Problems experienced by school going children: a school social work perspective

Abstract

School social work is one of the essential specialties of social work in the world today. In South Africa, school social workers play a vital role in  helping learners attain academic potential and flourish within a safe school environment. There are many problems confronting children in schools  and as a result, their performance is adversely affected. Children go to school with different problems such as abuse and neglect, hunger due to  poverty, peer pressure and myriad of challenges. This study aimed at exploring the developmental perspectives of school social work with special  reference to the extent to which it would benefit children. Both qualitative and quantitative research enquiries were used in the study and the  exploratory and descriptive research design. Content analysis was used to interpret the qualitative data collected and the purposive sampling was  adopted. This study found that school going children in South Africa experience poverty, being orphaned, neglect and abuse (sexual), and substance  misuse. This abuse led to children exhibiting sexual and seductive play, and poor school performance. Some children experience poor  social and delinquent behavior. The study also revealed that many educators (67%) are not trained and equipped to identify myriad of challenges  children experience. Lastly the results show that social workers play a critical role in assisting learners  who are experiencing problems at school.