’s Act. The
study took the form of a small-scale, mixed methods, descriptive, cross-sectional survey
research design as it sought to elicit participants’ views on those specific clauses in the
Act. In addressing the aims and objectives of the study, interview schedules were
administered to 35 participants on an individual, face-to-face basis. Participants were
adults drawn from Johannesburg Metro Region 11 and the data collected was analysed
using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. The main findings that emerged
from the study were that, participants did not participate in the process leading up to the
promulgation of the Children’s Act No 38 of 2005. Consequently, participants had little
knowledge about the Act and did not have any knowledge about its objectives. The fact
that participants did not support certain clauses has implications for amendment of the Act
with reference to the clauses on reproductive health care
Abezimu/Badimo (ancestors) and copyright law: from the Decolonial Turn to the pluriversal author
No full text"A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of Communism” is the sentence that opens Karl Marx's and Friedrich Engels' iconic text, The Communist Manifesto. Marx and Engels set out what was to become the primary program of action for all communist parties in Europe. The Communist Manifesto's cardinal observation was that Communism was an epochal inevitability, and that it was the task of all revolutionaries to ensure that conditions are befitting for a Communist reality. Although in a completely different context, this thesis accepts that the spectre that is currently haunting Africa and the Global South is that of Decoloniality and Decolonisation. This thesis studiedly perceives the #MustFall moment as one that presented South Africa with a Decolonial Turn – this is an epochal inevitability that seeks to complete the incomplete task of decolonising society. To respond to the Decolonial Turn, this thesis methodologically employs decolonial theory, Black consciousness philosophy and Black Marxism to study the essence of copyright law's authorship from the perspective of people on the other side of Western modernity. The basic contention of this thesis, and its original contribution to the corpus of literature as regards authorship in copyright, is that the logical aftermath of the Decolonial Turn leads to a “pluriversal author” – this is a type of author that is reflective of the pluriversal epistemic and ontological patterns of a decolonised world. This is a world where many worlds exist. One of those worlds is inhabited by people whose epistemic traditions suggest that an author in copyright is inclusive of “Abezimu/Badimo”, that is the non-human author who is represented in an onto-triadic edifice of Being; the living, the dead and the yet-to-be-born. The thesis that is defended in this doctoral project is that Abezimu/Badimo are an author in copyright, and that this ought to be accepted, embraced, and reflected in prevailing copyright law legislative frameworks
A Process Model of Social Development Supervision in Social Work
No full textAbstract: Supervision practice in social work is understood as the mainstay of the profession. However, various studies have pointed to the inadequacies of supervision to facilitate quality service provision. The collected data reflects a general misalignment between the approach to supervision practice and social work practice approaches as one inadequacy leading to the failure of supervision practice. Although there are numerous supervision models in the profession, some of which are aligned to certain practice approaches, none is directly identifiable with the social development approach, which should be at the core of a social work orientation in South Africa. Thus, in this article I provide a process model of supervision in social work that aims to establish a dialectical relationship between supervision and social development practice approach. The model is an output of a qualitative study with principles of a phenomenological design. In the study I employed a Research and Design approach to conduct individual interviews and focus group with social workers and social work supervisors, and their comments suggested the need for a social development approach to supervision
Student social workers’ experiences of supervision
No full textAbstract: Given the managerial and austerity crisis in field practice education in South Africa and internationally, the study explored the perceptions of student social workers regarding their experiences of field practice supervision. A questionnaire-based survey was administered to third-year undergraduate social work students attending a South African university. While most students enjoyed positive supervision experiences a small proportion felt that their supervision was inadequate. Challenges included having supervisors not placed at field instruction agencies; differences between agency supervisors’ expectations and those of the university; and poor quality supervision. Findings highlight the responsibility of universities for the screening, training and support of supervisors, and for university personnel to deal timeously with supervisor-supervisee issues
Developmental Social Work Practice and Social Welfare Perspectives in Building Healthy Human Relationships in South Africa
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