Unit Outline
HGW431
Trauma and Justice
Semester 1, 2025
Justin Canty
School of Social Sciences
College of Arts, Law and Education
CRICOS Provider Code: 00586B
Unit Coordinator
Justin Canty
Email: Justin.canty@utas.edu.au
What is the Unit About?
Unit Description
 
This unit examines the intersection between trauma and justice and is informed by a commitment to social justice, decolonising, and an ethic of care. At a macro level, you will learn how social workers can promote policy, legislation and practice that aim to acknowledge, address and prevent trauma by challenging social structures and advocating for vulnerable groups. At a micro level, you will learn skills for recognising and responding to trauma according to the needs of specific groups of people, integrating First Nations knowledges and intersectionality into a socially just approach. Group work is used in this unit to explore issues that commonly result in, or stem from experiences of trauma, including violence, discrimination, disaster, colonisation, and war. You will develop skills for working with groups both as facilitators and participants.
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
Apply ethical methods of communicating with clients, colleagues and managers by being respectful, sharing information, demonstrating flexibility and working collaboratively.
2
Formulate interventions using culturally relevant and adaptable communication strategies that maximise client engagement, input and involvement.
3
Present complex information in a compelling way through highly effective written and public communication skills that are also culturally relevant.
4
Debate the transformative potential of care ethics to promote equality and justice in social work services and social policy.
Requisites
REQUISITE TYPE
REQUISITES
Pre-requisite
HGW302, HGW303, HGW308, HGW312 and HGW327
Alterations as a result of student feedback
Improvements have been made to the unit in response to eVALUate feedback, peer review, and accreditation review.
 
 
Teaching arrangements
ATTENDANCE MODE
TEACHING TYPE
LEARNING ACTIVITY
CONTACT HOURS
FREQUENCY
On Campus
Blended Learning
Online learning activities, including lecture and other self-directed exercises.
1
Weekly
Tutorial
Tutorial/workshops
2
Weekly
Attendance / engagement expectations
If your unit is offered On campus, it is expected that you will attend all on-campus and onsite learning activities. This is to support your own learning and the development of a learning community within the unit. If you are unable to attend regularly, please discuss the situation with your course coordinator and/or our UConnect support team.

If your unit is offered Online or includes online activities, it is expected you will engage in all those activities as indicated in the Unit Outline or MyLO, including any self-directed learning.

If you miss a learning activity for a legitimate reason (e.g., illness, carer responsibilities) teaching staff will attempt to provide alternative activities (e.g., make up readings) where it is possible.
 
Your tutorial attendance is recorded. Students attending less than 8 of 10 tutorials will be deemed ineligible for assessment in this unit. You are required to contact your tutor or unit coordinator to account for any tutorial absence. A medical certificate, statutory declaration and/or other supporting documentation may be required for absences. Please note that even with supporting documentation, a missed tutorial is counted as an absence. You are expected to be punctual and a pattern of lateness will be considered absence. Students are strongly recommended to maintain a record of their tutorial attendance in order to ensure that they meet attendance requirements and continue to be eligible to submit work in the unit.
Students who have not met the attendance requirements in this unit will be notified towards the end of the semester that they are no longer eligible to submit work or be assessed. This necessarily means a fail result (NN). Please note that even where there is cause for extended absence, due to serious illness for instance, students will still be considered ineligible for assessment if they have not attended a sufficient number of tutorials. In some cases (sufficient medical documentation for instance) they may be able to apply to withdraw from the unit without penalty. If you are concerned that you may not be able to attend enough tutorials, please discuss the issue with your unit coordinator.
In this unit your active engagement will be monitored in the following way:
1. You have accessed MyLO for this unit by the end of Week 1; and
2. You have attended sufficient tutorials by the end of Week 3 to be on-track to meet the tutorial attendance requirement specified above.
 
 
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:
Written reflection on values and beliefs on trauma
Week 3
20 %
LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 2:
Written group work proposal
Week 5
30 %
LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:
Co-facilitation of 45-minute group and written assignment
Week 11
50 %
LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
 
Assessment details
Assessment Task 1: Written reflection on values and beliefs on trauma
Task Description:
Written reflection on values and beliefs on trauma
Task Length:
1000 words
Due Date:
Week 3
Weight:
20 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Identify your values and beliefs about responding to people who have experienced trauma.
LO4
2
Critically examine your values and beliefs within the context of social work values and a political ethics of care.
LO4
3
Use of evidence, including reflection on your values and beliefs and literature to support and justify your arguments.
LO4
4
Self-evaluation is written clearly and concisely. Responses structured in a logical and articulate manner.
LO3
 
Assessment Task 2: Written group work proposal
Task Description:
Written assignment - group work proposal.
Task Length:
1500 words
Due Date:
Week 5
Weight:
30 %
 
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Your group proposal clearly identifies the specific topic focus and overall aim for your group. You clarify how this is an important topic for social work to respond with care and justice and how your group will support participants developing skills
LO2
2
Your group content goals clearly explain the learning goals for your group and supports development of participants’ knowledge and skills related to the group aim and rationale.
LO2
3
Your group process goals clearly explain how you want group participants to learn that are culturally relevant and enhance collaboration.
LO3
4
The group structure is clear and logical, and activities support participants’ achievement of the learning goals. The timing estimates for activities are feasible to allow the group to be completed in 45 minutes.
LO3
5
Communicate your ideas in writing with reference to professional, cultural and academic contexts and standards (i.e. reference your work accordingly, pay attention to your grammar, spelling, punctuation and syntax; use headings where relevant).
LO3
 
Assessment Task 3: Co-facilitation of 45-minute group and written assignment
Task Description:
Co-facilitation of 45-minute group and written assignment, 1500 words
Task Length:
1500 words
Due Date:
Week 11
Weight:
50 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Your group uses effective and creative learning activities to engage participants in developing skills for responding with care and justice to the topic focus for your group.
LO1
2
Your group content demonstrates knowledge of the course content by integrating concepts and skills into the group content and activities.
LO4
3
You demonstrate skills as a group cofacilitator that use and adapt culturally relevant communication strategies to enhance collaboration, maximise participants’ engagement, input, and involvement.
LO2, LO3
4
You critically evaluate your co-facilitation of the group and your individual contributions. You use evidence from your practice in the group and the literature to support your self-evaluation.
LO1, LO2, LO3
5
You critically evaluate your collaboration and contributions to the small group process of designing the group. You use evidence from your practice in the group and the literature to support your self-evaluation.
LO1, LO2, LO3
6
Communicate your ideas in writing with reference to professional, cultural and academic contexts and standards (i.e. reference your work accordingly, pay attention to your grammar, spelling, punctuation and syntax; use headings where relevant).
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.
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.
 
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.