Unit Outline

Social workers acknowledge that we live in extra-ordinary times of uncertainty, disruption to the ‘business as usual’ and growing social, cultural, political, economic and environmental disparities. This unit equips you with intersectional analysis skills, theoretical knowledge and practice skills to understand, confront and respond to the multiple impacts of social injustice and human rights neglect and abuses. The unit begins by examining the contested nature of contemporary life and how history has shaped how social work has responded to social, cultural, environmental, economic and political problems. Through the prism of diverse knowledge relevant to the Australian context including First Nations perspectives and international frameworks such as the United Nations this unit examines the definitions and practices of social sustainability, social innovation and regenerative social work practice. This unit also uses intersectional and decolonising understandings of social work to develop students capacity to examine global and local contexts and identify how a social work response is ethically formulated and consistently aligned to sustainable and regenerative social goals. You can expect to engage with international and local case studies to decolonise your understandings of social sustainability, social innovation and regenerative practice and their relevance to contemporary social work. You can also expect to explore how to meaningfully engage with individuals, communities, and systems to trigger change focused on social sustainability and regeneration. Learning processes in this unit include self and collaborative critical reflection, mutual enquiry, group work, role plays, Yarning and dialogical discussions.

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.	Use intersectional analysis to reveal how discrimination, oppression, exploitation and inequality are maintained in social policies, systems and institutions.
2.	Identify how locally relevant social injustice and human rights issues are linked to global social sustainability goals.
3.	Identify contemporary elements of grounded, committed and principled ethical social work activism that are proven to promote social sustainability.
4.	Distinguish social innovation and sustainability principles, protocols, processes and outcomes that support the decolonisation agenda through using actual and hypothetical case studies.
5.	Analyse the potential for contemporary social policy interventions to contribute to social sustainability goals that are linked to a decolonising agenda.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	200 credit points from the Bachelor of Social Work with Honours

Alterations as a result of student feedback

TBC

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:	Reflection on learning 1000 words	Week 5	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 2:	Recorded group poster presentation and self-evaluation	Week 11	50 %	LO1, LO5
Assessment Task 3:	Written assignment 1800 words	Week 13	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Reflection on learning 1000 words

Task Description:

Reflection on learning 1800 words

Task Length:

1000 words

Due Date:

Week 5 (27/Mar/2024)

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	X	LO1
2	30 X	LO2
3	40 X	LO3
4	50 X	LO4

Assessment Task 2: Recorded group poster presentation and self-evaluation

Task Description:

Recorded 10-minute group poster presentation and self-evaluation

Task Length:

10 minutes recorded group presentation & 1000-word self-evaluation (Recorded group poster presentation 30% written self-evaluation 20%)

Due Date:

Week 11 (14/May/2024)

Weight:

50 %

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 submitt all assessment pieces. You do not need to pass all assessment pieces to pass the unit.

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.

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.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

You will need the following texts:
• Kickett-Tucker, C., Bessarab, D., Coffin, J. and Wright, M. (2017) Mia Mia Aboriginal Community Development. Fostering cultural security. Cambridge University Press.
• Mary, N. (2016) Social Work in a sustainable world. Oxford University Press.