Research Articles (Social Work)

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Die ACVV as welsynspionier : van welsyn vir armblankes tot eietydse uitdagings vir inklusiewe ontwikkelingsgerigte maatskaplike werk
(ASSAF -- Academy of Science of South Africa, 2011-12) Engelbrecht, Lambert K.
Die eerste formele welsynsorganisasie in Suid-Afrika, naamlik die ACVV, is amptelik in 1904 gestig. Dié betrokke welsynsdienste was aanvanklik op armblankes gerig en dit het in sekere kringe die ACVV se besondere bydrae tot die daarstelling van gesofi stikeerde maatskaplikewerkdienste en -strukture oorskadu. Teen hierdie agtergrond word die ACVV se historiese mylpale in dié artikel ontleed, gevolg deur ’n oorsig van die organisasie se teenswoordige inklusiewe ontwikkelingsgerigte maatskaplikewerk-konteks, ten einde eietydse uitdagings aan die ACVV en soortgelyke welsynsorganisasies aan die lig te bring. Die gevolgrekking word gemaak dat die bedoelinge en krag van veral vroue in welsyn nie altyd na waarde geskat word nie; en om die ACVV slegs binne die konteks van ’n volksmoederdiskoers of kleurslagboom te beskou, is bloot eendimensioneel, sonder begrip dat dit juis die organisasiekultuur en vrywilligerbasis van die organisasie is wat dit oor geslagte heen die verskillende politieke bestelle laat oorleef het. Die kapasiteit en dienste van die organisasie demonstreer steeds ’n beduidende positiewe impak op die lewens van kwesbare mense en transformasie van maatskaplike werk in Suid-Afrika. Eietydse uitdagings behels onder meer die behoud van ’n samebindende organisasiekultuur en vrywilligerskorps; die gerigtheid op gesinsorgdienste as kernaktiwiteit; die bestuur van die organisasie as ’n waardegedrewe leeromgewing vanuit ’n sterkteperspektief; ’n situasiespesifi eke balans tussen ontwikkelings- en remediërende funksies en ook maatskaplikewerk-metodiek; die integrering van ekonomiese aktiwiteite met maatskaplikewerk-aktiwiteite deur bewustelike fasilitering van sodanige aksies tydens alle dienste op alle vlakke; versekering van ’n volhoubare fi nansiële inkomste vir die organisasie; en die behoud van personeel en vrywilligers.
Against the odds : strengths displayed by abused women
(Stellenbosch University, 2014) Slabbert, Ilze
Although legislation protecting women’s rights in South Africa is well developed, statistics indicate that violence against women has become the norm. There are no cultural, socio-economic, political, religious or educational boundaries to domestic violence. Despite this, some abused women display certain strengths. The strengths perspective is thus a suitable theoretical approach for this qualitative study exploring and describing the strengths of twenty abused women who formed the sample. Five strengths – namely hope, resilience, pride, healing and wholeness, and lastly personal qualities, traits and virtues – were identified. Some recommendations are made about the suitability of the strengths perspective for practice.
Australian university students and mental health : viewpoints from the literature
(Primrose Hall Publishing Group, 2017) Carter, Margaret Anne; Pagliano, Paul; Francis, Abraham; Thorne, Marcia
With more than 1.3 million students currently attending Australian universities and an estimated 20% of these experiencing a mental illness it is time this issue received more focused attention. Despite a number of initiatives being conducted there is a still lack of research that provides a comprehensive overview on the mental health of Australian university students which considers the policy landscape designed to support student learning. This research attempts to help fill that gap by providing a purposeful audit of the relevant literature. Specific material examined includes peer reviewed journal articles published within the past five years, the Australian Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA), Bradley Review of Australian Higher Education (2008), and presentations from six keynote speakers at the 2017 Inaugural Australasian Mental Health and Higher Education Conference (IAMHHEC). Findings reveal that, despite student mental health being a widely recognised global concern, well developed policies still need to be developed to guide future approaches. What is known is good mental health is necessary for students to reach their full potential and universities are well positioned with expertise, structural and human assets to make a positive difference. Policies and action demand attention with a unified strategic approach across the Australian and international higher education sector essential.
Autoethnographic view of South African social work educators during the Covid-19 pandemic : highlighting social (in)justice
(Department of Social Work, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, 2021-10) Perumal, Nevashnee; Pillay, Roshini; Zimba, Zibonele France; Sithole, Mbongeni; Van der Westhuizen, Marichen; Khosa, Priscalia; Nomngcoyiya, Thanduxolo; Mokone, Malebo; September, Uwarren
COVID-19 has exposed the inequalities and polarisation of South African communities and institutions of higher learning on the continuum of privilege. As nine social work educators, we share our reflections on how we traversed the higher education space during the beginning of the pandemic, using an autoethnography lens, with the pedagogy of discomfort and critical social work theory as the threads in the complex tapestry of our stories. We describe our orientations as social work educators, the successes, challenges, and recommendations on reimagining and reframing learning and teaching in relation to student-institutional relationships, boundaries and support.
Behoeftes van gesinne waar ’n kind met kanker gediagnoseer is : persepsies van maatskaplike werkers
(Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns, 2018) Slabbert, Ilze; Steenkamp, Terika
As ŉ kind met kanker gediagnoseer word, is dit nooit maklik om te verwerk nie. Die hele gesinsisteem ervaar ontwrigting om by sodanige diagnose aan te pas, en almal ervaar sekere behoeftes in hierdie situasie. Vir hierdie studie is die sisteemteorie gekies as teoretiese raamwerk om die verskillende behoeftes van die subsisteme in die gesin te eksploreer en te verken. Die doel van die studie was om die persepsies van maatskaplike werkers te ondersoek oor die behoeftes van gesinne waar ŉ kind met kanker gediagnoseer is. ŉ Kwalitatiewe studie is onderneem en etiese klaring is daarvoor verkry. Agtien deelnemers van ses verskillende hospitale en hospiese landwyd het aan die studie deelgeneem. Doelbewuste steekproefneming is gedoen. Data is ingesamel aan die hand van ŉ semi-gestruktureerde onderhoudskedule. Drie temas is geïdentifiseer, naamlik die behoefte aan inligting, ondersteuning en kommunikasie. Relevante subtemas is ook geïdentifiseer. Die gevolgtrekking kan gemaak word dat die gesinsisteem waar ŉ kind met kanker gediagnoseer is, sekere behoeftes ervaar waarvan maatskaplike werkers bewus moet wees ten einde effektiewe dienslewering aan hierdie gesinne te bied.
’n Benadering tot finansiële kwesbaarheidsreduksie : FinansiEle geletterdheidsopvoeding binne ’n maatskaplike ontwikkelingsparadigma
(Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns, 2009-05) Engelbrecht, L. K.
A significant number of people in South Africa who are accommodated within the social welfare system, display a lack of understanding of financial matters and are therefore financially vulnerable. In South Africa, social welfare policy initiatives are directed by the White Paper for Social Welfare and are primarily focussed on the socio-economic needs of all South Africans, specifically those of the previously disadvantaged and poor people of the country. This White Paper which supplies a macro-policy framework for poverty alleviation, is based on social development theories, combining social and economic objectives. Practitioners of social development however, deal with financially vulnerable people on a daily basis, and within the social development paradigm, must attempt to set into operation the development goals on the micro-practice level. This matter informs the objective of this article, namely to construct an approach to fi nancial vulnerability reduction within a social development paradigm. This could make a contribution to the country’s strategy against poverty. In this article the South African social development paradigm will be placed in its proper context, after which fi nancial vulnerability and financial literacy education will be explored and described and also examined as a practice reality by means of an instrumental qualitative case study. Participants in the case study consisted of ten registered social workers employed at an established non-government organisation (NGO). Purposive non-probability sampling was used to select the participants, as these social development practitioners could offer expert opinions on the subject. This particular NGO delivers social development services in several provinces and like other NGOs should adhere to the financial policy of the Department of Social Development. The aim of the case study was to explore how development practitioners perceive and experience the fi nancial vulnerability of their service users (clients) within a social development paradigm as practice reality in South Africa. This goal was attained through the explorative and descriptive nature of the study. Semi-structured interviews were used as research instrument in order to elicit comments most effectively from the participants. Themes arising from the comments were processed and presented in synthesised form in the article, based on and integrated with the literature study, to ensure validity through triangulation. The case study was thus directed towards reaching the goal as set out in the article, as the fi ndings are to be construed as key elements of financial literacy education as an approach to reduce financial vulnerability within the local social development paradigm. The findings show that financial vulnerability reduction by means of financial literacy education is an appropriate micro-practice approach by social development practitioners to attain social development goals within the context of the organisation. This approach therefore provides social development practitioners with a definite, concrete role within the social development paradigm, as they are structurally positioned to deliver financial education to financially vulnerable service users. This can lay the foundation for successful income-generating projects to be implemented. This approach means that income-generating projects are initially of secondary importance, as the development practitioners are primarily focussed on enhancing fi nancial literacy as a life skill in the community. Traditionally this constitutes a major part of the intervention by social service professionals. The fundamental premise of this approach is that people’s financial vulnerability could be reduced, enabling them to manage looming fi nancial risks. Within the context of this study, financially vulnerable people refer to those users of social welfare services who have little or no continuous financial support, and do not have at their disposal the necessary resources to survive in times of financial distress. Financial vulnerability is viewed here not only from a monetary perspective, but also in terms of people’s limited capabilities. People are rendered vulnerable when they are unable to manage their money, which implies a lack of financial literacy, and usually manifests in unmanageable debt. Financially illiterate people are therefore in dire need of a set of indispensable life skills to survive in a globalising environment. These life skills are presented as part of an integrated generic social intervention process, implemented on individual, group and community level through financial literacy education. Within a social development paradigm, fi nancial literacy education is thus a micro-practice approach based on definite points of departure and perspectives in accordance with adult education principles. This education embraces the recognition and continuous, life-long learning of a set of multi-dimensional situation-relevant person-centred life skills within an indigenous cultural context, and is focussed on people’s ability to manage their available funds. Partnerships are established between development practitioners and fi nancial institutions, to serve as intervention resource for the presentation of financial literacy programmes. Development practitioners act as a bridge for dialogue between education programmes and vulnerable people and also ensure that financial literacy education programmes assume an appropriate position on a continuum of product marketing and general life skills. Financial education programmes aim to be preventative. The skills of financially vulnerable people are developed towards effective decision-making and having informed opinions about the use and management of money. Accordingly, and with due regard to the specific needs of financially vulnerable people, the content of education programmes is focussed on competencies relating to knowledge, values and skills in respect of financial concepts, financial self-discipline and how to avoid financial exploitation and risks. Acquisition of these values, knowledge and skills, results in a reduction in financial vulnerability, enabling people to participate with confi dence in the mainstream economy. This outcome could pave the way for further programmes aimed at income generation, serve as basis for people’s migration to the mainstream economy and could be reciprocally transposed to other life spheres. In this way economic and human development are integrated within a social intervention context and placed within reach of social development practitioners to facilitate. Role players should take cognizance of this.
'n Bendadering tot finansiele kwesbaarheidsreduksie : finansiele geletterdheidsopvoeding binne ’n maatskaplike ontwikkelingsparadigma
(ASSAF -- Academy of Science of South Africa, 2009-06) Engelbrecht, Lambert K.
A significant number of people in South Africa who are accommodated within the social welfare system, display a lack of understanding of financial matters and are therefore financially vulnerable. In South Africa, social welfare policy initiatives are directed by the White Paper for Social Welfare and are primarily focused on the socio-economic needs of all South Africans, specifically those of the previously disadvantaged and poor people of the country. This White Paper which supplies a macro-policy framework for poverty alleviation, is based on social development theories, combining social and economic objectives. Practitioners of social development however, deal with financially vulnerable people on a daily basis, and within the social development paradigm, must attempt to set into operation the development goals on the micro-practice level. This matter informs the objective of this article, namely to construct an approach to financial vulnerability reduction within a social development paradigm. This could make a contribution to the country’s strategy against poverty. In this article the South African social development paradigm will be placed in its proper context, after which financial vulnerability and financial literacy education will be explored and described and also examined as a practice reality by means of an instrumental qualitative case study. Participants in the case study consisted of ten registered social workers employed at an established non-government organisation (NGO). Purposive non-probability sampling was used to select the participants, as these social development practitioners could offer expert opinions on the subject. This particular NGO delivers social development services in several provinces and like other NGOs should adhere to the financial policy of the Department of Social Development. The aim of the case study was to explore how development practitioners perceive and experience the financial vulnerability of their service users (clients) within a social development paradigm as practice reality in South Africa.
Caregiver burden as depicted by family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities
(Stellenbosch University, Department of Social Work, 2018) Muller-Kluits, Noreth; Slabbert, Ilze
South Africa is experiencing a high incidence of child abuse and neglect. The care and protection of children require of social workers to deliver child protection services including compiling reports for Children’s Court hearings. This paper focuses on how the Family Assessment for Least Developed Countries (FA-LDC) instrument can be used as evidenced-based practice to assist social workers in statutory investigations. Findings indicate that this instrument directed information gathering more effectively for the finalisation of investigations. The paper concludes by indicating how the utilisation of assessment instruments can assist social workers in dealing with high caseloads
Challenges couples face in managing family routines after the transition to parenthood
(Stellenbosch University, Department of Social Work, 2016) De Goede, Christine; Greeff, Abraham
Family routines improve family stability. However, it is unclear what impedes the formation of stable routines after life transitions. In this paper we discuss normative challenges that 10, mostly low-income, couples face in managing routines after becoming parents. Qualitative analysis revealed three themes: temporal incongruence, schedule derailment, and factors that increase task and temporal complexity. The seven sub-themes of the latter theme were transport limitations, workplace schedules, extended family involvement, child-related difficulties, health complications, incongruence between family member needs, and a composite of these factors. Results underscore the need to address context-specific family challenges related to time restrictions and scheduling.
Child abuse and neglect : social work experience at Tygerberg hospital
(Stellenbosch University. Department of Social Work, 1999) Louw, H. M.; Van Schalkwyk, H. J. S.; Barnes, J. M.; Dhansay, S.; Schaaf, H. Simon
Since the proclamation of the Child Care Act 74 of 1983 suspected cases of child abuse and neglect have been notifiable by medical personnel. This obligation to notify has recently been extended to include social workers and several other categories of people taking care of children. The objective of this study is to share the social work experience in a tertiary care hospital in response to the greater awareness of child abuse and the importance of a central register for every institution or district managing cases of child abuse. A comprehensive register of all suspected cases of abuse in children below 18 years of age and cases of severe malnutrition has been kept at the Social Work Department at Tygerberg Hospital (TBH) in the Western Cape Province since 1987. This register was surveyed for the period 1 April 1994 - 31 March 1995. Five hundred and eighty six children with suspected child abuse were referred to the Social Work Department during this time. Of these, 246 (42%) were evaluated for child sexual abuse, 213 (36%) for physical abuse and 127 (22%) for severe malnutrition and neglect. Social workers from TBH were involved for a median duration of 1-2 months for physically abused and malnourished children, and 2-3 months for sexual abuse cases. A total of 5545 hours were spent on interviews, arrangements of children's safety, completing notification and referral reports, and preparing evidence for court and preparing children for court proceedings during this period. The magnitude of serious child abuse is extensive and more than the present infrastructure can handle. More social workers functioning within well-trained and supervised teams and placed suitably in the service network, notably in the outlying areas, are urgently needed.
Coaching, mentoring and consultation : the same but different activities in supervision of social workers in South Africa
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, Department of Social Work, 2012-08) Engelbrecht, Lambert K.
The interchangeable and uncritical use of concepts such as coaching, mentoring and consultation without theoretical substantiation may be regarded as a neoliberal tendency, resulting in misinterpretation and detrimental role confusion. This article seeks to address the similarities and/or differences in coaching, mentoring and consultation as supervision activities. The core determinants of each concept are examined with a view to conclude with a presentation of a South African context specific approach to social work supervision activities. The employment of the activities should be developmental in nature and holds that all the activities concerned are part of an overarching supervision process.
Community based family support services for families at-risk : services rendered by child and family welfare organisations
(Dept. of Social Work, Stellenbosch University, 2013) Strydom, Marianne
In accordance with South African policy documents and legislation (Department of Social Development, 2004; Children’s Act 38 of 2005, Section 2(a)White Paper for Social Welfare, 1997) social work service delivery to families where child abuse and neglect occur, must be focused mainly on family preservation through rendering preventative and early intervention services thereby preventing statutory services. Preventative services are, as directed by the ISDM (Department of Social Development, 2006), the primary level of service delivery, by linking families to resources which can limit risky behaviour and to implement a developmental welfare policy. Strong focus is placed on the development of resources in communities to support families and to build capacity, before family crises could develop (Department of Social Development, 2006). Within this context the purpose of this article is to investigate the support (prevention) services available to at-risk families at family welfare organisations to prevent the removal of children and to enhance family preservation.
Cultural friendliness as a foundation for the support function in the supervision of social work students in South Africa
(SAGE Publications, 2006-03) Engelbrecht, Lambert K.
On account of South Africa's history of apartheid and divisive legislation, most people in post-apartheid South Africa are not regularly exposed to cultures other than their own, and have not yet become accustomed to the integration of different cultures on a social level. Cultural differences in South Africa are, moreover, primarily equated with differences in race. Although South Africa now has a democratic system of government, there is not yet any widespread mixing of the various South African cultures (black, coloured, Indian and white), since decades of segregation have led to unfamiliarity and distrust. In all probability, the cultural background of social work supervisors in South Africa will differ from that of their social work students, and the cultural background of the social work students will differ from that of the service users - and all these people from different cultures will be totally unfamiliar with one another's cultures. That is why it is of utmost importance that the supervisor of social work students will model a disposition of cultural friendliness to the students.
The current landscape of child protection services in South Africa : a systematic review
(Stellenbosch University, Department of Social Work, 2020) Strydom, Marianne; Schiller, Ulene; Orme, Julie
Child protection services are seen as the largest field of social work service delivery in South Africa. Repeated warnings of the ‘crisis state’ of child protection services have gone unheeded. The aim of this article is to determine the current landscape of child protection service delivery and research within the South African context. The developmental social welfare approach was used as the epistemological framework for this systematic review. Findings indicated a significant emphasis on statutory services and a lack of resources for family preservation efforts. Appropriate costing models should be generated to specify critical needs and garner support from stakeholders.
Economic literacy and the war on poverty : a social work challenge
(Wiley, 2008-04) Engelbrecht, Lambert K.
This article reports on an exploratory descriptive study that examined ten social workers’ perceptions of their war on poverty and the challenges in constructing a conceptual framework for the development of a Social Community Education for Economic Literacy Development (SCEELD) programme. It was found that the social workers were knowledgeable about the uneconomic activities of their clients and that their ideas about what needed to be done about this related very much to their attitudes towards poverty. Significantly, the social workers did not think that job creation was their primary responsibility nor had, in their experience, job creation programmes been successful. Rather, the economic literacy they taught related to housekeeping imperatives, such as economical food preparation and managing income and concrete resources no matter how meagre. Overall, the social workers did not perceive the agency culture or the context of developmental welfare practice as conducive to the implementation of programmes aimed at economic development, and none talked about the relationship between economic and social development.
Editorial
(Stellenbosch University, Department of Social Work, 2021) Green, Sulina
No abstract available
Editorial
(Stellenbosch University, Department of Social Work, 2020) Green, Sulina
No abstract available.
Editorial
(Stellenbosch University, Department of Social Work, 2020) Sulina, Green
The promotion of healthy family life--its health, welfare, and preservation--is of fundamental and strategic importance for social work.
Editorial
(Stellenbosch University, Department of Social Work, 2021) Green, Sulina
The editor assumes no responsibility for opinions expressed by contributors.
The effects of a father's alcohol misuse on the wellbeing of his family : views of social workers
(Dept. of Social Work, Stellenbosch University, 2017) Kuhn, Janelle; Slabbert, Ilze
Alcohol misuse poses a major threat to the wellbeing of families. If a father drinks excessively, all members of the family are affected. A qualitative study of an exploratory and descriptive nature was undertaken in which 20 social workers were interviewed. The systems theory was used as a theoretical framework. The goal of the study was to explore and describe the effects of alcohol misuse by a father on the wellbeing of his family, as viewed by social workers. Four themes emerged from the findings. Some conclusions and implications are also noted.

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