Unit Outline

This unit introduces you to the foundations of social work practice in human service organisations. You will develop critical analytical skills to explore historical and contemporary inequalities of power and privilege based on, for example, race, gender, sexuality, geographic location and health status. Through this examination, you will be able to clarify the role of social work to create more inclusive, just and humane societies. You will gain an understanding about the purpose and domains of social work practice, professional standards, knowledge for practice, and ethics. Practice fields and methods of intervention are covered to illustrate how social workers work in micro, meso and macro environments to create a more just society and to protect and enable human rights.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Illustrate the role and value of micro, meso and macro social work responses to contemporary social justice and human rights issues using contemporary case scenarios.
2	Use critical social work theories and critical analytical skills to reveal how historical and current inequalities of power and privilege are constructed.
3	Identify personal beliefs and values and consider their impact for social work practice by using critical reflection skills and engaging with constructive feedback from others.
4	Examine how social work is shaped and constrained by key national and international contexts and discourses by collaborating with others.

Alterations as a result of student feedback

This unit is subject to regular evaluation through the UTAS online student feedback system, eVALUate. The unit outline has been changed in response to student feedback for this iteration.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Respectful online discussion of a social issue and participation in discussions.	Week 4	20 %	LO1, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Journal of learning provocations	Week 13	40 %	LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Group class presentation of social work practice challenges and individual written reflection	Refer to Assessment Description	40 %	LO1, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Respectful online discussion of a social issue and participation in discussions.

Task Description:

Part A: Choose a news item from a media source (newspaper, television, radio, online report) that covers a current social issue.
Consider the main information and messages presented and post your account (200 words) to the MyLO Discussion topic, ‘Assessment 1’ by the end of Week 3.

Part B: Reply to another post made by a peer on the ‘Assessment 1’ topic (200 words), adding to the discussion in a reflective, respectful manner, taking into account social work ethics and values.

Part C: Copy and paste the text of your original post, the post you are replying to and your reply post into one Word document and submit via the MyLO ‘Assessments’ tab. Please note, you are only assessed on your original post and your reply post

Initial MyLO post due Week 3, Friday 9th August at 4pm.

Task Length:

2 x 200-word posts = 400 words

Due Date:

Week 4 (16/Aug/2024)

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Provide an account of a media report on a current social issue (40%)	LO1
2	Assess how your own beliefs and values align with social work values (40%)	LO3
3	Communicate in accordance with professional standards and respectful online communication (20%)	LO3

Assessment Task 2: Journal of learning provocations

Task Description:

In four tutorials across the semester, you will be presented with provocations. These will be documents, videos or activities designed to challenge your thinking in relation to social issues and social work.

Part A: After each of the four provocations, you will journal your reflections about the provocation and the collaborative process, using guiding questions which will be provided on MyLO. You will include your four journal entries as part of your assignment (4 x 300-word journal entries = 1,200 words in total), to be submitted at the end of the semester.

Part B: Later in the semester, you will select one of the provocations for analysis. Working independently, you will develop a critical analysis of the provocation, informed by the learning from this unit (800 words). You will be provided with guiding questions on MyLO.

Task Length:

2000 words

Due Date:

Week 13 (25/Oct/2024)

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Demonstrate ability to explore personal values and beliefs as they relate to social issues and social work and human service practice (20%)	LO3
2	Use critical social work theory and critical analysis skills to examine inequalities of power and privilege and how they are shaped by important contexts and discourses (40%)	LO2, LO4
3	Consider how the alignment of your personal values and beliefs with social work values and principles may have changed over the semester (20%)	LO3
4	Communicate in accordance with academic and professional standards (20%)	LO3

Assessment Task 3: Group class presentation of social work practice challenges and individual written reflection

Task Description:

You will work collaboratively with other students in a small group to review a pre-recorded social worker interview. Your task is to describe the work undertaken by the social worker and the challenges they face.

Part A: Class presentation (10%). After viewing the pre-recorded social worker interview, your group will develop a group presentation which you will present in a tutorial in either Week 9 or 10. Your group should aim to speak for 10 minutes, which will be followed by 5 minutes for questions from the tutorial group. You will receive a group mark for the presentation (i.e., each group member receives the same mark).

Part B: Individual written reflection (30%). You will reflect on the process of working collaboratively with your group in preparing for the class presentation. Your reflection is due in Week 11.

Group presentations will occur within tutorials in Weeks 9 and 10

Task Length:

15 minutes group presentation and 600 words individual written reflection

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description (11/Oct/2024)

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Part A: Group class presentation (10%) - Describe the organisation and the work undertaken by the social worker (50% of Part A)	LO1
2	Part A: Group class presentation (10%) - Examine the challenges experienced by the social worker in their work (30% of Part A)	LO4
3	Part A: Group class presentation (10%) - Communicate in accordance with academic and professional standards in a group presentation (20% of Part A)	LO3
4	Part B: Individual written reflection (30%) - Reflect constructively on collaborating with others and how it shapes social work. (80% of Part B)	LO3, LO4
5	Part B: Individual written reflection (30%) - Communicate in writing in accordance with academic and professional standards (20% of Part B)	LO3

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.