Syllabus

Master of Social Work

SSWO 610 Social Work in the Political Arena

Credits - 3

Description

This course examines the political environment of the policy process through several sets of lenses. We will examine the motives of actors, institutional constraints and how these politics are altered at different stages of the policy process. This is not an examination of any single stage or actor in the policy process, but rather it is a calculated effort to provide you with an understanding of the critical issues involved in policy making.

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

Through the completion of your assignments, you will demonstrate your ability to:

1. Articulate the role social workers have played as change agents in United States politics over the last 100 years.
2. Discuss the impact that political decisions have on clients’ lives.
3. Describe the political process ranging from municipal to federal levels.
4. Develop strategies and techniques that are effective tools for researching, organizing, lobbying, advocating campaigning and working as a legislator.
5. Identify the ethical issues that may present themselves as social workers become involved in the political arena.

Assignments

Learning Activities

A variety of learning activities are designed to 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:

Throughout this course you will complete several readings from your textbook, watch videos, and interact with different Web sites to help you grasp the information being presented in each learning module. There is a lot of material to cover in each module, so be sure to read and review carefully.

Discussions:

Each week you will engage in a few activities in the discussion boards. You will complete specific discussion question activities with all of your classmates. All of the discussion activities lead toward completion of the White Paper and the Campaign Project Presentation – they prepare you for the assignments. Some of the discussions are complex in nature so it is strongly advised that you begin working on them at the start of each module.

Writing Assignments, Projects and Assessments:

The major assignment for this course is the development of your Political Advocacy Project. You will be required to write a paper and create a presentation for your 3 classmates. Other writing assignments will include writing your political autobiography and summarizing a local government meeting.

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	Percent of Final Grade
Weekly Participation in all Discussions	200 points (25 points/week * 8 weeks)	20%
Political Autobiography	100 points	10%
Local Government Meeting Paper	150 points	15%
Political Advocacy Project: White Paper	250 points	25%
Political Advocacy Project: Campaign Presentation	200 points	20%
Resources Forum: Post an article and respond to each student	100 points	10%
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