Social policy education for change: South African student perspectives on the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development

Abstract

Social work students deal with complex social problems such as poverty, unemployment and the devastating effects of HIV and AIDS in their practice, education and training and it is important to acknowledge that these developmental challenges have global dimensions. The four foundational pillars in the Global Agenda on Social Work and Social Development provide a framework for social work policy education. A project using this framework was implemented in South Africa and the United States. This article discusses the findings of an exploratory qualitative research project based on 58 student final papers from South Africa.

Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development: A Path Toward Sustainable Social Work

“…Similar findings were reported in a South African and United States study by Raniga and Zelnick (2014). They used the Global Agenda as a framework to analyse social work policy education.…”

“…They used the Global Agenda as a framework to analyse social work policy education. The final papers of 58 social work students from one South African university were analysed by means of an exploratory qualitative study (Raniga & Zelnick, 2014). Students' papers were selected for analyses if the papers obtained a mark of 70 per cent or more, assuming that such a mark would indicate critical reflection and comprehensive analyses of the relevance of the Global Agenda as a tool for local practice.…”

“…The students identified concerns about the fact that social work practitioners were not involved enough in policy formulation, about a lack of adequate funding, and about a lack of access to resources in organisations to support social workers' service delivery (Raniga & Zelnick, 2014). These challenges "reflect the detrimental impact of neoliberal economic policies on the delivery of social work services in contemporary South Africa" (Raniga & Zelnick, 2014:394).…”

“…The students observed that the Global Agenda provides social workers with a platform to strengthen their voice and join social movements in order to influence and develop a more just society (Raniga & Zelnick, 2014). In response to this finding, Raniga and Zelnick (2014) argue that if social workers are to make a difference and address the needs of the most vulnerable and marginalised sectors of the population, the challenge is not just that social workers have to make critical choices to reposition themselves to speak out on injustices, but also that they have to reflect critically on their roles (Raniga & Zelnick, 2014).…”

“…The link between the local and the global is a reality in relation not only to the nature of social problems, but also to the lived experiences of practitioners and students, who often face complex social problems themselves, which contextualises their position towards global and transformation issues (Raniga & Zelnick, 2014). Sims et al (2014:364) also point out connections between the personal and the political, and structural issues among many social workers who are also "members of the working class or minority ethnic groups with shared experiences of discrimination".…”