The post-1994 transformation of social work in South Africa

This article examines the transformation of social work in South Africa in response to the transition to a developmental welfare approach. Always moulding and shaping itself in response to its social context, social work in South Africa, as elsewhere, is a reflection of the broader political landscape. In South Africa the social work profession has struggled to assert its independence and become self-regulating. It is unique in the Western world in that since 1978 it has been regulated by a legislatively constituted statutory council. While the profession has tried to transform itself in the new democracy, outside pressures have found it wanting and deeply divided. Thus, despite progress in other areas social workers have not yet been successful in forming a strong, united professional association and this severely limits its ability to lobby politicians and advocate on behalf of clients. It seems, however, that the tide is turning and social workers are gaining recognition but, once again, the challenge remains deciding on the extent to which the profession cooperates with the government's agenda for change. Social work educators took the lead in setting education standards in response to higher education policy and are also playing a part in devising practice standards through their involvement in the social work board which falls under the umbrella of the Council for Social Service Professions. However, education and practice are somewhat out of step and professional unity remains a pressing issue on social work's transformation agenda.     

Embedding Social Justice within Micro Social Work Curricula

Social work struggles with the dichotomy between social and economic justice and micro practice. A large percentage of United States social workers (65%) practice in micro practice settings, yet the profession is challenged to commit to its social justice roots. This article reviews the history of social and economic justice within the social work profession, examines the role of distributive justice, and outlines strategies to integrate social and economic justice into micro social work courses. The article details implications for strengthening a social and economic justice perspective in micro curricula.     

Social work education: state of the art

In assessing the appropriateness of contemporary social work education to its context, the article assumes that social work practice and education must relate to its social reality. The article argues that, since the 1970s, that reality has changed in relation to the role of the welfare state, perceptions of economic growth and the independence of the state. As a result, the roles of civil society, the community and welfare personnel have changed, with implications for social work. At the same time, the earlier tendency of social work to avoid the major social issues of the day is no longer appropriate, and the article outlines five major issues needing to be addressed by social work. In conclusion, the article presents four options that social work education should, as a total profession, address, if the profession is to play the roles demanded of it by its contemporary social reality.     

Research into the hardware construction mode of social work laboratory: based on the case study of the social work laboratories in seven institutions of higher education in Beijing and Wuhan

With the development of the social work profession in China, the demand for Social Work graduates is growing. In order to meet the manpower need for social workers, various colleges and universities have set up training programmes for the social work profession, and the need for social work labs which are considered a required facility for professional social work education is also rapidly growing. However, because of the lack of adequately trained professional social workers, there is no consensus among social work academics as to how social work labs should be set up. Based on a literature review and empirical research, this paper summarises and analyses the experiences of how social work labs have been set up in Beijing and Wuhan, both in terms of hardware and software, to meet professional requirements.     

Transforming Social Group Work Learning into Competencies for Interprofessional Teams

This article describes how social work and social group work strategies are used to enhance social work student participation in an interprofessional education program (IPE) that includes social work and five health care disciplines. Concurrently, social work students take part in a small group to assist them in the application of their social group knowledge to their IPE experience. Interprofessional collaborations between social work and health care can work toward alleviating health inequalities and poor access to health services. Social work has a crucial and significant role within these teams because of the profession’s focus on individual well-being, within the context of their social environment and support systems.     

A comparison of social work education across South Africa and Japan in relation to the Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training

Sakaguchi H, Sewpaul V. A comparison of social work education across South Africa and Japan in relation to the Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 192–202 © 2009 The Author(s), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. This article draws on a one‐year study visit to the University of KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa, interviews with field supervisors and students in Japan and reviews of the national frameworks of education in Japan and in South Africa. In doing so, the authors identify the similarities and differences in social work education across the two countries and they explore some of the historical and socio‐cultural factors that might account for the differences. There are some identifiable peculiarities in social work education in Japan, especially with the coalescing of care work and social work education. The lack of differentiation between care work and social work makes it difficult to narrow the scope of social work education and practice. National social work standards have been approved in South Africa and regulatory frameworks for social work education and practice have been long accepted, thus rendering ‘social work’ a protected title and a profession that is more entrenched compared with social work in Japan. The codes of ethics in Japan and South Africa are discussed with specific reference to their control functions in South Africa. The article concludes by discussing these comparisons in relation to the Global Standards for Social Work Education.     

Build the social justice bridge: participatory photography with the international group work community

ABSTRACT

“Build the Social Justice Bridge” was a participatory photography project that engaged international group workers in an assessment of group work as a social justice profession. Inspired by principles of photovoice research, the project invited social work students, educators, and practitioners from around the world to contribute photographs and brief narratives that represented the relationship between group work and social justice. The photographs were exhibited during the opening session of the 2018 Symposium of the International Association for Social Work with Groups (IASWG) in South Africa, where more than 200 participants from ten countries reflected on the meaning of the photos for the group work community. In viewing the photos, symposium participants identified a common vision of social justice as well as culturally-specific approaches to group work. Implications are drawn for the internationalization of professional knowledge.     

The Faculty Meeting: Practicing Social Justice-Oriented Group Work

Social group work scholars and practitioners have begun to locate and recognize important sites for thinking about and practicing social group work as increasing evidence demonstrates its diminishing importance. This article identifies faculty meetings as a significant site for integrating social group work more fully into departments and schools of social work and helping to achieve the profession's social justice mission. Challenging the meaning of the faculty meeting and thinking of it as a faculty group is a necessary prerequisite to realize this goal. A set of principles is presented and next steps explored to reclaim and reinsert the value of social group work for the profession today.     

Public perceptions of social workers and social work in the Republic of Croatia

Throughout the war and the post-war period, the field of social work in Croatia has developed at an accelerated rate. The involvement and assistance from international agencies and individuals created numerous fora for exchange, collaboration and mutual learning among all the helping professions. The research process represented a collaborative effort of faculty, lecturers and students in the Study Center for Social Work in the University of Zagreb's Faculty of Law. The sample was convenient, composed mainly of the urban population of Croatia. The instrument consists of two main parts, one regarding the content of a social worker's work, and the other regarding the attitudes toward that profession. We believe that the results of our study demonstrate that social work, as a profession, is relatively well known among the citizens of Croatia. Those markers pertaining to the attitude towards social work profession, which are negative in nature, are ranked by our participants as lowest in importance on the scale.     

社会工作实践教育的思考

我国社会工作的理论教育和实践教育存在着脱节。通过社会工作实践教育的现状分析。提出中国社会工作实践教育模式需要从以下几个方面入手：将实验室教学和社会实习、社会调查和社会实践相结合,培养学生开拓社会工作新领域的知识和技能,加强教师队伍的实践素质。     

Competency‐based Education: Evidence from Social Work Postgraduates from Five Universities in China

Social work education in China has undergone rapid development during last two decades. However, methods to define, measure, and evaluate social work students' competency remain largely unexplored. In this study, we evaluated competency in graduate social work students in China and examined factors that impacted competency, based on learning theory. Findings indicated that knowledge and skills learned in class, field placement, and social context all have effects on competency. How students think about individual development and the social work profession has the most significant effect. These findings carry implications for social work education in the Chinese context. The rapid development of social work education in China requires the effective measurement and evaluation of students' core competencies.     

Mental health in postgraduate social work curriculum: Review of training contents in Indian schools of social work

Training of social workers according to the changing needs of the society is important. To this end, we decided to review the adequacy of mental health training in postgraduate programme in social work. The Mental Health Care Act 2017 defines psychiatric social worker (PSW) in India to have additional higher qualification beyond post‐graduation in social work. The number of such qualified PSWs appears to be limited due to small number of institutes that offer advanced training in the country. Though, the number of available PSWs with such qualifications is rising, the manpower in proportion to the mental health needs in the country continues to remain low. It is therefore, relevant to review the quality of psychiatric social work education at postgraduate level if this level is to be considered as the desirable qualification for PSW. In this context, postgraduate social work syllabi from 71 universities including autonomous institutions were reviewed using semi‐structured assessment. The results show a lack of uniform teaching components, training methods and insufficient skill orientation towards mental health interventions. These observations suggest that curricula and training are modified with strengthening and enhancing the quality of training of mental health at post‐graduate level in Social Work.     

The Essential Power of Group Work

SUMMARY

For almost two decades, leaders in the field of social group work have been warning that the foundational principles and practice of group work as a modality are in danger of being absorbed into generalist social work practice. This paper expands upon the appeal of leaders in the social group work field to generate an environment in which group work is recognized as an integral method in social work practice and education. This paper examines group work as a powerful methodology in social work practice with a specific theoretical framework and skill base that is fundamental to the social work profession. The characteristics of group work's strengths are explored with a comprehensive overview that inspires renewed commitment to preserving, practicing and promoting social group work as a viable and integral part of social work practice.     

Social Work Development in Japan

With the enactment of the Certified Social Workers and Care Workers Act in 1987, Japanese social work would seem at last to have achieved social recognition and a secure position in Japanese society. However, when one examines the roles, working conditions, education and training of social workers, there are significant differences to be observed from the norms of western social work. In this paper the author sets out the unique characteristics of social work in Japan and reviews the pattern of its development in historical, cultural and political terms.     

Class-competent social work: a preliminary definition

The article seeks to present a theoretical framework for defining class-competence in social work practice. Social work has made significant progress in enhancing practice competence with respect to contextual factors that transcend social class such as gender, culture, race and ethnicity. But this positive development in overcoming the rigid view, which framed class as the sole explanation of diversity, has obscured the current impact of social class differences in social work practice. This article takes a critical look at the historical approach of the profession to class issues, extends the boundaries of the social class concept beyond its narrow economic dimensions, discusses the relevance of addressing class issues in light of current challenges in social work practice and, lastly, proposes a preliminary definition of class-competent social work practice.     

以工科为背景的社会工作专业教育的优势与特色探讨

面对社会工作专业教育的快速发展与社会工作专业化、职业化相对滞后的矛盾,工科院校应当发挥自身优势,对社会工作专业人才的培养进行恰当定位,着力拓展工业社会工作的实务领域。     

After the Handover in 1997

This paper analyzes the development of social welfare, social work education, and the social work profession against the background of Hong Kong's socio-economic and political development before and after the historic 1997 transfer of sovereignty. The change from a British colonial regime to China's Special Administrative Region has not changed Hong Kong's welfare regime, which provides the context in which the social work profession and education developed. The welfare sector has been increasingly subject to managerialist control by the government. Marketization in higher education in general has resulted in the proliferation of social work education programs. On the other hand, social work education has ventured new directions of development to face up with the challenges of increasing globalization.     

Color-Blind Racial Attitudes in White Social Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Focusing on the results of one hypothesis in a larger study, this article examines level of social work education and color-blind racial attitudes in White social workers. Participants (n = 179) who were members of the National Association of Social Workers and self-identified as White, responded to an online survey and completed the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS). Color-blind racial attitudes have been linked to prejudice in other studies. BSW-level practitioners were found to be less aware of racial privilege and blatant racial issues. The article addresses the findings and explores the implications for social work educators and social work practitioners.     

Deep Ecology's contributions to social work: A ten‐year retrospective

Besthorn FH. Deep Ecology's contributions to social work: A ten‐year retrospective In the last decade, a new generation of social workers have made great strides incorporating environmental awareness into their theoretical formulations and practice modalities. This is a welcome development for a profession often conspicuously absent in the emerging international consensus that Earth's capacity to support life is in deep trouble. Beginning in the 1980s and 1990s, a few intrepid North American social workers began to raise the alarm concerning the scope and extent of environmental decline. Several social work scholars implored the profession to play a more active role in raising ecological awareness and take a seat at policy and practice forums debating environmental issues. Deep Ecology, founded by the late Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess, offers a comprehensive philosophical framework upon which social work might draw in the development of its conceptual orientations. This article examines the current manifestations of Deep Ecology as a philosophy and socio‐political movement. It briefly assesses the evolution of social work's nascent interest in the natural environmental, examines historical precursors influencing Deep Ecology, reviews several key concepts of Deep Ecology, discusses ongoing applications of deep ecological ideas to several disciplines and suggests how deep ecological ideas might help inform social work's understanding of social justice.