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All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source. |
| SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY |
| REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: |
| Master of Social Science (Community Mental Health Promotion) |
| SAQA QUAL ID | QUALIFICATION TITLE | |||
| 101981 | Master of Social Science (Community Mental Health Promotion) | |||
| ORIGINATOR | ||||
| The South African College of Applied Psychology - Pretoria | ||||
| PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY | NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK | |||
| CHE - Council on Higher Education | HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework | |||
| QUALIFICATION TYPE | FIELD | SUBFIELD | ||
| Master's Degree | Field 09 - Health Sciences and Social Services | Promotive Health and Developmental Services | ||
| ABET BAND | MINIMUM CREDITS | PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL | NQF LEVEL | QUAL CLASS |
| Undefined | 180 | Not Applicable | NQF Level 09 | Regular-Provider-ELOAC |
| REGISTRATION STATUS | SAQA DECISION NUMBER | REGISTRATION START DATE | REGISTRATION END DATE | |
| Reregistered | EXCO 0821/24 | 2021-07-01 | 2027-06-30 | |
| LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT | LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT | |||
| 2028-06-30 | 2031-06-30 | |||
| In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise. |
This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification. |
| PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION |
| Purpose:
The purpose of this qualification is to educate and train students in four key areas in the field of community mental health promotion: The curriculum design for this qualification will contribute towards the programme purpose in the following ways: > Discourses in Community Psychology and its laboratory project including: The unique applications and challenges within Community Psychology both globally and within South Africa. > Well-being as a central measure of health and life satisfaction. > The value of primary prevention and the contextualising elements of social justice and health equity needed for community mental health and wellness outcomes. Focus will be given to: The appropriateness of current mental health promotion practices within the South Africa context and the value of psycho educational and life skills oriented interventions aimed at promoting the mental well-being of individuals, groups or communities and assisting in preventing illness. > Discourses in social innovation, venture philanthropy and harnessing organizational forms and social relationships for social change and strengthening civil society. > Global and national health systems, public mental health policies, human rights and the law including: The role of legal and governmental policies and procedures in international human rights law, the National Mental Health Policy and Strategic Framework along with key South African Acts of interest, including: The Child Justice Act, the Refugees Act, The Legal Aid South Africa Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. > Discourses in mental health advocacy, ethics, human rights and the law both nationally and internationally > Global health governance and management in NPOs/Community development projects. > Accessing advocacy and justice recourse systems for vulnerable groups within the South African context. > Critical approaches to mental health assessment. > Strategic leadership, management skills, good governance and fiscal skills for ensuring healthy productive organisations, management and visionary theory and methodology and methods for managing change including: Processes, strategies and resources needed in the management of mental health service organizations. > Manage complex challenges with creativity and originality. > Identify, engage and collaborate with stakeholders, investors and corporate partners in the design and implementation of social innovation including: conflict and negotiation communication skills for working with community stakeholders. > Stimulate thinking beyond mundane conceptual schemes for working with people and enabling groups to construct and enact their own realities and build autonomous leadership in communities. > Manage community projects at every level with an understanding of: marketing and sales techniques for non-profits and NGOs, financial management techniques and strategic analysis and development techniques. > Work with governmental tenders and sub-contractors. > Account for leading and initiating processes and implementing systems, ensuring good resource management ethical adherence and governance practices. > Communicate dynamically in defending learned discourses and substantial ideas with a range of audiences with different levels of knowledge or expertise. > Demonstrate a range of mental health promotion/intervention skills for producing planned behaviour change. > Work with creativity and insight for vulnerable groups within specialised contexts with particular reference to addressing themes of poverty, marginalization and social justice. > Lead community based Participatory Action Research Projects (PARP). > Evaluate the role of research in designing community interventions. > Consider ecological including social, technological, environmental, economic and political (STEEP) determinants of mental health. > Conduct mental health assessment; STEEP analysis; needs assessment; Strength Weakness Opportunity Threats (SWOT analysis); and project risk analysis. > Identify best-fit interventions and develop them at an appropriate level based on evidence based programme theory. > Implement and monitor preventative and developmental programmes with individuals and groups in community contexts. > Manage and monitor the implementation of a range of innovative social intervention and Participatory Action Research Projects (PARP). > Devise logic models to map change. > Creativity and originality in identifying, conceptualising and designing research to address a research problem. > Critical evaluation of designs and research methodologies so as to select appropriate methods and processes of enquiry that fit specific research problems. > Specialised skills in the employment of data collection and data analysis strategies. > Ability to make autonomous ethical decisions which affect knowledge production or complex organisational or professional issues, and the ability to critically contribute to the development of ethical standards in a specific context. > Ability to write technical reports and creative works that communicate knowledge, learning and insight clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences. Rationale: This qualification aims to be a comprehensive qualification focused on advancing scholarship, research capacity, strategic leadership and social innovation around community mental health promotion in line with the institution's overall mission. The rationale behind this qualification is: > The needs of the country. > Work Place needs. > The needs of Graduates. Mental health is the backbone of South Africa's economic growth and development and is critical to the overall well-being of individuals and society. "It is the springboard for the development of thinking and communication skills, emotional growth, resilience and self-esteem, and is fundamental to achieving government's goal of a Long and Healthy life for all South Africans" (Motsoaledi quoted in National Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic plan 2013 - 2020). This qualification has been developed with this need in mind. Given the multi-faceted mental health challenges faced by South African's and the reality that there remains today a large gap between the scope of mental health challenges and mental health resources to deal with such challenges. The institution has been attentive to this challenge and innovative in designing this programme to be one that truly speaks to what is needed in South Africa. The rationale behind the MSocSci (Community Mental Health Promotion) is to: The qualification will provide students with competencies in the area of scholarship, research, leadership and community mental health intervention and promotion thereby training students in alignment with the National Skills Development Strategy III and the National Development Plan 2030 to be a skilled and capable workforce that are able to lead, share in, and contribute to the mental health and wellness of South Africa's people. The Higher Education Act affirms the desirability of higher education institutions creating new programmes that are transformative in character and focused on producing "high quality graduates with knowledge, competencies and skills to practice occupations and professions both locally and anywhere in the world." The employment environment in South Africa demonstrates the need for graduates with an advanced level of training in the social sciences with a focus on community psychology who are able to adapt to changing skills demands in the marketplace, and to be innovative in the way they position themselves in the employment market. Graduates of this qualification will be well suited for employment in an extensive range of public and private sector enterprises including but not limited to a variety of with NPO's, NGO's and corporate companies focusing on community/social development, management and leadership, mental health advocacy, mental health promotion, human rights advocacy, policy implementation and change management as well as consulting, research, education and academia. The Masters of Social Science in Community Health Promotion [MSocSci (Community Mental Health Promotion)] complements SACAP's other programmes and is particularly well suited for students with a Psychology or Social Science Honours Degree who wish to engage with the Social Sciences further at a Masters level, with a particular focus on community mental health and with a longer term view to a career in community mental health or related fields. In this regard, the MSocSci (Community Mental Health Promotion) offers an ideal articulation pathway for graduates of SACAP's BSocSciHons (Psychology) Degree. Due to the paucity of available places, most of these candidates will not be successful in securing a place in these programmes. The MSocSci (Community Mental Health Promotion) is aimed at the student who is committed to gaining more knowledge and skills in community mental health promotion. The MSocSci (Community Mental Health Promotion) therefore speaks to an important gap in the academic qualification marketplace in providing additional advanced study articulation pathways for Honours graduates in a cognate discipline. The development of a qualification that aligns to the National Development Plan 2030 (National Development Plan, 2014). The National Development Plan - Our future - make it work speaks specifically to developing the Next Generation of Academics for South African Higher Education by: The MSocSci (Community Mental Health Promotion) aims to train its students to be critical, engaged and advanced scholars, strategic leaders, social innovators and intellectually independent autonomous researchers who: |
| LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING |
| Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
RPL will not be granted for advanced standing or exemption from modules or courses constitutive of this Master of Social Science (Community Mental Health Promotion) (MSocSci) qualification. RPL will only be considered for admission in to the MSocSci degree for those graduates without the minimum entrance requirements (i.e. a relevant Honours bachelor's degree or postgraduate diploma in a cognate discipline) who have shown either by examination, research experience, publication, considerable relevant work experience in the field, or a record of appropriate training and/or development, that they have reached a level in the subject or a cognate subject, that is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours bachelor's degree/NQF 8 qualification. These claims must be supported by a relevant portfolio of evidence that can be verified, which could include, but is not limited to, a combination of the following: study transcripts (compared, certified and verified by SAQA for international qualifications), course descriptors, a detailed curriculum vitae, work and/or academic references, previous research paper(s), publication(s). The applicant's RPL portfolio of evidence will be assessed by one or more internal senior academic staff members to ascertain the applicant's level of competence for admission into the MSocSci degree. Where the applicant's RPL portfolio of evidence is found lacking, the applicant could be required to do a piece of research in an area in which they have relevant experience and prior learning in order to substantiate their portfolio of evidence. Those applicants who do not qualify for RPL because their prior learning and research experience is not sufficient to meet the requirements of the SAQA NQF 8 exit-level outcomes, will be advised to complete the required prerequisite qualification(s) before attempting to apply for this MSocSci degree. SAQA must validate all foreign qualifications. All candidates will still go through the screening and selection process. Entry Requirements: The minimum requirements for admission into the Masters Degree are: |
| RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? |
| Y |
| QUALIFICATION RULES |
| This qualification comprises compulsory modules at Level 9 totalling 184 Credits.
Compulsory Modules Level 9, 184 Credits: |
| EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES |
| ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA |
| The following Associated Assessment Criteria will be assessed in an integrated manner across the Exit Level Outcomes:
Integrated Assessment: The institution has developed modules for the Master of Social Sciences in Community Mental Health Promotion with assessment requirements that address the overall aim and learning outcomes of each module. Preparing for assessments is a substantive component of the programme whereby the student engages an independent structured process for gathering evidence in relation to specified levels of competence clearly identified in the learning outcomes of a particular module of study. In relation to the programme, assessment is continuous, and in line with an Outcomes-Based Educational Approach and Training (OBET). To this end an integrated assessment approach described in numerous policies of the emerging South African education and training system is utilized in this programme. Integrated assessment is carried out to support learning and determine the application of knowledge in authentic situations. In an integrated assessment approach, a number of outcomes are assessed together, and the student must demonstrate an achievement of multiple outcomes within the assessment task as exemplified in the module outlines. As is outlined in South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA's) guidelines for Integrated Assessment the following are the broad principles of the development and design of integrated assessment approaches: Integrated assessment provides an opportunity for learners to show that they are able to integrate concepts, ideas and actions both within and across modules to achieve competence. With that in mind, for each of the modules in the MSocSci (Community Mental health Promotion) the NQF 9 level descriptors have been used to guide the types of assessments that have been designed for the modules. Assessments for the MSocSci (Community Mental Health Promotion) are focused on supporting learning as well as gauging whether the student has met the requirements of the NQF 9 Level Descriptors in terms of level, breadth and depth of learning. Assessments that will be used throughout the programme are as follows: > Introduction. > Background, Rationale and problem statement. > Aims of the research. > Research Topic - Statement and Focus. > Theoretical framework. > Research Design and Methodology: Research Design, Participants, Data Collection, Procedure, Data Analysis, Ethical Considerations. > Provisional Chapter layout. > Time-line. Conclusion: |
| INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY |
| This qualification complies with the requirements for a Masters Degree internationally in terms of carrying out and reporting of research and the development of strategic interventions to impact community mental Health. In addition, the qualification is comparable with the Masters (MA) in Counselling Psychology with a focus on community mental health offered by the California Institute of Integral Studies. This qualification also aligns to the World Health Organisations recommendations for strengthening mental health services within community contexts. |
| ARTICULATION OPTIONS |
| This qualification articulates horizontally with all other Masters programmes which fall within cognate or overlapping fields within the Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines at NQF Level 9, and offers graduates a range of study options nationally and internationally, for example, Psychology, Sociology, Public Health, Social Development, Health Economics, etc.
The MSocSci (Community Mental Health Promotion) also offers an ideal vertical articulation pathway for admission to a cognate Doctoral degree, usually in the area of specialisation in the Master's Degree. |
| MODERATION OPTIONS |
| N/A |
| CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS |
| N/A |
| NOTES |
| N/A |
| LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: |
| NONE |
| PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: |
| This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here. |
| 1. | The South African College of Applied Psychology - Pretoria |
| All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source. |