Development Of Social Work Research Articles

TRANSFORMING SOCIAL WORK IN ZIMBABWE FROM SOCIAL CONTROL TO SOCIAL CHANGE

The quest for relevance of social work in Third world countries in the context of mounting socio-economic challenges has necessitated the need to consider transforming social work from social control to social change. Prominent social work academics and practitioners have argued in support of the need for such transformation. This article analyses this transition in the context of the new global definition of social work and how its various aspects can be applied in transforming social work education and practice in Zimbabwe. Key conclusions are that, social work curriculum be re-oriented toward the developmental social work thrust, advocacy and indigenous knowledge be integrated into social work practice.

EXPLORING ADOLESCENTS’ PARTICIPATION IN DECISION MAKING IN RELATED FOSTER CARE PLACEMENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted in 1989, children have a right to express their views and participate in matters concerning them. This aspect of participation is also encompassed in legislation in South Africa. The country has adopted a developmental social work approach after becoming a democratic nation in 1994 to guide social work service delivery on all levels. The purpose of this paper is to explore the participatory decision making experiences that adolescents have relating to their foster care placements. Against this background, the theoretical premise of the paper is based on the principles of participatory decision making. A qualitative research study was conducted in which thirty-five adolescents in related foster care placements across South Africa were interviewed. The responses of adolescents indicate that these young people in foster placements feel they are not sufficiently included in the decision making aspects related to welfare service delivery to them. This presents a challenge to developmental social work, which aims to be democratic, inclusive, and participatory. The paper concludes with discussing the implications of these findings for foster care in South Africa and recommends that adolescents should be taken seriously in matters concerning them.

The Development of Social Worker's Professional Competence for Work with Youth Exposed to the Risk of Social Exclusion

<p><em>To analyze contemporary leading socio-economic changes. The dynamic transition to a knowledge society, the growth of quality, quantity and volume of knowledge, technological, global scale (globalization) of political and social processes, as well as demographic changes are new challenges which require a new approach that involves all educational stages during the whole human life. The development of social worker's professional competence for work with young people exposed to the risk of social exclusion must be perceived multilaterally in contemporary Europe. They must be viewed in relation to the cultural diversity of people's economic and social rights, human rights, equality and gender equality of rights. The development of social worker's professional competence for work with young people exposed to the risk of exclusion does not mean only teaching, but it also includes life-long learning, mobility, integration, continuing education and other areas. The improvement of social worker's professional competence for work with young people exposed to the risk of exclusion is observed in adult activities related to professional activities. Analyzing the concept of competence, it is important to emphasize the idea of competence as the basis of an independent thinking and acting.</em></p>

Sven Hessle (ed.) (2014), Human Rights and Social Equality: Challenges for Social Work, Social Work-Social Development Volume I. Surrey: Ashgate. £60.00, pp. 216, hbk. - Sven Hessle (ed.) (2014), Environmental Change and Sustainable Social Development, Social Work-Social Development Volume II. Surrey: Ashgate. £60.00, pp. 196, hbk. - Sven Hessle (ed.) (2014), Global Social Transformation and Social Action: The Role of

Sven Hessle (ed.) (2014), Human Rights and Social Equality: Challenges for Social Work, Social Work-Social Development Volume I. Surrey: Ashgate. £60.00, pp. 216, hbk. - Sven Hessle (ed.) (2014), Environmental Change and Sustainable Social Development, Social Work-Social Development Volume II. Surrey: Ashgate. £60.00, pp. 196, hbk. - Sven Hessle (ed.) (2014), Global Social Transformation and Social Action: The Role of

Promoting social and economic equality: Social workers’ contribution to social justice and social development in South Africa and Uganda

This article explores how social workers in South Africa (where social work is regulated by law), and Uganda (where social work is not professionally regulated), draw on the premises that social work is a human rights profession embedded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, their respective countries’ constitutions, and developmental social work to claim their role in promoting social and economic equality. The case studies from both South Africa and Uganda show that developmental social work includes social, economic and environmental development activities and that social work can become a significant role player in promoting social and economic equality through its commitment to social justice and human rights.

THE EIGHT HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY SOCIAL WORKERS: A SOUTH AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE

Much has changed in the 10 years since the publication of the White Paper for Social Welfare in February 1997. The boundaries of knowledge and expertise on the delivery of developmental social work services have been expanded and the general field of social development has been subjected to intense analysis and continual reconceptualisation. Perhaps the time has come for the social work fraternity to start asking what has been learnt in the past decade. It is especially pertinent to know which factors determine success and failure in developmental social work in general and community work in particular and what makes some community social workers so effective while others fail. The latter half of this question prompted a research project in which Stephen R. Covey’s (1989) basic approach in determining “The 7 habits of highly effective people” was used to ascertain the equivalent habits of highly effective community social workers. The procedure that was followed and the results that were achieved will be covered in this article

Book Review

According 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.

VICTIMS’ EXPERIENCES OF RESTORATIVE MEDIATION: A DEVELOPMENTAL SOCIAL WORK PERSPECTIVE

Victim-offender mediation is an expression of restorative justice. The wellbeing of victims of crime is a central feature of restorative justice services. The process of restorative mediation entails all parties, i.e. the victim, the offender, their families and members of the community, voluntarily participating in face-to-face dialogue, where truth-telling enables the offender to take personal responsibility for his/her criminal behaviour (Rainford, 2010). An important outcome of restorative mediation is reaching an agreement regarding the strategies to remedy the wrongdoing. A developmental social work perspective counteracts retributive justice in shifting the intervention focus from individual defect and blame to reform and social change (Midgley, 2010). Developmental social work is embedded in investment strategies in restoring people to full functioning in society (Rainford, 2010). In fact, “social investment, economic participation, empowerment and human investment are relevant to all systems and forms of social work intervention” (Midgley, 2010:12

TOWARDS THE RECONCEPTUALISATION OF SOCIAL WELFARE IN SOUTH AFRICA: AN ANALYSIS OF RECENT POLICY TRENDS

INTRODUCTION Nearly 20 years have elapsed since the heady days of South Africa’s first democratic elections and the publication of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), the document that was intended to chart the country’s future development (ANC, 1994:1). It was soon followed by the White Paper for Social Welfare, which would help “realise the relevant objectives” of the RDP through the use of developmental social welfare (MWPD, 1997:5,68). Developmental social work would constitute the profession’s specific contribution to the developmental approach and, ultimately, to practice (Patel, 2005:206-210).

Does Citation Analysis Help or Hinder the Professional Development of Social Workers and Their Profession? A Reply to Slater, Scourfield and Sloan

ThisarticlerespondstoSlater,ScourfieldandSloan’sassessmentandanalysisofourearlier British Journal of Social Work article delineating the 100 most highly cited articles in disciplinary social work journals during the past decade. We address two primary issues in our response. First, we provide background on the circumstances that animated the larger research agenda from which the BJSW article emanated. Second, we discuss how theauthors’ empiricalworkillustratesthepotentialofcitationanalysistosparkconversationsthatfacilitateprofessionalreflectionandgrowth.Weconcludebynotingthatevery methodischaracterisedbyacertainsetoflimitationsandthatcitationanalysishasthepotential to assist both social workers and their profession if used appropriately.

Social Work and Social Development: Theories and Skills for Developmental Social Work

Social Work and Social Development: Theories and Skills for Developmental Social Work

Early professional development for social workers Raymond Taylor, Malcolm Hill and Fergus McNeill (eds)

Early professional development for social workers <i>Raymond Taylor, Malcolm Hill and Fergus McNeill (eds)</i>

James Midgley and Amy Conley (eds), Social work and social development: Theories and skills for developmental social work

James Midgley and Amy Conley (eds), <i>Social work and social development: Theories and skills for developmental social work</i>

Developmental social work in South Africa: Translating policy into practice

Developmental social work is receiving increasing international recognition and much may be learnt from its application in different societal contexts. The article draws on empirical data from a South African study and provides valuable insight into how social workers conceptualize and translate developmental social work into practice.

The development of social work policy in China: current status and strategies

Policy is a core aspect of the social work profession. It is the key to the development of social workers as well as a legal guide for the government to fulfill its functions. Since the revolution ...

Pragmatism and interest: Immobilism of social work in the welfare state

This article argues that due to the fact that working in public bodies has become the preferred field of professional development for social workers, a certain level of stagnation in theory and professional practice has been produced. The conclusions emphasize the responsibility of professionals and academics in configuring different feedback between theory, practice and ethics, which increases the possibilities of social intervention.

Social Work and Social Development. Theories and Skills for Developmental Social Work – Edited by James Midgley and Amy Conley

Social Work and Social Development. Theories and Skills for Developmental Social Work – Edited by James Midgley and Amy Conley

Promoting the developmental social welfare approach in Zimbabwe: Challenges and prospects

The study was prompted by the on - going discourse on the appropriateness of existing social welfare delivery mechanisms in the Third World which, over time, have tended to be informed by the modernization approach. The prevailing view, particularly among academics and practitioners in Africa, is essentially that the continent ought to promote the developmental rather than the remedial approach to social work, in order to more effectively address the challenges faced. Zimbabwe is one of the countries that seem to have heeded this call. The study therefore sought to establish the extent to which Zimbabwe is promoting the developmental approach to social welfare provision, with special focus on the public assistance scheme. Beneficiaries of public assistance through the Department of Social Services were targeted and key informants were interviewed. A key finding of the study was that the public assistance scheme in Zimbabwe has remained essentially remedial, with only limited attempts made towards initiatives that facilitate a developmental thrust (i.e. self reliance). It emerged from the study findings that at the policy level, the thrust of the Department of Social Services (DSS) is to implement both remedial and developmental approaches to social work, while on the ground only a few of the activities of the DSS could be regarded as developmental in nature. The reason given for this anomaly was mainly scarcity of resources. The study revealed that while developmental social work was preferred (especially by the professional social workers), remedial social work is likely to remain a predominant feature particularly because of lack of a conducive environment that would enable the majority of the Department of Social Services clients to move towards self-reliance.

Review of &lt;em&gt;Social Work and Social Development: Theories and Skills for Developmental Social Work.&lt;/em&gt; James Midgley &amp; Amy Conley, Eds. Reviewed by Margaret Lombe.

Review of &lt;em&gt;Social Work and Social Development: Theories and Skills for Developmental Social Work.&lt;/em&gt; James Midgley &amp; Amy Conley, Eds. Reviewed by Margaret Lombe.

Factors that Influence Retention and Professional Development of Social Workers

The profession of social work is becoming increasingly involved in empowerment for its members as employers become more invested in promoting employee satisfaction. This is occurring at a crucial time in which predictions are that the profession will be heading into a shortage of workers (NASW Center for Workforce Studies, 2006; U.S. Department of Labor Profession Report 2008-09). The experiences of the social work staff at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, illustrate the process as efforts combine to create new paths to career development for “frontline” clinicians. The work of the Retention Committee in the Department of Care Coordination began due to staff members' dissatisfaction with opportunity for advancement, pay disparity, and inequitable distribution of workload. This article will present the history, efforts, and outcome of the Social Work Retention Committee at VCU Medical Center.