SWB204 Critical Practice with Children and Families

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2027, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

This unit focuses on social work and human services with children and families with an emphasis on providing support and services to parents so they are better able to identify and meet their children's needs. It introduces you to the continuum of welfare and family support services in Australia and knowledge and skills central to effective work with children and families. You will critically analyse the application of selected social work and human service practice approaches to work across a range of service contexts for children and families. Students from education, psychology, and health related areas also find this unit useful as it provides a foundation in theories and approaches for inter-professional practice with children and families that is transferable to a wide range of professional settings.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Critically describe legislative and service contexts for social work and human services practice with children and families in Australia;
2. Critically analyse practice with children in the context of their families and communities, including a beginning knowledge of child development, children's rights, family process and the social construction of childhood and parenting;
3. Critically evaluate selected practice approaches for work with children and families; and
4. Apply beginning level skills for practice with children and families including the ability to critically reflect on values, attitudes and expectations in relation to family life, with particular reference to cultural and gender sensitivity

Content

Learning Approaches

The unit is conducted through weekly lectures, and a series of tutorials where you will participate in facilitated group learning activities such as discussion, reflection on experience, practice skill development and case analysis. Teaching approaches are designed to encourage and support active learning and the development of critical analysis. Reading, questioning, talking, listening, reflecting, writing and identifying and dealing with problems are integral activities in the learning process.

The Canvas site offers a range of resources including lecture materials and workshop activity sheets; access to many set readings as well as extension readings via QUT Readings; links to government and community agency websites and study resources. Materials are provided as adjunct to attendance at lectures and workshops. You are advised to visit the notices pages at least once a week, preferably prior to the lecture.

Generic skills essential for effective study and work are also enhanced through an approach to teaching and learning that encourages you:

• to become a more effective communicator, both orally and in written work, and
• to expand your ability to access and use a range of information sources to support informed decision-making.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

All assessment items will be discussed in class. You will receive formative feedback for workshop exercises both informally in the workshop and through written comments. Formative and summative feedback will be provided throughout the semester.

Assessment

Overview

There are two assessment pieces overall and these include both formative and summative items. Students will be asked to deliver a critical practice approach with an associated information sheet in groups during tutorials in weeks 7-12. To maximise engagement with the task a small, individual reflective statement about the process of attending and delivering critical practice approaches is required in week 12. The second assessment is an invigilated examination with short answer responses at the end of the semester.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Critical practice approach and reflection

In small groups, you will lead a 45-minute workshop with your peers which demonstrates a critical practice approach which can be used when working with children and families in social work and human services (20%).

Groups will be required to also provide an information sheet before commencing the workshop, outlining:

• The practice approach used
• The client group and setting where you would use this approach
• Benefits and challenges of this approach

This is an authentic piece of assessment as you will be required to demonstrate your critical practice approach in the course of your future practice:

a. the role is social work or human services practitioner

b. the audiences are clients, supervisors and other stakeholders

c. the process is to use your skills to simulate working with working with children and families

d. the product is the presentation and reflective, engagement statement

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

It is suggested students consult with the Media Hub (Video) Channel on the Canvas site for critical practice ideas.

Peers will provide a grade (10%) on each group member.

Students will also be asked to submit a reflective, engagement statement outlining the workshops they attended and their key learnings (10%).

The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.

Assessment: Exam

This centrally administered 2 hour short answer exam will assess your knowledge of practice approaches to working with children and families; skills of culture and gender sensitivity; material covered in lectures, tutorials and some reflection on values, attitudes and expectations in relation to family life and set readings, predominantly for the second part of the unit. A practice exam will be available to focus your revision. 

The use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is prohibited during this assessment.

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

Other

Required readings are listed on the unit Canvas site.

Risk Assessment Statement

It is not envisaged that this unit will involve any significant workplace health and safety issues.

Course Learning Outcomes

SW04 Bachelor of Social Work

1. Critique and apply coherent theoretical, practical and contextually relevant social work knowledge, skills and values, and cultivate a commitment toward meeting diverse clients and community needs. [Knowledge, Practice, Values and Disposition]
   Relates to: Critical practice approach and reflection, Exam
2. 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: Exam
3. 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: Critical practice approach and reflection
4. 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: Critical practice approach and reflection, Exam