Internationalising social work education : the South African experience

Abstract

The South African experience in internationalising of social work education is contextualised within the broader African perspective. At its inception, social work was primarily a white profession and developed according racial lines. The White paper for Social Welfare (1997) marked a turning point in the racially divided Apartheid welfare system by adopting a developmental social welfare policy for South Africa. The BSW programme was transformed accordingly by developing minimum standards for social work education and training. However, these did not sufficiently bridge the gap in minimum standards for field placement practice training and hence the development of professional standards for social work are ongoing. Lessons for internationalising social work education from the South African experience is embedded in a regulated profession; programme accreditation within a developmental approach; active engagement of schools of social work on a national, regional and international level, and continuous learning for professional development.