Ревија за социјална политика/Journal of Social Policy

The Re-Awakening Role of Social Workers in Policy-making following a Global Pandemic: Lessons for Education and Practice

Panagiotis Pentaris — 2024-07-07

Social workers have largely contributed to policy analysis and planning since the rise of the discipline’s professional identity. It is through lobbying, policy advocacy and macro-practice that responses about human rights and social justice are crafted and integrated in international and transnational social work practice. Yet, these roles have for a while been suppressed in an attempt to standardise and confine the profession in the limits of a given nation’s legal and social status. Public crises like the recent novel virus SARS-CoV-2, come to force us to rethink what has been the role of social workers before such crises. Are we well prepared to take on these roles again, when for a long while education and practice has shied away from them, leaving contemporary practitioners in a predicament situation? This paper will explore both challenges and opportunities in social policy, arising from COVID-19, and will argue the need for re-emphasising on the social workers’ role in social policy, with the intention to make recommendations for education and practice.

Adolescents' lived experiences of COVID-19

Kirstyn Layton — 2024-07-16

Adolescents experienced COVID-19 and the implementation of lockdown measures in various ways. The developmental phase of middle adolescence is a pivotal period characterised by various cognitive and social processes that contribute significantly to the creation of adolescents' identity. During this period, adolescents encounter significant events, both in terms of their personal growth and their lived experiences. These events may include transitioning to high school, obtaining their learner's licences, and other milestones. The implementation of lockdown measures and stay-at-home orders resulted in adolescents being restricted to their residential settings with their family members. Understanding adolescents’ lived experiences of COVID-19 was described through a qualitative phenomenological descriptive research design. The data collection consisted of individual semi-structured interviews with 16 participants in Johannesburg (Gauteng), using an interview schedule. The data was analysed using thematic content analysis and three themes emerged: (1) Participants’ experience of how COVID-19 Influenced their relationships, (2) Participants’ experience of how COVID-19 impacted their mental health, and (3) Protective factors and risk factors that impacted their experience of COVID-19 positively or negatively. From this, conclusions have been drawn, as well as recommendations for future research and practice. Initiatives that can potentially be used to support adolescents during a crisis period, such as a pandemic, include interventions related to mental health, academic performance, and physical well-being.

Family and Marital Counselling In Centres For Social Work in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Challenges and Policy Implications

Anida Dudić-Sijamija — 2024-07-07

Working with families is one of the most important tasks for the social work profession. In primary prevention, the most crucial task is to develop humane relationships among marital partners. Additionally, an essential segment of preventive social work involves educating and preparing youth for marriage and family and educating them about responsible parenthood. In secondary prevention, an important task of social workers is to help overcome marital conflicts. This highlights that family and marital counseling is one of the key tasks of social workers.

Using QCA, the capacities of five centers for social work in Bosnia and Herzegovina in conducting marital and family counseling were analyzed. The experiences of counseling experts (N=10) were compared through semi-structured interviews. Various challenges and problems were identified that prevent centers for social work from being leaders in counseling. Family and marital counseling represents a complex and responsible task that requires expertise and competencies. The lack of systemic solutions, inconsistent norms and standards, and limited capacities of centers for social work slow down the development of quality counseling in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The data indicates that serious progress is needed in organizing the service, multi-sectoral cooperation, and institutional promotion for family and marital counseling to gain the place it deserves in social work