South Africa's first fully democratic election in 1994 has been followed by two decades of intense policy-oriented activity (Lund, 2008). Every sector, including social welfare, has engaged in policy revision and development toward a transformed society. The cornerstone for all policies is the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa [RSA], Act 108 of 1996, in particular, its Bill of Human Rights, which emphasises the principles of non-racialism, equity and respect for human dignity. The vision for social and economic transformation is embedded in the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), which is in its turn rooted in the Freedom Charter of 1955 (Lund, 2008).

In alignment with the RDP, the call was to develop an ‘equitable, people-centred, democratic and appropriate social welfare system’ (RSA, 1997, p 7). The White Paper for Social Welfare, which is based on a developmental approach, was adopted in 1997 as the overarching social policy framework for social welfare in post-apartheid society (Patel, 2014). The white paper, currently under revision, remains the most widely consultative and supported social welfare policy in South Africa.

Developmental social work is practised in a developmental social welfare system (Gray, 2006) and affirms the commitment of the social work profession to social justice and human rights, and the eradication of poverty and inequality (Lombard and Wairire, 2010, p 100). Developmental social work focuses on the micro and macro context, in line with advocacy practice of regarding the personal as political (Isbister, 2001).

This chapter provides an account of how social work academics in South Africa engage in policy. It starts with an overview of the South African political, socio-economic and social welfare policy context. The next section discusses social work and social work education in South Africa. Then an overview of the study is presented, followed by a discussion of the research findings, and conclusion.

Social welfare policy in South Africa

Social welfare policy in South Africa was shaped by both colonialism and apartheid (Patel, 2015). Inequality in South Africa derives from the socioeconomic disparities inherited from colonialism and apartheid, which limited skills development for most of the population, keeping people trapped in poverty (RSA, 2011).