UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WORK

BACHELOR OF SOCIAL WORK HONOURS DEGREE
COURSE OUTLINE SECOND SEMESTER 2019
CHILD WELFARE POLICY AND PRACTICE II (HSW 409)

This course builds on Child Welfare Policy and Practice I (HSW 403).
LECTURER: Dr. W Chikoko (0772 529 127) wchikoko@gmail.com or witchik2001@yahoo.co.uk

COURSE: Child Welfare Policy and Practice

CODE: HSW 409

Course Objective

1. The student to have an in-depth analysis of child care and protection problems or challenges
affecting developing countries.

2. The student to broaden the understanding of child care and protection issues affecting developing
countries.

3. The student to come up with strategies or recommendations to ameliorate some of the child care
and protection challenges affecting developing countries.

Teaching Methods

 Lecturers
 Seminars
 Essays or Assignments
 Guest lecturers, etc.

Course content:

1. Introduction to Child Care and Protection:

 Definition of Child Welfare, Child Protection, Social Welfare etc.

2. Childhood Theoretical Issues

 New social studies of childhood
 Child rights issues
 Ubuntu/Unhu
 Resilience etc
3. Historical Development of Child Welfare in Zimbabwe
 Child care and welfare in traditional society
 Child Welfare in Zimbabwe during colonial period
 Child Welfare in the United Kingdom or Australia

4. Role of non-state actors in child care and protection

 Nongovernmental organizations
  Civil society organizations
 Churches etc
5. Administration of the Juvenile Justice
 Street children

6. Child Rights in Governance

 Child Participation (Junior Parliament etc)
 Lobbying and Advocacy strategies

7. International, Regional and Local Child Rights Legislations and Policies

 The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (1989)
 The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children (ACRWC) (1999)
 The Children’s Act (5:06)
 The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (9:23)
 The Zimbabwe National Orphan Care Policy of 1999

8. Selected Child Care and Protection Programmes

 The National Action Plan for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children (2004- 2009, 2010-2015
& 2016- 2020).
 Case management programmes
 Social cash transfer programmes
 The Multi sectoral response on the management of child sexual abuse etc
Assignments
Students will be required to write two essays during the course of the semester. The essays will
contribute 25 % of the final mark. The final examinations will contribute 75% of the final mark.
Assignments should be submitted on or before the due date otherwise they will not be marked. The end
of semester examination will constitute the remaining 75% of the final course assessment. Assignments
should strictly not exceed 1000 words in length otherwise the student will be penalized.

Assignment 1
Explore the similarities and differences between child welfare services in Zimbabwe and United
Kingdom.

Due Date: 25 March 2019

Assignment 2 To be written under exam conditions

Study Area: The role of non-state actors in child protection issues

Due date: End of April 2019

BIBLIOGRAPHY
African Union (1999) African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children, unpublished, Addis Ababa

Bourdillon.M.F.C (1991) Poor, harassed but very much alive: An account of street people and their organization

Gweru, Zimbabwe, Mambo Press

Bourdillon.M.F.C (1994) Street Children in Harare Africa, Journal of the International African Institute, 4 (4):

516-533

Bourdillon.M.F.C (1994) Street Children in Harare Africa, Journal of the International African Institute, 4 (4):

516-533

Bourdillon.M.F.C (2000) (ed) Earning a life: Working Children in Zimbabwe, Harare, Weaver Press

Bourdillon. M.F.C (2004) Children in development Progress in Development studies 4 (2): 99

Bourdillon.M.F.C (2006) “Children and work: A review of current literature and debates” Development and

change 37 (6): 1201-26

Bourdillon.M.F.C (2009) Children’s work in Southern Africa Werkwinkel 4(1)

Bourdillon.M.F.C and Spittler.G (2012) African Children at Work: Working and learning in growing up for life,

Berlin, Lit Verlag

Bourdillon.M.F.C and Musvosvi.E (2014) What can children’s rights mean when children are struggling to

survive? The case of Chiweshe, Zimbabwe, in Twum-Danso Imoh.A and Ansell.N (eds) 2014, Children’s lives in

an era of children’s rights: The progress of the Convention on the rights of the child in Africa, Routlegde, New

York.

Chandaengerwa.E.K (2014)Growing up in the era of AIDS: Childhood experiences in rural Zimbabwe,

unpublished D.Phil Thesis, Department of Anthropology, Archeology, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Cheney.K.E (2010) Expanding vulnerability, dwindling resources: Implications for orphaned futures in Uganda

Childhood in Africa 2 (1): 8-15

Cheney. K (2010) Deconstructing childhood vulnerability: An Introduction Childhood in Africa 2 (1): 4-7

Cheney.K.E (2012) Killing them softly? Using children’s rights to empower Africa’s orphans and vulnerable

children International Social Work 56 (1): 92- 102

Cheney.K.E (2014) Conflicting protectionist and participation models of children’s rights in in Twum-Danso

Imoh.A and Ansell.N (eds) 2014, Children’s lives in an era of children’s rights: The progress of the Convention

on the rights of the child in Africa, Routlegde, New York.

Chikoko.W (2014) Commercial ‘sex work’ and substance abuse among adolescent street children of Harare

Central Business District Journal of Social Development in Africa 29 (02)

Chikoko.W, Chikoko.E, Muzvidziwa.V.N & Ruparanganda.W (2016) Nongovernmental organisations’ response

to substance abuse and sexual behaviours of adolescent street children of the Harare Central Business District

African Journal of Social Work 09 ( 02)

Chikoko.W (2017) Substance abuse among street children of Harare: The case study of Harare Central Business

District, Zimbabwe, unpublished Doctor of Philosophy Degree Thesis, Department of Social Work, University of

Zimbabwe, Harare.

Government of Zimbabwe (1999) Zimbabwe National Orphan Care Policy, Government Printers, Harare

Government of Zimbabwe (2001) Private Voluntary Organisation Act (17:05) Government Printers, Harare

Government of Zimbabwe (2001) Social Workers Act (27:21), Government Printers, Harare

Government of Zimbabwe (2001) The Children’s Act (5:06), Government Printers, Harare

Government of Zimbabwe (2005) Births and Death Registration (5:02), Government Printers, Harare

Government of Zimbabwe (2006), The Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (9:23) Government Printers,

Harare

Government of Zimbabwe (2010) Institutional capacity assessment of Department of Social Services, Ministry of

Labour and Social services, unpublished report, Harare

Government of Zimbabwe (2010) National Action Plan for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children 2011- 2015,

Government Printers, Harare

Government of Zimbabwe (2012) Multi sectoral approach in the management of sexual violence, Government

Printers, Harare

Government of Zimbabwe (2012) Statutory Instrument 146 of 2012 Social Workers (Code of Ethics) By- Laws,

Government Printers, Harare