CONTRADICTIONS OF CONCERN TO BENCHMARKING IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN BACHELOR OF SOCIAL WORK DEGREE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15270/48-2-92Abstract
An extensive process in benchmarking the qualification for the South African Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) in accordance with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) was undertaken from 2001 to 2003 by a standards-generating body (SGB) for social work (Lombard, Grobbelaar & Pruis, 2003). The BSW was registered with the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) in 2003. By 2007 all social work educational institutions were required to implement the BSW. An essential part of the scrutiny is that Social Work departments at the universities as the training institutions offering the BSW play an active role in applying and monitoring its criteria on a continuous basis. The SA Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP) initiated quality-assurance benchmarks for the BSW at the training institutions in 2011. The quality-assurance process is intended to be an interactive one, with the SACSSP dependent on the experience of educators and learners in monitoring criteria. In the light of the fact that the BSW is to be revised in 2012, it is important that a rich dialogue be generated at this stage to guide its formation.Downloads
References
st SOUTHERN AFRICAN CONFERENCE ON THE FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE. 2008. Opening conversations on first-year success. University of Stellenbosch.
ADAMS, M., BELL, L.A. & GRIFFIN, P. 2007. Teaching for diversity and social justice. New York: Routledge.
BABBIE, E. & MOUTON, J. 2007. The practice of social research. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
BIGGS, J. 2003. Teaching for quality learning at university. Buckingham: Open University Press/Society for Research into Higher Education.
BLOCH, G. 2009. The toxic mix: what's wrong with South African schools and how to fix it. Cape Town: Tafelberg Publishers.
BLOOM, B.S. 1956. Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals: handbook I: cognitive domain. New York: Longman.
BOUGHEY, C. 2010. Academic development for improved efficiency in the higher education and training system in South Africa. Southern Africa: Development Bank.
BOYER, E.L. 1990. Scholarship reconsidered: priorities of the professoriate. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
BOZALEK, V. & BIERSTEKER, L. 2010. Exploring power and privilege using participatory learning and action techniques. Social Work Education, 25(5):551-572.
BOZALEK, V. & SMITH, C. 2010. Using persona dolls as an anti-oppressive technique in the South African social work curriculum. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 46(3):283-298.
BOZALEK, V. 2009. Outcomes-based assessment: necessary evil or transformative potential? Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 45(1):91-110.
BROWNLEE, J., WALKER, S., LENNOX, S., EXLEY, B. & PEARCE, S. 2009. The first year university experience: using personal epistemology to understand effective learning and teaching in higher education. Higher Education, 58:599-618.
BRÜSSOW, S. 2007. A learning facilitation framework to enhance academic skills development among under-prepared learners in South African higher education. Bloemfontein: University of the Free State. (PhD Thesis)
BRYAN, C. & CLEGG, K. 2006. Innovative assessment in higher education. London: Routledge.
BUTCHER, C., DAVIES, J. & HIGHTON, M. 2006. Designing learning: from module to effective teaching. London: Routledge.
CARNELL, E. 2007. Conceptions of effective teaching in higher education: extending the boundaries. Teaching in Higher Education, 12(1):25-40.
CASTLE, S. & McGUIRE, C. 2010. An analysis of student self-assessment of online, blended, and face-to-face learning environments. International Education Studies, 3(3):36-40.
CHRISTENSEN HUGHES, J. & MIGHTY, J. 2010. Taking stock: research on teaching and learning in higher education. Kingston ON: McGill-Queen University Press.COFFEY, A. & ATKINSON, P. 1996. Making sense of qualitative data analysis: complementary strategies. Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications.
COLLINS, K. 1999. Participatory research: a primer. Cape Town: Prentice Hall South Africa.
COLLINS, K. 2011. Teaching and learning in first year social work in South Africa: experiences of lecturers and students. Unpublished report commissioned by the Association of South African Social Work Education Institutions.
COUNCIL ON HIGHER EDUCATION 2009. Home Page. [Online] Available: http://www.che.ac.za. [Accessed: 29/06/2009].
COUNCIL ON HIGHER EDUCATION. 2010. Access and throughput in South African higher education: three case studies. Higher Education Monitor. Pretoria: Council on Higher Education.
CRESWELL, J.W. 2009. Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
DE BONO, E. 1967. The use of lateral thinking. London: Penguin.
ENTWISTLE, N. 2000. Promoting deep learning through teaching and assessment: conceptual frameworks and educational contexts. Paper presented to the Teaching and Learning Research Programme Conference, Leicester, November.
EZZY, D. 2002. Qualitative analysis: practice and innovation. Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin.
FRANKLAND, S. 2007. Enhancing teaching and learning through assessment: deriving an appropriate model. Hong Kong: The Assessment Resource Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
FREIRE, P. 1993. Pedagogy of the oppressed. London: Sage Publications.
FRY, H., KETTERIDGE, S. & MARSHALL, S. 2007. A handbook for teaching and learning in higher education. London: Kogan Page.
GORDON, C. & DEBUS, R. 2002. Developing deep learning approaches and personal teaching efficacy within a pre-service teacher education context. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 72:483-511.
GREEFF, M. 2002. Information collection: interviewing. In: DE VOS, A.S., STRYDOM, H., FOUCHÉ, C.B. & DELPORT, C.S. (eds) Research at grass roots for the social science and human service professions. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.
HARVEY, L., DREW, S. & SMITH, M. 2006. The first year experience: a literature review for the Higher Education Academy. York: HE Academy.
HEMSON, D. 2007. “The toughest of chores”: policy and practice in children collecting water in South Africa. Policy Futures in Education, 5(3):315-326.
HÉNARD, F. 2010. Learning our lesson: review of quality teaching in higher education. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
JANSEN, J. 2009. Knowledge in the blood. Cape Town: UCT Press.
KJELLGREN, K.I., HENDRY, G.H., PLOS, K., RYDMARK, M., TOBIN, G. & SALJO, R. 2008. Learning to learn and learning to teach – Introduction to studies in higher education. Medical Teacher, 30:239-245.
KOLB, D.A. 1984. Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
LEIBOWITZ, B., BOZALEK, V., ROHLEDER, P., CAROLISSEN, R. & SWARTZ, L. 2010. “Ah, but the whiteys love to talk about themselves”: discomfort as a pedagogy for change. Race Ethnicity and Education, 13(1):83-100.
LOMBARD, A., GROBBELAAR, M. & PRUIS, S. 2003. Standards for social work qualifications in South Africa. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 39(1):1-17.
McGUIRE, S.Y. 2006. The impact of Supplemental Instruction on teaching students how to learn. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 106. [Online] Available: http://studentportal.ufs.ac.za/documents. [Accessed: 19/01/2011].
MURRAY, R. 2002. Writing development for lecturers moving from further to higher education: a case study. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 26(3):229-238.
PATTON, M.Q. 2002. Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
RUBIN, R. & BABBIE, E.R. 2010. Essential research methods for social work. Belmont, CA: Brooks-Cole.
SAQA. 2001. Criteria and guidelines for assessment of NQF registered unit standards and qualifications. Pretoria: South African Qualifications Authority.
SAQA. 2005. Guidelines for integrated assessment. Pretoria, South Africa: South African Qualifications Authority .
SCOTT, I. 2008. First year experience as terrain of failure or platform for future development? Critical choices for higher education. Paper presented at the 1st Southern African Conference on the First-year Experience. Stellenbosch, South Africa.
SCOTT, I., YELD, N. & HENDRY, J. 2007. A case of improving teaching and learning in South African higher education. Higher Education Monitor. Pretoria: Council on Higher Education. [Online] Available: http:/www.che.ac.za/documents/d00155/. [Accessed: 03/11/2008].
SIMPSON, B. 2010. Outcomes-based education: is it right for social work? Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 46(3):274-282.
SIMS, E. 2006. Deep Learning-1: a new shape for schooling. London: Specialist Schools and Academies Trust.
SKILLEN, J., MERTEN, M., TRIVETT, N. & PERCY, A. 1999. The IDEALL approach to Learning Development: a model for fostering improved literacy and learning outcomes for students. [Online] Available: http://www.aare.edu.au/98pap/ski98343.htm. [Accessed: 19/01/2011].
SKINNER, B.F. 1948. Superstition in the pigeon. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 38:168-172.
SMITH, T.W. & COLBY, S.A. 2007. Teaching for deep learning. A Journal of Educational Strategies, 80(5):205-210.
STRYDOM, H. & DELPORT, C.S.L. 2002. Sampling and pilot study in qualitative research. In: DE VOS, A.S., STRYDOM, H., FOUCHÉ, C.B. & DELPORT, C.S.L. (eds) Research at grass roots for the social science and human service professions. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers.
TAYLOR, N.M. 2003. Getting schools working: research and systemic school reform in South Africa. Cape Town: Pearson Education.
THORNDIKE, E.L. 1905. The elements of psychology. New York: A.G. Seiler.
VAUGHAN, N.D. & GARRISON, D.R. 2007. Blended learning in higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
VYGOTSKY, L.S. 1978. Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
WEE, J.D. 2010. Deep learning – what actually enhances deep learning in students? [Online] Available: http://www.suite101.com/content/deep-learning---what-actually-enhances-deep-learning-in-students-a285679. [Accessed: 15/09/2010].
WENGER, E. 1998. Communities of practice: learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This journal is an open access journal, and the authors and journal should be properly acknowledged when works are cited.
Authors may use the publishers version for teaching purposes, in books, and with conferences.
The following license applies:
Attribution CC BY-4.0
This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation.
Articles as a whole may not be re-published with another journal.
