Journal of Social Development in Africa (1999), 14,1,5-18 
Social Policy Training and Social Work: 
The South African Context 
VISANTHIE SEWPAUL; ANTOINETTE LOMBARD; LIONEL 
LOUW & NDANGWA NOYOO * 
ABSTRACT 
This paper discusses the nature, context and evolution of social policy training in 
the South African context. It addresses the definition and scope of social policy, 
social policy and social work practice in South Africa and deals with social policy 
content in social work curricula in schools/departments in South African universities. 
The unique experiences of these departments/schools mirror the wider 
complexities of South African society, which is undergoing deep-seated changes 
and transformation in all spheres of life. The major antecedent to such change and 
transformation was the first democratic elections of 1994 that saw the demise of 
the former political system of apartheid. 
Social Policy Training and Social Work: The South African 
Context 
The paper is contextualised against the proceedings of (and the presentations of 
four schools/departments of social work in South Africa /7/)at a regional workshop 
on: "Social policy training at schools of social work in Eastern and Southern 
Africa." The workshop, which was held in Zimbabwe from 1-2 June 1998, was 
hosted under the auspices of the International Development Research Centre 
(IDRC) which brought together social work academics from Botswana, Zambia, 
Uganda, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and South Africa. The workshop provided 
an excellent forum for sharing of information and for critical dialogue regarding 
the status of social policy training in the Central, Southern and Eastern African 
countries. Such reflection and action enabled participants to appreciate common 
regional concerns and the relationship between these regional concerns and the 
[1] School of Social Work: University of Cape Town (UCT) 
Department of Social Work: University of Natal, Durban (UND) 
Department of Social Work: University of Pretoria 
School of Social Work: University of Witwatersrand 
* Dr Vishanthie Sewpaul, Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Work, University of 
Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa, Tel. 27 (31) 2602390; Fax: 27 (31) 2602700; 
email: sewpaul@mtb.und.ac.za (direct correspondence to Dr Sewpaul). 
Professor Antoinette Lombard, Department of Social Work, University of Pretoria. 
Dr Lionel Louw, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Work, University of Cape Town. 
Mr Ndangwa Noyoo, Lecturer, School of Social Work, University of Witwatersrand.
6 Sewpaid; Lombard; Louw & Noyoo 
international context. It also lent greater appreciation for the need for contextbased 
policy formulation and implementation, thus truly enabling an understanding 
of the particularity-universality continuum. The developmental welfare policy 
was the expressed preferred option of all participants at the IDRC workshop. This 
was not surprising as it was the underdeveloped and developing countries of Africa 
and Asia that provided the developmental thrust to social welfare. 
The exchange of information, the open debates and the interactive nature of the 
workshop facilitated the identification of two common concerns, for further 
research, across all of the countries present. The one was on the understanding, 
among social work academics and practitioners, of the impact of structural 
adjustment programmes and economic globalisation on the quality of peoples lives 
in any given country and the need to include such macro-level policy content into 
social work curricula. The other area of priority was the marginalisation of social 
work in training of social policy issues. Many of the participants shared the view 
that the teaching of social policy, although of salience to social work, was being 
seen as the domain of other disciplines such as political science and sociology. It 
was envisaged that investigation into such marginalisation might contribute to the 
transformation of social work curricula in the South-Eastern Africa region. While 
sharing much in common with their African counterparts, the South African 
delegation expressed some unique concerns about the historical context of social 
work education in South Africa and some concerns about social policy curricula 
content vis-a-vis national development priorities. 
Understanding Social Policy 
Social policy is a concept that is extremely difficult to define and is perhaps, in 
some ways, a bit of a misnomer. The social policies of any given country cannot 
be understood in isolation from that of other public policies related to issues such 
as electrification, the provision of water, agriculture, employment, legal services, 
public transportation, public broadcasting, sanitation and sewerage, solid waste 
collection and finance. Hill (1993:1) in the introduction to his book argued that 
"the process of declaring different lands of policies to be social policies, 
while disregarding others having a considerable impact on the well-being 
of our society, seems a particularly arbitrary exercise." 
Notwithstanding this argument, Spickler (1995:4) claimed that "the centralfocus 
of social policy is the study of social welfare and social services." According to 
Spickler (1995) the social services popularly include social security, housing,
Social Policy Training & Social Work: The South African Context 7 
health, social work (Hill refers to social work as personal social services), and 
education. Hill (1993) included a chapter on employmentpolicy, as a social policy, 
highlighting that this brought into focus the impact of economic policies and 
commercial considerations on social policies. Social policy intersects with many 
issues, with its formulation and influence impacting across micro and macro levels, 
as social welfare and social services are channelled in various ways. 
Donnison (1975:13) claimed that social policy was "not a discipline; itis afield 
in which many disciplines must be brought to bear." Social policy is commonly 
taught across disciplines such as economics, political science, sociology and social 
work. Given that social policy is inextricably linked to almost all areas of life it 
would not be unusual for disciplines such as medicine, law, geography, philosophy 
and history to include aspects of social policy. The nature of social policy is such 
that it needs to be informed by different disciplines, and the practical considerations 
of its effects on society requires that "we accept studies that cannot be defined 
in terms of discrete intellectual disciplines" (Hill, 1993:9). Several writers confirm 
that the purpose of social policy is to make appropriate and relevant responses to 
social problems, with emphasis on plans of action that direct allocation of 
resources, development, allocation of status and distribution of rights (Gil, 1981; 
Billis, 1984). 
According to the White Paper for Social Welfare (1997:97), social policy 
provides "accepted guidelinesfor the changing, maintenance or creation of living 
conditions that are conducive to human welfare." Adopting a developmental 
social welfare paradigm, the White Paper for Social Welfare (1997:10) referred to 
social welfare as: 
"an integrated and comprehensive system of social services, facilities, 
programmes and social security to promote social development, social 
justice and the social functioning of people. Social security, social services 
and related social development programmes are investments which lead to 
tangible economic gains and in turn lead to economic growth." 
As social development policy "seeks to bring about fundamental changes in 
various levels of the social structure and changes in value-orientations regarding 
repressive ethics in respect of human dignity" (Sewpaul, 1997:4), it coheres with 
other expressed national development priorities of the South African government. 
Social Policy and Social Work 
As social policy moves beyond a reflective understanding of people and society, 
with its primary goals being the translation of intent and objectives into action, it
8 Sewpaul; Lombard; Louw & Noyoo 
has particular relevance for social work. Even where social workers are not directly 
linked to the shaping of social policies, they experience the benefits or constraints 
of social policies at the levels of community, group and/or individual intervention. 
Social policy-making has been traditionally seen to be the domain of political 
office bearers, with key role-players being the ministers of the state and/or senior 
public officials. While the responsibilities for policy statements such as statutes, 
regulations and statements by public officials or politicians (reflecting the decisions 
of Government) and policy implementation remain largely the responsibility 
of the state, it must be bome in mind that such policy statements and decisions rest 
on policy demands. These policy demands should reflect the needs and aspirations 
of civil society. Given the enormous data base that exists in both formal and 
informal welfare organisations, social workers are in strategic positions to inform 
policy content. In the South African context, the formal welfare sector refers to 
those organisations registered in terms of the National Welfare Act of 1978 and to 
those financed by the government. Informal welfare organisations are not registered 
in terms of the National Welfare Act, 1978 and are not subsidised by the 
Government (White Paper for Social Welfare, 1997). In future the implementation 
of new legislation, which proposes alternative funding criteria that take into 
account programme financing, will try to ensure that all organisations are accorded 
equal status. 
By the very nature of their practice social workers can, directly or indirectly, 
influence policy-making in welfare. Social workers in South Africa are increasingly 
becoming aware of prevailing social policies and of policies-in-the-making. 
As South Africa has moved into a participatory and consultative policy-making 
mode after the installation of the new Government in April 1994, social workers 
have opportunities to engage in the policy-making process. Various public and 
private social work organisations, professional associations of social workers, 
training institutions and other non-governmental organisations have been actively 
participating in the effort to transform social welfare from the old residual 
framework to a developmental framework over the past three years. Mazibuko 
(1995:6) has documented how the welfare sector, through the National Welfare 
Social Services and Development Forum (NWSSDF) - referred to as the Forum - 
has organised itself: 
"in an inclusive, representative and participatory fashion to engage 
constructively in the transformation process in its diverse and complex 
form. The welfare sector realises and acknowledges that the Forum enables 
it to reach consensus on common critical issues on policy, restructuring and 
interacting with the government at all levels on these issues."
Social Policy Training & Social Work: The South African Context 9 
The White Paper on Social Welfare (1997) was formulated through a wide 
consultative process, with the Forum playing a major role in the making of the 
policy. The Forum has served to bring together formal welfare organisations, 
religious bodies, private welfare organisations, consumer organisations, national 
councils, voluntary bodies, training institutions, the state, professional associations, 
non-governmental organisations, and women's groups to participate in the 
restructuring and transformation process. 
The reconstruction and transformation processes that have been taking place in 
South Africa implies that amended or new social policies and legislation need to 
be put in place. The gap between needs and the resources available to meet these 
needs is at the heart of the debate about social policy (Jones, Brown and Bradshaw, 
1983). Jones, et al (1983) emphasised that the proper aim of social policy is the 
pursuit of social justice. In complete contrast to the inhumane apartheid policies 
that ensured white supremacy and the provision of social welfare services to 
whites, while the most marginalised and disenfranchised minority groups lived in 
poverty and despair, new policies that embrace the principles of redisnibutive 
justice, equality, fairness, non-discrimination and participatory democracy are 
being introduced. The legislative welfare changes (the old National Welfare Act, 
the Child Care Act, and the Social and Associated Workers Act for example, have 
been reviewed and will be amended or replaced by new Acts) in South Africa 
confirm that social policies are shaped by, and reflect, political ideologies and 
electoral appeal (Midgley, 1996). Despite the consultative and participatory 
processes in South Africa, the reality is that policy-making is essentially apolitical 
process. Issues of political expedience may often supersede the recommendations 
of civil society or policy analysts. Thus, there is no guarantee that the final policy 
document will reflect the views of citizens. Hill (1993:9) warned that 
"Policies must be understood as products of politics, and attention must be 
given to the policy creation roles of politicians, civil servants, pressure 
groups and the electorate." 
It is essential that we, as social work practitioners and educators, locate ourselves 
in society and fulfil our ethical obligation in advocating on behalf of those who are 
most marginalised. While we align ourselves with the political and social transformation 
in South Africa, we need to challenge Government where policies do not 
cohere with professed reconstruction and development principles adopted by the 
Government.
10 Sewpaul; Lombard; Louw & Noyoo 
Social Policy Content Within Social Work Curricula 
Several writers have highlighted the negative impact that apartheid has had on 
social work education and practice in South Africa (McKendrick, 1990; Lowe, 
1988; Sewpaul, 1997). Social policy (combined with some of the most atrocious 
and formidable public policies under the Nationalist Government), if taught at 
South African Universities would have brought apartheid ideology into question. 
As social work education and practice over the years served to reinforce Afrikaner 
nationalism, and to maintain the status quo, social policy, it would appear, 
remained a largely neglected area in social work curricula. 
One of the four departments of social work (University of Natal, Durban - 
UND) represented at the IDRC conference - taught social policy, as a core course 
for a period for more than twenty years. The School of Social Work at University 
of Cape Town (UCT) and the Department of Social Work at the University of 
Pretoria have recently introduced social policy courses in their curricula, while the 
School of Social Work at the University of Witwatersrand had, to date, no core 
social policy course. Through formal and informal contacts with other colleagues 
in the country (there are twenty-one schools/departments of social work in the 
country) it would appear that social policy is increasingly receiving focused 
attention in social work curricula. A review of a 1976 social policy outline, at the 
Department of Social Work, UND.reflects that althoughitwasacore policy course 
the focus was on fields of service. Little attention was placed on engaging students 
in a critical appraisal of the impact of social policies in the South African context. 
Course outlines of the late 1980s and early 1990s reflect quite a marked evolution 
in terms of course content A 1989 course outline where social policy was taught 
to third year social work students, reflected the following course content: 
• social policy definitions, dimensions and determinants; 
• social policy processes; 
• social planning; 
• historical overview of social policy in South Africa; 
• relevant social legislation in South Africa; 
• social policy analysis; 
• critical examination of specific welfare policies and programmes in South 
Africa; 
• social policy and the social work profession. 
The outline specifically indicated that the course will "focus intensively on a 
critical examination and analysis of South African policy and programmes 
specifically related to welfare" (Ramasar, 1989:17).
Social Policy Training & Social Work: The South African Context 11 
The evolution of course content appears to reflect the broader political and 
social changes that were occurring in South Africa in the 1980s and early 1990s, 
with the abolition of some of the apartheid regulations in terms of influx control, 
group areas, the differential subsidisation of residential facilities and social 
workers' salaries on the basis of race, and the increasing pressures (both internally 
- via the social action and mass mobilisation strategies of groups such as the United 
Democratic Movement - and externally, with increased international sanctions 
against South Africa) for a move towards democracy and justice. One of the course 
goals of the 1992 third year social policy course was to "consider the policy and 
structure of welfare within a post-apartheid society" (Campbell; Tyndall & 
Meharchand, 1992:5). The course was designed to help students to gain skills in: 
• implementing policy in a manner which best serves the interests of the client; 
• upholding the values of the profession and questioning unfair policies and 
practices; and 
• motivating for policy changes. 
Social policy, as core courses, at the University of Natal is currently being taught 
at the first, fourth and Masters level. At the first year level students do a course on 
introduction to policy and the South African context In relation to policy the focus 
is on the three conceptualisations of welfare: residual, institutional and developmental. 
The White Paper for Welfare (1997) and the White Paper on the (RDP) 
Reconstruction and Development Programme (1994), as national policy frameworks, 
that were designed to guide practice are discussed. The University of 
Pretoria has similar course content at the first year level with the White Paper on 
Social Welfare being a prescribed source of study. At the School of Social Work, 
UCT, components of social policy are included at the first and second year levels. 
As in most schools/departments of social work at the undergraduate level, the 
Universities of Pretoria and Cape Town utilise the various social policies as a 
framework for the teaching of both generalist and specialist courses. 
The transformation of social and other public policies have been occurring at an 
unprecedented rate since April 1994. This provides an ideal opportunity for 
educators and students to interface with the policy-making process, on a practical 
level or through engaging in critical reflection and dialogue about the transformation 
that is taking place. The impact of this transformation on social policy content 
is evident, with greater emphasis in theories of development and a focus on social 
development policy in South Africa. The 1997 course content (taught at the fourth 
year level at UND) was designed to enable students to: 
• understand theoretical issues that affect social policies; 
• be familiar with the concepts of social policy, social policy analysis, 
development and integrated practice;
12 Sewpaul; Lombard; Louw & Noyoo 
• be familiar with the overall welfare system and policy processes in South Africa 
• develop a critical, reflective and evaluative approach on process and substantive 
issues in the welfare system in South Africa; 
• have knowledge and the ability to relate policy to their practice experience 
during the current academic year; and 
• be able to identify policy-related social work roles and activities using their field 
placement experience and theoretical knowledge of policy. 
There is a focus on contemporary policy-making processes where students are 
expected to "acquaint themselves with ongoing debates and discussions on 
welfare policy at local, provincial and national levels" (Mazibuko, 1997). At the 
Coursework Masters level (Department of Social Work, UND) social policy is 
taught over twelve two-and-half to three-hour sessions over one semester. The 
course is intended to help participants (who are generally social work practitioners) 
to: 
• understand what social policy is, and why it is important for workers in the 
welfare sector to engage with policy issues; 
• understand the relationship between social welfare policy and other policies in 
the social field, such as primary health care, nutrition, early childhood 
development and population policy; 
• understand the relationship between public and private provision in the social 
sphere, and between formal and informal provision of services; 
• understand the process of policy formulation; 
• understand how both social workers and clients can engage in policy 
formulation and policy change; and 
• understand the importance of research in the policy process (Lund, 1998). 
Thematic lectures and seminar presentations have been designed to achieve these 
objectives. The seminar/lecture themes also cover: 
• The international context of changing welfare policy. 
• A critical analysis of women and work—with an analysis of time (that women 
are generally not paid for) as an economic variable and an examination of how 
interest groups in society organise around policy-related gender issues. 
• The South African budget process. Two new initiatives in the field are reviewed 
- the Women's Budget (Lund, Ardington & Harber, 1996) and the Children's 
Budget (Kruger & Motala, 1997). 
• Social security reforms in the field of child and family care, the relationship 
between social security and poverty alleviation and the provisions of the new 
Child Support Grant.
Social Policy Training & Social Work: The South African Context 13 
• Social policy and disability. An examination of development policies that are 
rarely designed to facilitate the economic integration of disabled people into 
society. 
• Policy implementation. How do we ensure that policies are implemented 
according to their aims (Lund, 1998). 
At the University of Pretoria the course on social policy forms part of the Research 
Module. The current content includes: defining social policy, the process of social 
policy, the White Paper for Social Welfare (1997) and an analysis of the old and 
new paradigms of social welfare in South Africa. Professor Antoinette Lombard 
who represented this Department at the IDRC workshop, supported other colleagues 
who believed that the incorporation of social policy into other social work 
courses served to minimise the importance of social policy and marginalised the 
place of social policy in social work. She acknowledged the limitations of the 
programme and made several proposals for a comprehensive understanding of 
social policy that will enable students to truly become shapers of social policy 
(Lombard, 1998). The core social policy course content, at the Honours level at the 
School of Social Work, UCT, included: 
• perspectives on social policy; 
• the Welfare state: Capitalist approach; 
• the Welfare state: Social approach; 
• social work, social services and social welfare policy; 
• models of policy formulation with particular emphasis on South Africa; 
• South African social welfare programmes; 
• social policy analysis; and 
• social policy and social change. 
One of the approved academic programmes at the School of Social Work, 
University of Cape Town, is on: Social Policy and Management. The School of 
Social Work, UCT is, as far as the authors are aware, the first (among schools/ 
departments of social work in the country) to have completed their academic 
programmes as per the requirements of the National Commission on Higher 
Education (1996). The course objectives for the new Social Policy and Management 
are to enable students to: 
• identify the political, racial, historical and economic variables which influence 
policy decision-making; 
• analyse, evaluate and develop social policies and programmes in South Africa; 
• distinguish the underlying principles of major theories of organisation and 
management and to recognise major influences on individual and organisational 
behaviour; and
14 Sewpaul; Lombard; Louw & Noyoo 
• identify the major impediments to effective management and to develop 
solutions to counter the same. 
Where social policy is taught, as core courses, in other Departments of Social Work 
in South African universities, such as Western Cape, Rand Afrikaans University 
(RAU), and Potchefstroom, it is at the fourth year, Honours and/or Masters level. 
Although social policy was not taught, as a core course, even at some of the 
liberally-oriented universities, such as the University of Witwatersrand, social 
policy did (and still does) serve to inform other social work courses. At the 
University of Witwatersrand social policy content is included within the following 
courses: 
• Social welfare systems and programmes. 
• Introduction to community work. 
• Contemporary issues in social work and social welfare (third year). 
• Contemporary issues in social work and social welfare (fourth year). 
Social policy is dealt with and traced from the past political system to the present 
one. The contemporary issues course in the third year involves a review of a 
number of different social welfare systems, with an examination of welfare 
systems in countries like Britain, Zambia and South Africa. The various philosophies 
that undergird these welfare systems, and the socioeconomic and political 
forces that shape these systems are discussed. At the fourth year level, the 
contemporary social issues in social work sequence consists of a course on social 
change and development. Here the relationship between social policies and 
development is examined. The course looks at how global forces impact on the 
formulation of social policies in local contexts, with an emphasis on regional and 
local issues. The impact of context-specific issues (such as power relationships, 
class divisions, and socio-political and economic circumstances) on the development 
and promulgation of social policies are addressed, as is the examination of 
how social policies may hinder or enhance social and economic development in a 
country. The course also deals with the disparities in wealth and income in specific 
localities in developed countries as well as in the least developed countries. Despite 
this content, the exclusion of social policy, as a core course, was seen as a major 
gap in the social work curriculum by Noyoo (1998). This meant that policy could 
be included or excluded depending on how partial the educator was towards social 
policy. 
Noyoo (1998) made an interesting observation in relation to the more liberally 
oriented English-speaking universities in South Africa that did not teach social 
policy as a form of protest action. One of the reasons for not teaching social policy 
as a core course at the School of Social Work, University of Witwatersrand,
Social Policy Training & Social Work: The South African Context 15 . 
according to McKendrick (cited in Noyoo, 1998) was that such inclusion would 
have been construed as support for the then Nationalist government. Noyoo (1998) 
pointed out the inherent flaw in such reasoning, as students were not given the 
opportunity to interrogate social policies and to develop critical understanding of 
the relationship between social policies and peoples' welfare. This assertion of 
McKendrick's is, indeed, incongruous in view of the fact that he identified social 
workers' contribution to social policy as an area of priority (McKendrick, 1990). 
Acknowledging the roles of some groups within the social work profession that 
advocated for alternative models of apartheid-free welfare systems, McKendrick 
(1990:17) contended that: 
"South Africa's social policy is ... seriously impaired by apartheid. A 
priority function for social workers is to vigorously oppose this situation. 
Only when apartheid is removed from social policy will we be able to get 
down to the real issues that have to be addressed, namely the needs that 
people have in a developing, industrialising, urbanising society." 
If social workers were expected to "oppose this situation" and reformulate policy, 
they would have needed skills in policy analysis. Policy analysis means that social 
workers, as policy analysts, need policy-relevant information in terms of the 
origins of the policy, the population that it is intended to reach, processes of 
implementation and its impact on society. It is, therefore, not surprising that 
Mamphiswana & Noyoo (1997:16) concluded that "South African social work 
educationwassomehowskilfullydesignedtomis-educatesocialworkers.Thiswas 
the mission of the entire South African system." 
Conclusion 
The considered views of colleagues at the IDRC workshop, the major historical 
shifts that have occurred in South Africa, the radical transformation of the South 
African welfare sector, and the strategic positions that social workers are in to 
inform the policy-making process and to act as policy analysts, means that South 
African schools/departments of social work have to accord social policy prominence 
in the curricula. As described in this paper, social policy is regarded with 
varying emphases by different schools/departments across the country. The 
general trend is that social policy is being increasingly seen as an area that warrants 
special consideration in social work curricula. Where past records were available 
and reviewed, as at the University of Natal, a definite evolution in the course 
content was noted over time. Given the limitations of social work curricula of the
16 Sewpaul; Lombard; Louw &Noyoo 
past, with the negative impact of apartheid on social work education and practice, 
there are obvious gaps in the curricula of South African schools. Many of the gaps 
of the social policy courses have been identified both by those schools/departments 
represented at the IDRC workshop and by other colleagues. One of the outcomes 
of the IDRC workshop was the initiation of contact, via electronic mail, with other 
school s/departments of social work across the country about social policy content. 
This in, itself, serves to heighten awareness about the need for such content and has 
contributed to the sharing of information across some of the departments/schools 
of social work. It is hoped that this would contribute to review of curricula on a 
wider scale. 
South Africa has, in principle, adopted a developmental welfare policy, which 
is distinguished from the residual and institutional models, by its attempt "to 
integrate social and economic policies within an ongoing, dynamic developmental 
process" (Midgley, 1996:3). In view of this, one of the major gaps in the social 
policy curricula is the lack of macro economic and political theories that should 
inform practice that is entrenched within a political-economy ideology, a view 
elsewhere endorsed by Sewpaul (1997). The reciprocal interactions between 
policy and any given society are complex. Attention must be given to international, 
regional and national social and economic conditions that create the need for 
particular policies. This has particular relevance when one considers the government's 
policy, for inclusion of global economic policies through GEAR (Growth, 
Employment and Redistribution). In contrast with the holistic socioeconomic 
developmental approach of the RDP (1994), GEAR adopts a narrower fiscal 
approach with emphasis on fiscal austerity (through rationalisation and curbing of 
state expenditure); lowering of interest rates; trade policy favouring export-led 
growth; privatisation of state enterprises and labour market reforms. The virtual 
demise of the RDP (that once held out hope for a better life for South Africans) and 
the introduction of GEAR, as a macro-economic policy, has already impacted on 
socioeconomic development with more than 100,000 jobs being lost in 1996 and 
the gross domestic product being reduced to -0.8 per cent in the first quarter of 
1997, with inflation at 9.9 per cent and bank interest rates remaining the highest in 
the world. This confirms the view that such economic globalisation serves to 
protect the rich and powerful, rather than offering new alternative economies or 
opportunities for the poor (Oxfam, 1997). According to Singh (1998:32): 
"In the present climate of financial turmoil, there are growing, beguiling 
calls to abandon fiscal orthodoxy, drop privatisation, and opt out of 
globalisation - in short to scrap Gear."
Social Policy Training & Social Work: The South African Context 17 
Economic globalisation impacts on international trends in almost all areas of life. 
We need to balance such international trends against historical, socioeconomic, 
political and cultural realities of national and local contexts. Although policies are 
formulated in response to social and economic problems, policies themselves 
influence the nature and character of societies in which they are adopted. The 
reciprocal relationship between society and social policies need to be built into 
social policy curricula. 
This is the most opportune time, in South African history, to engage students in 
the critical analysis of draft policy documents that are being produced on a regular 
basis and to get students to engage in the policy-making process, even though they 
may not be directly involved in the ultimate decision-making processes. The 
ultimate challenge to educators is to train social workers who are capable of 
becoming involved in the analysis, formulation, implementation and evaluation of 
social policy. 
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