EDITORIAL

Editorial

Sulina Green

Department of Social Work, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Thorough, topical academic research constantly generates a sound evidence base for social work teaching and learning, practice and policy development. The articles in this issue of Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk do just that. They cover a wide range of research: opportunities for HIV-infected researchers to engage in HIV-related research; authentic teaching and learning of students; effects of policies; needs of caregivers; and social problems presented by adolescents.

The opening article critically interrogates an HIV-infected research team's positionality whilst conducting a study on the experiences of HIV-positive patients in the public ART programme offered at clinics.

The next article reports on what final-year undergraduate students think of an authentic Social Work module attempting to develop their employability and readiness for employment in the context of social work.

Following that, two articles analyse the influence of existing policies on traditional male circumcision practices and legal adoptions of abandoned children. The first article examines the shortcomings of existing policies pertaining to traditional male circumcision and the findings of the study also reveal a lack of enforcement of these policies. The second article offers insights into the perceptions and experiences of prospective Black adopters of the rigorous assessment process for adoption of abandoned children in South Africa and addresses the tensions in adoption policy and practice.

The next duo of articles describes the challenges of caregivers. The focus of one article is on the wide vast range of needs faced by caregivers of bipolar patients and the importance of addressing these needs. The other article discusses the high expectations and demands that child caregivers experience in order to act in the best interest of children in private places of temporary care.

The focus of the last two articles is on social problems presented by adolescents. The first examines the challenges faced by parents raising adolescents who are abusing substances and presents suggestions for social work policy and practice to deal effectively with substance abuse. The second explains perceptions of educators about the influence of teenage pregnancy on the educational achievement of high school learners and found that teenage pregnancy negatively affects the learner, other learners, the family, school, community and society as a whole.