Syllabus

Master of Social Work

SSWO 565 Leadership and Supervision (Summer A 2024)

Credits - 3

Description

This course explores the roles of social workers in various leadership and supervisory capacities. Students will gain an understanding of the importance that leadership, organizational culture, teamwork, collaboration, and interprofessional perspectives have on an organization, its employees, and its clients.

 

 

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, students will:

1. Recognize and distinguish relevant leadership theories, styles, and skills most often used in human service agencies, and begin to develop their own leadership values. (EPAS 1, 4, & 6)
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the significance of social work supervision in terms of both a working definition and its purpose and relevance to professional social work practice. (EPAS 1) 
3. Model and demonstrate interprofessional teamwork and leadership skills. (EPAS 1 & 6) 
4. Identify, research, assess, and evaluate the essential contextual and structural components of human service agencies in regards to: organizational structure; organizational culture; leadership; supervision; policy; special considerations for direct care work; and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and make recommendations based on information gathered. (EPAS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, & 9)

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:

Discussions

Every week, students will be required to participate in one or more discussions for which instructions will be provided. Some of these discussions will be done in small groups as a way for students to work as a designated task team to develop advanced practice skills in coordination, collaboration, facilitation, presentation, and leadership. Online instructor feedback will be conducted throughout the term to assess the student’s engagement and contributions to the discussions.

Teamwork Activities

In this class, you have an ongoing small group that works as the leadership team of the Harmony Haven Child Wellness Center. The structure of these Teamwork Discussions will alternate from week to week. In Weeks 1, 3, 5, and 7, you will have an individual post and responses to your peers due. For Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8, your group will come together to collaborate on a topic, synthesize your individual responses, and make recommendations.

Social Work Supervision Interview and Agency Assessment

You will have bigger assignments due in Weeks 4, 6, and 8.

The Week 4 Assignment requires you to interview a social worker, preferably someone who is at least two years out from their MSW and is a supervisor. (If you are unable to find someone who meets these requirements please reach out to your faculty member.)

• Please note that the readings in Week 4 will help you to prepare for this interview assignment. If you plan on doing your interview early, you should utilize the Week 4 resources early. 

The Week 6 Assignment is a SWOT Analysis of the agency you are focusing on for your Week 8 presentation.

The Week 8 project is an assessment of an agency of your choosing. You will choose an agency in Week 1 of this course. The agency you choose should be a human service agency of some type, preferably one that you are familiar with professionally (as opposed to somewhere where you have received services). If you do not have an agency that you are familiar with you can choose any human service agency, or you can use the case example that is used in your Teamwork Activities. You will notice that in Weeks 1, 3, and 5 you will complete a workbook assignment – these are to help you prepare for your Week 8 project, the Agency Assessment Report and Presentation.

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

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 total grade
Academic Engagement Quiz	1	1%
Introduction Discussion	1	1%
Teamwork Discussions	40 (5 pts each)	40%
Class Discussions	8 (4 pts each)	8%
Week 1 Assignment (Agency Assessment Workbook)	4	4%
Week 3 Assignment (Agency Assessment Workbook)	4	4%
Week 4 Assignment (Supervision and Leadership Interview with a Social Worker)	10	10%
Week 5 Assignment (Agency Assessment Workbook)	4	4%
Week 6 Assignment (SWOT Analysis)	5	5%
Week 6 Interagency Collaboration Exercise (Branching Scenario)	1	1%
Week 7 Assignment (Workbook)	2	2%
Week 8 Final Project (Agency Assessment Report and Presentation)	20	20%
Total	100 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