Developmental Social Work and the Sustainable Development Goals in South Africa: Opportunities and Challenges

2020 ◽  
pp. 251660262097522
Author(s):  
Emmison Muleya
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Goals

The main thrust of this article concerns the potential for the social work profession to contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which overlap with developmental social work, specifically with respect to poverty and inequalities in South Africa. Although developmental social work practice may attempt to tackle the structural causes of poverty and inequality, relatively few studies appear to have been conducted to evaluate the contribution of this approach to attaining SDGs. The article draws from contemporary available literature and documents and the author’s observations pertaining to developmental social work and the role which it can play in attaining SDGs in the context of present-day South Africa. The review revealed the potential for developmental social work to make a meaningful contribution to attaining SDGs and the factors which could continue to hinder developmental social work practice, thereby making it difficult for SDGs.

scholarly journals Social Work Grand Challenges and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals: Linking Social Work and Women’s Health

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Annalise John ◽  
Elizabeth Gamarra ◽  
Melissa Bird ◽  
Rachel L. Wright ◽  
Caren J. Frost
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Women’S Health ◽  
Women's Health ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
Grand Challenges ◽  
Crucial Component ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Goals

The health of women is a crucial component to family and community wellbeing. However, social work scholars have not been very engaged in research pertaining to the health needs of women. With the Grand Challenges of Social Work becoming a major element for national discussion and with the revision of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SGD) in 2015, we wondered how connected the 12 Grand Challenges and the 17 SDGs were. We searched the social work literature from 2005 to present to identify what salient publications were available about women’s health and then connected them to the current themes of the Grand Challenges and SDGs. There are no more articles to review in the social work literature. Using a feminist social work framework, we summarize the topics covered in these articles and define a call to action for more scholarly work on women’s health in the context of current national and global conversations about this social justice issue.

scholarly journals Perception of Social Gender Roles in Medical Faculty Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
H Aygar ◽  
B Isıktekin Atalay ◽  
S Akbulut Zencirci ◽  
A Unsal ◽  
D Arslantas
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Gender Roles ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Study Group ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Mean

Abstract Background “Gender equality’’ is the fifth of the Sustainable Development Goals put forward in order to ensure the development in all areas. Medical faculty students, who will be a doctor, should practice with a gender equality perspective and shape their views and attitudes with equality in mind which will have an important part in the adoption of equality by society. The aim of the study was to evaluate the perception of social gender roles in medical students. Methods This cross - sectional study was performed with all students in Eskisehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine. The questionnaire includes sociodemographic characteristics and Gender of Perception Scale(PCS) to measure perception of social gender roles. The scores that can be taken from the scale are ranged from 25 to 125, and high scores indicate that perception of gender is positive and equality. Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis were used in univariate analysis; multivariate linear regression was used in multivariate analysis. Results The study group consisted of 1023 (84.3%) students in the study group, 52.8% were females and their ages ranged from 17 to 30 and the mean was 21.36 ± 2.06. The PCS scores ranged from 32 to 125 and the mean was 108.07±16.58. Multivariate linear regression analyzes were performed to determine the factors associated with the PCS. According to the results of last model sex, living with grandparents until the age of 18, region of the majority of life and parental attitudes were found to be related to perception of social gender roles (F = 29.602, R2=0.170, p < 0.001). Conclusions The perception of gender of medical students was found to be positive. Sex and the characteristics of the social environment were related to perception of gender. In order to raise awareness on gender equality, it might be useful to ensure integration in the medical education curriculum. Key messages Factors that can be changed, such as the social characteristics of the living environment, were found to be related to perception of social gender roles. Ensuring gender equality, one of the Sustainable Development Goals, is important for medical students who will be a role model for society.

scholarly journals Climate Change and Food Insecurity Dynamics in the Rural Limpopo Province of South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1(J)) ◽  
pp. 22-32
Author(s):  
Abiodun Olusola Omotayo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Household Heads

In the developing nations of the world, poor gross domestic product growth has shown serious vacuum to be filled in order to achieve the sustainable development goals. In that regard, this research article intends to contribute to the sustainable development goals of the United Nation’s goal by explaining the rural food insecurity in the light of climate change dynamic in some selected rural communities of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The data employed in the study were collected from 120 randomly selected rural household heads. Data were analysed with descriptive (frequency, mean etc.) and inferential statistics (Principal component Analysis (PCA), Tobit and Probit Regression) which were properly fitted (P<0.05) for the set research objectives. Descriptive results indicate that the average age of the respondents was 52 years with 60% of the household heads being married and a mean household size of 5.The study concluded that there is climate change effect and food insecurity in the study area and therefore recommended among others that the government of South Africa should endeavour to implement a more rural focused food securityclimate change policies in order to relieve the intensity of food insecurity situations among these disadvantaged rural dwellers of the province as well as to entrench a policy of long term development of agriculture. Finally, the study emphasized that the rural farming households should be enlightened through proper extension services to carry out climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in alleviating the food insecurity situation in the rural communities of the province. 

scholarly journals Modeling the regional agro-elite’s social position in rural areas’ sustainable development system

2021 ◽  
Vol 258 ◽  
pp. 05029
Author(s):  
Tamara Bulygina ◽  
Evgeniy Tufanov ◽  
Sergei Yanush ◽  
Inna Kravchenko ◽  
Valentine Ivashova
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Social Position ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Agricultural Organizations ◽  
Main Components

The article concretizes the social position of the regional agrarian elite in the system of sustainable development of rural areas on the basis of factor analysis carried out by the method of principal components. A survey of 73 leaders and chief specialists of successful agricultural organizations in the South of Russia, traditionally represented by rural areas, was carried out in October-November, 2020 using Google Forms. The data was processed in SPSS Statistics (version 21) and used the Sustainable Development Goals proclaimed by the UN in 2015 as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals were assessed on a five-point scale of significance in terms of relevance for agricultural organizations in rural areas of southern Russia. The assessments show the social position of the regional agrarian elite regarding the goal-setting in the field of sustainable development, both in rural areas and agricultural organizations. Factor analysis was carried out by the method of separation of the main components with Varimax Rotation with Kaiser Normalization. We present the models of the regional agrarian elite’s social position in the system of sustainable development of territories.

scholarly journals Cooperatives of Mexico: Their Social Benefits and Their Contribution to Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Denise Díaz de León ◽  
Omar Díaz Fragoso ◽  
Igor Rivera ◽  
Gibrán Rivera
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Mexico City ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Goals

Cooperatives are considered an organizational alternative based on principles and values. These organizations seek the fulfillment of social and economic benefits for their members as well as for the community in which they develop. Their nature allows them to solve problems such as social and labor exclusion as well as environmental issues. However, although their benefits to society have been extensively studied, little is known about how these organizations contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of this study is to analyze the way in which the social benefits generated by cooperatives contribute to the fulfillment of the SDGs in Mexico City. This qualitative study uses interviews and thematic analysis to identify and define the different social benefits generated by 134 cooperatives in Mexico City. These benefits were analyzed to identify whether they contribute to the fulfillment of the SDGs. The results stimulate the theoretical and empirical discussion about the role of cooperatives and their contribution to solving current social problems, as established by the United Nations. The article presented is of scientific interest and it is also relevant for the elaboration of public policies aimed at producing better results for these types of organizations.

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