University of Fort Hare Bachelor of Social Work
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WORK & SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
SOCIAL WORK AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
The Department of Social Work and Social Development offers the following degrees:
• Bachelor of Social Work
• Master of Social Work (dissertation only)
• Doctoral Degree (thesis)
Social Work is a compulsory four year major subject for the Bachelor of Social Work degree.
The Social Work degree is offered both on the East London and Alice campuses of the university. Students are also able to do Master’s (by dissertation only) and Doctoral degrees.
Vision
The Department of Social Work and Social Development is a teaching, research and development system aimed at educating and training social workers and other development professionals for practice within the South African context and internationally.
Mission statement
Through its curriculum and programme activities, consistent with the values and principles of Social Services Professions and within the context of a transforming society , the Department of Social Work and Social Development has as its mission to empower students to improve the quality of life for the clients whom they will serve and for themselves; to develop moral/ethical, compassionate, and practical leadership among its students; and to promote social and economic justice in its programmes and services, among its students and in the rural and urban communities of South Africa.
UNDERGRADUATE
SOCIAL WORK PROGRAMME
SWK110/110E Introduction to Social Work and the Social Work Methods
Purpose: To introduce students to the general landscape of social welfare, social development and social work from national, regional and global perspectives and to the methods of social work. This course will provide an introduction to the discipline (theory) and profession (practice) of social work in such a way that the understanding of the important issues related to welfare in this country is increased
Content: includes definitions of relevant concepts; history of social work and social welfare; basic values, principles and functions of social work; the current status of social work within the South African welfare context and the developmental approach; introduction to casework, group work, community development and the integrated approach as well as the role of the social worker.
SWK120/120E Policy and Legislation: Social Work, Social Development, Social Welfare, and Social Security
Purpose: To trace social work and social welfare development, policies and legislation in South Africa with the aim of identifying forces that impacted on the philosophy and operations of the current system.
Content: includes the growth of the social welfare system and the emergence of social work; Laws, Acts and Policies affecting social work practice in South Africa; emergence of social work in South Africa; modernization of social work; comparative analysis of apartheid and democratic welfare systems; roles and functions of the social worker in relation to statutory frameworks; social security.
LKA111/111E/LKA121/121E: Life, Knowledge, Action/Grounding Programme
Purpose: The LKA-Grounding Programme is a transdisciplinary teaching and learning experience based on a just, humanizing and collaborative pedagogy that builds on students‘ knowledge as a way of developing compassionate, socially-engaged, critical and responsible citizens.
Content: The thematic areas include collective futures; democracy, diversity and identity; science, technology, environment and society; poverty, inequality and development.
SWP114/114E Social Work Skills Training
Purpose: The course is designed to introduce the learner to the skills required for social work practice.
Content: The course uses role-playing by students in various contrived client-social worker interactions to create opportunities for learners to act out the presented theoretical content of such interactions and produce evaluative comments on these interactions. The Skills include: Communication – verbal and non-verbal; Conflict resolution; Listening; Attending; Questioning; Validation Class attendance and Class participation are compulsory because the content requires learning from observation, doing and evaluation.
SWP123/123E Academic Skills for Social Work: Computer Literacy and Information Technology
Purpose: Part of the BSW Bridging Programme to prepare students for academic study
Content: academic skills; computer literacy; information technology
SWP124/124E Areas of Specialization and Agency Observation Trips
Purpose: To introduce students to the realities of social work practice in South Africa within the context of areas of specialization in social work.
Content: Social work practice and observation visits to areas of social work practice such as Child Welfare, NICRO, SANCA, Correctional Services, Department of Social Development, Services for Older Persons, Services for people with physical and mental disabilities. Diversity and multicultural social work practices; the intersection of race, class, gender, ethnicity.
Disability: create awareness on disability issues, sensitize learners to the abilities of people who are disabled, their needs, challenges and appropriate social work intervention strategies for working with people with disabilities. HIV/Aids: a theoretical and practical understanding of HIV/Aids in South Africa; and the roles of the Social Worker in response to the pandemic.
Substance Abuse: a basic theoretical knowledge of the most important issues related to substance abuse, including: effects of alcohol; phases of alcoholism; intervention strategies; effects of illegal drugs; youth and substance abuse; stages of adolescent drug abuse; consequences of drug abuse.
SWK213/213E Social Casework Method
Purpose: To equip the student with professional knowledge, skills and attitudes applied in social case work practice and counselling
Content: Casework definitions; process of short term counselling; phases of the casework process; roles of the social worker; client and the social work agency as components of the casework situation; interviewing and the client-worker relationship as primary tools in casework practice
SWK214 /214E Human Behaviour in the Social Environment
Purpose: To introduce students to social work intervention in relation to stages in the life cycle
Content: includes the different theories on the life cycle stages and application of the various social work interventions at particular stages
SWP210/210E Personal Growth and Development.
Purpose: To facilitate processes that increases students self awareness, confidence and knowledge of self; to familiarise students with the protocol for client home visits; to introduce students to professionalism and social work supervision.
Content: includes self awareness exercises; values, attitudes and behaviour for the helping profession; relationship building skills; conflict resolution; home visit protocol; social work ethics and ethical decision-making; professionalism and supervision.
SWP220/220E Application of Group Work and Community Development Skills and Theory
Purpose: To provide learners with practical training in the use of group work and community development theories and skills as social work interventions
Content: includes establishing a group for helping purposes; group dynamics; termination in therapy group settings.
Community Development: community knowledge and profiling; participatory approaches; graphic representation of community profiling.
SWK223/223E Groupwork Method
Purpose: To introduce students to the theory underpinning social work interventions in group situations.
Content: includes definition of the social group work method; group work process; group dynamics; social group work intervention skills; screening and selection; characteristic stages; roles and expectations of group members; relationship building; programming, planning, recording; common problems in group work; termination
SWK224/224E Community Development
Purpose: To introduce students to the theory underpinning social work interventions at the community level
Content: includes community development and poverty; understanding poverty and its manifestations; community development as an intervention strategy; community profiling; participatory approaches.
SWK313/313E Clinical Social Work: Theories and Interventions
Purpose: Broadening the student’s knowledge and understanding of the various theories that may be used to understand and interpret human behaviour; Helping students to grasp the link between the theoretical framework used to understand and interpret human behaviour and the intervention techniques to be used in working with presenting problems.
Content: includes the various theories that can be used to understand/interpret human behaviour e.g. Cognitive Dissonance, Reactive theory, Transactional analysis, Crisis Intervention theory
SWK315/315E Trauma and Grief Counselling
Purpose: To introduce students to the basic principles, as well as the stages of trauma debriefing, grief and grief counselling.
Content: includes understanding the difference between crisis and trauma; effects of trauma; post traumatic stress syndrome; principles used in working with trauma survivors; stages in the trauma debriefing process; the grief process and grief counselling
SWP313/313E Introduction to Social Work Research
Purpose: To introduce students to rudiments of research in social work such that they may be evidence based practitioners
Content: includes relevance of social work research; methodologies (qualitative and quantitative); selection and formulation of a research problem and proposal writing; sampling procedures and techniques; measurement in research; designing a research instrument.
SWP314/314E Supervised Concurrent Placement – 3A
Purpose: Students are expected to apply the theoretical knowledge and skills taught on the social work methods
SWP323E/323 Entrepreneurship and Community Development
Purpose: To develop a basic understanding of entrepreneurship, enabling students to economically empower individuals and community groups.
Content: includes entrepreneurship in Africa; relevance of entrepreneurship to community development in the South African context; the business planning; characteristics of a successful entrepreneur; reasons for success and failure of small businesses; idea viability and feasibility; small business finance; The Business Game – a training tool.
SWP324/324E Supervised Concurrent Placement – 3B
Requirements are the same as with SWP314/314E but during the second semester. Portfolio must be submitted for assessment. No written exams
Prerequisites: Students must pass all 200 level modules to proceed
SWP326/SWP326E Management and Administration of Social Work Services
Purpose: To introduce students to pertinent issues on management and administration of human service organisations in relation to social work services.
Content: includes definition of management and administration; principles and functions of management and administration; organisational structures; social work administration and supervision; leadership; accountability; budgeting; time management; strategic planning; business plans; meeting procedures and roles of office bearers.
SWK325/325E Anti-Discriminatory Social Work: The SA Constitution and the Bill of Rights
Purpose: To raise students’ awareness and develop critical consciousness about the structural forces of oppression, exclusion and disempowerment and use their awareness to engage clients as change agents; and to familiarise students with the values and principles enshrined in the Bill of Rights in relation to social work services
Content: includes Constitution; Bill of Rights; knowledge of structural oppression; empowerment and anti-discriminatory practice; developing cultural awareness; cross-cultural practice; culturally sensitive social work; indigenous knowledge, values and practice.
SWP401/401E Agency Internship
Purpose: To provide learners with hands-on experience in the practice of social work (all methods) under a qualified and registered social worker within a registered social work agency.
Content: Practical implementation of social work methods and involvement with the agency’s clients.
Prerequisites: Students must pass all 300 level modules.
SWK403/403E Research Project
Purpose: Application of research methods and skills to a relevant social work related enquiry
Content: includes development of a research proposal
Prerequisite: All 300 level modules
SWK402/402E Youth at Risk (Probation Services)
Purpose: To provide students with knowledge on the context and characteristics of young persons in conflict with the law and about the procedures currently informing youth offences.
Content: includes context of violent young offenders, child sex offenders, restorative justice, diversions and the Child Justice Bill.
Prerequisite: All 300 level modules.
SWK404/404E Integrated and Reflective Social Work
Purpose: To enable students to gain in-depth understanding of the integrated approach to social work and to use case examples from their internship experience to reflect on practice
Content: includes theories and models on the integrated approach; Case examples from the learners’ field experience used to identify and analyse issues related to working with all client systems in an integrated manner; action-reflection methodology.
Prerequisite: All 300 level modules
SWK407/407E Child Welfare
Purpose: To familiarise students with the Childcare Act and social workers role in working with children
Content: includes the field of Child Welfare; Childcare Act and how it is implemented; the role of the Social Worker within the field of Child Welfare; the developmental approach to child welfare; the issue of orphans in South Africa and statutory provisions for orphans and vulnerable children.
Prerequisite: All 300 level modules.
SWK408/408E Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP)
Purpose: To provide students with an introduction into the purpose and functioning of Employee Assistance Programmes
Content: Includes: The role of the EAP in the workplace; the role of the Social Worker in the EAP and intervention strategies
Prerequisite: All 300 level modules
ELECTIVES: 184 credits
Students may choose one course to be taken to the 3rd year level and another taken up to the 2ndyear level from the following courses:
Sociology; Psychology; Criminology (Alice Campus only); Development Studies (Alice Campus only)
Students may choose 16 credit course from either the courses not already selected from above or the following:
Economics; Environmental Studies; Political Science; History; Philosophy
Statistics; Social Anthropology; Afrikaans; English.