Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Prerequisites
SWTP333 Social Work Field Education 1
Teaching organisation
Teaching and learning strategies for this unit will include lectures, workshops, small group discussions and Canvas online activities.
Unit rationale, description and aim
Fundamental to Social Work is the need to understand organisational contexts in which professional practice takes place. This unit will develop students' abiilty to analyse organisational contexts in which their professional practice takes place. The nature, processes and impact of organisational change on service delivery and management is critically analysed. Emphasis will also be given to the role of information technology in contemporary social work practice. Students will be encouraged to draw on their experiences of working in organisations, in particular the agencies in which they have undertaken their field placement. This unit aims to develop students' understanding of how organisations deliver services, and to explore how they will approach working collaboratively with colleagues from a range of professional backgrounds and disciplines.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Integrate relevant organisational theories in analysing a range of organisational contexts | GC1, GC3, GC7 |
| LO2 | Critique the impact of organisational change on social work workforce and service delivery | GC2, GC8, GC9 |
| LO3 | Demonstrate skills of collaborative practice in working with consumers and professionals from a range of disciplines | GC4, GC6, GC8 |
| LO4 | Analyse the organisational construction of social work practice, including the central role of information technologies in practice | GC7, GC8, GC10, GC11, GC12 |
| LO5 | Evaluate the impact of various organisational cultures and structures on the delivery of services to consumers and communities | GC1, GC6, GC7 |
| LO6 | Critically reflect on the interface between social work ethics and organisational ethics | GC1, GC2, GC7 |
AASW Practice Standards
This Unit has been mapped to the ACU Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes. The following table sets out the broad relationship between the Learning Outcomes, Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes provided in the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards: https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/13565
1.Values and Ethics |
2.Professionalism |
3. Culturally responsive and inclusive practice |
4. Knowledge for practice |
5. Applying knowledge to practice |
6. Communication and interpersonal skills |
7. Information keeping and sharing |
8. Professional development and supervision |
ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes
This Unit has been mapped to the ACU Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes. The following table sets out the broad relationship between the Learning Outcomes, Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes provided in the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards: https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/13565
| Standard/Attributes/Criteria | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|
4.1 Understand higher level systemic influences on people with respect to an area of practice 4.2 Understand and articulate social work and other relevant theories and concepts | 1 |
4.1 Understand higher level systemic influences on people with respect to an area of practice 4.2 Understand and articulate social work and other relevant theories and concepts 4.4 Understand and articulate how and when theories, knowledge bases and knowledge sources inform practice | 2 |
4.2 Understand and articulate social work and other relevant theories and concepts 4.4 Understand and articulate how and when theories, knowledge bases and knowledge sources inform practice 6.1 Effectively communicate with a diverse range of people. 6.3 Effectively work with others in a team environment 5.2 Work collaboratively with relevant people | 3 |
4.1 Understand higher level systemic influences on people with respect to an area of practice 6.4 Use information technology to communicate and provide services as appropriate 5.4 Apply critical and reflective thinking to practice | 4 |
1.2 Manage ethical dilemmas in practice 4.1 Understand higher level systemic influences on people with respect to an area of practice 4.4 Understand and articulate how and when theories, knowledge bases and knowledge sources inform practice | 5 |
1.1 Practice in accordance with the Code of Ethics (2010) 1.2 Manage ethical dilemmas in practice 2.1 Represent the social work profession with integrity and professionalism 5.4 Apply critical and reflective thinking to practice | 6 |
Content
Topics will include:
Introduction to Organisational Practice
- Understanding organisations
- Organisational construction of social work practice
- Collaborative practice
- Interdisciplinary practice
Organisational Cultures
- Organisational structures
- Defining organisational culture
- Influence on social work practices
- Leadership and management styles;
- Teams and team building
o parallel teams
o consultative teams
o collaborative teams
o co-ordinated teams
o multi-disciplinary teams
o interdisciplinary teams
o integrated teams
Organisational Change
- Change theories
o Bureaucracy, managerial, technocratic theories
o Systems and functionalist theories
o Culture and communication theories
o Human relations theory
o Critical theories
o Postmodern theories
- Change processes
- Change and resistance in organisations
- Organisational change models
- Social workers as “change managers‟ and facilitators of change
- Responding to client/service user and community need
- Information technology
Planning and Strategic Development
- Strategic planning
- Goal setting
Human Relations
- HR issues and workplace bullying
The Role of the Social Worker in Human Service Organisations
- Challenges to workers
- Organisational analysis against principles of
o efficiency
o effectiveness
o evaluation,
o excellence
- Maintaining professional identity
- Working collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams
- Working collaboratively with consumers in service development
- Working collaboratively with a range of government and non-government services
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Teaching and learning strategies for this unit will include lectures, small group discussions, and/or Canvas online activities. A number of complex, organisational case studies will be presented to students to give them the opportunity to explore a range of approaches to working effectively in organisations and engaging effectively with colleagues. In order to benefit from interactive learning activities and to achieve learning outcome 3, which requires the demonstration skills of collaborative practice, a minimum tutorial attendance of 80% is required in this unit.
Assessment strategy and rationale
Three assessment approaches are utilised in this unit. The first, a group assignment requires students in small groups to undertake an interview with a social worker and one of their interdisciplinary colleagues in a social welfare agency. The aim is to explore the nature of collaborative and interdisciplinary practices. Students will report their findings to the class.
Responding to a case study, the second assessment requires students to write a report that identifies gaps in social work service delivery impacting on a social problem or population group. In preparing the report students need to apply an understanding of organizational processes, structures and practices in a specific social work context. The third assessment task is an essay that requires students to demonstrate an understanding of the key concepts covered over the course of the unit, and critically analyse the role of the social worker in organisations.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Group presentation: Presentation of interdisciplinary and collaborative social work practices in a social welfare organisation | 30% | LO1, LO3, LO6 |
Case study assignment: Advocacy report that identifies and addresses an organisational gap in social work delivery | 30% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6 |
Conceptual Essay: The role of the social worker in human service organisations | 40% | LO1, LO2, LO4, LO5, LO6 |
Representative texts and references
Gardner, F. (2006). Working with human service organisations : Creating connections for practice. South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press.
Gray, I., Field, R., & Brown, K. (2010). Effective leadership, management and supervision in health and social care.Exeter, UK: Learning Matters.
Gursansky, D., Kennedy, R., & Camilleri, P. (2012). The practice of case management. Sydney, Australia: Allen& Unwin.
Hattford-Letchfield, T. (2010). Management and organisations in social work (2nd ed.). Exeter, UK: Learning Matters.
Hughes, M. & Wearing, M. (2013). Organisations and management in social work (2nd ed.). London: Sage
Lambley, S. (2010). Proactive management in social work practice. Exeter, UK: Learning Matters.
Lipsky, M. (2010). Street-level bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the individual in public services. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
McDonald,C., Craik,C.,Hawkins, L. & Williams, J. (2011). Professional practice in human service organisations, Sydney, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
Ozanne, E., & Rose, D. (2013). The organisational context of human service practice. Melbourne, Australia: Palgrave Macmillan.
Thompson, N. (2013). People management. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Weinberg, R., & Taylor, L. (2010). Social worker as manager (6th ed.). New York: Pearson Higher Education.