Syllabus

Master of Social Work

SSWO 685 — Community Organizing and Community Building — Fall B 2018

Credits - 3

Description

This course presents content about the theory and practice of community organizing. Community organizing is a means of bringing people together to address problematic social conditions such as health inequities. As a purposeful collective effort, organizing requires sound analytical, political, and interactional skills. Community organizing is rooted in the reform tradition of professional social work and in such values as self-determination, self-sufficiency, empowerment, and social justice. Therefore this course is particularly relevant to direct practice with and advocacy for marginalized groups. This methods course is aimed at students who seek to expand and refine their skills in organization-building and collective action.

Prerequisites:

Enrollment in SSWO 685 is contingent upon successful completion of all foundation requirements (HBSE, Policy, Practice Research, Field I and II). 

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

School of Social Work Program Outcomes:

Graduates of the UNE SSWO will demonstrate knowledge, skills, and leadership in the following:

1. Practice social inclusion to enable people, populations, and communities to fully participate in society, enhance human bonds in the context of cultural diversity and ensure improved quality of life and equitable resource distribution. EPAS Competencies 2 & 3
2. Engage in culturally-informed relationship building, being respectful of the complexity and diversity of contexts and circumstances. EPAS Competencies 3 & 6
3. Utilize theories of human behavior, social systems and social inclusion when offering interventions with people and their environments. EPAS Competency 8
4. Promote ethical reflection, critical consciousness and shared decision-making based in social work values and with consideration of the broader contexts of the world in which we live. EPAS Competency 1
5. Balance the roles of helpers, activists, and advocates through collaboration with communities to build healthy and sustainable resources. EPAS Competencies 2, 5, & 6
6. Engage as critical consumers and producers of research as it relates to assessment, intervention and evaluation of clinical and community practices. EPAS Competencies 4, 7, 8 & 9
7. Practice person-centered and collaborative community partnerships across diverse settings. EPAS Competency 6

Course Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Explain and critique the different approaches in community organizing theories, models, strategies and tactics that address individual and community issues. PROGRAM OBJECTIVE 3. As measured by 1) Discussion Questions and 2) Discussion Group Assignment.
2. Analyze community organizing efforts through the lens of social inclusion. PROGRAM OBJECTIVE 3. As measured by 1) Discussion Questions, 2) Final Paper, and 3) Discussion Group Assignment.
3. Critically reflect upon issues of power and privilege in the context of community organizing. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES 4 & 5. As measured by 1) Discussion Questions and 2) Reflection Journal.
4. Demonstrate advanced knowledge needed to assess the social, economic and political forces that affect organizing goals, actions and outcomes of community initiatives. PROGRAM OBJECTIVE 3. As measured by 1) Discussion Questions, 2) Final Paper, and 3) Discussion Group Assignment.
5. Demonstrate a preparedness to engage in reflective advocacy practice with and for marginalized groups in order to secure equitable health. PROGRAM OBJECTIVE 7. As measured by 1) Discussion Questions, 2) Reflection Journal, and 3) Discussion Group Assignment.

Assignments

A variety of learning activities are designed to support the course objectives, facilitate different learning styles, and build a community of learners. Learning activities include readings, videos, discussions, and two key assessment assignments.

Discussions (27% of grade)

You are expected to actively participate in whole class and/or small group discussion forums each week. To actively participate in the forums means to provide an initial response to the discussion questions and a minimum of two (2) responses to different classmates per week unless otherwise indicated. Your initial posting does not count towards responses to others. This is the minimum standard for response discussion, however, there are no limitations to the number or length of your response in class discussions. The “Discussion Board” is an opportunity for you to examine new ideas and learn how to articulate some of the essential concepts, theories, and language that frame your profession. Think of it as your “sandbox” to explore, challenge, and reflect on practice. Your professional success going forward will depend upon what you know but it will also depend upon how well you can express what you know and use knowledge effectively.

Responses to others must add substantively to the discussion by building upon classmates’ ideas or posing critical questions to further the discussion. For example, a posting of “I agree with what people are saying” is not sufficient. What is considered sufficient is initiating further discussion; promoting further thought; providing critical or integrative dialogue; providing affective support or encouragement; challenging by showing supporting literature or other documentation, and/or self-reflecting regarding the topic. Responses should reflect your ability to apply critical thinking in the discussion and topical analysis. What is critical thinking? Very simply, critical thinking means that you provide an objective, logical analysis of a topic by asking questions.

Post your response no later than the assigned due date or as early as possible since doing so facilitates student-to-student interaction and maximizes the learning experience for everyone. Late responses may result in a reduction in grade. All weekly discussion questions are graded using the College-wide Discussion Rubric. 

Key Assessment #1: Reflection Journal (27% of grade)

It is often very helpful to think and reflect upon what we read and experience through our work as it allows us the opportunity to digest the meaning of what we learned and integrate new knowledge with old. With that in mind, as part of this course you are asked to capture your own thoughts and reflections about the material covered in the class and our class discussions by completing a graded journal entry in weeks 1 through 6. You will consider the following questions when writing your entry:

• What did I learn this week about community organization and what are the implications to social work practice?
• How are the things I learned related to one another and how do they impact upon my understanding of community organization?
• What information and knowledge do I want to be sure to explore further in more detail going forward?

Journal submissions are due by 11:59 pm ET Tuesdays and will be graded using the Journal Rubric.

Key Assessment #2: Analyzing a Community Organizing or Building Effort (46% of grade)

In this final assignment, you will analyze a community organizing or building effort, and report on your findings, recommendations and key lessons in a 10-12 page paper. The final paper is submitted in four parts during weeks 4-7, with a different part of the paper due each week.

• Part 1 Context – due in week 4
• Part 2 Approaches and Outcomes – due in week 5
• Part 3 Evaluation Efforts – due in week 6
• Part 4 Key Lessons and final paper submission – due in week 7

For the final submission (due in Week 7), you are expected to incorporate the feedback you receive on parts 1-3, as well as any new learnings or references.

You will work on this project individually but you will also share your work with members of your small group for the benefit of their feedback. Ideally, you can focus upon an effort that you are already or have been involved in during the past. This could include, for example, organizing activities as a community member or activities completed in your foundation year or BSW or MSW field placement. While you can rely upon online and other sources, you are expected to connect with someone (or several people) involved in the efforts you are analyzing to gain “first hand” information. Through those contacts, you can gather information to answer the questions here and pursue some of your own. Given you are asking for their time, you are strongly encouraged to volunteer some of your time in some way in support their efforts.

Specifics of the paper are outlined in the assignment prompts below. Your paper should be between 10-12 pages, double-spaced utilizing appropriate APA formatting. You must substantiate your analysis with course materials and other relevant resources and citations. In addition to citing at least 3 assigned materials within your paper, you also must reference at least 5 external references. One of these five could be from a web-based source specific to the organization you are highlighting within your paper.

Key Assessment #2: Part 1 Context — due in week 4 (10% of grade)

For part 1 of the final assignment paper, identify a community organizing or building effort (e.g., organizing in response to an environmental justice concern such as the toxic water in Flint, organizing for immigrant rights, etc.). In your paper (3 pages maximum):

• Provide the context of the organizing effort which includes an overview of the historical and current context and:
  • The involved community/communities and other key stakeholders
  • The driving issues/concerns, including how these concerns were identified and who was involved in the process
  • The envisioned outcomes and goal of the community organizing/building efforts
  • Other relevant key factors
• Specify what connection or what role you had in the selected community organizing or building effort and if you are currently involved.
• Provide a summary of the policy position taken on the issues by the organization and, in addition, compare and contrast that policy position with the policy position taken by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

Part 1 Context is due by 11:59 pm ET Tuesday and will be graded using the Rubric for Parts 1-3 of Final Paper.

Key Assessment #2: Part 2 Approaches and Outcomes — due in Week 5 (10% of grade)

For part 2 of the final assignment paper, write a paper (3 pages maximum):

• Briefly describe the approach(es) and strategies employed by the organization, and draw connections to the different approaches and strategies presented in the Minkler (2012) text.
• Analyze in-depth approaches employed by reflecting on:
  • The degree to which the organizing or community building effort aligned with the tenets of social inclusion.
  • The benefits, challenges and impact of the community effort.
  • The steps taken (to be taken) to sustain outcomes.

Part 2 Approaches and Outcomes is due by 11:59 pm ET Tuesday and will be graded using the Rubric for Parts 1-3 of Final Paper.

Key Assessment #2: Part 3 Evaluation Efforts — due in Week 6 (10% of grade)

In your paper (3 pages maximum) for part 3 of the final assignment:

• Analyze evaluation efforts, and provide recommendations on how evaluation could proceed (i.e., what could be the indicators of success, how could a participatory approach to evaluation be used?). If no evaluation efforts are evident, propose how you would recommend evaluating process and impact.

Part 3 Evaluation Efforts is due by 11:59 pm ET Tuesday and will be graded using the Rubric for Parts 1-3 of Final Paper.

Key Assessment #2: Analyzing a Community Organizing or Building Effort Part 4 Key Lessons and Final Paper Submission — due in Week 7 (16% of grade)

Part 4 Key Lessons

In part 4, the final part of your final assignment, you will describe the key lessons learned through discussions and readings and how those lessons will influence your future community organizing work. You are also expected to incorporate feedback received from your instructor and peers throughout the course. In Part 4 of your paper (3 pages maximum):

• Identify key lessons you learned from analyzing the community organizing or building effort, and how these lessons will influence your ongoing community efforts.

When complete, incorporate Part 4 into the Final Version of your paper and also post your Part 4 section to the Week 8 Small Group Discussion forum.

Final Version Submission: Analyzing a Community Organizing or Building Effort Paper, Parts 1-4 

Your final paper is due by 11:59 pm ET Tuesday and should be between 10-12 pages, double-spaced utilizing appropriate APA formatting. You must substantiate any analysis with course materials and other relevant resources and citations. In addition to citing at least 3 assigned materials within your paper, you also must reference at least 5 external references. One of these five could be from a web-based source specific to the organization you are highlighting in your paper. Please submit the Final Version of the assignment (Parts 1, 2,3,4) as a Microsoft Word document using the submission link above or the one in Major Assignments on the left navigation menu. Your final paper will be graded using the Final Paper Rubric.

Grading Policy

The School of Social Work uses the following grading system for all courses with the exception of field education courses. Students are expected to maintain a “B” (3.0) average over the course of their study. Students with less than a GPA of 3.0 will be placed on academic probation. Students must have an overall GPA of 3.0 in order to receive their Master’s Degree.

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Assignment	Point Value	Percentage of Final Grade
Discussion Questions (weeks 1-7: 30 points per week); (week 8: 30 points each)	270 points	27%
Reflection Journal (6 @ 45 points each)	270 points	27%
Analyzing a Community Organizing or Building Effort, Part 1	100 points	10%
Analyzing a Community Organizing or Building Effort, Part 2	100 points	10%
Analyzing a Community Organizing or Building Effort, Part 3	100 points	10%
Analyzing a Community Organizing Effort, Completed Paper, Parts 1-4	160 points	16%
Total:	1,000	100%

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00