Unit Outline

This unit is designed to introduce students to the issues and processes associated with working with offenders, particularly those in prisons or under the supervision of community corrections. The unit explores issues pertaining directly to how best to work with a wide variety of people with offending histories. Topics to be covered include duty of care, 'special populations' of prisoners, risk management and difficult situations, safety and security, working with involuntary clients, inter-agency collaboration, prison culture, assessment tools, mental illness and drug use, restorative justice, victim interests, children and families of prisoners, worker self-care and professional report writing. The unit also examines how and why people stop offending and change (desistance from crime). International examples of innovation are showcased from key jurisdictions such as England and Wales, Scotland, Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. The unit is intended to be relevant and familiar for those already working in the field, in prison and in the community, as well as to introduce contemporary principles and practices to those wishing to do so in the future. Engaging presentations from experienced guest speakers who are senior practitioners in the field are one of the popular features of this unit.

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	Explain the socio-economic and individual factors that contribute to criminal offending, and analyse the potential costs and harms associated with offending.
2	Apply major criminological offender rehabilitation models, approaches and concepts to practical examples.
3	Critically evaluate the work contexts and institutional dynamics of the courts, community corrections, prisons and community sector organisations, and how these may shape offender-worker relationships.
4	Communicate your ideas clearly in written and verbal form.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	HGA232 HGA532

Alterations as a result of student feedback

Participation component has been reconfigured due to student feedback.

Length of reflection assessment has been increased.

Assessment 3 changed to be more indicative of case work in the field.

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:	Critical Reflection	Refer to Assessment Description	20 %	LO4
Assessment Task 2:	Class participation	Refer to Assessment Description	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Case Study Analysis	Refer to Assessment Description	25 %	LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 4:	Group Presentation and Reflection	Refer to Assessment Description	35 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Critical Reflection

Task Description:

Complete a 500-word reflection task before and a 900-word reflection task after completing the intensive. You will be asked to reflect on your responses after you have participated in the taught portion of the unit. The questions to answer before beginning your participation in the unit are:
1) What associations do you have with the word “offender”? (i.e. what do you think of when you hear the word “offender”?)
2) What skills and knowledge do you bring to this unit and what do you hope to take out of this unit?
3) What (if any) are your goals in the short and long-term when it comes to your future studies or professional practice?
4) How will you ensure you actively participate in this unit?

The questions to answer after finishing the participation component of the unit are:
1) After reviewing your earlier reflection what associations do you now have with the word “offender”? How has this changed from earlier?
2) How are the theoretical ideas from this unit relevant to you and your goals?
3) When and how will you start planning to implement the theoretical and practical ideas from this unit into your future studies or professional practice?
4) What additional resources do you think you need to grow your knowledge and skills?
.

Task Length:

1400 words

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Communicate your ideas prior to and on-completion of this unit	LO4

Assessment Task 2: Class participation

Task Description:

Class participation - Throughout the unit:

Throughout the unit you will be expected to remain engaged with your peers and teaching staff. Your participation will be measured throughout the unit whether you are synchronous or asynchronous. You will receive feedback at the 3rd week about your participation to enable you to integrate this into the rest of your participation for the unit. You are not permitted to blend your participation type (e.g., some synchronous workshops and some asynchronous activities) unless previously discussed with the unit coordinator. The preference is for students to join the synchronous workshops. The workshops are not recorded.

Synchronous students: You will have weekly 2-hour online workshops across 6 weeks. You are expected to come prepared to these workshops having done readings and watched lectures embedded in MyLO prior to your workshop. Participation in small and large group discussions, active listening, and respectful responses to peers are all measured as part of your participation.

Asynchronous students: You will receive prompts via the discussion forum on MyLO or other applications embedded in MyLO, e.g., Padlet. You are expected to respond to these prompts and demonstrate engagement with other asynchronous peers using the readings and lectures from MyLO to guide your responses and interactions. Your participation will be measured on depth of engagement with the prompt, use of academic and non-academic resources that you are given via MyLO and responses to other asynchronous students.

Task Length:

n/a

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Demonstrate professional interpersonal communication and listening skills	LO4
2	Explain using criminological terminology and language the factors that contribute to criminal offending, and explain the potential harms and costs of offending.	LO1
3	Apply the various major rehabilitation models, approaches and concepts of offending and rehabilitation to practical examples in discussions.	LO2

Assessment Task 3: Case Study Analysis

Task Description:

Using screening and assessment theories and tools you will analyse the case that is provided on MyLO. You will consider the background of the individual/s in the case study, create a treatment plan by providing recommendations for their reintegration based on your risk assessment screening, suggest consequences for non-compliance for the individual and use theory to explain your analysis.

More details will be posted on MyLO.

Section B Requires you to provide rehabilitation recommendations using academic writing, including some in-text referencing where other people’s concepts or definitions are cited. The questions will be made available on MyLO.

More details will be posted on MyLO.

Task Length:

1600 words

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

25 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Communicate ideas clearly and appropriately for the professional context of the criminal justice system, or in academic writing as required for the task.	LO4
2	Structure and format	LO2
3	Evaluate the work contexts and institutional dynamics of the courts, community corrections, prisons and community sector organisations, and how these may shape offender-worker relationships.	LO3

Assessment Task 4: Group Presentation and Reflection

Task Description:

You will form your group in the first week of the Winter School online via the Discussion Forum. Working together you will create and record a presentation that will be submitted via MyLO. Further details on the format of the group presentation will be outlined on MyLO.
The individual reflection asks you to write a reflection on a) your areas of personal improvement based on your engagement with this assessment and your group, b) what you learned from the process of working on this assessment, and c) make an honest evaluation of the contribution of your peers in the creation and delivery of the group presentation.

Task Length:

Group Presentation: 8 minutes Individual Reflection: 600 words

Due Date:

Refer to Assessment Description

Weight:

35 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Explain socio-economic and individual factors found to contribute to offending as well as associated harms and costs	LO1
2	Apply major criminological rehabilitation models, approaches and concepts to examples from Australia and Internationally	LO2
3	Critically evaluate work contexts and institutional dynamics of courts, Community Corrections, Prisons and Community Sector Organisations on the ability to deliver effective outcomes for offenders and the community.	LO3
4	Articulate your personal position on the topic and communicate clearly both verbally and in writing.	LO4

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.

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

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.