Contradictions of concern to benchmarking in the South African bachelor of social work degree

Abstract

The South African Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree is to be revised in 2012. Quality assurance of its implementation at universities is underway. This article presents a critical literature review of teaching and learning relevant to contemporary university training within the outcomes-based context of the BSW and a documentary analysis of departmental self-assessments at the first-year level carried out in 2009. The outcomes of the literature and empirical studies are contradictory and tend to undermine any perceptions of a straightforward benchmarking process.