Contexts of Social Work Practice unit (HGW308)

Cradle Coast, Hobart, Launceston

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 using a diverse range of knowledge, including First Nations perspectives. 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 and the AASW Code of Ethics.

Summary

Unit name	Contexts of Social Work Practice
Unit code	HGW308
Credit points	12.5
College/School	Health Social Work Program
Discipline	Social Work
Coordinator	Doctor Tina Kostecki
Available as an elective?	No
Delivered By	University of Tasmania
Level	Advanced

Availability

Location	Study period	Attendance options		Available to
Cradle Coast	Semester 1
Hobart	Semester 1
Launceston	Semester 1

Note

Please check that your computer meets the minimum System Requirements if you are attending via Distance/Off-Campus.

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.

Key Dates

Study Period	Start date	Census date	WW date	End date
Semester 1	24/02/2025	25/03/2025	14/04/2025	01/06/2025

* 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 (refer to How do I withdraw from a unit? for more information).

Unit census dates currently displaying for 2025 are indicative and subject to change. Finalised census dates for 2025 will be available from the 1st October 2024. Note census date cutoff is 11.59pm AEST (AEDT during October to March).

About Census Dates

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.

Fee Information

Field of Education	Commencing Student Contribution 1,3	Grandfathered Student Contribution 1,3	Approved Pathway Course Student Contribution 2,3	Domestic Full Fee 4
090501	$2,124.00	$996.00	$1,164.00	$2,440.00

• Available as a Commonwealth Supported Place
• HECS-HELP is available on this unit, depending on your eligibility³
• FEE-HELP is available on this unit, depending on your eligibility⁴

¹ Please refer to more information on student contribution amounts.
² Please refer to more information on eligibility and Approved Pathway courses.
³ Please refer to more information on eligibility for HECS-HELP.
⁴ Please refer to more information on eligibility for FEE-HELP.

If you have any questions in relation to the fees, please contact UniConnect or more information is available on StudyAssist.

Please note: international students should refer to What is an indicative Fee? to get an indicative course cost.

Requisites

Prerequisites

200 credit points from the Bachelor of Social Work with Honours

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. In total, you will need to allow 8-10 hours per week to complete all of the learning and assessments for this unit, including independent study. There is an 80% attendance requirement to meet accreditation standards.
Assessment	Develop and respond to a social work ethical dilemma (30%)|Written summary of agency visit (30%)|Blog post of social policy analysis (40%)
Timetable	View the lecture timetable | View the full unit timetable

Textbooks

Required

You can access the Reading List for this unit from the link in MyLO, or by going to the Reading Lists page on the University Library website. The list of weekly readings (book chapters and journal articles) is provided below. Required readings must be completed prior to that week’s tutorial.   Week 1          Required: Morley, C., Ablett, P., & Macfarlane, S. (2019). The critical potential of social work. In Engaging with social work: A critical introduction (2nd ed., pp. 1-32). Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. Walter, M., & Baltra-Ulloa, J. (2019) Australian Social Work is White. B. Bennet & S. Green. (Eds). Our Voices: Aboriginal Social Work (2nd ed. pp. 65-85). Red Globe Press. Week 2          Required: McAuliffe, D., Boddy, J., & Chenoweth, L., (2023). Locating the lighthouse: Values and ethics in practice. The road to social work and human service practice (7th ed., pp. 53-82). South Melbourne: Cengage Learning Australian Association of Social Workers. (2020). Code of Ethics. Australian Association of Social Workers. Retrieved from http://www.aasw.asn.au/practitioner-resources/code-of-ethics.    Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2023). Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect. Retrieved from: https://aifs.gov.au/resources/resource-sheets/mandatory-reporting-child-abuse-and-neglect Recommended/Optional: Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2023). Mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect: CFCA Resource Sheet — August 2023. Retrieved from https://aifs.gov.au/resources/resource-sheets/mandatory-reporting-child-abuse-and-neglect Week 3          Required: Gough, J., & Spencer, E. (2019). Ethical social work practice in the technological era. In S.M. Marson, Jr Robert., & R.E. McKinney. (Eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Social Work Ethics and Values (pp. 251 - 256), Taylor & Francis.

Recommended

The following texts will be helpful in expanding your learning in this unit (they are available through the UTAS library, so you do not need to purchase them): McAuliffe, D., Boddy, J., & Chenoweth, L., (2023). The road to social work and human service practice (7th ed.). South Melbourne: Cengage Learning Morley, C., Ablett, P., & Macfarlane, S. (2019). Engaging with social work: A critical introduction (2nd ed.). Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. Carson, E., & Kerr, L. (2020). Australian social policy and the human services (3rd ed.). Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. Connolly, M., Harms, L., & Maidment, J. (Eds.). (2017). Social work contexts and practice (4th ed.). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. McClelland, A., Smyth, P., & Marston, G (Eds.). (2020). Social policy in Australia: Understanding for action (4th ed.). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Pease, B., Vreugdenhil, A., & Stanford, S. (Eds.). (2018). Critical ethics of care in social work: Transforming the politics and practices of caring. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.   Rice, S., Day, A., & Briskman, L. (Eds.). (2018). Social work in the shadow of the law (5th ed.). Sydney: The Federation Press.

The University reserves the right to amend or remove courses and unit availabilities, as appropriate.