RESPONSIBILITIES OF MENTORS: SOCIAL AUXILIARY WORK

1. WHY THE NEED FOR SOCIAL AUXILIARY WORK?

A national priority in South Africa is to address the many social development needs prevalent amongst individuals, families, groups and communities. Social Auxiliary Work and Social Work are acknowledged as being essential to address these priority social needs. Social auxiliary work and social work are in the frontline of social development and transformation, particularly in traditionally under-resourced communities.

The need for social auxiliary workers in South Africa was identified more than 10 years ago, leading to the role and functions of Social Auxiliary Work being defined in the Regulations to the Social Service Professions Act, 1978. These Regulations define social auxiliary work as "an act or activity practised by a social auxiliary worker under the guidance and control of the social worker and as a supporting service to a social worker to achieve the aims of social work". This implies that social auxiliary workers are assistants to social workers, providing support services and working under the supervision of social workers. Social auxiliary work complements and supports social work in all focus areas with services to individuals, families, groups and communities.

In order to provide this assistance and support to the social work team, a qualification in social auxiliary work and registration with the SA Council for Social Service Professions are necessary.

2. SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS

The mentor has a particular task/function to provide learners with support. A mentor can be described as someone who give guidance to learners and if necessary also counselling. The specific functions of the mentor can be summarized as follows:

2.1 SUPPORT

The mentor must be mindful of the learner's problems and needs, identify these and document them. Together an action plan must be drawn up so as to address these issues. Learners could possibly experience the following problems:

• anxiety in respect of the learning process such as with the learning content or practical assignments
• anxiety with regard to assessment
• learning problems
• anxiety about mentorship
• communication problems

If these problems are experienced then the mentor can attend to them him/herself or else refer the learner to a specialist.

The mentor must also ensure that the learner undertakes his/her practical work in a supportive working environment.

2.2 EDUCATIONAL

The mentor also has a responsibility to assist the learner educationally. This means amongst others that learners must be informed of possible learning pathways. The following are important in this regard:

• create within learners a positive attitude towards lifelong learning

The mentor must also be focused on the development of competencies in learners. These competencies as previously indicated must be applied competencies, meaning the practical application of knowledge, skills and values against learning outcomes and assessment criteria.

2.3 ADMINISTRATIVE

The mentor must also work out an outcomes orientated mentorship programme in collaboration with the learner. This programme must contain the following elements in particular:

• learning and discussion schedule (mentorship session)
• day/week/month planner
• learning outcomes to be met during practical cycle
• tasks and responsibilities of both mentor and learner are fulfilled
• assistance with practical assignments ( support, guidance and monitoring)by the learner as contained in the module
• making sure that the learner keep up his/her portfolio and schedule of learning
• The upkeep of a logbook reflecting learner attendance, mentor-learner consultations, learner activity learner's reflexion on own growth and development

In addition the mentor must include certain quality assurance mechanisms in mentorship so as to ensure that a quality learnership is delivered and that a degree of excellence is achieved. It can be done by amongst others:

• ensuring that the learner does the practical assignments in an outcomes orientated manner
• regular and scheduled mentorship discussions – with clear outcomes – based on the learner's portfolio
• monitoring the completion of practical assignments
• documenting all mentorship discussions
• submit evaluation report following the conclusion of each module to cefa

2.4 LIAISING

The mentor must continuously maintain a close relationship with the training provider (cefa). The following communication between the mentor and cefa is important:

Communication in respect of:

• learners: In this regard the mentor can assist the training provider by giving feedback about problems regarding the learning content for example content that is not understood
• administration: In this regard the mentor can help by ensuring that:
  • practical assignments are completed punctually
  • portfolios are kept up to date and with a view to assessment are handed in on time
  • the learner is kept informed of assessment dates
  • there is regular contact with the tutor

2.5 CONCLUSION

The role and task of the mentor is similar to supervision in this instance the person who is supervised is not a social worker/student social worker but a learner social auxiliary worker.

3. MODULES IN THE SOCIAL AUXILIARY WORK PROGRAM