Duration:                                                 18 months

Credit Load:                                             270

Minimum Credit Load:                            216

Maximum Credit Load:                           360

Minimum MBKs Credits:                        234

ZNQF Level                                            9

 PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAMME

The programme aims to enhance knowledge, skills and competencies in developmental social work as a specialised field. These will be achieved through:

•         Producing graduates who can provide leadership in the social sector.
•         Equipping students with the knowledge and skills to enable them to engage in social planning.
•         Producing graduates with the capacity to advise governments and Non-governmental organisations on the design and implementation of social policies and programmes meant to enhance human well-being.
•         Producing graduates who can apply relevant statistics in addressing social problems.
•         Equipping students with various social theoretical approaches and subsequent paradigms that form the knowledge base of social work, identifying that the complexity of human beings, their contexts and social problems necessitates the generation of knowledge from diverse professional fields.
•         Producing graduateswho are grounded in the philosophical fundamentals of policy, conceptualising social policy and the history of social policy with high-level analytical skills.
•         Equippingstudents with the understanding of what constitutes a social protection package and what determines the choice of a particular social policy package, locating and challenging the root causes of inequality and poverty amongst the marginalised and disenfranchised peoples.
•         Producing graduates who can adapt and remain relevant in changing practice settings through innovation, thoughtfulness, and flexibility to changing clinical settings. 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Normal Entry:   Bachelor of Science Honours in Social Work with 2.2 pass or better, or Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work. In addition, students must be registered with the Council of Social Workers in terms of the Social Workers Act.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AND FURTHER EDUCATION

Employability:             Careers in social development, non-governmental organisations, social policy and planning, research institutions; positions in academia and disaster management.

Further Studies:           Doctoral studies in Social Work.

PROGRAMME DELIVERY

Teaching and Learning Methods: Lectures, seminars, group work, field-based activities, research projects and individual independent study.

Assessment Methods: Written and oral examinations, tests, written and practical assignments, field reports and seminar presentations.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

On successful completion of the Master of Social Work (Developmental) programme the graduate will be able to:

• Identify the influence of the relationship between socio-political and economic factors on social services.
• Demonstrate capacity to provide leadership in the social sector.
• Ability to engage in social planning.
• Demonstrate capacity to identify, select and implement various techniques, methods and means of raising awareness, developing critical consciousness about the structural forces of oppression, exclusion and disempowerment, and use such awareness to engage people as change agents.
• Demonstrate ability to plan, and execute social work research and utilisation of findings to inform social work intervention.
• Ability to undertake project monitoring tasks and do project evaluations.
• Demonstrate understanding of the roles, principles and functions of supervision, management and administration within social welfare agencies.  
• Demonstrate ability to see and interpret social problems and opportunities through various theoretical lenses.
• Formulate project plans for the funding of social services.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Level 1 Semester 1

MSW731 Advanced Research Methods and Statistics                                             18

MSW732 Management of Social Service Organisations                                         18

MSW733 Advanced Social Work Theories and Approaches                                  18

MSW734 Social Policy Theory and Practice                                                           18

Level 1 Semester 2

MSW740Advanced Community Development Theory and Practice                       18

MSW741 Comparative Social Policy                                                                       18

MSW742 Advanced Social Planning                                                                       18

MSW743 Social Protection                                                                                      18

MSW744 Critical Social Work                                                                                18

Level 2 Semester 1

MSW831 Work- Related Learning                                                                          54

MSW832 Research Project                                                                                      90

SYNOPSES

MSW731 Research Methods and Statistics

The purpose of this module is to enable students to apply qualitative and quantitative research methods, skills and techniques to real-life situations in social work practice settings. The module is specifically designed to suit the theoretical and practice demands of the social work profession. The module therefore seeks to equip students with advanced skills in such areas as research designs, theoretical foundations, observations, tools, research data analysis and compiling findings. The students will be able to apply relevant statistics in addressing social problems.

 MSW732 Management of Social Services

The purpose of this module is to assist students in gaining a deeper appreciation and understanding of social welfare organisations and their functions. It will assist students in having an advanced knowledge of the theories and principles that guide the practice of managing social welfare organisations and be able to consider the relevance of management theories in the management of social organisations in Zimbabwe and beyond. Focused attention shall be given to management roles and functions, inter alia, management theories, strategic management, authority delegation and decentralisation, human resource management, change management, innovation and control and stress and time management.

MSW733 Advanced Social Work Theories and Approaches

The module looks at the theoretical and philosophical foundations of social work at an advanced and in-depth level. It explores the various social theoretical approaches and subsequent paradigms that form the knowledge base of social work, identifying that the complexity of human beings, their contexts and social problems necessitates the generation of knowledge from diverse professional fields. The module looks at the theories, methods and philosophy of social work as well as the impact of globalisation on social work theory and practice. It also looks into the exploration, assessment and planning of social work interventions in various contexts. Change-oriented intervention theories, the person-in-environment perspectives, Theories for community social work inter and intra-personal theories in social work and the integration of theory and practice in social work are central issues in this module. At the end of this module, students must be able to contextualise, apply and implement the various advanced social work theories in specific settings to inform therapeutic, administrative and professional practice

MSW734 Social Policy Theory and Practice

The module seeks to expose students to an advanced theoretical and practical base to social policy-making processes and analysis within local, regional and global contexts. This is achieved through exposing students to the various theoretical and applied policy formulation theories and models. The module grounds students in such issues as the philosophical fundamentals of policy, conceptualising social policy, the history of social policy: Theoretical foundations of social policy conservatism, liberalism, neoliberalism, Marxism, post-structuralism, and the political economy among others. It also looks into the policy-making process: agenda setting, advocacy coalition framework, Policy coordination, the policy community or network and the multiple streams framework. The punctuated equilibrium: explaining stability and change in policy, policy implementation, theory and practice, comparative social policy, rational choice theory and Policy evaluation are central to the module. The module produces a cadre who can produce policy papers, position papers, programme evaluation reports, fiscal analysis papers, and manuals among others. The module produces a student who can produce policy plans, briefs, and procedure manuals and the ability to demonstrate social work administration competencies.

MSW740 Advanced Community Development Theory and Practice

The module is designed to equip students with high-level analytical skills for macro practice. Using advanced critical analysis methods, students learn about the history and rationale for community work, community development theories and models. The nexus between community development and social policy shall also be interrogated. On the other hand, students also learn about indigenous knowledge systems for community development and how such a knowledge base should be valued and taken into account when crafting community development interventions. Students shall be required to do case studies of community development interventions and provide a critical appraisal using the knowledge base acquired in class.

 MSW 741 Comparative Social Policy

This module examines social policy-making in different countries and focuses on specific areas such as health, education and personal social services. The main focus of the module is on unravelling the drivers in social policy-making in different countries, particularly within the context of the North-South divide. The module thus provides students with an opportunity to interrogate some of these drivers in policy-making. Students shall draw from the African Union Social Policy Framework to understand the focus of social policy in Africa. The module also enables students to reflect on what would constitute an appropriate social policy regime for Zimbabwe.

MSW742 Social Planning

This module explores global trends in social planning with particular reference to the different approaches to social planning, including the theoretical and philosophical perspectives in social planning. The module also examines the impact of globalisation on social planning. Issues and challenges in social planning shall be examined. Focus shall also be put on case studies that show different approaches to planning. In the end, students should be able to suggest an appropriate approach to social planning that can be adopted in Zimbabwe and other African countries.

MSW743 Social Protection

This module explores the different approaches to social protection and how these speak to international and regional human rights instruments. In particular, approaches to social protection adopted by the Asian Development Bank, International Labour Organisation, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank shall be examined. The module enables students to understand what constitutes a social protection package and what determines the choice of a particular social policy package. Students shall have an opportunity to make a critical analysis of Zimbabwe’s National Social Protection Policy to identify its strengths and weaknesses and possible pathways for extending social protection to everyone in society.

MSW 744 Critical Social Work

Critical social work seeks to locate and challenge the root causes of inequality and poverty amongst the marginalised and disenfranchised peoples. It is a type of social work that strives to attain structural rather than cosmetic changes in the economic, social and political arena. This module introduces students to critical /radical social work, its history and its tenets. Apart from using social work writers on critical or radical social work, the works of critical writers such as Dambudzo Marechera, Saul Alinsky, Paulo Freire, Steve Biko and Frantz Fanon among others shall be interrogated as they provide a frame of reference for, critical, reflective and radical social work practice.

 MSW 831 Work-Related Learning

As part of the requirements for obtaining a Master of Social Work Degree in all areas, students are expected to embark on work-integrated learning. The duration of the placement shall be 3 months. The fieldwork component shall take place during the third and final semester. All placements of students should be done under the direct supervision of a qualified social worker in Clinical Social Work. Students are expected to undertake advanced tasks that are reflective of senior social work roles in Clinical Social Work.

 MSW832 Dissertation

Research is a key component in designing of models, implementing, monitoring and evaluating policies and programmes both at global, regional and national levels. The purpose of the Dissertation is for the students to showcase their ability to conduct innovative research. Each student is expected to come up with a research topic, write the research proposal, clearly articulate either the qualitative research methods or the quantitative research methods or both, the research design(s), research tools, data management and analysis, presentation and discussion of research findings. The dissertation course allows the students to provide valuable recommendations for policies and programmes that would result in the positive transformation of the socio-economic, religious and environment of the population. Such recommendations from the dissertation course would subsequently enhance societal innovation and industrialisation. Students are required to undertake research on a topic of their choice subject to approval by the Department. The selected topic shall be relevant to Clinical Social Work. The study should be undertaken under the guidance of a supervisor appointed by the Department. The minimum length of the dissertation shall be 16 000 words.

 ELECTIVES

MSW 712 Scenario Planning

The science of scenario planning is one of the ways by which we can manipulatively adjust to and prepare for a future that we deem most desirable. This module introduces students to the science and practice of scenario planning. The module on scenario planning equips students with the ability to map future scenarios and how best organisations and countries not only shape but also prepare for any future eventualities. Students shall learn about the history, models and approaches to the practice of scenario planning. Using a hands-on methodology, students shall be taught to identify a key issue, analyse driving forces, map out scenario frameworks, communicate scenario stories and to pursue strategies that lead to particular scenario outcomes.

 MSW 713 Change Management Theory and Practice

This module introduces students to the science and practice of change management in organisations. Adaptation is critical if organisations are to remain relevant. Innovation, thoughtfulness and flexibility are critical elements of any change process. This module introduces students to change management, its history, its tenets, the various theories and models of change management and the psychology of change management. Within the organisational context, change management shall be approached as a multi-level practice requiring change and alignment at the individual, team and organisational level for change interventions to succeed.

MSW745 Advanced Project Management for Development Interventions

This module is designed to equip students with high-level competence in the design and implementation of development interventions in communities. The introductory part of the module covers, tools, techniques and methods that are commonly utilised in designing development interventions. The most critical aspects of the module focus on examining why development interventions often fail. Using case-based learning, students shall learn about the common pitfalls in project planning and implementation. Students shall learn about the efficacy of indigenous knowledge systems and approaches in programme planning and implementation. Development interventions shall be looked at as a science that needs to be grounded in the local context and implemented in a manner that leads to both material and mind liberation of beneficiary populations.

MPHIL PROGRAMMES

• MPhil in Social Work

DPHIL PROGRAMMES

• DPhil in Social Work