SWB221 Politics of Helping

Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

Human service and social work students must build foundational knowledge and critical skills in practice processes that solve social problems while serving the mission of social justice. This unit begins with a critical analysis of the politics of help and helping processes, and an exploration of diversity with reference to questions about power, privilege and oppression. Because of its importance in preparing you to undertake professional placements, the unit is strategically located in second year. Understanding and reflecting on diversity-of many kinds-is embedded in this unit.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Identify ways to approach the engagement of diverse groups, including those that are oppressed, stigmatised, alienated and/or 'hard to reach'
2. Apply field-specific assessments with (not just for or about) clients and communities and build communication skills
3. Critically analyse the application of social work and human service assessments, interventions and evaluations in light of contemporary challenges to social equality
4. With reference to your own life experiences, illustrate your appreciation of diversity, privilege and oppression and their relevance to social work and human service interventions

Content

Learning Approaches

The unit uses mixed modes of teaching and integrated learning and emphasises student involvement and interaction. Each week you will attend on-campus formal lectures and interactive tutorials with an online flexible offering for tutorials. Lecture and tutorial workshops will involve discussion of professional practice processes, focussing on the engagement, assessment, design and evaluation of interventions. Multimedia (power point, video material, podcasts), case studies, news items, class discussions and other interactive activities will be used. The unit will be supported by a Canvas site and by online tools such as a discussion forum and podcasts. You will also be encouraged to link lecture material to real-world practices, especially those related to working with diverse, disadvantaged, oppressed and/or stigmatised groups.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

The unit will involve both formative and summative assessment. Formative feedback on both assessment items are provided through interactive tutorial sessions, group discussions, engagement with learning activities. Case studies are workshopped in tutorials.Both assessments are also summative, whereby feedback on key learnings for professional practice will be offered in class and online, as well as through individual written feedback on submitted work.

Assessment

Overview

There are two pieces of assessment for this unit which build upon each other in terms of knowledge and skill development. The first assessment is a presentation with summary where you will identify a way to approach the engagement of diverse groups, particularly those that are oppressed, stigmatised, alienated and/or 'hard to reach toward advocating for change. For the second assessment, you will devise a case/intervention plan detailing how a critical social worker or human service worker might work with this group and evaluate the appropriateness of the approach.You will also draw on your own life experiences to explore the ways privilege and oppression can play out in the politics of the helping process. This second assessment is authentic and relates to real world social problems you are likely to experience when you graduate. There is an expectation that student work is of a high standard commensurate with second year professional practice knowledge and skills development and sound grasp of unit readings and lecture material.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Presentation with Summary

You will conduct an individual oral presentation (35%) which identifies a way to approach the engagement of diverse groups, particularly those that are oppressed, stigmatised, alienated and/or 'hard to reach'. The purpose is to apply field-specific assessments with (not just for or about) clients and communities and advocate for change. You can use multimedia stories or contemporary events.

You will then develop a summary that is uploaded to canvas the following week (15%). Feedback by peers and tutors will assist with the final assessment when considering how to work with this group and in this context. (More Details to be published on LMS Canvas and discussed in tutorials).

The summary is eligible for the 48 hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Assessment: Intervention plan

Assuming the role of a practitioner, you will develop a critical practice intervention plan for submission. Using a critical social work and human services approach, nominate a specific diverse population and identify how you would work with this group in relation to a major social problem they face. Using insights from your own life experiences, you will explore diversity in relation to concepts of privilege and oppression and discuss how this shapes and informs your intervention plan.

You need to consider how your engagement and assessment applied to this group in the selected intervention will be evaluated to determine its 'success' or 'failure'. (More Details to be published on LMS Canvas and discussed in tutorials).

The authentic role is social work/human service/other practitioner. The audience are social work students, practitioners and clients. The purpose is to show your ability to do critical practice. The product is an intervention plan. 

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Resource Materials

Prescribed text(s)

Pease, B., Goldingay, S., Hosken, N. & Nipperess, S. (Eds.). (2016). Doing Critical Social Work, Transformative Practices for Social Justice. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.

Maidment, J., & Egan, R. Tudor, R & Nipperess, S. (Eds.). (2022). Practice skills in social work and welfare: More than just common sense (4th ed.). Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.

Risk Assessment Statement

The only risks associated with this unit are those related to disclosing information about past and current experiences of privilege and oppression through an individually submitted assignment.

Course Learning Outcomes

SW04 Bachelor of Social Work

1. Construct and implement strategies for engaging in critical thinking and decision-making, utilising advanced research knowledge and skills to inform culturally safe practice, and promote social justice from diverse perspectives. [Practice, Knowledge, Values and Disposition]
   Relates to: Intervention plan
2. Access, evaluate, and utilise relevant social work information that informs and assists in intra- and inter-professional communication in a range of contexts, through effective oral, written and digital interactions. [Practice, Knowledge]
   Relates to: Intervention plan
3. Design a plan of action for working within socially progressive, anti-oppressive, culturally safe and ethical practice, that embody an autonomous and collaborative evidence-based orientation to social work, integral to the standards of professional social work practice. [Values and Disposition, Practice]
   Relates to: Intervention plan

SW05 Bachelor of Social Work (Honours)

1. Formulate and implement strategies using advanced knowledge and research skills to analyse, consolidate and synthesise social and practice evidence to generate solutions and to inform professional practice and decision-making
   Relates to: Intervention plan
2. Construct and implement strategies for practising collaboratively and independently, focused on socially progressive, anti-oppressive, culturally safe and ethical practice, integral to the standards of professional social work practice
   Relates to: Intervention plan
3. Access, evaluate and utilise social work information to advocate for a socially just society and the promotion of human dignity and worth that reflect different social, political, cultural and historical circumstances, on the beliefs, values and aspirations of various groups, including Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations
   Relates to: Intervention plan