Social policy education for change: South African student perspectives on the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development

Abstract

Social work students deal with complex social problems such as poverty, unemployment and the devastating effects of HIV and AIDS in their practice, education and training and it is important to acknowledge that these developmental challenges have global dimensions. The four foundational pillars in the Global Agenda on Social Work and Social Development provide a framework for social work policy education. A project using this framework was implemented in South Africa and the United States. This article discusses the findings of an exploratory qualitative research project based on 58 student final papers from South Africa.