Course Outline
SWK302 Community Development and Social Action
Course Coordinator:Athena Lathouras (tlathouras@usc.edu.au) School:School of Law and Society
2023Semester 2
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Moreton BayUniSC Fraser Coast |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Online |
Online | You can do this course without coming onto campus. |
Please go to usc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
What is this course about?
Description
Community development practice approaches are increasingly important in our globalised world that is characterised by populism, capitalism,patriarchy, cultural imperialism, environmental exploitation and climate change. Additionally, the concepts found within this field are contested, representing diverse meanings are where funded by government are fraught with conflicting political agendas. To prepare you for these realities, this course will explore theoretical and practice dimensions of a critical-relational method to community building.
How will this course be delivered?
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – One hour weekly online preparation tasks | 1hr | Week 1 | 13 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – 13 x 2 hour tutorials | 2hrs | Week 1 | 13 times |
| Online | |||
| Learning materials – One hour weekly online workshop preparation tasks | 1hr | Week 1 | 13 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Tutorials will be conducted via Zoom at a scheduled time. | 2hrs | Week 1 | 13 times |
Course Topics
Intro to Community Development; Foundational Concepts; Modernist and Postmodernist Interpretations of ‘Community’; What is Development?; Social Action and Protest Movements; Micro Method and Dialogue; Mezzo Method and Forming Participatory Action Groups; The Spiral Model of Community Education; The Elicitive Model of Group Facilitation.
What level is this course?
300 Level (Graduate)
What is the unit value of this course?
12 units
How does this course contribute to my learning?
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Mapping Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | Professional Standard Mapping * Australian Association of Social Workers | |
| 1 | Demonstrated understanding of community development theory and practice as a means to work collectively with groups | Empowered |
3, 3.1, 4, 4.4, 5, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 6.3 |
| 2 | Demonstrated critical understanding of the inequality in our socio-political structures | Sustainability-focussed |
4.1, 4.2 |
| 3 | Demonstrated understanding of the political implications and the value base in moving a private concern to a public action | Sustainability-focussed |
4, 4.2, 5, 5.2, 6 |
| 4 | Ability to identify and demonstrate purposeful steps that structure community development processes |
Empowered Sustainability-focussed |
4, 5, 5.3, 6 |
| 5 | Demonstrated awareness of effective interpersonal skills, including group work, public speaking and the use of community development discourses | Empowered |
5, 5.2, 6, 6.1, 6.3 |
| 6 | Analyse the practical approaches of a practitioner/activist | Sustainability-focussed |
4, 4.2, 4.4 |
* Competencies by Professional Body
| CODE | COMPETENCY |
| Australian Association of Social Workers | |
| 3 | Culturally responsive and inclusive practice |
| 3.1 | Work inclusively and respectfully with cultural difference and diversity |
| 4 | Knowledge for practice |
| 4.1 | Understand higher level systemic influences on people with respect to area of practice |
| 4.2 | Understand and articulate social work and other relevant theories and concepts |
| 4.4 | Understand and articulate how and when theories, knowledge bases and knowledge sources inform practice |
| 5 | Applying knowledge to practice |
| 5.2 | Work collaboratively |
| 5.3 | Use a range of social work methods and techniques appropriate to the area of practice |
| 5.4 | Apply critical and reflective thinking to practice |
| 6 | Communication and interpersonal skills |
| 6.1 | Communicate with a diverse range of people |
| 6.3 | Work with others in a team environment |
Am I eligible to enrol in this course?
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Pre-requisites
Not applicable
Co-requisites
Not applicable
Anti-requisites
Not applicable
Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)
Not applicable
How am I going to be assessed?
Grading Scale
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Details of early feedback on progress
Student form presentation groups in Week 2 and during the next two weeks share research undertaken for the first assessment piece. They receive feedback from members of the peer group prior to the first assessment task being presented.
Assessment tasks
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Activity Participation | Individual | 10% | 13 tutorials |
Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) | In Class |
| All | 2 | Written Piece | Group | 30% | 1000-1500 words |
Week 5 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 3 | Written Piece | Individual | 30% | 1500 words |
Week 9 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 4 | Written Piece | Individual | 30% | 1500 words |
Week 13 | Online Submission |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Active Participation in Workshops | |
| Goal: | To take an active role in learning, about the application of community development skills and to learn from peers. |
| Product: | Activity Participation |
| Format: | At the tutorials engage in class activities demonstrating your ability to: articulate your ideas clearly; spark discussion and comments from others; build on the ideas and contributions of others by posing questions to the group and responding to constructive feedback. |
| Criteria: |
|
| All - Assessment Task 2:Reflecting on the work of a critical thinker/activist | |
| Goal: | To learn how to research and critically reflect on the work of a critical thinker/activist and apply that thinking to a contemporary issue. |
| Product: | Written Piece |
| Format: | 1. In small groups each student chooses a different critical thinker / activist from the text and reflects on their work/contribution to society. 2. Together, develop a powerpoint presentation that includes a summary of each critical thinkers’ contribution and compares and contrasts their approaches. 3. Think of a social justice issue impacting on contemporary society and explore how the critical thinkers/activists approaches could be used by practitioners to respond to the issue. |
| Criteria: |
|
| All - Assessment Task 3:An Appreciative and Critical Analysis of CD Practice | |
| Goal: | To learn critical analysis skills in relation to community development practice. |
| Product: | Written Piece |
| Format: | Imagine you have been invited by a fellow CD practitioner to assist them in a review of their current work, so they may reflect and plan. They have provided you with a write up of their practice, which is in the form of a case study story. A range of case studies will be provided and you may choose one. Draw on theoretical concepts from the course materials (including at least 10 set readings) and undertake a critical (theory-informed) review of their community development practice based on these questions below: 1.What motivated the development practitioner to engage in the particular issues s/he worked on? 2.What structural barriers were present in the case, and which informed the practitioner’s analysis of power/disadvantage/oppression? 3.What aspects of the community development method (Micro Method and Mezzo Method practice theory) were employed by the practitioner? 4.What theoretically-informed recommendations would you suggest to your fellow colleagues based on the review of their practice? |
| Criteria: |
|
| All - Assessment Task 4:A Plan for a 'Developmental' Community Work Process | |
| Goal: | To learn to develop a plan for a developmental community work process. |
| Product: | Written Piece |
| Format: | This Process Plan provides you with an opportunity to think about your own community development practice in relation to a private concern or hope you have for your community (that is, a place-based community or an identity-based community). You will report on your analysis about the issues and your plan to engage in some action (processes) about them. You will make reflections based on content explored throughout the entire course, which includes: Implicate-Method, Micro-Method (and Dialogue) and also, Mezzo-Method. 1. Think about a personal concern, or hope that you have about your community or the state of world in general. This matter needs to be something you personally have already done or want to do something about. This can be a ‘community-building’ type of process, which aims to build social capital with others and generate some new resource for your community; or it might involve some type of campaign process that is a collective process to ‘stand against’ some kind of injustice. Your job is to explore how the community development method could be applied to that personal concern or hope and bring about some kind of positive change. 2. Write up your plan for a ‘Developmental’ Community Work process. It is to include verbatim examples (approx. 200 words) of how you have, or how you intend to engage in dialogue, that is, the approach to forming developmental relationships in Micro-Method. |
| Criteria: |
|
Directed study hours
A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
What resources do I need to undertake this course?
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
Prescribed text(s) or course reader
Specific requirements
Information regarding prescribed texts or other associated resources will be made available on the Canvas site prior to commencement of study.
How are risks managed in this course?
What administrative information is relevant to this course?
Assessment: Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Assessment: Additional Requirements
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying: The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4% The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconduct
Assessment: Submission penalties
Late submission of assessment tasks may be penalised at the following maximum rate: - 5% (of the assessment task's identified value) per day for the first two days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - 10% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the third day - 20% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the fourth day and subsequent days up to and including seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - A result of zero is awarded for an assessment task submitted after seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. Weekdays and weekends are included in the calculation of days late. To request an extension you must contact your course coordinator to negotiate an outcome.
SafeUniSC
UniSC is committed to a culture of respect and providing a safe and supportive environment for all members of our community. For immediate assistance on campus contact SafeUniSC by phone: 07 5430 1168 or using the SafeZone app. For general enquires contact the SafeUniSC team by phone 07 5456 3864 or email safe@usc.edu.au.
The SafeUniSC Specialist Service is a Student Wellbeing service that provides free and confidential support to students who may have experienced or observed behaviour that could cause fear, offence or trauma. To contact the service call 07 5430 1226 or email studentwellbeing@usc.edu.au.
Study help
For help with course-specific advice, for example what information to include in your assessment, you should first contact your tutor, then your course coordinator, if needed.
If you require additional assistance, the Learning Advisers are trained professionals who are ready to help you develop a wide range of academic skills. Visit the Learning Advisers web page for more information, or contact Student Central for further assistance: +61 7 5430 2890 or studentcentral@usc.edu.au.
Wellbeing Services
Student Wellbeing provide free and confidential counselling on a wide range of personal, academic, social and psychological matters, to foster positive mental health and wellbeing for your academic success.
To book a confidential appointment go to Student Hub, email studentwellbeing@usc.edu.au or call 07 5430 1226.
AccessAbility Services
Ability Advisers ensure equal access to all aspects of university life. If your studies are affected by a disability, learning disorder mental health issue, injury or illness, or you are a primary carer for someone with a disability or who is considered frail and aged, AccessAbility Services can provide access to appropriate reasonable adjustments and practical advice about the support and facilities available to you throughout the University.
To book a confidential appointment go to Student Hub, email AccessAbility@usc.edu.au or call 07 5430 2890.
Links to relevant University policy and procedures
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
- Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
- Review of Assessment and Final Grades
- Supplementary Assessment
- Central Examinations
- Deferred Examinations
- Student Conduct
- Students with a Disability
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
Student Charter
UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.
General Enquiries
-
In person:
- UniSC Sunshine Coast - Student Central, Ground Floor, Building C, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs
- UniSC Moreton Bay - Service Centre, Ground Floor, Foundation Building, Gympie Road, Petrie
- UniSC SouthBank - Student Central, Building A4 (SW1), 52 Merivale Street, South Brisbane
- UniSC Gympie - Student Central, 71 Cartwright Road, Gympie
- UniSC Fraser Coast - Student Central, Student Central, Building A, 161 Old Maryborough Rd, Hervey Bay
- UniSC Caboolture - Student Central, Level 1 Building J, Cnr Manley and Tallon Street, Caboolture
- Tel:+61 7 5430 2890
- Email:studentcentral@usc.edu.au