Course Coordinator:Dyann Ross (dross@usc.edu.au) School:School of Law and Society
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.
This course invites you to understand and reflect on social work practice, and the implications these have for critically reflective and context responsive social work practice. You will build on, extend and apply previous knowledge to social work theory and practice processes, ethics, and legal and organisational dimensions of practice. You will investigate, critically reflect on, and articulate practice responses to complex scenarios. The course will develop your understanding and generic skills as a social work practitioner around practice in diverse and complex contexts.
Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
Blended learning | |||
Learning materials – Learning resources provided online | 1hr | Week 1 | 13 times |
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – On campus tutorial/workshop | 2hrs | Week 1 | 13 times |
Online | |||
Learning materials – Learning resources provided online | 1hr | Week 1 | 13 times |
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Online tutorial/workshop | 2hrs | Week 1 | 13 times |
Anti-oppressive practice as context and culturally responsive practice
Anti-oppressive values & ethics, standpoints with integrity
Complexity - key concepts
Skills, strategies & processes
Socio-political & legal contexts of practice
Organisational contexts of practice
Eco-activism & other forms of resistance
Social work as loving, justice work - micro level complexities
Anti-oppressive leadership & the lone hero issue
Communities of practice & collaboration in difficult situations
Social work practice exemplars
Self care, supervision and learning 'in situ' with others
Drawing threads of course together
[Mature content across all topics]
400 Level (Graduate)
12 units
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 | Develop a comprehensive understanding of theoretical developments regarding social work practice in complex contexts |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker |
4.2, 4.4 |
2 | Identify and critically analyse complex and context specific aspects of practice scenarios from various perspectives (legal ethical, organisational), drawing on relevant theories, models, concepts and evidence. | Ethical |
4.4, 5, 5.3, 5.4 |
3 | Develop context responsive responses to complex client situations which reflect core social work values and processes |
Creative and critical thinker Ethical |
1, 1.1, 4.4 |
4 | Develop a critical, reflective and collaborative process for on-going context responsive practice | Sustainability-focussed |
5.2, 5.4, 6.3, 8.3 |
5 | Identify and critically engage with complexity located in your own practice experience |
Knowledgeable Engaged |
5.3, 5.4 |
CODE | COMPETENCY |
Australian Association of Social Workers | |
1 | Values and ethics |
1.1 | Practise in accordance with the AASW Code of Ethics |
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 |
6.3 | Work with others in a team environment |
8.3 | Where appropriate, to contribute to the professional development of others |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
SWK201 or SWK301 or SWK300 and enrolled in Program AR303, AR362, AR363 or AR372
Not applicable
Not applicable
Completion of at least one placement or prior field experience
Standard Grading (GRD)
High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Students will have feedback on an early Journal entry related to Task 2
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% | 11 tutorials |
Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) | In Class |
All | 2 | Journal | Individual | 40% | 7 Journal entries of 400 words as indicated on Canvas over the duration of the semester. |
Refer to Format | Online Test (Quiz) |
All | 3 | Artefact - Creative, and Oral | Individual | 50% | 15 minute presentation using Powerpoint or equivalent - eg. poster, online map, a demonstration of practice, a facilitated discussion and as otherwise negotiated. |
Refer to Format | In Class |
All - Assessment Task 1:Tutorial Attendance and Participation | |
Goal: | Participation at tutorials is strongly advised as this will support your weekly Journal reflections required for Task 2 and preparation for presentations for Task 3. AASW external accreditation requires mandatory attendance for skills based tutorials. Students must attend weekly tutorials and actively participate in all tutorial activities. |
Product: | Activity Participation |
Format: | Tutorial attendance will be recorded to meet external AASW accreditation requirements. Student participation and engagement in tutorial activities is assessed based upon attendance and participation across 11 tutorials. |
Criteria: |
|
All - Assessment Task 2:Critical Reflections on Key Concepts | |
Goal: | To demonstrate a developed capacity to define, discuss and critically reflect on key concepts covered in the course, as identified in learning materials each week. The over-arching goal will be to articulate an anti-oppressive ethical positionality. |
Product: | Journal |
Format: | The Journal entries will comprise critically reflective comments on the implications for anti-oppressive practice of the key concepts explored. Each entry is to be referenced using the course text and at least one other reference from the course materials. |
Criteria: |
|
All - Assessment Task 3:Present an Example of Loving, Anti-oppressive Practice | |
Goal: | To create and present an example of loving, anti-oppressive practice which is responsive to macro, messo and micro contexts. The overall aim is to identify and justify how ethics of love, nonviolence and eco-justice and related ideas and practices inform your ethical positioning as a practitioner. |
Product: | Artefact - Creative, and Oral |
Format: | Present: Weeks 10 & 11 as determined. This is an individual assessment. You may negotiate how you will present your example. It could be a ten minute powerpoint, a poster, an online map, or a demonstration of a practice scenario. |
Criteria: |
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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.
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.
Please note that you need to have regular access to the resource(s) listed below. Resources may be required or recommended.
Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
Required | Dyann Ross | 2020 | The Revolutionary Social Worker: The Love Ethic Model | n/a | Revolutionaries |
Nil
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.
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.
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.
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