STANDARDS FOR SOCIAL WORK QUALIFICATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa has instituted a new education and training dispensation, with the core drivers being the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), National Standards bodies and Education and Training Quality Assurance bodies (Olivier, 1998:ix). The SAQA Act (1995) enables South Africa to develop its own integrated National Qualifications Framework (NQF) accompanied by a supporting quality-assurance system.


INTRODUCTION
South Africa has instituted a new education and training dispensation, with the core drivers being the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), National Standards bodies and Education and Training Quality Assurance bodies (Olivier, 1998:ix).The SAQA Act (1995) enables South Africa to develop its own integrated National Qualifications Framework (NQF) accompanied by a supporting quality-assurance system.
SAQA's mission is to ensure the development and implementation of the NQF, which contributes to the full development of each learner and to the social and economic development of the nation at large.The NQF has been established to provide for the registration of national standards and qualifications.
According to SAQA's requirements, all qualifications and standards in South Africa must be formally registered by SAQA on the NQF by 30 June 2006.If qualifications have not been generated and approved by SAQA by this date, it means that neither providers nor learners' achievements will be recognised.The SAQA Act (1995) and its Regulations (1998a:17) make provision for the establishment of Standards Generating Bodies (SGBs) to develop standards and qualifications.For this purpose, an SGB for Social Work was established in order to generate standards and qualifications for Social Work, including Social Auxiliary Work.
All qualifications and standards must be approved by the National Standards Bodies (NSBs) and the South African Qualifications Authority.Social Work qualifications had to be approved by NSB 09: Health Sciences and Social Services.From its inception the SGB for Social Work had to submit progress reports to NSB 09 every second month.Although the NSB made a SAQA Coordinator available to the SGB for consultation purposes, the task and capacity building for the work of the SGB were very much a learning process, which unfolded as the development of the qualifications progressed.
Not only were the Social Work qualifications the first "whole qualifications" submitted to NSB 09 and SAQA, but Social Work was also the first of the health and social service professions in South Africa to submit its qualifications.The qualifications that have been approved for registration with the NQF by NSB 09 are the FET  This article reports on SAQA's brief for SGBs; the process that was followed to establish an SGB for Social Work and write qualifications for Social Work; a brief outline of the contents of the Social Work qualifications; and the way forward after the qualifications have been registered on the NQF.

SGB BRIEF
An SGB is composed of key education and training stakeholders in the NSB sub-field, drawn from interest groups and specialists, as identified according to SAQA's requirements.Membership of SGBs does not exceed 25 members (SAQA Regulations, 1998a:19).The SGB for Social Work consists of interest groups, including educators and trainers, practitioners, NGOs, the South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP), labour and critical interest groups such as Professional Associations.An SGB is registered for a 3-year period.
The number of gazetted members of the SGB for Social Work was 25 persons.As the process required members to devote considerable time to the SGB, a number of people resigned or were unable to participate.However, 18 members remained committed throughout the process, participating fully and enabling the SGB to complete the 5 qualifications.
The brief of the SGB for Social Work was as follows:

MEETINGS
The initial meeting of the SGB for Social Work was held in March 2001.The first challenge was to build the capacity of members and equip them for the task ahead.Initially, three orientation and capacity-building workshops were held with a consultant, after which the SGB continued on its own.Small task teams met regularly and took responsibility for specific drafting tasks and research.Up to the final submission of all the qualifications in December 2002 the SGB had held 12 plenary sessions, spread over two days per session.As indicated, numerous small task team meetings always preceded plenary sessions.

FINANCING
SAQA only makes financial provision for a once-off amount of R31 603 for the work of SGBs, which meant that the SGB had to seek its own avenues to access financing.Applications to the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Assurance Body (HWSETA) were successful in that an amount of R100 000 was granted for the 2001/02 financial year and a further grant of R150 000 was allocated for the year 2002/03.
The SGB also received significant support throughout the process from the SACSSP in the form of a venue, secretarial services and administrative support.

Consultation with stakeholders
From the start SAQA expected the SGB to consult with its constituencies and obtain feedback.
The SGB was committed to upholding this principle and is convinced that it acted with the utmost transparency and consulted as far as possible with all stakeholders throughout the entire process.
The consultation process started in April 2001, when a wide range of stakeholders, specifically including employers and practitioners, was requested to submit recommendations regarding qualifications, based on the demands of social work practice in South Africa.
In addition, providers from higher tertiary institutions were requested to submit to the SGB the qualifications they had previously submitted to SAQA for interim registration.The recommendations and the contents of these qualifications were carefully considered, debated and utilised as guidelines, where appropriate, to draft the five social work qualifications.
In June 2002 the first draft of the FET Certificate in Social Auxiliary Work and the B SW qualifications on NQF Levels 4 and 7, respectively, were distributed to all stakeholders.These were followed in August 2002 by the draft Masters (NQF Level 8) and Doctoral (NQF Level 8+) qualifications.Stakeholders included the South African Council for Social Service Professions, employers (NGOs and public sector) professional associations, other social service professions and labour.Every single comment received was considered by the SGB; the necessary adjustments were made and once again distributed to stakeholders.
On 11 September 2002 the second draft of the qualifications was presented and discussed with a large representative group of stakeholders that included both providers and practitioners at the Conference of the Joint Universities' Committee for Social Work (JUC) in Potchefstroom.The Co-ordinator of NSB 09 attended the presentation to clarify SAQA issues.The critical issues that the SGB had had to contend with and those raised by stakeholders were discussed openly and recommendations agreed upon.Shortly after the Conference, the SGB met to consider all relevant issues raised at the JUC meeting and finalised the qualifications accordingly.

Submission of qualifications
The SGB for Social Work developed five qualifications for submission to NSB 09 and SAQA for registration on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).

FIRST SUBMISSION
A number of delegates from the SGB met with NSB 09's Subcommittee on Standards and Qualifications on 17 October 2002 to discuss the five submitted qualifications.Of all the submissions, only the doctoral qualification was approved by the NSB and it later appeared in the Government Gazette of 28 October 2002 for comments.Review the purpose and learning outcomes of the Structured Master qualification to highlight more strongly the specialised field of this qualification; Attach a list of the names and organisations that were included in the consultation process; Provide the NQF computer codes (identification numbers) of the fundamental learning programmes in both the FET Certificate and B SW qualifications.

Second submission
The revised qualifications were submitted to NSB 09 in November 2002 and an SGB delegation presented the amendments to NSB 09's Subcommittee on Standards and Qualifications on 2 December 2002.At the plenary meeting of the NSB all the amendments were approved and recommended for registration on the NQF.Since then the FET Certificate in Social Auxiliary Work and the Bachelor of Social Work qualifications have been published in the Government Gazette, giving a 30-day comment period.Publication of the two Masters qualifications is awaited.
Once the comments have been dealt with by the SGB and the NSB, the SGB anticipates that the qualifications will be finally approved by SAQA and incorporated into the NQF by June 2003.

SOCIAL WORK QUALIFICATIONS
The content of the five (5) social work qualifications approved to be registered with the NQF by the NSB needs to be contexutalised against the required SAQA format for qualifications (SAQA, 2000a:9).This necessitates a clarification of various concepts relevant to the designed qualifications, which will be briefly discussed (see SAQA Regulations, 1998a).

Qualification
A qualification is awarded when a learner achieves the required number and range of credits at a specific NQF level (SAQA Act, 1995:2).A qualification may be a certificate, diploma or degree and must have a planned combination of learning outcomes with a defined purpose, designed to provide qualifying learners with applied competence and a basis for further learning (SAQA, 2000a:41).It must also comply with the required number of credits set by SAQA.
In terms of the NQF, the name of a registered qualification must be the same throughout the country; irrespective of which institution is the provider.
Certain requirements prevail in order to ensure national standards.One example is that the Social Auxiliary Work Certificate has to include the acronym FET (Further Education and Training) as it is on NQF Level 4. A four-year professional degree such as Social Work is on NQF Level 7 and does not include the word "Honours", but it is equivalent to a Bachelors degree with Honours, being on the same NQF Level.

Whole Qualifications versus Unit Standards
SAQA permits two different routes for the registration of learning with the NQF and both have prescribed formats.These are known as "whole qualifications" and "unit standards".
The contents of a whole qualification indicate what qualifying learners will be able to do once they qualify (their competencies at the exit level).It also contains the criteria for assessment that ensure the learner has acquired the competencies through the learning programme.This means that there is a defined purpose(s) and a planned combination of learning outcomes intended to provide qualifying learners with applied competencies and a basis for further learning (SAQA, 2000c:41).A qualification, therefore, needs to have specific purposes that are embedded in the rationale for the qualification.The whole qualification basically sets out the skeleton for the learning programme and lays down the principles.It is then up to providers to develop the detailed curriculum by means of which learners will achieve the given competencies.
Unit standards, on the other hand, refer to specific statements of desired education and training outcomes (specific outcomes) and their associated assessment criteria (SAQA, 2000c:37).Each unit standard is registered as such with the NQF and may be as little as 2 credits.Unit standards mean that the learning programme is broken down into numerous end-statements with specific outcomes and assessment criteria for each competence.A unit standard is one of the building blocks for possible qualifications.
On the advice of a consultant, which was supported by SAQA personnel, the SGB initially began generating Unit Standards for the Bachelors qualification in Social Work.Considerable time and effort was spent on this route and many unit standards were developed in the process.
Although there are advantages to developing unit standardsfor example, they provide clearer prescriptions for curriculum design -the SGB decided rather to take the "whole qualification" route.It is also relevant to note that qualifications based on unit standards or on whole qualifications are considered to be equally valid expressions of outcomes-based education (Department of Education, 2002:iv).The SGB's decision was based on the realisation that the generation of a whole qualification was essential to ensure holistic, coherent learning and lessen the possibility of being too prescriptive in respect of curriculum design.Nevertheless, the time spent on developing unit standards was not wasted as this process informed the social work qualifications and built the capacities of SGB members.
Qualifications are offered by a "provider", which is a term used by SAQA to refer to institutions/bodies that provide learning programmes focused on the achievement of specified NQF qualifications and standards.Providers, such as universities and technikons, also manage the assessment of learning achievements (SAQA Regulations 1998b:2).Providers must be registered with the relevant ETQA (Education and Training Quality Assurance Body) for the specific qualification.All education and training providers will be expected to offer learning programmes that comply with the standards of the social work qualifications.The SACSSP, in partnership with the Council on Higher Education, will be the ETQA for Social Work qualifications.In terms of Social Auxiliary Work qualifications, the Council, in partnership with the HWSETA, will be the ETQA.

Fields
Fields of learning are used as an organising mechanism for the NQF.SAQA established one National Standards Body for each of the 12 identified fields.Social Work falls under NSB 09 Health Sciences and Social Services and its sub-fields Preventive Health, Promotive Health and Development Services, Curative Health, and Rehabilitative Services.
These sub-fields are based on the World Health Organisation's definition of "health", which encompasses total health.The SGB is not in favour of this sub-field division and has requested NSB 09 to consider changing these sub-fields in order to reflect social welfare more independently from health.

NQF levels
Until the New Academic Policy (Council on Higher Education (CHE), 2001:49) has been approved, the Further Education and Training band (FET) is set at NQF Levels 2 to 4 and the Higher Education and Training band (HET) at NQF Levels 5 to 8 (SAQA, 2000b:23).

Credit system
A "credit" defines the value assigned by SAQA to 10 notional hours of learning.One (1) credit equals ten (10) notional hours of learning (SAQA, 2000b: 23)."Notional hours of learning" refers to the learning time that it takes an average learner to meet the defined outcomes.It includes contact time, time spent in structured learning in the workplace as well as individual learning.
SAQA's guidelines for the number of credits are 480 credits for a four-year professional qualification; 120 to 240 credits for a Masters degree; and 240 to 360 credits for a Doctoral degree.
In Social Work the amount of practical work adds considerably to the number of credits.Credits were thoroughly debated and carefully calculated by the SGB according to the requirements in terms of the depth of knowledge, understanding, insight and practice.However, the credits allocated to the qualification are considered to be the minimum and providers may add to this number.
Fundamental learning refers to that learning which forms the grounding or basis needed to undertake the education, training or further learning required to obtain a qualification.It generally refers to language and numeracy skills and is prescribed by SAQA according to specific NQF levels.
Core Learning refers to the learning that is essential for the qualification and means the compulsory learning required.
Elective Learning refers to a selection of additional credits at the specified level of the NQF from which learners may make a choice to ensure that the purpose of the qualification is achieved.

Issue date and review date
The issue date is the date the qualification/standard is registered with the NQF by SAQA.The review date refers to the period of time for which the qualification will be operational and before which a review and re-registration must take place.Currently the review period is 3 years, but applications for re-registration must be submitted in the first half of the third year of registration.

Learning assumed to be in place
Learning assumed to be in place must capture and make known the knowledge and skills that may reasonably be assumed to be in place before a learner enters a learning programme (SAQA 2000b: 24).

Exit-level outcomes
Outcomes state the knowledge, skills and values that a qualifying learner will have achieved at the point of leaving the learning programme leading to a qualification.
The exit level for the core modules of the FET Certificate in Social Auxiliary Work is on NQF Level 4, whilst the electives may indicate Levels 4 and 5 since Level 5 starts linking learning to a higher level.This qualification was approved by the HWSETA as a learnership2 in 2002 and awaits final registration by the Department of Labour.Once it has been registered, this will mean that both the learner and the provider may apply for funding for the learning process.
The exit level for the core outcomes of the Bachelor of Social Work is on NQF Level 7, whilst the exit levels for electives are reflected on Levels 5 and 6, respectively.In the current education system NQF Level 7 refers to the fourth year of study, whilst Levels 5 and 6 refer to the first, second and third years of study.

Associated assessment criteria
Each exit-level outcome has a number of associated assessment criteria that comprise a set of statements to guide the development of particular assessment tasks and tools.They should be viewed holistically as is the case with Outcomes.

Critical cross-field outcomes
A qualification must include the critical cross-field outcomes adopted by SAQA.These outcomes describe the qualities that the NQF identifies for the total development of learners within the education and training system, regardless of the specific area or content of learning.In other words, these are the outcomes that are deemed critical for the development of the capacity for lifelong learning and should guide policy makers, curriculum designers, facilitators of learning and learners themselves (SAQA, 2000b:18).

International comparability
Qualifications need to indicate their comparability in terms of similar qualifications in the international arena.

Integrated assessment
Qualifications should also indicate a variety of assessment techniques that will be used in an integrated manner to ensure that exit outcomes and critical cross-field outcomes are indeed achieved.Applied competencies should be demonstrated and a range of both formative and summative assessments should be used (SAQA Regulations, 1998a:4).

Articulation possibilities
In line with the NQF's objectives concerning an integrated framework and promoting access and progression, a qualification's generic and/or specific articulation possibilities must be indicated.Generic possibilities refer to the achievement of the qualification opening up possibilities for further learning or credit recognition.Specific possibilities refer to agreements that grant recognition of credits from one qualification to another, or part of another, both vertically and horizontally.

Criteria for registration of assessors
The minimum basic requirements for assessors of theoretical and practical learning need to be reflected in all qualifications.

Moderation
Moderation means the process that ensures that the assessment of the given outcomes is fair, reliable and valid (Ministry of Education, 1998a:4).Moderation cannot be undertaken by a provider's internal assessors, but must be undertaken by external sources.
Within this framework of requirements, the five qualifications will next be discussed by referring only to a few key components of the qualifications, i.e. exit levels, credits, purpose, learning assumed to be in place, articulation possibilities, criteria for assessors and exit-level outcomes as reflected in Tables 1 -4.The full qualifications may be obtained from the Government Printer or transmitted electronically by the office of the SACSSP.
Given the ethical parameters of social work education, training and practice, all learners must be registered with the SACSSP as student social workers or pupil social auxiliary workers in terms of sections 17 and 18 respectively, of the Social Service Professions Act, 1978.Demonstrate the ability to identify, conceptualise, design and implement research that addresses complex, ill defined problems at the cutting edge of social work and report results in the form of a thesis in line with academically recognised standards Exhibit the ability to act as academic leaders and experts in the field of study by effectively presenting and communicating the results of research to specialist and nonspecialist audiences using a range of resources for academic/professional discourse.
issues.5. Implement appropriate social auxiliary work methods and techniques to address the social needs of client systems.6. Use appropriate resources in service delivery to client systems.7. Work effectively with social workers and members of multi-sectoral teams in social service delivery.8. Work effectively as a social auxiliary worker to address the special needs and problems experienced by at least 3 of the priority focus groups in social welfare.9. Keep precise records and compile accurate reports on social needs and social auxiliary work activities and file them appropriately.10.Provide an efficient research and administrative support service to the social worker.11.Demonstrate basic knowledge of financial matters related to social auxiliary work.12. Demonstrate self-awareness regarding personal capacities, attitudes and skills and a willingness to develop them further under the supervision of a social worker.Electives (8 credits) Basic understanding of the policies, legislation and organisational functioning as well as the ability, within the team context, to respond as a social auxiliary worker in one of the following focus areas: Child

PROCESS FORWARD
With regard to the process forward, the priorities are as follows: Higher tertiary institutions will have to benchmark their current qualifications against the outcomes of the social work qualifications and submit them to the SGB for evaluation.
The SGB will attend to its extended brief that has been authorised by NSB 09 to write diplomas for specialised Social Work qualifications.
Planning for the process to be followed with providers for the Social Auxiliary Work qualification.These providers will be training institutions and social service/welfare organisations.

CONCLUSION
The Social Work profession has paved the way for other professions to submit their qualifications for registration on the NQF.By being proactive in registering Social Work qualifications in good time with the NQF, providers will have ample time to redesign their programmes and channel them through the processes for registration at SAQA by June 2006.
Although the registration of Social Work qualifications on the NQF is required by SAQA, it primarily signifies a unique achievement by the social work profession.It is an historical event for Social Work in South Africa that standardised qualifications are in place.From this basis the profession is posing a challenge to all the stakeholders who contributed to this process to continue to revise qualifications and standards for the social work profession in order to meet the demands of South African society.
Following the NSB meeting, a meeting was held with the Director of Standards Setting and Development at SAQA on 12 November 2002 regarding certain issues raised by NSB 09 and SAQA that the SGB wished to clarify further.Flowing from these two meetings, the brief of the SGB was to attend to the following recommendations with regard to the four outstanding qualifications: Include purpose statements for the electives of both the B SW and FET Certificate in Social Auxiliary Work qualifications and give an indication of the required combination of electives for these two qualifications; Revisit the NQF exit levels for both the B SW qualification and the FET Certificate in Social Auxiliary Work; Elaborate on the articulation of the B SW qualification with other social service professions, once professional boards have been established under the SACSSP and their qualifications developed; Rename the Research and Structured Master qualifications to indicate the difference more clearly; Certificate in Social Auxiliary Work, Bachelor of Social Work, Structured Master of Social Work, Research Master of Social Work and Doctor of Social Work.
Develop learning pathways for potential qualifications and unit standards in the area of Social Work from NQF Level 4 to Level 8; Generate qualifications and standards in the areas of Social Work in terms of the requirements of relevant legislation and the establishment of best practices;The initiative to investigate the launch of an SGB for Social Work started with an open invitation to all stakeholders in national newsletters in August 2000.The South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP), in conjunction with the Joint Universities' Committee for Social Work (JUC), facilitated this process, which led to a workshop on 11 September 2000 attended by various stakeholders.The Workshop's objective was to start the process of consultation, negotiation and generation of support from key social work education and training stakeholders, interest groups and experts in order to get a mandate to apply for the establishment of an SGB for Social Work.An Interim Steering Committee was appointed to prepare the application to SAQA.Nominations for persons to serve on the SGB were called for in national newspapers in October 2000.Letters were also sent to numerous bodies and groups at national and provincial level in this regard.The final application was submitted to NSB 09 in December 2000.
March 2001ation to establish an SGB for Social Work was gazetted in the Government Gazette of 22 January 2001 for comments.After the required 30-day period, the SGB for Social Work was duly approved by SAQA on 24March 2001 and registered on 12 April 2001 (SAQA, 2001:6).
These included the FET Certificate in Social Auxiliary Work, the Bachelor of Social Work (B SW), Structured Master of Social Work (SM SW), Research Master of Social Work (RM SW),and Doctor of Social Work (PhD (SW)).

TABLE 2 SOCIAL WORK (B SW) NQF LEVEL 7
Analyse human behaviour with regard to the intersections of race, class, culture, ethnicity, gender, differential abilities and sexual orientation 15.Critically appraise social welfare and social work from a global, regional (African) and national perspective.Critically appraise the current status and position of the social work profession within the South African welfare context 16.Apply and uphold the basic values and principles enshrined in the Bill of Rights in the SA Constitution in relation to social work service delivery 17.Elucidate national, provincial and local governance structures, and the general laws and charters governing social welfare policy and social work services in South Africa 18. Demonstrate understanding of how social policies and legislation on social issues impact on these issues and how to use legislation ethically and accountably in order to protect and improve the quality of life of client systems from a social work perspective 19.Demonstrate understanding of how social welfare policy and legislation are developed and influenced 20.Demonstrate understanding of the roles, functions, knowledge and skills for effective social work supervision and consultation 21.Demonstrate understanding of the roles, functions, principles and characteristics of management and administration within social service delivery 22. Formulate a business plan for the funding of social services 23.Identify the influence of the relationship between socio-political and economic factors on social services 24.Demonstrate understanding of the roles and functions of the social worker within relevant statutory frameworks Identify how social security is used optimally for the benefit of client systems 26.Identify the purpose, functions and principles of social work within the social development Understanding of human nature, thinking, characteristics, relations, the structure of society and the activities of its members in order to respond appropriately to people in various social contexts.For example, but not limited to: Communication, Criminology, Human Resource Management, International Relations, Languages (South African), Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Social Anthropology, Sociology, Religious Studies.Economics Basic understanding of economics, business management, resource management and entrepreneurship that facilitates sustainable poverty alleviation initiatives and interventions.Law Understanding of legal aspects including, but not limited to, introduction to the law, legal aid, procedural law, legal status of a person, criminal law and punishment, matrimonial law, divorce law, child and family law, law of persons.