EDITORIAL

Editorial

The articles in this issue capture research related to social work education and to how children, adolescents, adults, families, people with disabilities and people living with HIV and Aids experience a range of care, support, treatment and intervention services. These articles unfold in interesting ways the implications of the findings of these research studies for social work practice.

The first article addresses trends in social work education and reports on how fostering awareness of self in the education of social work students has focused primarily on a micro-conceptualisation of the self, while the development of the professional self should also encompass a macro-conceptualisation.

The next article innovatively evaluates how social workers who are involved in informal community-based peace committees should focus on the contribution their profession could make to enhance successful social interventions offered from a developmental perspective.

The following article makes valuable suggestions on how social workers could support home-based caregivers of people living with HIV and Aids in managing their work-related challenges.

An article on the perspectives of adult children raised in female-headed families explains how these children developed independence and self-reliance emanating from their mothers' survival strategies, resilience and perseverance.

The culture-specific attitudes of Batswana people towards adoption are explored in an article which finds that the Batswana community has a positive attitude towards adoption.

The next two articles carefully evaluate the unique experiences of residents in care facilities. The focus in one is on understanding the sexuality of persons with intellectual disability in residential facilities. The other concentrates on how adults diagnosed with both bipolar and stimulant disorder experienced treatment at treatment centres.

This issue concludes with an inquiry into service providers' perceptions of factors contributing to substance misuse and criminal activity amongst adolescents.

Prof Sulina Green, Department of Social Work, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.