Kwame Nkrumah University of

Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Approach to Social Work Practice

Name: Prof. Esme Manful

Department: Sociology & Social Work
Faculty & College: FoSS/CoHSS
SOWK 259
06/02/24
 Expected Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lecture students should be
able to:
A. Explain what social development entails
B. List the six characteristics within the definition of
social development
C. Describe the importance of social institutions in
development
D. Discuss the three core issues of the 1995
Copenhagen Social Summit
E. Apply the SDGs to social work practice
 Social Development
Social Development focuses on the need
to “put people first” in development
processes.

It promotes social inclusion of the poor

and vulnerable by:
i. empowering people,
ii. building cohesive and resilient
societies and
iii. making institutions accessible and
accountable to citizens.
 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: THE CONCEPT
• Social development is about improving the
well-being of every individual in society so
they can reach their full potential.
I. Social development means investing in
people.
II. It requires the removal of barriers so that all
citizens can journey toward their dreams
with confidence and dignity.

www.knust.edu.gh
 Definition
• “Social Development is the promotion of a
sustainable society that is worthy of human dignity
by empowering marginalised groups, women and
men, to undertake their own development, to
improve their social and economic position and to
acquire their rightful place in society…..” - Bilance,
1997)
• “ Social Development is equality of social
opportunities” – (Sen, 1995)
❖Social development is about putting people at the
centre of development.
 Definition cont.
Social Development is a process of
planned social change designed to
promote the well-being of the
population as a whole within the
context of a dynamic multifaceted
development process. (Midgley, 2013)

www.knust.edu.gh
 Key characteristics of Definition
1. Process: not one off or short term but
requires longer-term solutions
2. Progressive: process involving steady
improvements in social conditions
3. Multifaceted process: comprised of
economic, social, political, cultural,
environmental, gender and other
dimensions which are integrated and
harmonised
 Key characteristics cont.
4. Interventionist: requires human agency in
the form of projects, programmes, policies
and plans that achieve its goals.
5. Productivist: in that practice interventions
function as investments that contribute
positively to economic development.
6. Universalistic: in scope, being concerned
with the population as a whole rather than
with impoverished, vulnerable and needy
groups of people
 The Copenhagen Social Summit 1995
Political will exhibited by all Governments to give
integral treatment to the social challenges of
development
Represent a set of norms to guide national, regional
and internationally agreed policies, rights and
obligations
Three core issues:
o Poverty Eradication
o Employment Generation
o Social Harmony
 Copenhagen 1995 - Objectives
Includes:
i. improvements in individual and family wellbeing
through the enjoyment of human rights,
ii. the provision of economic opportunities,
iii. the reduction of poverty,
iv. access to social protection and social services,
v. building and maintenance of social relations,
structures and institutions through which
individuals and groups constitute a viable society.
www.knust.edu.gh
 Copenhagen 1995 - Process
To promote greater inclusion and participation
in building more democratic and equitable
societies social development implies the:
❑continuous promotion of a more equitable
distribution of opportunities, income, assets,
services and power in order to achieve greater
equality and equity in society;
❑the active involvement of Governments and
international and regional organizations, as
well as civil society and the private sector.
 SD implies change in Social Institutions

• Social institutions are established sets of

norms and subsystems that support each
society's survival.
• Each sector carries out certain tasks and has
different responsibilities that contribute to
the overall functioning and stability of a
society.
• They are accepted way of providing
resources for helping to meet human needs.
 Social Institutions – Reform
• Social development implies the change in social
institutions; example,
a. changing the way people relate to each other
within the family, government, economy,
education and religion
b. the provision of legally enshrined rights,
c. better law enforcement, or
d. more participatory governance
• Progress toward an inclusive society.
• Social accountability exists to the extent that citizens’
voices are expressed, and heard by the authorities.
 The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

• Adopted at the United Nations Summit in New

York, 25-27 September 2015.
• Came into effect in January 2016
• 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with
169 associated targets
• Aims to guide Member States to transform their
approach to achieve:
i. inclusive,
ii. people-centered and
iii. sustainable development that leaves no one
behind
 Agenda 2030 Five Ps
1. PEOPLE: heart of development to promote human
dignity, well-being of all, combat inequalities, end poverty
and gender equality
2. PLANET champions combating climate change,
promoting sustainable use of earth’s resources and
sustainable patterns of consumption and production.
3. PROSPERITY: specifically focuses on inclusive and
sustainable economic growth.
4. PEACE—promote life free from fear, coercion and
violence access to justice and human rights for all.
5. PARTNERSHIP: calls for global solidarity and people—
centered approach to development.
 SDGs and Social Work Practice
1. The Human Rights Approach
2. Gender equality and empowerment
3. Values
such as human dignity, inclusivity, respect
diversity, equality and non-discrimination,
empowerment, reliance, resilience, and self-help
and realization of full potential
4. Target groups
women, children, and youths, persons with
disabilities, older persons, indigenous peoples,
internally displaced people, migrants and refugees
Social Development and the Social Worker
Social Development promotes:
• social inclusion of the poor and vulnerable by
empowering people,
• building cohesive and resilient societies,
• making institutions accessible and accountable to
citizens,
• translates the complex relationship between
societies and states into operations.

www.knust.edu.gh
Developmental Social Work Goals
Include …….
1. the elimination of hunger and
poverty,
2. universal access to education
and healthcare,
3. representative government,
4. social stability
www.knust.edu.gh
 Developmental Social Work
❑Achievement of its goals
Using social development processes
through which people are helped to
realize the fullness of the social,
political, and economic potentials that
already exist within them.

www.knust.edu.gh
 Bibliography
• Midgley, J. (2013) Social Development : Theory &
Practice. London: SAGE pp. 3- 19.
http://uk.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-
binaries/57961_Midgley_social_Development.pdf
• Human Development Report (2013). The Rise of the
South: Human Progress in a Diverse World
[http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2013_EN_compl
ete.pdf]
• IFSW (2014) Global Agenda for Social Work and Social
Development 2014: African Region. International
Social Work, 57(S4): 17–23.
http://cdn.ifsw.org/assets/ifsw_23031-6.pdf
• Lister, Ruth (2004). Poverty. London: Polity [chapter 1: