Syllabus

Master of Social Work

SSW 511 – Social Work Practice II (Spring 2016)

Credits - 3

Description

Social Work Practice (SSW 510 & SSW 511) is a two-semester foundation course. Social Work Practice II (SSW 511) builds on students’ understanding of generalist social work practice, beginning with the planned change process within larger systems and moving into integrative multilevel practice. The theoretical framework of this course is based on empowering and organizational change theories for practice, informed by the core social work values of self-determination, diversity, human dignity and social justice. Students are encouraged to critically examine knowledge and to develop skills for culturally attuned practice. Students are exposed to tenets of evidence-guided practice utilized within larger systems. Students learn and apply skills for change with and within organizations and communities including assessment and planned change strategies. Practice skill development on all systems levels values people’s strengths, supports and enhances individual and collective self-determination and influences social systems to promote human rights to health, equitable distribution of resources and social justice.

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

Learner Characteristics

Students taking this class will have completed the SSW 501, SSW 502, and SSW 510 in the traditional track.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

1. Apply a planned change process at every system level based on the integration and application of health-promoting theories and knowledge that enable all people to develop their full potential, enrich their lives and sustain resiliency and empowerment.
2. Be critically aware of the influence of economic, political, and social forces and personal, professional, and cultural values on the practice of social work.
3. Understand and apply the values of the profession and its ethical standards and principles.
4. Develop collaborative relationships using empowering and relational theories for practice with clients, colleagues, and community partners.
5. Develop collaborative relationships using empowering and planned change strategies with organizations and communities.
6. Explore and practice skills for building health-promoting client-worker alliances, conducting strengths and resiliency based assessments, implementing collaborative and client-driven service delivery, and completing evidence-guided and client-centered practice evaluation.
7. Apply empowering theories for social change through community action and practitioner activism to support and enhance individual and collective self-determination and influence social systems to promote human rights to health, equitable distribution of resources and social justice.
8. Appreciate the relevance and value of using research findings and outcome evaluations to select and critically evaluate practice interventions and service delivery with individuals, families, and groups.
9. Utilize research findings and outcome evaluations to select and critically evaluate practice interventions and service delivery with communities and organizations.
10. Apply the tools of organizational and participatory community analysis and demonstrate the use of organizational change skills.
11. Develop leadership skills to advance equitable social structures and health promoting practices across service delivery systems.
12. Understand the intrinsic value of critical self reflection in social work practice and develop skills in the reflective use of self.

Educational Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course students will:

1. Demonstrate an integrated knowledge of empowerment, relational and health-promoting theories for practice that enable all people to develop their full potential, enrich their lives, and sustain resiliency. 
2. Demonstrate knowledge of empowering theories and planned change strategies for practice with organizations and communities.
3. Demonstrate critical awareness of the influence of economic, political, and social forces and personal, professional, and cultural values on the practice of social work.
4. Apply the values of the profession and its ethical standards and principles.
5. Demonstrate the capacity for collaborative relationship building using empowering and relational theories for practice with clients, colleagues, and community partners.
6. Demonstrate capacity for building collaborative relationships using empowering theories and planned change strategies with organizations and communities.
7. Using a planned change process at all systems levels, apply empowering and relational theories of practice to the skills of:
   1. building health-promoting client-worker alliances,
   2. conducting client-centered and resiliency based assessments,
   3. implementing collaborative and client-driven service delivery, and
   4. completing evidence-guided and client-centered practice evaluation.
8. Using empowering theories for social change develop practice skills to:
   1. build health-promoting community alliances,
   2. conduct strengths and resiliency-based organization and community assessment,
   3. implement planned change strategies,
   4. evaluate practice interventions and service delivery for social change within communities and organizations
9. Develop skills for self-reflective practice that includes awareness of personal, social and political barriers that influence and/or impede effective and compassionate practice.
10. Develop leadership skills to:
    1. participate with community and organizational partners to bring about social change within organizations and communities,
    2. build practitioner activism
    3. advocate for resource equity and social justice
11. Demonstrate participatory community analysis and organizational change skills.
12. Demonstrate an ability to utilize research findings and outcome evaluations to select and critically evaluate practice interventions and service delivery with individuals, families, and groups.

Assignments

Learning Activities

A variety of learning activities support the course objectives, facilitate different learning styles, and build a community of learners. Learning activities for each module include the following:

Readings and Multimedia: This course provides you with several different types of materials to enhance your understanding and knowledge of social work macro practice. There are lectures, websites, films, a case study, podcasts of interviews with macro practitioners, reading assignments, and of course, discussion forums. The course continues with the group work encountered in Practice I (SSW 510), but in this course, groups will be formed on specific macro-type projects that address organizational and community development issues.

Discussions: The discussion forums required in SSW 511 spring from the content you will cover on communities and organizations from week to week. These forum posts should demonstrate the assimilation of the material covered during that particular week and from previous weeks or previous course. There are also specific recurring forums that occur weekly and solely for the discussion by your group regarding the two project assignments.

Writing Assignments, Projects, and Assessments: Macro social work practice involves group work for which this course does prepare you by requiring that key assignments be a collective effort. You and your group members will be examining both an organization and a community to diagnose and prescribe opportunities for change. You will also be involved with a course-long project that results in an informational website that could be used for work with specific populations.

Grading and Feedback Method: The major assignments of this course involve close collaboration by members of small groups. The instructor will be monitoring the contributions of every student in these assignments to determine if there is equal participation. The final grade for each student will reflect the level of individual effort as well as the quality of the finished products. The course facilitator will return assignments and other grading items (discussion boards, participation, etc.) to students within three days of the assignment due date. The course facilitator will provide weekly feedback about participation and performance no later than four days after the learning module closes. Feedback can be via email, within the assignment itself, or using the Feedback section in the Grade Center.

Due Dates: Due dates for all learning activities are provided in the Course Schedule.

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 the Final Grade
Participation	200 points (25 points x 8 weeks)	20%
Organizational Change Project	400 points	40%
Developing Informational Website Assignment	400 points	40%
Total	1,000 points	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