CHAPTER

4
Theories of Social Work Practice
Mel Gray

OBJECTIVES
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
•฀ understand key social work theories
•฀ understand the difference among the terms theory, knowledge, perspective,
framework, method, approach and model
•฀ understand the meaning of key terms such as development, social development,
developmental social welfare, community development, primary health care and
developmental social work
•฀ understand the theories that most fit the developmental social work ethos and why
social workers must retain a critical perspective
•฀ understand how contemporary social work theories might help to more effectively
develop a critical approach to developmental social work practice in South Africa
•฀ understand the dominant theories in use in South African social work
•฀ understand the various contexts in which these theories have been researched
and applied.

1. Introduction
Social work in South Africa has been heavily influenced by theories and models of practice
from the United Kingdom and United States, despite repeated calls over the years for
‘indigenous’ approaches (Bar-On, 2003a; 2003b). Perhaps the most ‘indigenous’ model to
emerge in South Africa is that of ‘developmental social work’, which is by far the most
dominant social work approach referred to in contemporary South African social work
literature. The first text dealing with this approach (Gray, 1998a) took a similar approach
to that being taken in this book, examining the various methods of social work (casework,
group work, community development, research, consultation and management) and
contexts of social work practice (cultural diversity, poverty, crime, violence against women
and among youth, and HIV and AIDS) from a developmental social work perspective.

ISW BOOK.indb 75 8/21/09 11:43:40 AM

 76 Introduction to Social Work

But what exactly does this mean? For many years, ‘developmental theory’ in social work
referred to theories of child, adult and family development, including the life-cycle and
ecological perspectives (Germain & Gitterman, 1980; Meyer, 1983). But this is not what is
meant by ‘developmental social work’ in the South African context.
As we saw in chapter 3, ‘social development’ is essentially an approach to social policy
introduced to social work by James Midgley (1995), whose seminal text on the subject,
Social Development: The Developmental Perspective in Social Welfare, became the theoretical
source undergirding the transformation of social welfare in South Africa (Patel, 1992;
2005). ‘Developmental social work’ represented the attempt to translate this policy
into a form of practice to be carried out by social workers, although all ‘social service
professionals’ in South Africa were expected to follow a developmental approach (Gray,
2000). But what exactly is a ‘developmental approach’ and how might we enhance our
understanding of this approach by drawing on contemporary social work theory? This is
the question we address in this chapter. While our focus is on ‘developmental social work’,
which is a unique form of social work practice developed in South Africa, our brief is to
examine how contemporary social work theories might help us more effectively develop
a critical approach to developmental social work practice. We believe that despite claims
made about ‘developmental social work’, there is still little understanding of what this
means in daily social work practice and there is even less critique of its effectiveness. We
begin to address our question by first clarifying what is meant by developmental social
work and then, following the structure of this book, continue by examining contemporary
theory in relation to the topics addressed. We cannot in the space allotted conduct an
in-depth examination of the relevant theories, but we point the reader in the direction of
contemporary literature for further study. Thereafter, we examine the theories that most
fit the developmental social work ethos and propose that, above all, social workers must
retain a critical perspective, one that is ever-vigilant of the way in which policies and
structures, including those of the developmental welfare system, serve to keep people poor,
marginalised and oppressed, since it is widely accepted that these groups are developmental
social work’s main focus.

2. Towards an understanding of developmental social work

Although numerous South African social work writers attest the importance of
developmental social work, few have told us actually what it is and how it links to related
endeavours, such as development, social development, developmental social welfare,
community development, rural social work, primary health care and adult education.
Instead, most social work writers begin with an emphasis on the importance of the ‘right
to development’ within a developmental welfare approach (see chapter 3) and see South

ISW BOOK.indb 76 8/21/09 11:43:40 AM

 Theories of Social Work Practice 77

Africa’s commitment to the goals of the World Summit on Social Development held in
Copenhagen in May 1995 as a turning point. With this commitment, it is argued that,
based on the ideals of equity, justice and rights, the South African government undertook
to remove all obstacles to social development, despite the fact that the South African Bill
of Rights does not refer to the ‘right to development’. Even if it did, however, the ‘right to
development’ would not automatically bring benefits. As we shall see below, the theory of
social development reflects an institutional interventionist approach, i.e. it maintains that
development must be strategically planned by government, which should also provide
an infrastructure for policy implementation and goal achievement. Social development
theorists are at pains to point out that although development is often confused with economic
growth, it is not simply an ‘economic’ issue, since it is concerned with improvement in the
overall quality of people’s lives. The theory of social development holds that economic
advances must serve human interests and that economic growth is not a panacea for social
ills. It draws attention to the failure of economic growth in improving the quality of people’s
lives (Midgley, 1995) and holds that social development goes beyond economic concerns
and is a much richer concept than economic growth. Hence, the ‘right to development’ is
not solely a social or economic issue, but also involves political considerations.

2.1 Development
Development is a controversial, undefined, elusive and open-ended area of practice,
research and scholarship. It is a value-laden, politically charged and highly politicised term.
Therefore, it is essential that researchers, educators and practitioners develop a critical
approach to development, which has had questionable levels of acceptance and success.
For the most part, explanatory frameworks underpinning development are derived from
international macroeconomic theory, while the solutions proposed are local and context
specific. Hence, a typical argument to motivate for ‘development’ would be reference to
the evils of apartheid, as well as the inevitable forces of globalisation, which is forcing
neoliberalism and its inevitable injustices and inequities onto South Africa (the external
explanation), thus creating the need for policies and structures to redress these inequities
through (social) development (the internal solution). There is little critical consideration
within the South African social work literature on alternatives to development, and any
such suggested course of action is likely to be seen as ‘politically incorrect’, even traitorous.
Lund (2007) sees development in the South African context as (1) having the improvement
of people’s well-being rather than economic growth as its goal; (2) being decisively
redistributive in addressing both poverty and inequality; (3) recognising the need for active
state intervention; and (4) being participatory by giving voice to all interest groups, but
especially to the poor and marginalised, both as a way of consolidating democracy and of
improving the policies themselves.

ISW BOOK.indb 77 8/21/09 11:43:40 AM

 78 Introduction to Social Work

2.2 Social development

Against this backdrop, Gray (1996a) defines social development as an institutional,
interventionist, macro policy perspective aimed primarily at poverty eradication. The best
example of a development policy blueprint was the Reconstruction and Development
Programme (RDP) (Gray, 1998b). Policy blueprints, like the RDP, describe ‘ideal development’
and, as Midgley (1997) notes, they are ‘pie-in-the-sky’, i.e. they are notoriously difficult to
translate into practice. Nevertheless, the RDP set the ideal of a multipronged approach to
poverty alleviation that required that all sectors of society and levels of government should
work together in South Africa’s reconstruction and development. It provided the parameters
within which the White Paper for Social Welfare (South Africa, 1997) was developed (see
chapter 3).

2.3 Developmental social welfare

It is important to remember the shifting terminology whereby, in 2000, the Department of
Welfare became the Department of Social Development overnight without any change in
the structure of the welfare system, which since the bad old days of apartheid had rested
on two pillars: social security, which consumed more than 90% of the welfare budget,
and social services, the delivery of which was made extremely difficult by the huge social
security system of cash transfers. It must also be remembered that the academic foundations
of developmental social welfare were laid by the doctoral work of the first director-general
of the Department of Welfare (Patel, 1992). It was thus an ambitious attempt to translate
the theory of social development into a workable system of welfare provision. Simply put,
in South Africa, social development means welfare or, more specifically, developmental
social welfare, a system in which cash transfers are regarded as an important means of
redistribution and poverty alleviation (Lund, 2007).

2.4 Community development

Gray (1996b) defined community development as an intervention strategy, i.e. a way in
which services are rendered. It is a democratic, grassroots or bottom-up, humanistic, people-
centred approach that emphasises the participation and involvement of local people in all
aspects of development and their empowerment through, among other things, education,
conscientisation, awareness raising, capacity building, community action and community
organising.

2.5 Primary health care

Primary health care pertains to one aspect of social development, i.e. health. Because it is
a first-line, primary, preventive approach, it is entirely compatible with and, therefore, uses
the techniques of community development as a means of bringing health-care services to

ISW BOOK.indb 78 8/21/09 11:43:41 AM

 Theories of Social Work Practice 79

the poor. Primary health-care outreach workers focus on nutrition, personal hygiene and
environmental health, such as the availability of water and sanitation; child health, i.e. the
promotion of breastfeeding and healthy childrearing practices; and poverty- or socially-
related diseases, such as tuberculosis, HIV and AIDS, malnutrition, and gastroenteritis.

2.6 Developmental social work

Taking our first clue from the White Paper for Social Welfare (South Africa, 1997), we would
have to say that developmental social work has something to do with poverty eradication
through discouraging dependency; promoting the active involvement of people in their
own development; employing a multifaceted, multisectoral approach; and encouraging
partnership between the various levels of government and all other stakeholders in welfare.
In theory, developmental social work promotes a people-centred philosophy; welfare as a
human right; the prevention of social problems; community awareness through education;
equality of resource distribution and a reduction of inequities in service provision; populist
forms of intervention, including community development; community participation in all
stages of care, from planning through to evaluation; and interdisciplinary, multisectoral
work (see figure 4.1, below). In practice, developmental social work is concerned mainly
with non-material resources, such as human capital, people’s participation, community
support, ubuntu and naturally occurring social networks. By definition, then, developmental
social work diverges from the residual, remedial, service-oriented approach of the apartheid
welfare system, which was directed at special categories of people in need. Instead, its focus
is non-remedial, holistic, planned intervention, i.e. development, which places human and
social concerns at the centre of welfare policy and planning. Developmental social work
is most strongly associated with prevention, primary care and community development.
Developmental social workers attempt to harness community strengths through organised,
small-scale, local, community-based programmes, where they may act as facilitators or
brokers bringing community groups into contact with resource providers, helping them
to gain access to resources and services, and empowering them to negotiate access on their
own behalf. Through community development, social workers are said to unleash people’s
collective potential, build their capacity and help them to organise themselves around issues
of common concern. However, developmental social work forces social workers to move
beyond this non-materialist approach to community development and to recognise the
important role played by political and economic factors in social (national) and community
(local) development. Viable community-based projects must be economically sustainable
and marketable in the broader community. This means that training and skills development
for income generation are crucial to social and economic empowerment. Unless people
develop their economic potential, they are likely to remain poor. Political and social
organisation increases people’s potential to access resources, but real empowerment comes
from the achievement of economic independence and autonomy.

ISW BOOK.indb 79 8/21/09 11:43:41 AM

 80 Introduction to Social Work

For the most part, developmental social work takes place in the social services sector, that
slim part of the welfare budget that remains once the social security bill has been paid. As
Lund (2007) notes, developmental social welfare as conceived in South Africa (see above)
requires that social workers learn to understand the economics of welfare and how social
security grants form the bedrock on which many of the goals of social development are
built. She urges social workers to stop criticising the social security system, as economists
tend to do, and to see the government’s spending on social pensions and grants as the basis
for the inclusion and mobilisation of poorer people. She also encourages social workers to
continue to claim their space for therapeutic intervention as a means of continuing with the
healing that is so badly needed in South Africa’s fractured and violent society. To emphasise
her position, Lund (2007) makes two important claims, one relating to the developmental
welfare system and the other to developmental social work. She affirms the importance of
social security cash transfers to developmental social welfare and reinstates social work’s
central role in therapeutic intervention, i.e. social casework. Sturgeon (in Gray, 1998a)
makes similar claims about the important role of social casework in developmental social
work. It is, therefore, time to lay to rest critiques of social casework as being superfluous to
the needs of developmental social welfare and antithetical to developmental social work
practice (see also Jacques, 2000).

3. Theories for social work practice

As alluded to above, social casework has been strongly criticised by practitioners and policy
makers in South Africa because of its individualistic, remedial focus. This is a legitimate
critique of social casework, given the complexity of the problems facing social work clients,
but that does not mean that there is no need to intervene at the level of the individual or
family. Work with families has a long history in social work, even though, to some extent,
it was overtaken for a time by the family therapy movement (Wood, 1996; see below).
Despite criticisms, social casework remains the main method of developmental social work
intervention in South Africa, hence it is important to understand social casework theory,
which is built on two sets of theories: one that seeks to explain and understand individual
human behaviour and another that seeks to explain and understand the social environment
in which individuals function. Social work usually joins these concepts together in its
person-in-environment configuration, which can be referred to in shorthand as PIE.
The course where social work students learn about individual behaviour and the social
environment is often called just that: ‘Human Behaviour and the Social Environment’, or
HBSE for short, and many books have addressed this topic, the latest being Katherine van
Wormer’s (2007) text dealing with the micro level of social casework intervention with
individuals and families. Its accompanying text examines macro-level work with groups,

ISW BOOK.indb 80 8/21/09 11:43:41 AM

 Theories of Social Work Practice 81

communities and organisations (Van Wormer, Besthorn & Keefe, 2007). There is also Forte
(2007). Most texts on HBSE are American.

3.1 The individual

When it comes to theories, many of the theories social casework draws upon to understand
individual behaviour are psychological. They are usually focused on internal psychological
processes, e.g. Freudian or psychodynamic theory, or how individuals respond to stimuli in
their environment, e.g. social learning theory. Two theories that seek to combine internal
cognitive processes in relation to responses to external stimuli are cognitive behavioural and
rational emotive theories. As their names suggest, the first places emphasis on cognitions
or thoughts and the second on feelings or emotions. These theories lead to two different
kinds of intervention, i.e. cognitive-behavioural and rational-emotive therapy. Usually
these forms of treatment—or intervention, the word more commonly used in social
work—are task oriented, or, as we say in social work, following Reid and Epstein (1972),
task centred. This means that they have clearly definable steps that the social worker takes
clients through in learning to understand the relationship between their (i.e. the clients’)
thoughts and emotions and the way in which these thoughts and emotions impact upon
their behaviour.
One of the limits of these psychological theories, especially in South Africa’s culturally
diverse society, is that they tend to overlook the importance of culture and socio-political
processes in people’s lives. Many non-Western cultures are not strong on internal
psychological reflection and are much more externally driven; i.e. external forces, such
as belief in ancestors or collective cultural norms, are a much greater locus of control
than introspective psychological processes like self-awareness or self-reflection. Also, many
non-Western cultures are rigidly hierarchical, with an established social structure where
elders have the highest authority. Many of the conflicts in modern, multicultural society
arise because of the breakdown of cultural patterns and practices, and this is particularly
relevant in South Africa, where colonialism and apartheid disregarded local, indigenous
cultures, seeking to replace them with Western ways of life. Indigenous cultures have
embraced Western cultures to varying degrees, to the extent that no ‘pure’ indigenous
culture remains. Those cultures that retain ancient cultural practices are often referred
to as ‘traditional’, and this term can be used in a positive and negative way. Positively it
means steeped or embedded in culture that lends structure and meaning to life. Negatively
it means resistant to change and possibly even ‘backward’.

3.2 The social

There are two theories that seek to explain and understand the social in the PIE equation.
They are social systems theory and structural theory. Social systems theory developed in

ISW BOOK.indb 81 8/21/09 11:43:41 AM

 82 Introduction to Social Work

sociology and, as its name implies, views the social environment in which individuals
function as comprising a range of systems, e.g. family, extended family, school, work,
religion, economic, political, cultural, and so on. The ecosystems perspective in social work
seeks to add to this the physical or natural environment. Taking its cue from biology,
it seeks to show how organisms thrive in particular environments. The easiest way to
understand this is to remember that a fish cannot survive out of water. So ecosystems
thinking focuses on the essential conditions in the environment that are needed for
individuals’ healthy social functioning or well-being. It led to another perspective called
the strengths perspective, which examines the inbuilt capacities of individuals to overcome
problems in their environment, i.e. factors in their psychological and social make-up that
make them resilient or that protect them from a range of harmful external factors (like
problem families or harsh social systems) and events (like the death of loved ones or natural
disasters like earthquakes and floods). Systems and ecosystems theories are seen by some
to be limited because they do not place enough emphasis on structural factors over which
individuals have no control. Hence structural theory emphasises the way in which social
structures oppress and marginalise people and prevent them from gaining access to the
resources they need for healthy social functioning. Most social work students are familiar
with this structural argument in relation to the consequences of apartheid for the majority
of South Africa’s population. Apartheid resulted in deeply entrenched poverty, which
is proving extremely difficult for the democratically elected African National Congress
government to overcome.
From the discussion thus far we can see that social work analyses things in terms of
levels—the individual and family, group, community, policy (government level) and
social (societal)—and systems. At each level there are different methods of assessment and
intervention: casework, group work, community work, policy, and social change in terms
of human rights and social justice. What are missing are the professional and organisational
levels, and this is very important for social workers, because they are committed to professional
values and goals, while at the same time being bound to the policies and structures of the
organisations in which they work. Thus, there is another set of theories and knowledge
relating to professionalism and organisational functioning, with the latter variously called
administration and management. Below we examine these theories in relation to the various
levels of social work practice. Thus, more than social casework is needed if the complex
personal and social problems of social work clients, now more commonly referred to as
service users or consumers, are to be addressed. But before we get to this, it might be helpful
to think of various dimensions of social work practice and their central characteristics as
a framework against which to critically evaluate the various social work practice theories
presented below and in this book (see figure 4.1). Students should be constantly asking
themselves whether developmental social work is doing what it says it is doing, whether

ISW BOOK.indb 82 8/21/09 11:43:41 AM

 Theories of Social Work Practice 83

developmental social welfare is achieving the goals it aims to achieve, whether social welfare
services are just and empowering, and so on; i.e. students should constantly engage in critical
reflection. This is what we mean by having a critical perspective.

Figure 4.1: Dimensions of social work practice

Conformist Transformatory

Most social work practice methods are Social work’s aspirations are non-
conformist in that they work within the conformist in the sense that they are
parameters set by government policy motivated by an ideal of social change to
and employing organisations, whether make things better for people by:
working with individuals, families, Transforming society to make it socially just
groups or communities: and observe human rights
Therapeutic: Concerned with personal Eliminating poverty so as to overcome
growth and change and self-fulfilment injustice, inequality and disadvantage
Problem solving: Helping people solve Overcoming oppression so that all people
problems in daily living have equal opportunities
Brokering and advocating: Helping people Participating in change through developing
gain access to resources co-operation and mutual support to induce
Statutory: Ensuring that people conform change
to the laws and regulations. Empowering people to take charge of their
All imply a process wherein social own lives, i.e. to become self-reliant,
workers influence people to behave in through capacity building, consciousness
certain socially acceptable ways. raising and participating in their own
development.
The main view expressed here is that some
form of social intervention, like social work, The main view expressed here is that social
is needed to help people conform to social work has a political role to play in ensuring
norms and improve their quality of life. that economic planning and social welfare
provision promotes equality and social justice.
Developmental social work fits this
category. Developmental social work has these
aspirations.

continued over page...

ISW BOOK.indb 83 8/21/09 11:43:41 AM

 84 Introduction to Social Work

Indigenous Developmental

Social work places a great deal of While the aspirations of developmental

emphasis on responsiveness to local social work are transformatory, its practice
contexts and problems and, especially is largely conformist since it has to do
in South Africa, given critiques of with:
individualistic casework, which is the Welfare as a human right
main focus of social work practice Social prevention, i.e. preventing social
wherever it is practised (Payne, 2005), problems through planned intervention
the most ‘indigenous’ form of practice People-centred welfare and populist forms of
to emerge is developmental social intervention, like community development
work. But to be truly ‘indigenous’, Participation in all stages of care, from
developmental social work must be: planning through to evaluation
Culturally appropriate, i.e. consistent with Raising community awareness of social
and responsive to local cultures with problems and the way in which social
services rendered in local languages structures keep communities oppressed
Concerned with power, especially the through education and capacity building
dominance of certain cultural, ethnic or Equalising resource distribution and reducing
racial groups over others inequities in service provision
Address cultural, ethnic or racial Interdisciplinary, multisectoral work.
inequalities, since disadvantage is closely
tied to these factors. The main view expressed here is that the
solution to South Africa’s problems is through
The main view expressed here is that locally social development as a planned intervention.
relevant solutions are needed, i.e. Afro-
centric approaches, and that issues relating To achieve these goals, developmental
to culture and power cannot be developed in social work needs to be critical and engage
this process. with the ‘political’.

To be socially just and observe human

rights, developmental social work must
be culturally relevant and appropriate.

3.3 Theories of social casework

It is important to be aware that most theories of social casework are informed by ‘grand’
theories and perspectives, which in turn lead to particular approaches. Perhaps the most
influential and widely used perspective in South Africa is the ecosystems perspective (e.g.

ISW BOOK.indb 84 8/21/09 11:43:41 AM

 Theories of Social Work Practice 85

see Harrison, 2001). With its framework for analysis in terms of levels and systems of
intervention (Pincus & Minahan, 1973), it points to multipronged interventions. It suggests
the locus, but not the mode of intervention.
In light of the above discussion, the main contemporary international theories
informing social casework can be grouped into psychological, person-in-environment
and social categories.1

3.3.1 Psychological
Child development and life-cycle theories, and theories of grief and loss and death and
dying draw heavily on Freudian or psychodynamic theory, including ego psychology and
attachment theory, with its strong focus on past experience, especially early childhood
experiences (Payne, 2005). It contrasts with social learning or behavioural and cognitive-
behavioural theory, which focuses on present conditions in the individual’s life. Hollis’s
(1964) psycho-social casework model adapted psychoanalytic or psychodynamic theory
to social work. Ego psychology highlighted the individual’s adaptive capacities and the
importance of linking individuals with their social environment. It served as a bridge
to systems theory and the moulding of the PIE concept in social work and spawned a
variety of casework approaches, including ecosystems, crisis intervention and strengths-
based practice (see below). Clearly, most social casework interventions lean heavily on
theories that explain individual behaviour. They are, therefore, most relevant to therapeutic,
problem-solving and growth-oriented interventions (see figure 4.1).
More recently, a range of theories has developed that focus on meaning in people’s
lives, seeing the individual’s life as a story and intervention as involving storytelling or
narrative reconstruction. These theories, depending on their emphasis, might be termed
phenomenological (meaning), narrative (storytelling) or constructivist (individuals construct
their own life story) and spiritual (having a spiritual meaning). There is a bridging theory
called social constructivism that seeks to show the influence of the social on the way individual
lives are constructed. Social constructivism is a postmodern theory that emphasises the
importance of language and culture in people’s lives. Critical postmodernism adds analyses
of power, influenced by the work of Michel Foucault (Chambon, Irving & Epstein, 1999).
It follows, then, that it might be helpful in informing ‘indigenous’ and culturally relevant
perspectives that are responsive to local contexts (see figure 4.1).
Increasingly, social casework intervention is brief, while, for the most part, social
casework literature assumes that social workers establish strong working relationships with
clients and have ongoing contacts over a period of time. Both the case- and group work
literature describe a lengthy intervention process in which there is a beginning, middle and
ending with tasks to be accomplished at each stage (Compton & Galaway, 1999; Cournoyer,
1999). Some writers highlight the importance of single-session work—involving a single

ISW BOOK.indb 85 8/21/09 11:43:41 AM

 86 Introduction to Social Work

encounter with the client—and what might be achieved in these brief client–worker
encounters (Bloom, 1997; Hoyt, Rosenbaum & Talmon, 1992). Gibbons and Plath (2005)
highlight the factors leading to single-session work, including limited resources, pressures
to meet the demands of high caseloads and calls for greater efficiency (Corwin, 2002).
Squires and Kramaric-Trojak (2003) note that ongoing crises, clients’ need for information
and client preference for problem assessment rather than lengthy interventions, as well as
organisational pressures, are driving this change. However, Gibbons and Plath (2005) note
that single contacts have always had a place in social work practice and will continue to
do so. This does not mean that social workers should not follow up on clients to ensure
that referrals are carried out or engage in advocacy on clients’ behalf. The swing to brief
intervention possibly applies to much developmental social work, especially in child
protection, probation and health social work, where assessment is the main ‘intervention’
in recommending suitable placements for children, young people and adults. The daily
pressures and high caseloads make the development of time-consuming, long-term,
therapeutic client–social worker relationships extremely unlikely. In such circumstance,
for the most part, casework practice involves brief, task-centred crisis intervention.
Certain theories relate strongly to particular practice contexts. For example, theories of grief
and loss and death and dying relate to HIV and AIDS, disability, and palliative care. Single-
session work is likely to pertain to hospital social work where only a brief window exists for
client–worker contact (Gibbons & Plath, 2005) and cognitive-behavioural therapy has been
found to be effective in treatment for depression (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).

3.3.2 Person-in-environment
Systems theory and the ecosystems and strengths perspectives in social work offer
frameworks for understanding and analysing the interrelationship between individual
and social problems. They emphasise the complex transactions between individuals and
their environments and encourage social workers to tailor their work to achieve the best
‘adaptive fit’ in the client–environment interface (Germain & Gitterman, 1980). However,
they do not tell social workers what to do about them, i.e. how to intervene or what form
of intervention to use. They are, therefore, mostly used in relation to problem assessment.
Systems theory was highly influential in the family therapy movement that was popular
in South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s (Mason & Rubinstein, 1989). Ecosystems theory
points in the general direction of levels of possible intervention. The strengths perspective
highlights the importance of strengths in countering dominant medical, deficits-based
approaches, which focus on pathology and illness. The text that brought systems thinking
to South Africa and that was widely used in the 1970s and 1980s was Pincus and Minahan
(1973). As we have seen, social casework intervenes at the individual, family or micro level
(Van Wormer, 2007).

ISW BOOK.indb 86 8/21/09 11:43:41 AM

 Theories of Social Work Practice 87

3.3.3 Social
Structural theory draws attention to the way in which social structures oppress and
marginalise people and to the operations of power in society. Thus, empowerment is an
important focus of structural interventions. Marxist-oriented structural theory, which
influenced social work in the 1960s and 1970s, drew attention to class factors and the way
in which they operate in society such that the dominant class—those with money and
status—keeps the lower class poor so that they (i.e. the dominant class) stay privileged. This is
a kind of systems thinking at a macro level. Feminists then argued that Marxists overlooked
other social factors, like gender, race and culture. Hence, structural theory spawned a
range of theories from Marxist-oriented critical and radical social work to feminist and
postmodern critical social work theory (Fook, 2002). It has also led to particular approaches
to practice, such as feminist (Dominelli, 1989), anti-oppressive (Wilson & Beresford, 2000),
anti-discriminatory (Thompson, 2006) and anti-racist practice (Dominelli, 2008).
To bolster these theories, there is also practice knowledge and empirical research in
various areas of social work practice, such as mental health, domestic violence, child
protection and aged care. Evidence-based practice in social work draws attention to the
importance of research in informing social work practice. Theory is not enough, and
theory does not solve social problems. It merely seeks to understand and explain them
from different points of view, each of which is informed by particular values and beliefs.
Thus, we believe that it is important that more attention is paid to culture and social values,
like ubuntu, in South Africa if the goal is to develop indigenous social work theory rather
than continuously draw upon Western psychological and social theories that might not be
relevant to the South African practice context (Allegritti & Gray, 2005).

3.4 Group work theory

There are several modes of group work, such as therapeutic, social-educational, social
support, mutual aid and self-help, social action, and advocacy groups (see chapter 7). Again
we can see how these might draw upon psychological (e.g. therapeutic), social (e.g. social-
educational, social support, mutual aid and self-help groups) and structural (e.g. social
action and advocacy) theories. As we shall see in chapter 7, there is also group work theory
per se, which seeks to understand the dynamics of group functioning and the processes of
group operation. All people are born into a group, i.e. the family, and live their lives as part
of a range of social groups in the workplace, in their religious observance, in recreation
and so on. Indeed, people are social beings and loneliness and social isolation are regarded
as problems in modern society. Group work theory tends to idealise the value of groups
in people’s lives, failing to recognise that groups can be used for good or ill. For example,
crime flourishes through well-organised gangs and crime syndicates, and peer groups
might exert enormous influence on young people to take drugs or abuse alcohol.

ISW BOOK.indb 87 8/21/09 11:43:41 AM

 88 Introduction to Social Work

Groups are both a context and means for, or a level of, planned intervention in social
work. Generally, social group work groups differ from self-help, mutual aid and other
forms of naturally occurring groups in that they are purposefully convened and structured
by the social group worker, who chooses the degree of control or directiveness he/she
will have in the group. For the most part, developmental social work groups would place
a lot of emphasis on democratic participation and letting the group take control of group
processes as a means of empowerment. In developmental social group work, then, the
social group worker would be a facilitator of group processes, encouraging members to
take an active role in all stages of the group’s development (see Rooth, in Gray, 1998a).

3.5 Community development theory

Most introductory social work texts include a chapter on community work, which is a
form or method of social work that embraces the functions of the whole social work
agency or practice organisation. It is based on collaborative working relationships,
such as interdisciplinary teams, and working in harmony with formal—other helping
agencies—and informal—community-based—social networks (Watts, in Lishman, 2007).
Community work recognises that the bulk of care takes place in the community, where
families, faith-based groups, volunteers and neighbours care for others. Thus, community
work is more than what the individual social worker does and is not just a community
project he/she might engage in. It is the sum total of care provided by the community,
which the value of ubuntu embraces. The theory of ‘social capital’ seeks to harness this
social solidarity and social workers seek to exploit it through community development,
where they try to bring people together in joint projects through which they might draw
and build on their capacity and thus empower themselves, i.e. take control of their own
lives. Government policy expresses this as the goal of self-reliance, and social workers have
been criticised for exploiting human and social capital when what is needed is government
resources and funding, infrastructure development, and so on (Bryson & Mowbray, 1981;
Mowbray, 2004). Much community work theory draws on radical or critical social work
theory and makes radical social workers unpopular with government, as happened in social
workers’ struggles against apartheid. An important theory influencing this movement was
Paulo Freire’s (1972) Marxist-oriented popular education theory of conscientisation and
empowerment. However, because most social workers are employed by government, they
are forced into democratic consensus-oriented community development rather than radical
community social work or social action (Clark & Asquith, 1985) (see figure 4.1).
For some time during the transformation to developmental welfare, it was thought that
community development would be the practice of choice for developmental social workers
with its democratic, humanistic, people-centred ethos of participation, empowerment and
self-reliance (see chapter 7). However, even within developmental welfare, social workers

ISW BOOK.indb 88 8/21/09 11:43:41 AM

 Theories of Social Work Practice 89

are caught up in the provision of statutory casework services, especially in child welfare
and probation, which is anything but ‘developmental’ or ‘non-remedial’ (Sturgeon, in Gray,
1998a). As a result, community development has increasingly become the province, not of
(the department of ) social development, but of (the department of ) local government.
Here, targets have been set for training community development workers to work in
partnership with municipal or local government structures (FCR, 2004).

3.6 Developmental management and administration theory

Davids, Theron and Maphunye (2005) present ‘development management’ as a discipline
and profession. They trace development theory from neo-Marxist interpretations of
capitalism, colonialism and dependency theory to humanist, people-centred approaches,
contemporary understandings of development and differing perspectives on poverty, and
management from development administration to development management. They examine
the public, private and civil society sectors and their contribution to the development
agenda. They maintain that, within civil society, formally organised structures, such as
non-governmental organisations, international development agencies and trade unions, bear
the main responsibility for development. They leave the more politicised advocacy-oriented
community-based organisations and popular movements, which are often at the forefront of
challenging contemporary approaches to development policy, out of their analysis. They focus
on micro-level interventions and approaches that characterise South Africa’s intervention in
the ‘second economy’ (i.e. the informal economy). Like most writing on development in
South Africa, there is little empirical analysis or evidence of the impact of the humanist
people-centred approach favoured by writers on development. Nevertheless, many social
workers are caught up with the administration of service programmes or become managers of
community organisations. Hence, administration and management are important methods of
social work and areas of practice, which ideally involve supervision. Democratic, facilitative
models of management and leadership appear most suited to democratic developmental
processes (see Cronje, in Gray, 1998a). Social work students study organisational theory
to learn to understand the dynamics of the organisational context in which they work
and strategies for organisational change. However, most welfare organisations, including
government departments, are highly bureaucratic, with rigid organisation structures and
policies that are highly resistant to change.

3.7 Research approaches

Although there has always been tension in social work about how ‘scientific’ its practice
might be (see chapter 9) and much social work research tends to be qualitative in nature,
the approach to practice gaining momentum is evidence-based practice. It seeks to base
social work intervention, among other things, on research of proven effectiveness (Gray,

ISW BOOK.indb 89 8/21/09 11:43:41 AM

 90 Introduction to Social Work

Plath & Webb, 2009). Many believe that behavioural social work with its short-term goals
and specified outcomes gained ascendance because concrete behaviours were easier to
measure than intrapsychic processes (Gambrill, 1995). Thus, much quantitative research
using experimental designs measured the effectiveness of behavioural interventions.
Among the qualitative research approaches most often used by social workers are
ethnomethodology (Floersch et al., in Gray & Webb, 2008), ethnography (De Montigny,
in Gray & Webb, 2008), social network analysis (Kirke, in Gray & Webb, 2008), discourse
analysis (White, in Gray & Webb, 2008) and participatory action or grassroots research
(Collins, 1999).

3.8 Child, youth and family: Ecological systems theory

There is some consensus that an ecological perspective, with its focus on the
interrelationship between interpersonal and wider environmental factors most likely to
determine the degree of risk or resilience in the developing child, best fits contemporary
theory on family functioning, including parenting. Crucial systems include the spousal,
family, extended family, social support, and wider cultural and socio-economic systems.
Still important within the literature on the family is attachment theory, which attributes
problems in parenting to prior negative experiences of parenting behaviour or vice
versa. Bowlby (1973) describes how children build ‘internal working models’ of their
self-worth from experiences and perceptions of their parents’ or caregiver’s availability,
ability and willingness to provide care, security and protection. Resilient children and
adults generally have positive attachment experiences. Rather than focusing exclusively
on inadequacies in current parenting behaviour, attachment theory offers an explanation
of the impact of failures of caregiving on present parenting relationships. Contemporary
literature and practice models based on the ecosystems perspective include the United
Kingdom’s ‘looked after children’ model (Cleaver & Walker, 2004; UK Department of
Health, 2000).

3.9 Probation and youth at risk: Restorative justice

The idea of ‘youth at risk’ has become central to a range of academic and professional
literature and has driven ‘imperatives to protect, monitor, contain and sustain young
people in the transition to responsible adulthood’ (Sharland, 2006:248). It was introduced
into South Africa by the Report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Young People at
Risk (South Africa, 1996). The White Paper for Social Welfare (South Africa, 1997)
claimed in its section on crime prevention through development and restorative justice
that institutionalisation would be a last resort, that only offenders who posed a serious
threat to society would be imprisoned and that alternative forms of sentencing would be
considered wherever possible. However, like many other of the White Paper’s hortatory

ISW BOOK.indb 90 8/21/09 11:43:41 AM

 Theories of Social Work Practice 91

claims, the imprisonment of young people continues, as does the institutionalisation

of young people at risk. Those working in the field of restorative justice have been
advocating for the increased use of diversion for children in trouble with the law and
alternative sentencing options in pre-sentence work with first-time youth offenders
(Batley, 2005). Verity and King (2007) explore the relationship between restorative justice
and community development in building healing relationships where long-standing
community conflict exists.

3.10 Sexuality and HIV and AIDS: Grief and loss, death and dying
With regard to sexuality and AIDS and HIV, social workers can intervene at the level of:
•฀ prevention, e.g. educating young people about ‘safe sex practices’;
•฀ intervention, e.g. counselling a family in which a member is dying of AIDS-related
causes; or
•฀ policy, e.g. joining an advocacy group to make antiretroviral drugs freely available to
pregnant women.

Crisis intervention theory, based on ego psychology, is helpful in assisting clients in high-
stress situations, such as informing people they are HIV-positive or helping families cope
with a dying member. In dealing with crises, people adapt by acquiring coping mechanisms
that equip them for and enhance their resilience to future crises. In contemporary theory
on palliative care, dying is an adaptive process that is transformational for both the carer
and the person cared for (Nakashima, 2003).

3.11 Disability: Strengths-based practice

There are theories of disability, and then there is knowledge for disability practice drawn
from practice experience and research informed by particular theories. The dominant
theories of disability inform two different forms of disability practice, namely, the medical
deficits-based model or the social strengths-based model. The latter is consumer oriented.
It builds on strengths and self-reliance and gives clients a voice in institutions, services and
situations affecting them. Strengths-based assessment frameworks position clients rather
than social workers as experts. Unlike the deficits approach, where an impaired individual
requires intervention to be rehabilitated, a strengths-based approach regards social and
environmental barriers as targets for change. The generalist social work approach of
assessment and intervention is modelled on the medical or clinical approach of diagnosis
and treatment, whereas the social model employs a community service philosophy
(Wertheimer, 1995). Combined with the strengths approach, its focus is clients’ capabilities,
capacities, hopes and dreams. The strengths-based social model of disability recognises that
natural support networks are more enduring than professional help.

ISW BOOK.indb 91 8/21/09 11:43:42 AM

 92 Introduction to Social Work

3.12 Addictions: Biopsycho-social perspective

Various theories inform understanding of addictions, among them:
•฀ biological approaches, which point to genetic causes and medical solutions;
•฀ psychological approaches, which point to ‘mental’ causes; and
•฀ therapeutic solutions and social approaches, which point to environmental or
structural causes and social solutions.

With the influence of systems theory, these are combined into the biopsycho-social
perspective, to which some have added the spiritual, cognisant that this is an important
aspect of the way in which people deal with adversity and a significant source of strength
and resilience. Those who study the social determinants of health, including addictions,
highlight their higher levels of prevalence in poor, marginal, oppressed and minority
populations.

3.13 Diversity and multicultural practice: Culture-centric approaches

There are numerous theories informing the way in which social work deals with diversity,
among them feminism, postmodernism and the structural perspective. These have
spawned anti-oppressive, anti-discriminatory and anti-racist approaches to practice. There
is, however, another strand to the literature that focuses particularly on cultural diversity
in social work variously informed by theories of multiculturalism, cultural difference and
ethnicity (Sundar, in Gray & Webb, 2008). They have given rise to notions of cultural
and ethnic sensitivity (Devore & Schlesinger, 2006), cultural competence (Dean, 2001),
cultural relevance and cultural appropriateness (Gray, Coates & Yellow Bird, 2008). Gray
et al. (2008) believe that social work does not have a good track record in dealing with
diversity. For example, they believe that anti-oppressive, anti-discriminatory and anti-racist
approaches to practice informed by feminist, postmodernist and structural perspectives
depend largely on ‘victimisation’ in which the client remains lower in status to the social
worker, who is bent on empowerment, transformation and advocacy. They stand in strong
contrast to the self-help ethos characteristic of community development and service-user
participation (Beresford, 2000; Beresford & Croft, 2004). Gray and Allegritti (2002; 2003)
have drawn attention to the importance of culture in the development of indigenous social
work, and Gray and Lovat (2006) have highlighted the way in which postmodernism and
political correctness obfuscate attempts to deal with racism in South Africa.

3.14 Poverty and neoliberalism

Over the years there have been many theories of how poverty should be approached
that have informed definitions of poverty, such as absolute or relative poverty; and
ways in which policy should be alleviated, such as through the social policy or welfare

ISW BOOK.indb 92 8/21/09 11:43:42 AM

 Theories of Social Work Practice 93

state approach, or, in South Africa’s case, through social development. Esping-Andersen
(1990) identifies three types of welfare state, namely, (neo) liberal, e.g. the United States;
conservative, e.g. Germany; and social democratic, e.g. Sweden. South Africa is a strange
brew of neoliberal, ameliorative and developmental welfare. Social workers tend to be
highly critical of neoliberalism (Penna & O’Brien, in Gray & Webb, 2008), and tend
to draw on critical approaches to poverty and accompanying social policy, such as the
feminisation of poverty argument and structural analyses of society that state that the
social system and its policies and structures maintain poverty. In South Africa, there has
been a continuation of the residual welfare system set in place during the apartheid era,
where over 90% of the welfare budget is spent on social security. Despite the theory of
social development about capacity building and empowerment, even in the developmental
welfare system, Western-created social security is the main poverty alleviation strategy.
Nevertheless, developmental social welfare has forced social work to extend its focus from
the urban poor to the most disadvantaged in underdeveloped rural areas.

4. Theories and methods in use in South Africa

A review of the articles published in Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk journal from 2000
onwards revealed very little ‘theorising’ in the South African social work literature, which
is largely descriptive in nature, describing practice or based on small-scale empirical studies,
many with questionable reliability and validity. Of the 270 or so papers published, very
few directly addressed theory, although there were some references to the ecosystems
perspective, e.g. Jacques (2000) and Engelbrecht (2001), and the strengths perspective, e.g.
Gray and Collett van Rooyen (2002).
There is a surprising lack of literature on developmental practice, especially participatory
approaches like community development, although Schenk (2002) revisits the theories of
Paulo Freire. Gathiram (2003) and Raniga and Simpson (2002) attempt a critical review of
(community) participation. Landman and Lombard (2006) examine the synergies between
community development and statutory social work and Nel (2006) looks at community
development training, while Weyers (2007) enumerates the eight habits of effective
community workers and Van Rooyen (2007) outlines some lessons from the Community
Development Workers Project.
In all, then, it is not easy to tell the theories and methods in use from the literature above,
most of which is written by academics, not practitioners. Perhaps academics are out of
touch with practice realities, and this accounts for their tendency to write about welfare
policy and services, the profession and social work education at the level of reflection and
analysis rather than practice. Since our focus in this chapter is on social work theory, let us
now turn to examining post-apartheid theory on (developmental) social work.

ISW BOOK.indb 93 8/21/09 11:43:42 AM

 94 Introduction to Social Work

4.1 ‘Post-apartheid’ theory for ‘critical’ developmental social work

With its roots in the developing world and its genesis as a reaction against colonialism,
social development and, therefore, developmental social work, like indigenous social work,
can be cast within post-colonial theory (Briskman, 2007; Gray et al., 2008). In this sense, it
might be seen as a reaction against the Western theories that informed the development of
social work and social welfare in South Africa up to the post-apartheid era (1990s onwards)
(see chapter 2). As Patel and Selipsky note in chapter 3, the social development approach
evolved from South Africa’s ‘unique history of inequality and violations of human rights
due to colonialism and apartheid’. We might even coin a new term for South Africa, namely,
‘post-apartheid’ theory! Its central characteristic would be ideas about ways in which to
reconstruct South Africa following more than 300 years of colonialism (1652–1961) and
nearly 50 years of apartheid (1948–95). It begins with claims about ‘vast backlogs of need,
weakened states caused by problems with democratic governance, corruption and a lack of
capacity for governance’ brought about by colonialism and apartheid (see Patel & Selipsky,
chapter 3). A central tenet of post-apartheid theory is that problems in the present are
due to external causes, such as oil or monetary crises, or neoliberal welfare reform, or
globalisation, or structural adjustment programmes imposed on Africa by the World Bank
and International Monetary Fund. The important point about this post-apartheid theory
for social development is the failure of past policies to promote economic development in
tandem with social development.
The theory of social development states that economic and social development must
be viewed in relationship to one another in all policy-making activity (Midgley, 1995).
But, despite international declarations on social development and the UN’s Millennium
Development Goals, little has changed and poverty continues to increase, in African
countries more than others in the developing world. Gray (2006) argues that, following
more than a decade of developmental social welfare, it is time to critically evaluate the
progress of social development in South Africa as laid out in the White Paper for Social
Welfare (South Africa, 1997).2 For example, if one were to take Patel’s (2005) core
features—or ideals—of developmental welfare theory—its rights base, harmonisation of
economic and social policy, promotion of participation and partnership in development,
and eradication of social division—critical analysis and statistical data would reveal that,
despite these noble goals, developmental social welfare has failed dismally to improve the
plight of or promote social justice for the most disadvantaged of South Africa’s population,
i.e. the estimated 50% living in poverty (CSDA, 2008; Gray, 2008). Contrary to the theory
of social development, economic planning has not proceeded in tandem with social policy
or vice versa (see the Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative—South Africa (ASGISA), (South
Africa, 2004) and no amount of participation and partnership will alleviate or eradicate
poverty when what is needed is structural change through redistribution as advocated

ISW BOOK.indb 94 8/21/09 11:43:42 AM

 Theories of Social Work Practice 95

by the White Paper for Social Welfare (South Africa, 1997) and the White Paper on
Reconstruction and Development (South Africa, 1994).
Despite numerous social development initiatives over the past 15 years since the transition
to democracy, South Africa remains a deeply divided unequal society (Bollens, 2000; Dixon,
2006; Gray, 2006) where: (1) 61% of the African population is poor compared with only
1% of the white population, which now numbers 5 million; (2) official unemployment
rates of 30% and unofficial rates of 50% persist; and (3) ‘urban disintegration’ characterises
poor people’s lives ravaged by AIDS and HIV, declining health, and crime and insecurity
(Dixon, 2006). For example, life expectancy for black males fell from 59.5 years previously
to 35 years in 2006 (Ruiters, 2007).
What we are demonstrating here is a critical approach to social development (Gray &
Webb, 2008). Critical social work highlights the stance and actions social workers would
take if they were to engage in empowering, anti-oppressive practice aimed at ensuring
justice for the most marginalised and oppressed groups in society. In the South African
context, this would involve critical analysis of the way in which policy has deviated from a
developmental agenda. Taking a critical social work approach, social workers would have
to ask themselves whether social security is a developmental poverty alleviation strategy in
terms not only of the theory of social development, but also of the policies it has spawned,
such as the White Paper for Social Welfare (South Africa, 1997) and the White Paper on
Local Government (South Africa, 1998). These pivotal policies have created two enclaves of
urban social development concentrated in the Department of Social Development and the
Department of Provincial and Local Government (South Africa, 2000) charged with the
major responsibility for economic and social development at a national and local level.

5. Conclusion
In conclusion, in this chapter we have reviewed theories pertaining to developmental
social work, noting the unique features of South Africa’s developmental welfare system.
We have produced a comprehensive reference list of South African literature, especially
work published in South Africa’s premier social work journal, as well as references to
international literature on contemporary social work theory. The importance of a critical
theoretical perspective is underscored and the role of developmental social workers
in highlighting poverty and injustice and in increasing people’s access to resources and
services. Theory helps us ‘think through’ possibilities for change, as does reading widely
on our subject matter. Both are essential to a critical perspective on social work and social
development.

ISW BOOK.indb 95 8/21/09 11:43:42 AM

 96 Introduction to Social Work

Box 4.1: Key concepts

It is helpful to understand the differences among the various concepts used in discussions about
social work theory.

THEORY
A theory is a more or less well-argued explanation of reality. Collectively, theories are explanations
of things or phenomena that influence the way in which people interpret situations or events. As
we have seen in this chapter, in social work there is a great deal of interest in theories that seek to
explain human behaviour or the social environment, i.e. why people behave as they do, especially
why personal and social problems arise and how we might best deal with them. A well-argued,
convincing theory leads to a particular interpretation of whatever it seeks to explain, whether this
be the plight of women in society, racism, schizophrenia, poverty, and so on. In fact, there are
often several theories about the same phenomenon that might even conflict with one another. For
example, a developmental approach to welfare rejects neoliberalism’s argument that economic
growth is the best way of overcoming poverty. Thus, social work theory attempts to lead you to think
in particular ways and it is wise to keep an open mind to various explanations of social problems.

KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge refers to what we know about something, which can be drawn from what people
write about social work as a consequence of research, i.e. empirically based knowledge, or practice
experience, i.e. practice-based knowledge. As we have seen in this chapter, social workers draw from
other disciplines, like sociology and psychology, in constructing social work’s knowledge base.

PERSPECTIVE
A perspective is a way of seeing the world that is influenced by one’s angle or particular point of
view. Often our perspectives are shaped by a variety of theories. In other words, our view of the
world integrates a variety of understandings (theories) about reality—in the case of social work,
about human behaviour and the social environment—that come to colour the way we think
about the people, situations, events and problems we deal with in social work. Sometimes we
draw on a particular theory. For example, we might say that feminist theory leads to a feminist
perspective, i.e. one that centres on women’s issues or that focuses on the effect of a particular
phenomenon on women, e.g. this led to a theory about the feminisation of poverty. Perhaps the
two most dominant perspectives in social work, which draw on a range of theoretical insights, are
the ecosystems and strengths perspectives as described in this chapter.

continued over page...

ISW BOOK.indb 96 8/21/09 11:43:42 AM

 Theories of Social Work Practice 97

FRAMEWORK
Like the frame on a picture, a framework attempts to frame a particular portion of reality and
get a picture of it. In doing this, we use frames of reference, such as theories or perspectives, to
construct a particular framework. For example, in this chapter we might say that we have used
various sources of information to construct a developmental framework, i.e. a picture of welfare
in contemporary South Africa.

METHOD
A method is a way of doing something. In social work we refer to casework, group work, community
work, policy, administration, research and supervision as methods, i.e. as predominant activities in
which social workers engage in the doing of social work.

APPROACH
The way in which we approach practice is influenced by our knowledge of existing theories,
perspectives, frameworks, models and methods of practice. Influenced by feminist theory, we
might take a feminist approach, which means we are going to use theories and methods that
focus on the plight of women. When we use a ‘developmental approach’ in South Africa, as
outlined in this chapter, we use theories, perspectives, frameworks, models and methods that
have something to do with poverty alleviation. When we combine a variety of theories and
methods, we talk about using an ‘integrated approach’. Often, though, when we use an ecosystems
perspective to devise an approach that focuses on various levels and loci of intervention, we refer
to this as a ‘holistic approach’. When this means combining various levels of services, we refer to
this approach as ‘integrated service delivery’. In these examples, these approaches are theoretical
to the extent that they refer to ideal rather than actual ways of doing things. A lot of the theory
of developmental welfare is of this nature and does not necessarily match what social workers
are actually doing in practice. This is confusing for social work practitioners who are told that they
are using a developmental welfare approach when what they are actually doing is remedial or
statutory casework.

MODEL
A model is a more or less well-formulated way of doing something that seeks to convert theory
or knowledge into practice. Usually a model is a series of steps we engage in. For example, many
casework and group work models follow steps from client engagement and relationship building
to assessment, intervention and termination.

ISW BOOK.indb 97 8/21/09 11:43:42 AM

 98 Introduction to Social Work

Endnotes
1 It is important to keep in mind that most categories are only created to help us
understand or explain a particular idea, and life is far more complex than the systems
of categorisation we use to understand and explain the phenomena we deal with in
social work, or indeed in everyday living.
2 Although the Department of Social Development commissioned an evaluation of the
social and economic impact of South Africa’s social security system in 2004 (see <http://
www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0001041/sum_report.php>), an external evaluation
is needed that evaluates all aspects of its developmental welfare policy according to
predefined benchmarks in order to measure its progress.

Bibliography
Allegritti, I. & Gray, M. 2005. ‘Mamphele Ramphele and Xhosa culture: Some insights on
culture, self-determination and human rights for South African social work.’ Social Work/
Maatskaplike Werk, 41(2): 131–42.
American Psychiatric Association. 2000. ‘Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with
major depressive disorder (revision).’ American Journal of Psychiatry, 157(Suppl. 4): 1–45.
Bar-On, A. 2003a. ‘Indigenous practice: Some informed guesses—self-evident but impossible.’
Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 39(1): 26–40.
Bar-On, A. 2003b. ‘Culture: social work’s new deluge.’ Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 39(4):
351–60.
Batley, M. 2005. ‘Civil society’s role in promoting alternative sentencing options and of-
fender re-integration.’ Paper presented at the conference on Strategies to Address Prison
Overcrowding in South Africa, Pretoria, 14–16 September.
Beresford, P. 2000. ‘Service users’ knowledges and social work theory: Conflict or collabora-
tion?’ British Journal of Social Work, 30: 489–503.
Beresford, P. & Croft, S. 2004. ‘Service users and practitioners reunited: The key component
for social work reform.’ British Journal of Social Work, 34: 53–68.
Bloom, B. 1997. Planned Short Term Psychotherapy: A Clinical Handbook, 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn
& Bacon.
Bollens, S. 2000. ‘Community development in South Africa.’ Community Development Journal,
35(2): 167–80.
Bowlby, J. 1973. Attachment and Loss. Vol. 2: Separation, Anxiety, and Anger. London: Penguin.
Briskman, L. 2007. Social Work with Indigenous Communities. Annandale: Federation Press.
Bryson, L. & Mowbray, M. 1981. ‘Community: The spray-on solution.’ Australian Journal of
Social Issues, 16(4): 255–67.
Chambon, A., Irving, A. & Epstein, L. 1999. Reading Foucault for Social Workers. New York:

ISW BOOK.indb 98 8/21/09 11:43:42 AM

 Theories of Social Work Practice 99

Columbia University Press.

Clark, C. L. with Asquith, S. 1985. Social Work and Social Philosophy: A Guide To Practice.
London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Cleaver, H. & Walker, S. 2004. ‘From policy to practice: the implementation of a new
framework for social work assessments of children and families.’ Child and Family Social
Work, 9: 81–90.
Collins, K. 1999. Participatory Research: A Primer. Cape Town: Prentice-Hall.
Compton, B. & Galaway, B. 1999. Social Work Processes. Homewood: Dorsey Press.
Corwin, M. 2002. Brief Treatment in Clinical Social Work Practice. Pacific Grove: Brooks/
Cole.
Cournoyer, B. 1999. The Social Work Skills Workshopbook. Belmont: Wadsworth.
CSDA (Centre for Social Development in Africa). 2008. The Implementation of the White
Paper for Social Welfare in the NGO Sector: Research Report. Johannesburg: University of
Johannesburg.
Davids, I., Theron, F. & Maphunye, K. J. 2005. Participatory Development in South Africa: A
Development Management Perspective. Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Dean, R. G. 2001. ‘The myth of cross-cultural competence.’ Families in Society: The Journal of
Contemporary Human Services, 82(6): 623–30.
Devore, W. & Schlesinger, E. G. 2006. Ethnic Sensitive Social Work Practice, 5th ed. St. Louis:
Mosby.
Dixon, B. 2006 ‘Development, crime prevention and social policy in post-apartheid South
Africa.’ Critical Social Policy, 26(1): 169–91.
Dominelli, L. 1989. Feminist Social Work. London: Macmillan.
Dominelli, L. 2008. Anti-racist Social Work, 3rd ed. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Engelbrecht, L. K. 2001. ‘Indigenous social work field practice education: An ecosystems per-
spective.’ Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 37(4): 347–56.
Esping-Andersen, G. 1990. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton: Princeton
University Press.
FCR (Foundation for Contemporary Research). 2004. Municipal–Community Partnerships
for Poverty Alleviation: A Reference Guide for Development Practitioners. Cape Town: FCR.
<http://www.fcr.org.za/>.
Fook, J. 2002. Social Work: Critical Theory and Practice. London: Sage.
Forte, J.A. 2007. Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Models, Metaphors and Maps for
Appying Theorotical Perspectives to Practice. Belmont: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Freire, P. 1972. The Pedagogy of the Oppressed. London: Penguin.
Gambrill, E. 1995. ‘Behavioral social work: Past, present and future.’ Research on Social Work
Practice, 5(4): 460–74.
Gathiram, N. 2003. ‘Participation, civil society and social work practice.’ Social Work/

ISW BOOK.indb 99 8/21/09 11:43:43 AM

 100 Introduction to Social Work

Maatskaplike Werk, 39(1): 41–47.

Germain, C. & Gitterman, A. 1980. The Life Model of Social Work Practice. New York:
Columbia University Press.
Gibbons, J. & Plath, D. 2005. ‘Everybody puts a lot into it! Single session contacts in hospital
social work.’ Social Work in Health Care, 42(1): 17–34.
Gray, M. 1996a. ‘Towards an understanding of developmental social work.’ Social Work
Practice, 1: 9–13.
Gray, M. 1996b. ‘The importance of community development.’ Social Work/Maatskaplike
Werk, 32(3): 193–204.
Gray, M., ed. 1998a. Developmental Social Work: Theory and Practice. Cape Town: David
Philip.
Gray, M. 1998b. ‘Welfare policy for reconstruction and development in South Africa.’
International Journal of Social Work, 41(1): 23–37.
Gray, M. 2000. ‘Social work and the “social service professions”.’ Social Work/Maatskaplike
Werk, 36(1): 99–109.
Gray, M. 2006. ‘The progress of social development in South Africa.’ International Journal of
Social Welfare, 15(Suppl. 1): S53–S64.
Gray, M. 2008. ‘Guest editorial.’ International Journal of Social Welfare (Special Ed.), 17 (1):
110-13.
Gray, M. & Allegritti, I. 2002. ‘Cross-cultural practice and the indigenisation of African social
work.’ Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 38(4): 324–36.
Gray, M. & Allegritti, I. 2003. ‘Towards culturally sensitive social work practice: Re-examining
cross-cultural social work.’ Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 39(4): 312–25.
Gray, M., Coates, J. & Yellow Bird, M., eds. 2008. Indigenous Social Work around the World:
Towards Culturally Relevant Education and Practice. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Gray, M. & Collett van Rooyen, C. A. J. 2002. ‘The strengths perspective in social work: Lessons
from practice.’ Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 38(3): 225–33.
Gray, M. & Lovat, T. 2006. ‘The shaky high moral ground of postmodernist “ethics”.’ Social
Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 42(3/4): 201–12.
Gray, M., Plath, D. & Webb, S. 2009. Evidence-based Social Work: A Critical Stance. Milton Park:
Routledge.
Gray, M. & Sewpaul, V. 1998. ‘Critique of the policy proposals of the inter-ministerial commit-
tee on young people at risk.’ Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 34(1): 12–27.
Gray, M. & Webb, S. A., eds. 2008. Social Work Theories and Methods. London: Sage.
Harrison, E. S. 2001. ‘Transformation of a service organization through participatory action
research.’ MA diss., University of South Africa. <http://etd.unisa.ac.za/ETD-db/theses/
available/etd-03012007145949/unrestricted/dissertation.pdf>.
Hollis, F. 1964. Casework: A Psychosocial Theorty. New York: Random House.

ISW BOOK.indb 100 8/21/09 11:43:43 AM

 Theories of Social Work Practice 101

Hoyt, M., Rosenbaum, R. & Talmon, M. 1992. ‘Planned single-session therapy.’ In Budman,
S., Hoyt, M. & Friedman, S., eds. The First Session in Brief Therapy, pp. 59–86. New York:
Guildford Press.
Jacques, G. 2000. ‘The baby and the bathwater: The dilemma of modern social work in South
Africa.’ Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 36(4): 361–76.
Landman, L. & Lombard, A. 2006. ‘Integration of community development and statutory
social work services within the developmental approach.’ Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk,
42(1): 1–15.
Lishman, J., ed. 2007. Handbook for Practice Learning in Social Work and Social Care: Knowledge
and Theory, 2nd ed. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Lund, F. 2007. ‘Building welfare for development: Social security reform in South Africa.’
Helen Joseph Memorial Lecture, University of Johannesburg, September.
Mason, J. & Rubinstein, J., eds. 1989. Family Therapy in South Africa To-day. Durban: South
African Institute of Marital and Family Therapy.
Meyer, C., ed. 1983. Clinical Social Work in the Ecosystems Perspective. New York: Columbia
University Press.
Midgley, J. 1995. Social Development: The Developmental Perspective in Social Welfare. London:
Thousand Oaks & New Delhi: Sage.
Midgley, J. 1997. Social Welfare in Global Context. London: Sage.
Mowbray, M. 2004. Beyond Community Capacity Building: The Effect of Government on Social
Capital. <http://www.obs-pascal.com/>.
Nakashima, M. 2003. ‘Beyond coping and adaptation: Promoting a holistic perspective on
dying.’ Families in Society, 84(3): 367–76.
Nel, J. B. S. 2006. ‘The application of a large group intervention method based on the asset-
based approach: A repositioning of training in community development.’ Social Work/
Maatskaplike Werk, 42(3): 234–53.
Patel, L. 1992. Restructuring Social Welfare: Options for South Africa. Johannesburg: Ravan
Press.
Patel, L. 2005. Social Welfare and Social Development in South Africa. Cape Town: Oxford
University Press.
Payne, M. 2005. Modern Social Work Theory, 3rd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Poyne, M. 2006. What is Professional Social Work?, 2nd ed. Bristol: Policy Press.
Pincus, A. & Minahan, A. 1973. Social Work Practice: Model and Method. Itasca: F. E. Peacock.
Raniga, T. & Simpson, B. 2002. ‘Community participation: Rhetoric or reality?’ Social Work/
Maatskaplike Werk, 38(2): 182–91.
Reid, W.J. & Epstein, L. 1972. Task-centered Casework. New York: Columbia University Press.
Ruiters, G. 2007. ‘Contradictions in municipal services in contemporary South Africa:
Disciplinary commodification and self-disconnections.’ Critical Social Policy, 27(4): 487–508.

ISW BOOK.indb 101 8/21/09 11:43:43 AM

 102 Introduction to Social Work

Schenk, R. 2002. ‘Revisiting Paulo Freire as a theoretical base for participatory practices for
social workers.’ Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 38(1): 71–80.
Sharland, E. 2006. ‘Young people, risk taking and risk making: Some thoughts for social work.’
British Journal of Social Work, 36(2): 247–65.
South Africa. 1994. White Paper on Reconstruction and Development, Notice no. 1954.
Government Gazette, no. 16085. Pretoria: Government Printer.
South Africa. Department of Welfare. 1996. Report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Young
People at Risk (Discussion Document). Pretoria: Government Printer.
South Africa. Department of Welfare. 1997. White Paper for Social Welfare, Notice no. 1108.
Government Gazette, no. 18166. Pretoria: Government Printer.
South Africa. 1998. White Paper on Local Government. Pretoria: Government Printer.
South Africa. 2000. Local Government: Municipal Systems Act No. 32 of 2000. Pretoria:
Government Printer.
South Africa. Office of the Presidency. 2004. Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative—South Africa
(ASGISA). <http://www.info.gov.za/asgisa/>.
Squires, J. & Kramaric-Trojak, N. 2003. ‘Centrelink: How social workers make a difference for
young persons: A model of intervention.’ Australian Social Work, 56(4): 293–304.
Thompson, N. 2006. Anti-discriminatory Practice. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
UK Department of Health. 2000. Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and Their
Families. London: Stationery Office. <http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/
Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4003256>.
Van Rooyen, D. 2007. ‘Community development workers: Four lessons from international
experience of community-based workers.’ Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 43(3): 209–23.
Van Wormer, K. 2007. Human Behaviour and the Social Environment, Micro Level: Individuals
and Families. New York: Oxford University Press.
Van Wormer, K., Besthorn, F. H. & Keefe, T. 2007. Human Behaviour and the Social Environment,
Macro Level: Groups, Communities and Organizations. New York: Oxford University Press.
Verity, F. & King, S. 2007. ‘Responding to intercommunal conflict: What can restorative justice
offer?’ Community Development Journal, 43(4): 470–82.
Wertheimer, A., ed. 1995. Circles of Support: Building Inclusive Communities. Bristol: Circles
Network UK.
Weyers, M. L. 2007. ‘The eight habits of highly successful community social workers: A South
African perspective.’ Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 43(1): 1–17.
Wilson, A. & Beresford, P. 2000. ‘“Anti-oppressive practice”: Emancipation or appropriation?’
British Journal of Social Work, 30: 553–73.
Wood, A. 1996. ‘The origins of family work: The theory and practice of family social work
since 1880.’ Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 50: 19–32.

ISW BOOK.indb 102 8/21/09 11:43:43 AM