Master of Social Work in School Social Work

Purpose

The purpose of the Master of Social Work in School Social Work is to educate and train qualified social workers to contribute to the development of knowledge at an advanced level in the field of school social work. The MSW (School Social Work) is a coursework qualification requiring a high level of theoretical as well as practical engagement.

The qualification will equip graduates to intervene in addressing the psychosocial challenges confronting learners and offer learner support in the school-level education system. The qualification will further equip qualified social workers employed by the Department of Basic Education, Department of Social Development, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as school governing bodies (SGBs) in schools with expert knowledge and skills to work in the general education system as host setting.

The qualification will allow working professionals to reflect on their own practice and draw on their experience to enrich their learning. Finally, the qualification will allow post-grad learners the opportunity to develop and execute a research project, subject to scientific and ethical review, to demonstrate basic research skills and to contribute to the scientific literature on school social work.

Upon completion of the qualification, qualifying learners will be able to

• Demonstrate specialist knowledge in the context of school social work, advanced level assessments and interventions focusing on learners as well as applied professional practices to enable engagement with and critique of current research or practices, as well as advanced research in school social work.
• Demonstrate the ability to evaluate current knowledge production processes and choose an appropriate enquiry process to execute thorough psychosocial assessments of school-going children.
• Demonstrate the ability to design, select and apply appropriate methods and techniques to complex school social work problems.
• Demonstrate the ability to design and implement a strategy for the processing and managing of information to conduct a comprehensive review of leading and current research in school social work to address psychosocial challenges.

Rationale

Globally, the need for school social work is increasing, International Network for School Social Work. The need for school social work services in South Africa has been confirmed by various researchers.

The need for school social work as a speciality was established by the South African Council for Social Service Professions in 2009 and recommended during the Indaba on Specialisation in 2010. The draft regulations for the specialisation area were published in the Government Gazette on 2 February 2020. Consequently, very few universities in the South have yielded to the call to train school social workers to address this need.

The Institution's proposed Master of Social Work (MSW) will be the third master's qualification in this field in South Africa with the competitive advantage of being a full distance learning qualification. Since most learners enrolling for an MSW are adult learners and full-time workers, the distance offering is considered.

Against this background, the proposed qualification is responsive to both market needs, as well as the internal aim of enhancing academic knowledge in a specialised subject field. The prevailing challenges in schools across the country are psychosocial in nature and, as indicated by various research including the above-mentioned researchers, the need for this qualification cannot be sufficiently emphasised. The current situation is the -deployment' of social auxiliary workers as well as assigned social workers to handle cases referred from the schools. With qualified social workers specialising in school social work, permanent appointments in schools will ensure regular and prompt service and support to schools. The growth of social workers employed in the school system will ensure the sustainability of the MSW qualification, with increasing numbers of social workers being appointed nationally.

The Department of Basic Education's Strategy on Psychosocial Support to Learners and Educators (2016) highlighted psychosocial barriers as a challenge to learners, and social workers were indicated as key role players in this regard. The graduates of the MSW qualification will be equipped to intervene in addressing the psychosocial challenges confronting learners and offer learner support in the school-level education system. Teachers must deal with many complicated social and developmental challenges experienced by learners. Most of these challenges, however, fall within the field of school social work practice. School social workers typically promote and advocate social justice and human rights for learners. Also, the promotion of social change and development, social cohesion as well as the empowerment of individuals, families, groups and communities. Education forms the foundation of human and socio-economic development and is considered influential in the well-being of a society. Many developmental and social challenges exist within the South African context. These influence social contexts and well-being, especially of children in society.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

RPL for access

RPL will be applied according to the Institution's academic rules, as follows

• Admission and advanced standing on grounds of RPL
• An executive dean may, by means of the RPL in accordance with the university's rules, grant a learner who does not meet the minimum admission requirements admission to a qualification, or grant advanced standing to a learner by exempting the learner from the recognised modules required for the completion of a particular qualification.
• Only proven informal or non-formal learning may be taken into consideration by means of RPL, the process of equivalence-setting between such learning and formal modules must be documented, and its outcome must be recorded on the official learner record.
• Where a learner was granted an exemption for one or more modules because of RPL, the remaining HEMIS credits required for the qualification must be obtained by completing the relevant qualification.
• The maximum portion of a qualification from which a learner may be exempted by means of RPL is fifty percent of the credits of the full qualification.
• Not more than 10% of a cohort of learners with an academic qualification can be admitted through an RPL process.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

• Bachelor of Social Work (BSW), NQF Level 8.

Or

• Bachelor of Arts Honours in Social Work, NQF Level 8.

This qualification consists of the following compulsory modules at National Qualifications Framework, NQF Level 9, totalling 180 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, Level 9 totalling 180 Credits

• Legal framework, policies and context of school social work, 20 Credits.
• Assessment of the learner, 20 Credits.
• Interventions in school social work, 20 Credits.
• Applied professional practice, 30 Credits.
• Research and mini dissertation, 90 Credits.

Exit Level Outcomes

1. Demonstrate specialist knowledge in the context of school social work, advanced level assessments and interventions focusing on learners as well as applied professional practices to enable engagement with and critique of current research or practices, as well as advanced research in school social work.
2. Evaluate current knowledge production processes and choose an appropriate enquiry process to execute thorough psychosocial assessments of school-going children.
3. Design, select and apply appropriate methods and techniques to complex school social work problems.
4. Demonstrate the ability to make autonomous ethical decisions that affect knowledge production or complex organisational or professional issues, and the ability to critically contribute to developing ethical standards in a specific context.
5. Design and implement a strategy for the processing and managing of information to conduct a comprehensive review of leading and current research in school social work to address psychosocial challenges.
6. Communicate and substantiate ideas relating to school social work to various audiences with different knowledge or expertise.
7. Demonstrate the ability to make interventions at an appropriate level based on an understanding of hierarchical relations, legal framework and policies within the school system.
8. Operate ethically, independently and as part of a team.
9. Demonstrate the ability to take full responsibility for his or her own academic and professional work and development.

Associated Assessment Criteria

The following Associated Assessment Criteria are assessed in an integrated manner across all the Exit Level Outcomes

• Accurately critique current knowledge production processes.
• Select the most appropriate enquiry process to execute thorough psychosocial assessments of learners.
• Design and implement an appropriate intervention plan to address complex problems within the field of school social work.
• Recognise and identify ethical decisions that affect knowledge production, complex organisational and professional issues
• Propose and generate ethical standards appropriate for a specific context.
• Master and demonstrate the ability to identify and rate current, relevant and leading research in school social work.
• Debate ideas about school social work with various audiences with different levels of knowledge or expertise.
• Identify and appraise hierarchical relations, legal frameworks, policies and context within the school system, which allows for implementing interventions at appropriate levels.
• Critically discuss the scope of practice within the multidisciplinary team, focusing on ethical standards.
• Accept full responsibility for academic performance and development.