Syllabus

Master of Social Work

SSW 685 Community Organizing and Social Inclusion

Credits - 3

Description

This course introduces students to the concepts of social inclusion and social cohesion defined as the provision of certain rights to all individuals and groups in society such as employment, adequate housing, health care, and education. 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 SSW 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) Paper 1.
2. Analyze community organizing efforts through the lens of social inclusion. PROGRAM OBJECTIVE 3. As measured by 1) Discussion Questions and 2) Paper 2.
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) Paper 1.
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 and 2) Paper 2.
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) Paper 1, and 3) Paper 2.

Assignments

Responsibilities (faculty and learner):

Faculty and students are expected to actively engage in the weekly assignments helping to deepen the online discussion. Students must complete written papers due at the end of Week 4 and Week 7. Faculty will provide ongoing support and guidance to students as they strengthen their understanding of community organizing. This includes prompt feedback on all assignments including the discussion board postings and papers.

Course Requirements:

Each week you will have required readings and/or multi-media assignments. These materials will inform your weekly discussion board requirements, which is an integral part of the course requirement. Additionally you will complete two written assignments described below.

PAPER 1: SELF-REFLECTION. DUE END OF WEEK 4

Your first paper requires you to reflect upon your experiences with and your approach to community organizing, as well as your own critical self-reflection on power and privilege. Your paper should be 5-8 pages, double-spaced utilizing appropriate APA formatting for references.

• YOUR EXPERIENCES:
  • Reflect on how have you been involved in organizing or community building for social change. If you’ve been involved, why? If not, why not? 
• YOUR APPROACH TO COMMUNITY ORGANIZING AND BUILDING: In thinking about the approaches and frameworks discussed at the beginning of the course, which approach(es) resonate most strongly with your values and beliefs regarding community engagement, and why? Which approach(es) resonate least strongly with you, and why? What factors might influence what approach you’d employ when working with a community?
• YOUR CRITICAL SELF-REFLECTION ON POWER AND PRIVILEGE: To complete this section of the paper, you will need to read Appendix 3 in your textbook written by Cheryl Hyde. You do not need to turn in the different steps of Hyde’s process. Instead just reflect upon what you learned about yourself regarding power and privilege from completing Hyde’s process. As part of your reflection, be sure to reflect upon the concept of cultural humility first introduced in Chapter 1 of the Minkler text.

PAPER 2: ANALYZING A COMMUNITY ORGANIZING EFFORT. DUE END OF WEEK 7

In this final assignment you will analyze a current community organizing effort. You can work individually or in a small group. Ideally you can focus upon an effort that you are involved in or have been involved in. This could include, for example, organizing activities as a community member or activities done in your foundation year or BSW field placement. While you can rely upon online and other written sources, ideally you could also connect with someone (or several people) involved in the organizing efforts. This would allow you to pose some of these questions. Given you are asking for their time, I strongly encourage you to volunteer your time to support their efforts. Specifics to the paper are outlined below. Your paper should be between 12-15 pages, double-spaced utilizing appropriate APA formatting. You must substantiate your analysis with course and other relevant resources.

• Identify a community organizing effort (i.e., organizing in response to an environmental justice concern such as the toxic water in Flint, organizing for immigrant rights, organizing in your local school system, organizing in the global context).

  • Provide the context (historical and current), and specify what role you have had in the selected organizing effort.

  • Identify the community concerns, including how these concerns were identified and who was involved in the process.

  • Analyze the approach(es) and strategies employed.

  • Reflect on the degree to which the organizing effort demonstrated social inclusion.

  • Identify the benefits, challenges and impact of the organizing effort

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

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

At the end of Week 7, you will need to post your paper to your small group members. Given your paper is the basis for Week 8’s activities there are NO extensions allowed on your final paper.

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
Weekly Discussion Questions/Activities	240 points (30 points x 8 weeks)	24%
Self Reflection (Due Week 4)	300 points	30%
Analyzing a Community Organizing Effort (Due Week 7)	460 points	46%

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