SWB109 Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Communities

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2025, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

Social work, human services and allied professions are identified as 'helping' professions, yet have been, and in some circumstances continue to be, complicit in enacting discriminatory and harmful social policies. To prevent perpetuation of these practices it is essential that practitioners possess knowledge of their professions' role in colonising practices. Practitioners require a deep understanding of how the profound disadvantage evidenced across social, health, and economic indicators, are embedded in colonisation. Understanding the impacts of dispossession, colonisation and policy directives on self-determination and empowerment as basic human rights provides a requisite platform for culturally safe practice and helps redress social exclusion and marginalisation. Critical self-awareness, reflexivity and reflective practice, along with a strong critical analysis of institutionalized racism and privilege, are essential components of culturally safe practice.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Critically analyse a range of historical and contemporary factors which impact on the health and well-being, self -determination, and empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.
2. Critically analyse how social work and human service practice can facilitate the empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.
3. Demonstrate an emerging self-awareness of your own cultural world-view and social positioning and how this may impact on your engagement and work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of how culturally-safe practice is developed, what challenges there are to enacting this in practice, and strategies for addressing these challenges.
5. Apply Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and cultural awareness to professional practice as per AASW and ACWA professional standards.

Content

Learning Approaches

This unit draws on Indigenous pedagogies and thus has an emphasis on reciprocal learning, and dialogue. Lectures are complemented by interactive tutorials designed to deepen students' critical understanding of the unit content and the development of skills in critical analysis, self-awareness, reflexivity, and reflection. Tutorial engagement is essential for the successful completion of assessment tasks. Additional audiovisual resources are also available on Canvas.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

You will be provided with both summative and formative feedback during the semester through criterion referenced assessment. Formative feedback from peers will be received in tutorials.

Assessment

Overview

Assessment in this unit aims to engage you in knowledge development, critical thinking, analysis and reflection.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Social and Critical Analysis

You will choose one of three social justice topics to examine and this assessment is presented in two parts.

Part A - You will critically analyse the units readings relevant to the historical and contemporary contexts of the topic, making links between processes of colonisation and contemporary challenges experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities. You will research implications for culturally safe social work and human services practice in relation to this issue.

Part B - You will view a film related to the topic you chose and use your learning from Part A to write a critical analysis of the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities and the impact of this social justice issue on the lived reality of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension. 

Assessment: Reflective Portfolio

You will provide a portfolio of your reflections of the 13 week student journey, demonstrating your increasing critical analysis, self-awareness, and reflection skills. These reflections will be in response to structured tutorial exercises from weeks 2-13. Time will be allocated in tutorials to process the exercises in class and reciprocally refine your analysis and reflective skills with your peers. This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension. 

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.

The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.

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.

Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Resource Materials

Prescribed text(s)

Bennett, B., & Green, S., (2019). Our voices: Aboriginal Social Work (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

Recommended text(s)

Briskman, L. (2014). Social work with Indigenous Communities: A human rights approach (2nd ed.). Federation Press.

Other

Other useful resource materials can be found on Canvas and in QUT Readings

Risk Assessment Statement

Video footage will be used throughout the semester to clarify key points and to provide depth of knowledge. Some students may find aspects of the footage distressing, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this unit may contain names and images of people who have died. Please discuss any concerns with the unit coordinator.

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: Reflective Portfolio
2. 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: Social and Critical Analysis
3. 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: Social and Critical Analysis, Reflective Portfolio

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: Social and Critical Analysis, Reflective Portfolio
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: Social and Critical Analysis
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: Reflective Portfolio
4. 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: Reflective Portfolio
5. 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: Social and Critical Analysis