scholarly journals RESEARCH FINDINGS AND IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES OF THE CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) POLICY FOR THE SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION IN SOUTH AFRICA

2014 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoinette Lombard
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Implementation Challenges ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Findings

scholarly journals CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) FOR THE SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION IN SOUTH AFRICA

2014 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoinette Lombard ◽  
Santie Pruis ◽  
Margaret Grobbelaar ◽  
Dudu Mhlanga
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals The Use of Metaphor as an Important Tool for Understanding Oppression

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Hillock
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Written Assignments ◽  
Systems Of Domination

Using an anti-oppressive practice (AOP) theoretical framework and an exploratory qualitative research design, featuring semi-structured interviews and written assignments, a group of ten social workers were asked to describe their understandings of the concept of oppression. The study found that, in the case of these particular social workers, they used metaphor as a key conceptualization process to more vividly describe and understand the concept of oppression within their social work practice. This article analyzes eight categories of metaphor themes the participants used to explain their understanding of oppression: (a) pressure; (b) earth; (c) quest; (d) nature of society;  (e) seeing; (f) building; (g) dancing; and (h) water. The research findings are intended to open up dialogue and thinking about the concept of oppression, increase our knowledge base and understandings of oppression within social work practice, and assist the social work profession to build a stronger conceptual framework for understanding and naming oppression with the end goal of assisting social workers to better respond to and resist systems of domination.

Social work academia and policy in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoinette Lombard
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Institutional Support ◽  
The Social ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Policy Engagement

This chapter examines the engagement of social work academics in the policy process in South Africa. It begins by presenting an overview of social policy in South Africa, particularly in the post-Apartheid era, and by discussing the emergence of the social work profession in that country. The development of social work education in South Africa and its contemporary features are then depicted. Following these, the methodology and the findings of a study of the policy engagement of social work academics in South Africa are presented. The findings relate to the levels of engagement in policy and the forms that this takes. The study also offers insights into various factors that are associated with these, such as perceptions, capabilities, institutional support and the accessibility of the policy process. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the findings and their implications.

‘All quiet on the social work front’: Experiences of Zimbabwean day labourers in South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip F Blaauw ◽  
Catherina J Schenck ◽  
Anna M Pretorius ◽  
Christiaan H Schoeman
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Work ◽  
North America ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Economic Uncertainty ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The Social ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Displaced People

Migration, particularly when triggered by economic or political hardship, has significant psychological and socio-economic consequences for the individuals concerned. While an impressive amount of research has been conducted by social workers into migration in North America, Europe and Asia, the same cannot be said for Africa. The continent has high numbers of displaced people and refugees, yet no Africa-linked research on migration has been published by the social work profession. This article addresses this gap in the literature by focusing specifically on Zimbabwean day labourers in South Africa. Survey results reveal that these migrants face intense competition for scarce jobs, and thus economic uncertainty, and are often victimised. It is incumbent upon the social work profession to expose the vulnerable conditions in which day labourers have to operate, and to mobilise a coordinated response from relevant government and non-profit organisations in the interests of greater social justice and harmony.

scholarly journals THE SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT OF CHILDREN FROM HOMELESS SHELTERS: AN AREA OF APPLICATION OF CRITICAL REFLEXIVITY IN SOCIAL WORK

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 568-573
Author(s):  
Kateřina Glumbíková ◽  
Alice Gojová ◽  
Soňa Vávrová ◽  
Barbora Gřundělová
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Adjustment ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Homeless Shelters ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Homeless Children ◽  
Close Link ◽  
Critical Reflexivity ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Findings

On a global scale, the number of families with homeless children is growing. Foreign research shows that homelessness is linked to social adjustment problems. In the Czech Republic there are no surveys on social adjustment in the homeless children population. This article presents partial data from a research survey focused on the situation of homeless mothers with children residing in shelters. The article aims to find out how mothers residing with their children in homeless shelters in the city of Ostrava interpret the social adjustment of their children. The research strategy is qualitative, based on a participatory approach (cooperation with two peer researchers). 33 interviews and 6 focus groups were implemented as part of the research. The research findings also point to a close link between the situation of homelessness and social adjustment of homeless children in the Czech environment, namely as a result of the necessity of socialization in a specific environment with negative consequences on the parenting style and success in school of the children combined with their experience of domestic violence. The research findings imply in practice the need to apply the concept of critical reflexivity in social work with children from homeless shelters.

scholarly journals Street level society

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Vinum ◽  
Morten Nissen
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Young People ◽  
Social System ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Street Level ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Socially Excluded

This paper aims to reflect on research findings from different empirical studies of social work with young drug users and socially excluded young people in Copenhagen. In the paper we account for historical changes in social policy and interventions into young people's drug taking in Copenhagen, and we discuss some of the most central dilemmas in today's social work with young drug users. Among other things, we identify pervasive marginalizing dynamics in the social system that result partly from the deep-rooted cultural dichotomy between stigma and taboo that organizes the drug issue, and partly from the decentralizing and specializing efforts characteristic of the Danish welfare state and its institutions. We discuss a general turn towards street level interventions to address the problems of social exclusion, as well as different attempts to create what we term street level heterotopias - sites of alternate ordering - where issues of drug use and other social problems can be dealt with and objectified in more flexible ways and handled as part of ongoing social practices of everyday life.

scholarly journals Specific Needs of Families of Deaf Parents and Hearing Children

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
Eva Klimentová ◽  
Vít Dočekal
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Family Roles ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Target Groups ◽  
Natural Family ◽  
The Social ◽  
Deaf Parents ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Hearing Children

The aim of the paper is to describe specific aspects of deaf parenting of hearing children, based on an interpretation of research findings concerning the target group. Deaf parents, isolated from the verbally communicating majority by their sensory disability, face the challenge of raising and preparing hearing children for life. Our research based on semi-structured interviews with both deaf parents and hearing children demonstrates, however, that these parents do not primarily describe their parenthood as difficult or complicated. They are reconciled to their handicap and its consequences and use tools in the social environment to overcome the disadvantages of deaf parenting. Some “children” (all our respondents were adults reflecting on their childhood) describe, in contrast, their experience as a gradual reverse of natural family roles, with children eventually navigating their parents around the hearing world. These results indicate the need for further activities with these target groups in social work.

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