Hobart, Launceston, Cradle Coast
Restricted to BSW with Honours
Introduction
The unit focuses on key contexts of social work practice in the human services. By developing this understanding, you will gain knowledge of how you can practice effectively and influence these contexts to enhance outcomes for social work clients. Through a critical lens, you will examine ethical decision-making models, policy frameworks, legal and justice models and organisational theory. You will consider their relevance to contemporary human service organisations and for informing social work practice. Importantly, the unit emphasises lived experience and cultural diversity as key considerations for all practice contexts. This includes examining the need to decolonise institutional arrangements and on-the-ground practices. Critical analysis and reflection is consistently used throughout the unit to challenge you to work respectfully with each other and in culturally relevant ways as a part of team projects. At all times, you are expected to demonstrate your commitment to professional standards that are presented in the Australian Association of Social Work (AASW) Practice Standards (2013) and AASW Codes of Ethics (2010).
Summary 2021
| Unit name | Contexts of Social Work Practice |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HGW308 |
| Credit points | 12.5 |
| Faculty/School | College of Arts, Law and Education School of Social Sciences |
| Discipline | Social Work |
| Coordinator | Associate Professor Anthea Vreugdenhil |
| Level | Advanced |
| Available as student elective? | No |
| Breadth Unit? | No |
Availability
Note
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Units are offered in attending mode unless otherwise indicated (that is attendance is required at the campus identified). A unit identified as offered by distance, that is there is no requirement for attendance, is identified with a nominal enrolment campus. A unit offered to both attending students and by distance from the same campus is identified as having both modes of study.
Special approval is required for enrolment into TNE Program units.
TNE Program units special approval requirements.
* The Final WW Date is the final date from which you can withdraw from the unit without academic penalty, however you will still incur a financial liability (see withdrawal dates explained for more information).
Learning Outcomes
- Use the diverse range of lived experience knowledge for advocating reforms to discriminatory social policies, laws, service systems and service delivery methods.
- Apply digital technology creatively, ethically and responsibly to progress the goals of social working all practice domains and settings.
- Examine the foundations of relational and self-reflective practices that facilitate respectful access and application of culturally relevant knowledge in social work.
- Examine the foundations of ethical decision-making by engaging in reflective practices that are culturally and professionally relevant.
- Analyse experiences of ethical and moral dissonance that occur in organisational, policy and legal settings and consider their resolution.
Fees
Requisites
Prerequisites
100 credit points at Introductory level and 100 credit points at Intermediate level.
Co-requisites
Teaching
| Teaching Pattern | Each week, you will complete an hour of online learning activities (including lectures, videos, podcasts and other activities). You will also have approximately one hour of prescribed reading to complete each week. In addition, you will attend weekly 2-hour face-to-face tutorials. There is an 80% attendance requirement to meet accreditation standards. |
|---|---|
| Assessment | Class presentation and written summary (800 words) of agency visit (30%); class discussion of an ethical dilemma (30%); blog post of social policy analysis (1500 words) (40%). |
| Timetable | View the lecture timetable | View the full unit timetable |
Textbooks
| Required | Refer to Co-Op Bookshop link(s) below for textbook information |
|---|---|
| Recommended |
The University reserves the right to amend or remove courses and unit availabilities, as appropriate.