TOWARDS SOCIAL WORK INTERVENTION IN RURAL SCHOOLS : PERSPECTIVES OF EDUCATORS

The education reform process in South Africa is faced with the task of improving the quality of schooling by restoring a culture of teaching and learning in die classroom.  Establishing healthy learning environments requires an exploration of factors impacting on the learning process.  The Education White Paper 6 (Department of Education 2001a) lists the following as areas of concern: problems in the provision and organisation of education, socio-economics barriers, factors such as violence and crime which place learners at risk, substance abuse, attitudes, problems with language and communication, lack of human resource development, and lack of parental recognition and involvement.  Sayed (202) views schools as the key institutions through which people could potentially experience themselves as social outcasts, recipients of skills or learning, or as agents of change.  It is for such reasons that schools are crucial in human lives