Syllabus

Master of Social Work

SSW 638 Multiculturalism and Social Work

Credits - 3

Description

This advanced course intends to develop a framework for understanding and respecting culturally diverse populations in which we work. This course establishes the foundation for the infusion of cultural diversity issues throughout the MSWO curriculum.
The initial premise of this course recognizes that North America is a multicultural society and asserts that competent social work practice cannot occur without understanding how diversity strengthens and enriches the practice of Social Work.

In this course we will look at oppression and marginalization and how it shapes various cultural norms and groups. This course is committed to dismantling all forms of oppression and marginalization; it will advance the practitioners lens and expand client-centered practice.

COURSE CONTENT:

This course prepares students to examine different theoretical and conceptual frameworks for practice with multicultural populations. Students develop a capacity for cultural self-assessment and a level of awareness of their own cultural limitations before examining diverse populations. Students examine the principles of a culturally sensitive system from the individual, organizational, community and practice level. The course focuses on theories of culture and inequality, and the help-seeking behaviors of multicultural groups. Special attention is given to self- awareness, values clarification, and ethnographic research as a tool for describing a group or culture and means for gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity.

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 completion of this course, class participants will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of early childhood social science research, early brain development and adverse childhood experiences and their influence on children’s health including their social, emotional, relational and cognitive development; (Program Outcome 6)
2. Demonstrate and apply knowledge of social policies and how they influence choice of practice models and interventions in practice with diverse adolescents, children and their families; (Program Outcomes 1, 3)
   Articulate and apply of a range of theories for practice with children, adolescents and families that are relational and empowering, and recognize interdependent and systemic aspects of child/family-centered interventions; (Program Outcomes 1, 3)
   Demonstrate ability to critically analyze theories and approaches used for child-centered assessments and interventions; (Program Outcomes 4, 6)
3. Demonstrate knowledge and skills for building partnerships with families that are collaborative, empowering, and sustaining; (Program Outcomes: 3, 5)
4. Articulate and apply reflexive and decision-making knowledge and skills to examine ethical dilemmas that arise when working with the conflicting needs of children and adults within families, and also the conflicting goals and priorities of families and social institutions; (Program Outcomes 4, 7)
5. Demonstrate leadership and apply knowledge and skills for building community partnerships when working with children, adolescents and families across multi-level systems; (Program Outcome 5)
6. Utilize Reflexivity including examination of belief systems, life experiences and assumptions that influence all aspects of practice with children, adolescents and families. (Program Outcomes 1, 7)

*The objective of this course is to raise the student’s own cultural identity as a practitioner and develop skills around their consciousness, as well as, the student’s awareness of clients’ cultural issues emanating from cultural oppression and inequality of access to power.

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:

Description: This course will use an array of readings, videos, and films to present the important concepts in the various modules. The readings and multimedia provide the foundation and background for student discussion threads and written assignments.

Discussions:

Description: An important learning method in this course is student participation and interaction in the discussion threads within each module. Students are expected to participate actively and in a respectful manner. Please refer to Course Policies about participation for a full discussion of expectations.

Grading and Feedback Method: Grading methods are listed with each specific discussion assignment. Please refer to the Learning Modules and Discussion Boards for more information.

Quality Indicators

Critical thinking: Work that demonstrates the ability to evaluate and analyze ideas.

Conceptual ability: Work that demonstrates the ability to use theoretical concepts accurately and link it to logical and practical reasoning.

Communication and presentation in Blackboard: Work that demonstrates the ability to transmit ideas in a written form that is grammatically correct and properly formatted (sentence, paragraph, spelling, APA, etc.).

Assessments

The Multicultural Case Study

This represents the most significant assignment of the Multicultural Practice course. It is designed to allow students to immerse themselves into a group for intense study and learning. Students are encouraged to select oppressed and disenfranchised groups that they know little or nothing about and that reflect a population that they might encounter in their future social work practice. Students will be assigned to small groups to prepare this project. The project will allow students to select an issue and target population for exploration (e.g., health care disparities and African Americans, school drop-out rate with Latino youth, teen pregnancy with Caucasians). This paper will be a group project with a case study. A case study will be constructed by the group and will reflect the topic
of your target population. Please use the case chosen and reference it throughout the essay as it applies to the topic. Please also pick a topic that reflects an oppressed, socially excluded or marginalized group.

The group will use the Culturagram (diagram and podcast) as an outline/guide for their project. Students will draw from other material in the classroom discussion, text and journals articles and other multicultural materials. This paper should be written in APA format, in the third person, thinking critically as a group (practitioner) and be 10 pages plus reference and title page. Don’t forget to integrate theory with the case study chosen. This assignment will be worth 360 points of your overall grade.

Be sure to address the following in the essay:

1. Literature review on the topic and its implications on Social Work Practice and the values/politics that are related to that;
2. Description of context and its influence on the topic and case study;
3. Assessment of the issue and research and how it impacts/applies to the case study;
4. Group process of understanding the topic and how it relates to the case study;
5. How will your group work for change if you were dealing with this in a Social Work capacity;
6. What methods of advocacy and networking would you apply to this issue and case study. 

Example of a case study

Marcel is a 21-year-old African-American man, self-referred for inpatient treatment due to drug and alcohol abuse. He is currently unemployed, homeless, and has charges pending due to a number of “bounced” checks written over the past several months. Marcel reports that both of his parents were drug addicts and he experienced physical, sexual, and emotional abuse throughout childhood at their hands. His father died of liver disease at the age of 37. Marcel also reports that at the age of 14, he was kicked out of his family’s home because his father suspected that he was gay. Although they live in the same town, he has not had any contact with either parent for 7 years. Marcel describes his relationship with his older sister as “fair.” Marcel is not presently involved in a steady relationship, but does have a network of friends in the local gay community with whom he has been staying off and on. At the time that he left home, Marcel survived by becoming involved in sexual relationships with older men, many of whom were also abusive. He has had numerous sexual partners (both male and female) over the past 7 years, has traded sex for drugs and money, has had sex under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and has been made to have sex against his will. Marcel identifies himself as bisexual, not gay. Marcel first used alcohol at age 14, when he had his first sexual encounter with a man. He began using other drugs, including inhalants and marijuana by age 16 and amphetamines and cocaine by age 19. At 21, four months prior to entering treatment, he began using crack.

The Practitioner Sensitivity Paper (Reflexivity and Position)

Your final paper is to describe how you personally understand multicultural social work practice and reflect on how this is similar or different to the text and ideas explored in this course. Explain how you developed your understanding/ sensitivity of multicultural practice and why your definition makes sense and reflects how you will practice social work in the future. Explain how you anticipate being able, or not able, to use 8 multicultural practice in your future career (i.e. explore the strengths and limitations of the multicultural practice perspective from your perspective). This paper will be written in APA, in the first person, and be 5 pages plus a reference and a title page, integrating theory learned throughout the class. This assignment will be worth 400 points of your overall grade.

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 Rate
Weekly Discussions	240 points (30 pts * 8 weeks)	24%
Multicultural Project	360 points	36%
Practitioner Sensitivity Paper	400 points	40%

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