8008: The measure of a competent child care social worker?

This paper reflects upon some mixed messages found in recent consultation and framework documents that have been issued as part of the debate surrounding the Government's emphasis upon education and training within its 'modernisation' agenda. It identifies the long-standing arguments about 'testing' versus 'learning' or 'contextual' paradigms and suggests that, perhaps, there is still scope to influence the future direction of social work. The author has drawn upon his research with social workers and their team managers in current post-qualification award programmes to argue for a renewed emphasis upon the inter-personal and relationship aspects of educational processes within more broadly conceived socio-cultural contexts. A focus upon reflexively defined concepts of 'engagement' and 'assessment' is used to explore constructivist arguments that locate individuals within an interplay of potential and constraints. It is argued that constructive engagements within revised conceptions of assessment can form the basis of a framework of continuing professional development that starts from and develops the unique realities of social work practice. This requires the committed involvement of more people, in the negotiation of a professional practice agenda for knowledge creation through relationships, rather than the imposition of more measures

A strengths perspective on supervision of social workers

Abstract:The growing discourse on neoliberal ideas and the resulting new public management measures have an immense impact on the management and leadership models employed at social welfare organisations all over the world; and call for a critical theory beyond a deficits approach as an interpretative framework. In response, this article propounds a strengths perspective on supervision of social workers, which is a key element in a social development approach to social practice, and which also finds common ground with supervision in other contexts. The South African welfare context is presented as a best practice vignette of a strengths perspective on supervision employed at a welfare organisation. It is concluded that a strengths perspective has transformational potential; and as a proactive response to neoliberal global and local market demands, compels managers to employ strengths-based interpretative frameworks for assessments and personal development plans of those they supervise in order to develop a facilitative alternative management paradigm