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This paper presents Midgley's theory on social development to an Australian social work audience. It explores the concept and theory of social development, examines the relationship between social work and social development, and discusses the relevance of social development to social work in Australia. The paper suggests that although social work and social development may share similar broad goals, their strategic approaches differ, with the former cast within a professional model concerned with welfare broadly conceived and the latter directly concerned with the alleviation of poverty in the less-developed parts of the world. The paper concludes with thoughts on the Australian face of social development and suggests changes that would need to be made if social work were to embrace social development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the development of sophisticated technologies associated with prenatal testing processes have assisted in the practice of prenatal diagnosis, limited attention has been given to the complexities surrounding the decision-making processes for pregnant women following a poor or fatal diagnosis. An emerging international body of knowledge suggests that the process of having prenatal testing and then deciding on whether to continue a wanted pregnancy is often difficult and traumatic. In the last 50 years, social workers have played an invaluable role in the provision of holistic counselling and support for children and families in a range of areas and contexts. This paper highlights the unique contributions that social workers can bring to the field of prenatal testing. It emphasises the consideration of strengths and values inherent within social work practice that provides appropriate and timely support for women who have received a poor or fatal diagnosis following prenatal testing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents an innovative approach to the teaching of policy skills across the two years of an Australian Social Work degree programme. It argues that placing policy back into practice and teaching the skills involved provides social work practitioners with a better capacity to effect change. Australian Catholic University, School of Social Work is located in Australia's capital city. The policy units have a clear framework within which to understand policy development and provide students with real hands-on policy experience combining an experiential based learning approach with traditional teaching methods. The second year subject is structured around a number of policy workshops. Each workshop deals with a current policy problem and examines a different stage of policy development. It has as a consultant to the process a social worker who works as a policy practitioner providing a role model of practice in a policy area. Feedback from students has been extremely positive reporting increased confidence in policy skills and a recognition of the importance of these skills in social work. This teaching experience reinforces the need to focus on the educational considerations in teaching a subject where conceptual, theoretical and skill components are equally important if policy practice is to effect change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]