Syllabus
Master of Social Work
SSW 646 Social Work Practice in the Caribbean
Credits - 3
Description
Social work models used in the North America represent only a subset of the large number of possible intervention strategies available to respond to the diverse needs of communities and societies. This course attempts to prepare students for international social work practice in the Caribbean or for work with immigrant populations.
The focus of the course will look at the challenges the Caribbean faces in improving the lives of their citizens given their current economic and social circumstances. The course will identify numerous strategies and skills social workers have used to collaboratively build interventions within the social welfare, education, healthcare, and sustainable community development arenas. Coupled with these strategies will come an awareness of the similarity of social challenges faced by nations throughout the world. Among these are human rights, rapid and unplanned urbanization, war, poverty, housing, gender inequality, inability to care for the complex needs of children, racial and/or ethnic discrimination, and cultural conflicts.
Another overarching goal of this course will be to expose class participants to alternate views of the professional and personal transformation processes via the method of social development, as it relates to individual, interpersonal, family, community, organizational, societal, and international change.
The tension between what is “universal” in social work practice and what is country or group-specific will be repeatedly addressed as a third goal of this course. Deliberations in which North American social work practices may or may not be appropriate for the cultural integrity of different countries or global contexts will be an ongoing exploration for the construction of country specific intervention plans.
Course Content
The course will investigate ways in which micro and macro skills can be integrated via a social development framework to address social welfare/ services issues in a Caribbean settings. This includes the development of interventions beginning at the community level and moving toward global aid. We will address not only basic resources such as food, shelter, but also consideration will be given to sustainable economic development, inter-ethnic conflict, global indebtedness, ethno-specific/ethnocultural organizational development, political systems, and social stigmas as a method of intervening in social challenges.
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:
- Demonstrates ethical and professional behavior.
- Advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
- Engage in anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) in practice.
- Engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice.
- Engage in policy practice.
- Engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
- Assess individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
- Intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
- Evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, class participants will be able to:
- Examine several perspectives in social work through a Caribbean context (measured by Jamaica Group Video project).
- Explain the influence of Caribbean social, economic, and political policy on the lives of citizens in that region (measured by the Caribbean Resource Social Service Manual assignment and the Jamaica Group Video project).
- Analyze the interplay among cultural, social, historical, economic, and political factors affecting the Caribbean nationally and internationally (measured by the Caribbean Resource Social Service Manual assignment and the Jamaica Group Video project).
- Apply strategies/ interventions related to developing trust and serving as “co-learners” in cross-cultural and international settings (measured by interactions and experiences in the field).
- Discuss ways that new and innovative social welfare/ services in use internationally may have utility for addressing North American social problems and challenges (measured by Caribbean Social Service Delivery Needs Paper).
- Explain how Caribbean organizations and coalitions’ policies influence behavioural choices at the individual, interpersonal, community, group, and societal levels (measured by the Caribbean Resource Social Service Manual assignment).
Assignments
Caribbean Resource Manual
This assignment is designed to give students a practical application and an up-to-date understanding of Social Work resources in different parts of the Caribbean. The student will pick a region in the Caribbean and look at it from a social service perspective and follow the questions below. The Manual will be 9 pages inclusive of references and title page, double-spaced, and APA format. It will be written in the third person and as an academic paper.
Caribbean Social Service Delivery Needs Paper
This assignment is designed for the student to identify and critically explore a Caribbean social service delivery need/issue (e.g., poverty, unemployment, homelessness, children deprived of parental care, HIV/AIDS, human trafficking, disability, family violence, juvenile and adult crime, and imprisonment) and draw comparisons to that same issue in North America. Students will explore the comparison and how it impacts Social Work Practice in the two systems differently.
Jamaica Groups Video
The objective of this assignment is to create a 10-minute video of your experiences as a social work student in Jamaica. Please utilize the organizations we visit and help viewers understand the individuals, community and groups we encounter. This video can be set up it any way you see fit, but must explain your experience and how social work is viewed in Jamaica. It is, in essence, a way to get at the first learning objective in this course: “Examine several perspectives in social work from a Caribbean context.”
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.
Written Work:
All written work should be typed and double-spaced. The papers should be submitted in Microsoft Word format including references in APA format as appropriate. Students who are not clear about proper format are encouraged to consult the UNE Student Academic Success Center or various libraries, online, and other resources to get this information. All materials should be appropriately referenced and limited to recognized scholarly, academic, or client/consumer-oriented sources (such as online journals and information from advocacy-oriented organizations). Gender-neutral language should be used throughout all written assignments.
Extensions and incompletes:
Under normal circumstances, there will be no extensions for papers or other assignments, or incompletes for the course. If you have concerns about an assignment, please discuss with the instructor well in advance of the due date. If you have reason to believe that you will be unable to complete the work, contact the Course Instructor immediately.
Work submitted may undergo a plagiarism detection process. This may or may not include analysis through plagiarism detection software. If this process is used, student work may be retained and used to conduct future plagiarism assessments.
Weekly Participation:
Posts to the discussion board 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. I will be monitoring the participation on a weekly basis, and welcome people to check in with me if they have questions regarding their participation. Keep in mind that weekly posts make up a significant percentage of the final grade. All posts must be respectful. If at anytime you are concerned with a posting, please notify me immediately. Please note that I encourage people to work in small groups to reflect and respond to the discussion questions. This is why some of the discussions in your learning modules indicate that they are small group discussions. Your instructor will randomly assign you to a small group at the start of class. This will be the group you work in throughout the course–when small group discussions occur.
The majority of your discussions require a certain quality of critical thinking within the posts. Unless otherwise noted, you should post quality responses of no more than two to three paragraphs in length of the indicated quantity in any preferred combination related to the questions. The recommended method is that you carefully read the existing posts and then think about how to build off the existing ideas by offering additional insights, alternative perspectives, or raising critical questions. As part of this process, be sure to refer back to the original discussion question in order to keep the thread focused on the required topic and addresses the indicated question(s).
More specifically, many of the discussion requirements will say something along the lines of “submit two posts.” With this, one of the posts needs to be more substantive. For example, one of the posts provides an explanation of why you are raising the critical question or justifying/explaining the alternative perspective–within the context of the question. Then the second post should be a response to one of your classmates or instructor’s post to add additional insight or perspectives (refer to the Participation Rubric for guidance). Keep in mind, if the assignment has more specific criteria for completion, you should follow what is indicated. As a general rule, if you do not see a quantity of posts indicated to a given discussion, you should always post a response to the question itself and a response to at least one of your classmates (per discussion) AS A MINIMUM. You should always follow the criteria listed in this section (Participation section of the Syllabus) as well as anything more specifically stated in the learning modules.
All posts to the discussion boards should be completed by 11:59 p.m. EST of last day of the module as indicated in the “Course Schedule”. Any discussions that extend beyond that date and time will not be considered a part of the grade and/or assignment, but rather optional reading. Even though you technically have until the last day of the module to post, your participation points will suffer if you do not post initially by Sunday as this negatively impacts your classmates’ ability to respond to your posts and your ability to respond to their posts. Posts that do not relate to the identified topic should be in one of the on-going discussion boards such as “Ask The Class”, “Hallway Discussions”, or “Resources”.
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 Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly Participation | 200 points (25 points * 8 weeks) | 20% |
| Caribbean Resource Manual | 300 points | 30% |
| Caribbean Social Service Delivery Needs Paper | 300 points | 30% |
| Jamaica Groups Video | 200 points | 20% |
| 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 |
Schedule
Week 1 – Introduction: 01/04/17 – 01/10/17
Introductions:
Looking at our Social Location, please introduce yourself and answer the following questions. Please respond to two of your peers:
- What is your social location? (Aspects of identity such as socioeconomic status, race, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, ability, and so on are part of that social location)
- Based on your social location, in what ways are you able, and unable, to relate to the experiences of others in a global context?
- In what ways, or through what aspects of your social location, do you experience privilege or oppression?
Small Group Discussion:
For this activity, you begin by thinking of a time when they have felt oppressed (i.e., when they have been denied access to resources. You will work in your small groups and describe that situation and how it made you feel.
Readings:
Healy, L., & Link, R. (2012). Handbook of International Social Work: Human Rights Development, and The Global Profession. Section 1, p 315.
Multimedia:
Mount Royal University Social Work students experience field school in Peru 2011
Discussions:
Looking at Social Location both individually and in small group discussions
Week 2 – Globalization: Concepts and Trends: 01/11/17 – 01/17/17
What You Will Learn:
- What is globalization?
- What promises does globalization make to North America and Internationally?
- How does globalization perpetuate International myths?
- How does globalization affect people’s lives?
Readings:
Ahmadi, N. (2003). Globalisation of consciousness and new challenges for international social work. International Journal Of Social Welfare, 12(1), 14-23.
ANDREAS, P. (2011). Illicit Globalization: Myths, Misconceptions, and Historical Lessons. Political Science Quarterly, 126(3), 403-425.
Healy, L., & Link, R. (2012). Handbook of International Social Work: Human Rights Development, and The Global Profession. Section 1, pp 16-23.
Multimedia:
Film: “Life and Debt” (2003/2001), dir. Stephanie Black (http://www.lifeanddebt.org/)
Global Arcade: http://www.globalarcade.org/info/index.html
Oxfam Education http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/milking_it/milkingit/
Go to activities and Play all the “games” and “activities” and look around the websites
Discussions:
Life and Debt and discussions on the effects of globalization on communities
Week 3 – International Social Work: 01/18/17 – 01/24/17
What You Will Learn:
- What is international social work? Its history, contributions and problems
- What kinds of opportunities exist for (North American) social workers internationally?
- What kinds of issues arise when North American Social Workers want to work in an international context?
Readings:
Healy, L., & Link, R. (2012). Handbook of International Social Work: Human Rights Development, and The Global Profession. Section VIII Pages 365-381, 388-407.
Hugman, R., Moosa Mitha, M., & Moyo, O. (2010). Towards a borderless social work: Reconsidering notions of international social work. International Social Work, 53(5), 629-643.
Dominelli, L. (2005). International social work: themes and issues for the 21st century. International Social Work, 48(4), 504-507
Multimedia:
International Social Work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIiXaGGpOew
Robyn Mulligan and Chris Ferraris talk about their international field placements: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s6RFJrMXmc
Small Group Discussions:
In the group discussion forum, please answer the below questions and respond to at least one of your peers:
- What are the biggest challenges for social work practices in countries outside North America? How are they similar to the challenges in North America? Did anything strike you in an international context in the readings or multimedia as “interesting” or “innovating” to social work practice?
Week 4 – Social Work Practice and Communities in the Caribbean: 01/25/17 – 01/31/17
What You Will Learn:
- What are the characteristics of Social Work Practice in the Caribbean?
- How has Social Work historically been dealt with in the Caribbean?
- What are the emerging Social Work Practices in the Caribbean?
Readings:
Healy, L., & Link, R. (2012). Handbook of International Social Work: Human Rights Development, and The Global Profession. Section VIII, pp 383-387.
Social Work The Helping Profession: http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2005/08/050812_social_work.shtml
Multimedia:
The Future of Social Work in the Caribbean: http://tv.mona.uwi.edu/future-social-work-caribbean (Start video at: 19:20 minutes)
Discussions:
On the main discussion board please answer the below questions and respond to at least one of your peers about their choices:
- If you were to practice Social Work in the Caribbean, which area would you look at and why? Which populations seem the most vulnerable and what areas seem the most vulnerable to lack of resources and advocacy?
Assignment Submission:
Caribbean Resource Manual Assignment is due at the end of Week 4
Week 5 – The Emergence of Social Work Practice in the Caribbean: 02/01/17 – 02/07/17
What You Will Learn:
- Examine the idea of self-help, human/community-based development and charitable giving
- Who are the NGO’s in the Caribbean and what are critical services for this region?
Readings:
Healy, L., & Link, R. (2012). Handbook of International Social Work: Human Rights Development, and The Global Profession. Section VI, pp 305-325.
NGOs in the Caribbean:
Multimedia: UNDP’s Caribbean Human Development Report 2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAsaTW7wAmA&list=UUuOhXrBroubUvCQipd i9klg&index=1&feature=plcp
UNDP Jamaica TV: Community safety through women’s eyes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFj5AOBVvcg&list=PL47E94666963DBB8E&fea ture=plpp_play_all
Group Discussions:
In your small groups you will design a social movement for a region in the Caribbean with a specific population (children and adolescents, elderly, women etc.). First research other social movements that have been successful in the Caribbean.
The design will consist of:
- Choosing a name for your social movement.
- Developing a mission statement and reason for this movement.
- Designing a logo.
- Distributing guidelines around your social movement.
- How will you attraction the community members to be involved in this social movement?
- How will you deal with the limited resources?
- How do you collaborate with existing social movements in the community, identify them?
Week 6 – Social Movements, Advocacy, and Leadership in the Caribbean: 02/08/17 – 02/14/17
What You Will Learn:
- How do we understand the impact of social movements, advocacy and social action in the Caribbean?
- How can we gain leadership to bring about changes that we want to see regardless of our location?
- How do people resist negative forces to properly advocate?
Readings:
Healy, L & Link, R. (2012). Handbook of International Social Work: Human Rights Development, and The Global Profession. Please read 2 chapters from Section IV (Global Social Issues).
(2011). “The Twilight Years”: Caribbean Social Movements, 1940 … Available at http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/essay-caribbean-40.html.
Multimedia:
UNiTE Caribbean Artist Nelly Stharre on Ending to Violence against Women through Music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6b2Vvy2hpY
Discussions:
Look for a multimedia video that describes an organization that is doing advocacy in the Caribbean. Post the link to the main board and give a brief description of it. Watch one other classmate’s video and comment on it.
Week 7 – Non-Governmental Agencies (NGOs), International Aid and Development in the Caribbean: 02/15/17 – 02/21/17
What You Will Learn:
- Where is social work practice in the picture in international aid and development in the Caribbean?
- What is it like to actually work in the field of international aid in the Caribbean?
Readings:
The Caribbean (NGO) Policy Development Centre 20th Year Review – Making the Social Work Profession an Essential Partner international Work http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/intl/InternationalPartner.pdf
Multimedia:
Doing Development Differently. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgSRKzLZRe0
What’s Wrong With International Aid? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNfOnqf5g6Y (Please watch up to 1:45 mins into the movie.)
UNICEF: Jamaica HIV/AIDS Field Worker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOp2TWB6CRc
Discussions:
Please discuss your thoughts on the main board on the following questions; please post at least one response to your peers.
What are your views on International aid? Does it help the intended people? Are social workers important to the partnering of International aid?
Assignments:
Caribbean Social Service Delivery Needs Assignment due at the end of Week 7
Week 8 – Integration of Knowledge: 02/22/17 – 02/26/17
What You Will Learn:
- What’s missing in social work discourse in the Caribbean to properly integrate the available knowledge on international practice?
Readings:
Healy, L & Link, R. (2012). Handbook of International Social Work: Human Rights Development, and The Global Profession. Section XI, pp 475-499.
Social Work and Social Issues: The Caribbean.
Small Group Discussions:
Please discuss your thoughts on the questions below; please post at least one response to your peers in the group discussion forum.
How can we integrate all the information we learned in the Caribbean to improve our understanding and practice of social work?
Assignments:
With your group, submit the Jamaica video to be posted to the MSW/Jamaica Youtube channel by the end of class.
Student Resources
Online Student Support
Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.
Questions? Visit the Student Support Social Work page
UNE Libraries:
- Library Access for all students: Your library login ID and password are the same as the ones you use to log into Brightspace.
- Social Work Databases: https://library.une.edu/library-materials/find/research-by-subject/social-work/
- Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.
Information Technology Services (ITS)
ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673
Policies
Essential Academic and Technical Standards
Please review the essential academic and technical standards of the University of New England School Social Work (SSW): https://online.une.edu/social-work/academic-and-technical-standards-une-online-ssw/
Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool
The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.
Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.
You can learn more about Turnitin in the guide on how to navigate your Similarity Report.
Technology Requirements
Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements
Confidentiality Statement
Student and faculty participation in this course will be governed by standards in the NASW Code of Ethics relating to confidentiality in sharing information from their placement sites and practice experiences. Students should be aware that personal information they choose to share in class, class assignments or conversations with faculty does not have the status of privileged information.
Late Policy
Assignments: Late assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.
Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.
Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.