BSW Norms, Standards & Attributes | Department of Social Work & Social Development

Bachelor of Social Work Core Knowledge Required.
A Bachelor of Social Work degree comprises sets of values, skills, knowledge and applied competencies at the core of the social work discipline.

A Bachelor of Social Work graduate is required to demonstrate core social work knowledge of the following:
• comparative welfare policies in respect of the residual, institutional, industrial-achievement and developmental frameworks and their implications for access to social services on the selective-universal continuum;
• the developmental social welfare paradigm, which is aimed at integrating micro-, mezzo- and macro-level assessment and intervention; clinical, developmental, therapeutic, preventative, and rehabilitative aspects of social work; and the harmonization of social and economic development;
• the influence of historical eras, including the eras of colonialism and apartheid, on welfare service delivery and on the history of social work in South Africa;
• the transition from apartheid to democracy and its influence on social welfare service delivery and social work;
• the demographics, socio-economic development status, and linguistic and cultural diversities of South Africa’s peoples;
• structural determinants of poverty and inequality, their manifestations and consequences and possible responses to these;
• relevant international and regional conventions/treatises/declarations and a pertinent range of national policies and legislation;
• national, provincial, and local structures for the delivery of social welfare services and the role of social work in social welfare policy planning, development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation;
• a range of relevant theories, perspectives, and models such as eco-systemic theories; critical and radical theories; structural theory; cognitive-behavioural theories; psychodynamic theory;
• human behaviour and the social environment, with particular emphasis on the person-in-environment transaction, life-span development, and the interaction among biological, psychological, socio-structural, economic, political, cultural, and spiritual factors in shaping human development and behaviour;
• service beneficiary assessment, intervention processes, methods, and techniques to render preventative, protective, developmental, and therapeutic interventions with individuals, families, groups, organisations, and communities;
• the various fields of service such as child and family welfare; youth work; statutory social work; mental health; corrections; health; HIV/AIDS; social work in occupational settings; gerontology; forensics; disability; substance abuse and crime prevention;
• the ethical requisites of the profession; an appropriate range of ethical theories; and the complexities of ethical decision-making in day-to-day practice;
• the Self vis-à-vis professional practice;
• social work management; social work administration and supervision;
• research paradigms/methods, designs, and strategies.

Bachelor of Social Work Competencies & Skills

The development and consolidation of a professional identity as a social worker
The central threads that permeate the social work professional identity that a graduate needs to master are:
• understanding the power of process and building sound relationships;
• demonstrated ability in advancing human rights, and working with and for the most disadvantaged groups in society;
• commitment to work toward social justice and egalitarian societies;
• understanding the Self as an important instrument of intervention;
• commitment to caring, building humane societies and mutual inter-dependence;
• use of validation as one of the core empowerment strategies in working with individuals, families, groups, and communities;
• willingness to be for the Other, and ability for empathic entry into the life worlds of people;
• demonstrated skills in critical thinking and scholarly attitudes of reasoning, and openness to new experiences and paradigms;
• commitment to professional ethics and to on-going professional development;
• ability to deal with complexity and ambiguity and to think on one’s feet;
• understanding of social work as a context-embedded, proactive and responsive profession;
• ability to use supervision effectively in practice.
• demonstrated ability to understand the links between the personal and the professional dimensions of life and the relationship between the micro- and the macro-aspects of students’ lives and the lives of people whom they engage with.
Application of core values and principles of social work
• demonstrated ability to respect the inherent worth and dignity of all human beings;
• demonstrated understanding that every person has the ability to solve his/her problem;
• demonstrated ability to separate acceptance of the person while challenging and changing conditions and behaviours that are self-destructive or harmful to others;
• upholding the value of doing no harm and practising beneficence;
• understanding the mutual inter-dependence among human beings and between human beings and other living entities, and a commitment to inter-generational equity and continuity (third generation rights) as advocated by ‘green’ social work;
• respecting the rights of people to inclusion in decision-making and in the planning and use of services;
• respecting rights to self-determination (with due consideration to potential structural constraints);
• respecting rights to confidentiality within legislative constraints.
Holistic assessment and intervention with individuals, families, groups, and communities
• recognising humans as bio-psycho-social (BPS) beings, as the biological, psychological, and social (including the spiritual) dimensions of life are inter-connected and mutually reinforcing;
• undertaking holistic BPS assessments to facilitate holistic intervention directly and/or through referrals to appropriate professionals and resources;
• understanding of the Person-in-Environment gestalt, appreciating that the environment consists of the natural, geographic environment and the various social systems, both proximate and distal, that surround and impact individual and family functioning;
• understanding of how historical and contemporary BPS approaches impact on human functioning and capabilities development;
• ability to undertake appropriate interventions ranging from direct protective/ therapeutic/ educational interventions with individuals, families, and groups to broader community interventions, including education, social activism, and/or advocacy at local, regional, and/or international levels;
• ability to use a range of strategies to monitor and evaluate interventions.
Demonstrated competence in the use of codes of ethics vis-à-vis the moral impulse
• awareness of international, regional, and national statements of ethical principles and codes of ethics;
• critical engagement with codes of ethics;
• recognising the inter-relatedness between the moral impulse and codes of ethics;
• awareness of the boundaries of professional practice and what constitutes unprofessional conduct;
• understanding of principled ethics and feminist relational ethics, and skills of negotiating ethical decision-making through discourse ethics and dialogue, and through peer consultation and supervision.
Working with a range of diversities
• demonstrate self-awareness regarding personal and cultural values, beliefs, traditions and biases and how these might influence the ability to develop relationships with people, and to work with diverse population groups;
• awareness of self as individual and as member of collective socio-cultural groups in terms of strengths and areas for further development;
• competence in non-discrimination on the basis of culture, nationality, ethnicity, religion, language, race, gender, language, physical status, and sexual orientation;
• ability to minimize group stereotypes and prejudices and to ensure that racist, sexist, homophobic and xenophobic behaviour, policies, and structures are not reproduced through social work practice;
• ability to form relationships with, and treat all persons with respect and dignity irrespective of such persons’ cultural and ethnic beliefs, gender, nationality, language, religion, disability, and sexual orientation;
• ability to serve as cultural mediators through the use of constructive confrontation, conflict-mediation, discourse ethics, and dialogue where local cultural values, traditions and practices might violate universally-accepted human rights, as entrenched in national, regional, and international human rights instruments;
• awareness of the importance of inter-sectoral collaboration, and team work across disciplines and among social service professionals;
Ability to undertake research
• demonstrate appropriate skills in the use of qualitative and/or quantitative research methods;
• ability to recognise and apply the ethical requisites of social work research;
• ability to use research to inform practice and vice-versa;
• appreciate the value of practice-based research, of practice as research, and of research as practice;
• ability to document and communicate research findings to professional and non-professional audiences.
Knowledge, practice skills, and theories
• ability to make judicious selection from the wide range of available knowledge and theories to facilitate conceptualization at higher levels of abstraction;
• ability to select from a range of theoretical perspectives and practice skills to facilitate effective interventions at the level of the individual, family, group, organization, and community;
• demonstrate an understanding of the structural determinants of people’s lives and how criteria such as race, class, gender, language, religion, geographic location, disability, and sexual orientation might constitute sources of privilege and/or oppression.
• demonstrate an understanding of the complex relationship between the power of structural determinants and the power of human agency, and the relationship between freedom and responsibility;
• show awareness of strategies to facilitate praxis and consciousness-raising to enable people to understand and challenge structural determinants of normalization, and of oppression and/or privilege;
• demonstrate critical understanding of how socio-structural inequalities, discrimination, oppression, and social, political, economic, and environmental injustices impact on human functioning and development at all levels.
Policy and legislation
• demonstrate an understanding of how social welfare policy and legislation influence the conception of issues as social problems, interventions, and resource allocation;
• ability to analyse, formulate, evaluate, and advocate for policies that enhance human wellbeing and environmental sustainability;
• demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the law and social work;
• applying knowledge of global, regional, and national declarations, policies, and legislation relevant to social welfare and social work;
• applying knowledge of national, provincial, and local governance structures, and the general laws and charters governing social welfare policy and social work services in South Africa;
• identifying understanding the historical, political, and economic dimensions of welfare policies.
Writing and communication of professional knowledge
• ability to write coherent, logical, grammatically correct, and well-considered reports/memos whether for internal or external use;
• awareness of the ethical and legal aspects of report-writing;
• awareness of the targeted audience of any particular communication; the central messages to be communicated and how these are to be communicated, for example, probation reports; reports for children’s court enquiries, divorce settlements, referrals for medical/psychiatric assessment and treatment; support for a social action campaign;
• demonstrate clear, coherent, and engaging oral communication skills;
• ability to apply interviewing skills;
• ability to record and disseminate social work research findings and knowledge;
• ability to function in a multilingual context and to use oral and/or written translation and interpretation when necessary.

Social Work Graduate Attributes
• Knowledge and understanding of human behaviour and social systems and the skills to intervene at the points where people interact with their environments in order to promote social well-being.
• The ability and competence to assist and empower individuals, families, groups, organisations, and communities to enhance their social functioning and their problem-solving capacities.
• The ability to promote, restore, maintain, and enhance the functioning and well-being of individuals, families, groups and communities by enabling them to accomplish tasks, prevent and alleviate distress, be environmentally aware and use resources effectively.
• Skills to challenge structural sources of poverty, inequality, oppression, discrimination, and exclusion.
• An understanding of and the ability to demonstrate social work values, ethics and the principles of human rights and social justice while interacting with and assisting the range of human diversity.
• The understanding and ability to provide social work services towards protecting people who are vulnerable, at-risk, and unable to protect themselves.
• Knowledge and understanding of both the South African and the global welfare context and the ability to work within social development paradigms, embracing holistic, integrated, and problem-solving approach.
• Understanding of the major social needs, issues, policies and legislation in the South African social welfare context and the social worker's role and contribution.
• The skills to engage in constructive supervision and work effectively within teams, including social work teams, multi- and inter-disciplinary teams as well as multi-sectoral teams.
• The commitment to continued personal and professional development.
• The ability to critically self-reflect and be reflective practitioners.
• Passion for social work and their professional identity.
• The ability to articulate information coherently in verbal, written and electronic form to audiences of different sizes in a range of situations.
• The ability to function in a technologically advanced society.