Voices of the University of Botswana Social Work graduates in Community Development

Abstract

Community development (CD) is one of the integral methods of SocialWork practice. Its goal is to empower individuals, groups, organizationsand communities to improve the economic and general social welfare ofpeople in communities. The purpose of this paper is to report on the viewsof the University of Botswana Social Work graduates regarding theirperceptions on the roles they play in Community Development. The papercomes out of a tracer project whose object was, among other things,to document the performance of Social Work graduates (1998-2008)employed in social and Community Development agencies and Ministryof Local Government in Botswana. The study was, in part, motivated bythe perceptions that UB Social Work graduates lacked adequate trainingin understanding of Social Work in general, and Community Developmentin particular. The results of the tracer study further reveal, among otherthings, that UB graduates are adequately trained with requisite knowledgeand skills for CD, but are constrained by lack of resources. It is thereforerecommended that the Department of Social Work at the University ofBotswana initiate a dialogue with stakeholders at various levels inorder to examine issues affecting Community Development strategies inBotswana.