SWB222 Communication for Social Work and Human Services

Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

This unit compares a range of practice approaches used in individual and community work when responding to trauma, bereavement, and crisis. The implications of utilising these contrasting practice approaches for counselling and community development practice will be explored in depth in relation to a range of different presenting concerns including grief and loss, domestic violence, sexual assault, mental health issues, cultural violence and substance abuse. Gender sensitive and anti-racist practices will also be considered in responding to people experiencing grief, trauma and crisis. Application, critical reflection and evaluation of approaches to counselling practice using knowledge and skills associated with client centred, narrative (response based) and feminist approaches will be emphasised. Because the development of core practice knowledge and skills is required for professional placement, your full participation in all learning activities is expected and required.

This is a designated unit which is essential to your course progression. Designated units include professional experience units, units requiring the development of particular skills, and units requiring demonstration of certain personal qualities. If you fail to achieve a satisfactory level of performance in a designated unit, you may be excluded from enrolment or will be put on academic probation. If you fail a designated unit twice within your course, you may be excluded. Supplementary assessment is not available on designated units.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Apply a range of practice approaches and skills underpinned by core social work theories to respond to trauma, bereavement and crisis in a diverse range of practice contexts.
2. Analyse and critically reflect on the 'differential use-of-self' and how your personal history, values, beliefs, gender, social and cultural perspectives influence your practice responses related to trauma, bereavement and crisis.
3. Critically evaluate relevant knowledge and skills for interpersonal work, including communication skills, critical analysis and critical reflection skills for social work and human service practice in a simulated environment with peer to peer engagement.
4. Analyse and evaluate practice responses identifying anti-oppressive and empowerment approaches as applied to a range of contexts.
5. Critically reflect on their personal history, values, beliefs, social and cultural perspectives and the impact on professional practice styles.

Content

Learning Approaches

The unit will involve lecture, workshop and weekly tutorial delivery using experiential learning in facilitated structured exercises designed to develop social work interpersonal communication skills and which examine relevant theory and practice frameworks.
This approach is designed to provide you with opportunities to develop practice knowledge and skills and self-awareness so it is expected that all students will actively participate in all learning activities

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

There is ongoing formative assessment on your participation in role-play exercises and simulations. The five hour intensive offers a range of activities to demonstrate knowledge and skills conducive to critical clinical practice. In these exercises you will provide and receive feedback on the practice approaches you will need to demonstrate in the tutorial based role-plays, written assessment in the form of an essay and a reflective written piece.

Assessment

Overview

There are two assessments for this unit:

The first an essay due in week 6. You need to identify an issue and/or population group that you find very difficult and challenging to work with related to trauma, bereavement or crisis.

In the second assessment, you will perform a role-play that demonstrates your use of practice approaches in social work related to trauma, bereavement or crisis. You will be graded on your participation and engagement in the role-play and reflection of your own demonstration of knowledge, values and practice skills in your role-play. 

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Essay

For this essay, you need to identify an issue and/or population group that you find very difficult and challenging to work with. The main task of the essay is to describe how you will use the practice frameworks discovered in this unit, to adopt an anti-oppressive or empowerment approach to overcome the concerns/difficulties that you have in order to work ethically with this group/issue. It may help to use anti-oppressive/empowerment theoretical frameworks to explore the following questions:

• Why would you find it difficult and challenging to work with this issue or this particular group of people?
• How would you use anti-oppressive / empowerment frameworks to understand and respond appropriately and ethically to the group/issue that you have identified?
• What practice strategies emerge from these anti-oppressive and empowerment frameworks to respond appropriately and ethically to this issue / group? Why?
• What gaps, contradictions or dilemmas still remain for you, if any? 

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

Assessment: Role-Play and Reflective Evaluation

Role Play Simulation (10%)

You will be required to undertake a role-play simulation (either in person or via zoom) where you play the role of a social worker and respond to a service user scenario in real time.

Reflective Evaluation (30%)

You are the required to reflect on your role-play performance and provide a written evaluation of your approach demonstrating knowledge of theories, approaches and skills used, or that might have been used in the role-play. In addition, share reflexive insights about your experience of this process and how these insights would support your emerging social work practice.

This assessment task is authentic as it mirrors social work core knowledge, values and skills for communication and engagement applied in professional practice contexts on a daily basis.

Only the submission of documentation (reflective evaluation task) is an assignment 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)

Set Text: Brown, C. & MacDonald, J. E. (2020). Critical Clinical Social Work: Counterstorying for Social Justice, Canadian Scholars Press.

Reference book(s)

A reading list will be provided in Library resources in Canvas

Risk Assessment Statement

Students are advised that some content and experiences may be distressing. Appropriate measures will be in place for debriefing and closure.

Course Learning Outcomes

SW04 Bachelor of Social Work

1. 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: Essay, Role-Play and Reflective Evaluation
2. Critically examine tenets of diversity and diverse perspectives in social work, and advocate for a socially just society and the promotion of human dignity that reflect different social, political, cultural and historical circumstances, on the beliefs, values and aspirations of various groups, including Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. [Values and Disposition, Knowledge, Practice]
   Relates to: Essay

SW05 Bachelor of Social Work (Honours)

1. Critically evaluate theoretical, practical and contextually relevant social work knowledge, skills and values and, as a change facilitator, meet diverse client and community needs that promote social justice
   Relates to: Essay
2. 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: Essay, Role-Play and Reflective Evaluation
3. Develop advanced knowledge, skills and values, to inform culturally safe communication and effective intra- and inter-professional collaboration and with a wide range of audiences and contexts, including accessing, evaluating and utlising digital health information.
   Relates to: Role-Play and Reflective Evaluation
4. 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: Essay