Revitalising school social work services in a global economy : a developmental perspective
type: CreativeWork
description: This stucly set out to investigate the possibility of school social work intervention as an institutional structure in South African schools with special reference to the Durban, Empangeni and Pietermaritzburg education areas where the writer carried out the empirical observation. The justification or the investigation was strengthened by the double factors of globalisation and fast increasing technology transfer throughout the world- The study regarded the multiplicity of social, financial and other problems plaguing communities in South Africa as a given. Against this background, the question asked was whether, given the reality of these factors inhibiting the intellectual and vocatipnal development of school going children, educational provision for social work intervention as it obtains at the moment, was adequate to equip the younger generation to fit gainfully in a highly competitive and fast changing global market. ln terms of methodological orientation, the study was both exploratory and descriptive in nature. It employed both qualitative and quantitative methods including interviews and focused groups. The sample was divided into two phases. The respondents in phase one were educators and education managers. The respondents in phase two were social workers and social work managers from the Department of Welfare as well as non-governmental organizations CNGO's). For this study two interview schedules were used to obtain data. One was for Educators and Education Managers and the other was for Social Workers and Social Work Managers. The findings of this study are revealing in their disclosure. They reveal that the child could benefit from a developmental perspective in school social work, as this perspective would discourage dependency, and promote parental involvement and that of other sections of the community having a vested interest in the school. The findings of this study give ample indication that given the situation of South Africa within a fast chang…
abstract: This stucly set out to investigate the possibility of school social work intervention as an institutional structure in South African schools with special reference to the Durban, Empangeni and Pietermaritzburg education areas where the writer carried out the empirical observation. The justification or the investigation was strengthened by the double factors of globalisation and fast increasing technology transfer throughout the world- The study regarded the multiplicity of social, financial and other problems plaguing communities in South Africa as a given. Against this background, the question asked was whether, given the reality of these factors inhibiting the intellectual and vocatipnal development of school going children, educational provision for social work intervention as it obtains at the moment, was adequate to equip the younger generation to fit gainfully in a highly competitive and fast changing global market. ln terms of methodological orientation, the study was both exploratory and descriptive in nature. It employed both qualitative and quantitative methods including interviews and focused groups. The sample was divided into two phases. The respondents in phase one were educators and education managers. The respondents in phase two were social workers and social work managers from the Department of Welfare as well as non-governmental organizations CNGO's). For this study two interview schedules were used to obtain data. One was for Educators and Education Managers and the other was for Social Workers and Social Work Managers. The findings of this study are revealing in their disclosure. They reveal that the child could benefit from a developmental perspective in school social work, as this perspective would discourage dependency, and promote parental involvement and that of other sections of the community having a vested interest in the school. The findings of this study give ample indication that given the situation of South Africa within a fast chang…
author: Ntombela, Ngenisiwe Henrietta.
keywords: School social work--South Africa--KwaZulu-Natal.
license: https://devspace.unizulu.ac.za/bitstreams/ac1789d6-6b7c-4a5a-941a-9f135ec567c8/download
date published: 2004
date modified: 2026-07-24T06:17:00Z
provider: University of Zululand
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Zululand