Unit rationale, description and aim
It is commonly understood that youth workers will often work with some of society’s most marginalised, disadvantaged and at-risk young people. Specifically, many of the young people that a youth worker will work with will have experienced some form of trauma in their life. To work effectively and safely with such people, there is specific knowledge that is needed to underpin the development of an understanding of particular concepts, principles and theories, in order to develop skills and make informed choices of action. In this unit, students are introduced to Trauma Informed Practice. Students will explore frameworks that involve understanding, recognising, and responding to the effects of trauma in the lives of the young people they work with.
The unit will also emphasise the importance of physical, psychological and emotional safety for young people with a focus on helping young people rebuild a sense of control and empowerment. Various forms of traumatic experience, ranging from individual, social, collective and intergenerational trauma will be considered in this subject. This unit includes a Child Safe online module that will focus on responding to concerns and strategies to keep ourselves and others safe and support children, young people and vulnerable adults.
Utilising a case management approach, this unit aims to equip students with a sound grasp of what constitutes trauma-informed behaviour in a young person and how, as youth workers, they might adapt their practice to provide appropriate support in response.
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.
Demonstrate an understanding of the importance, po...
Learning Outcome 01
Identify the key principles and practices of traum...
Learning Outcome 02
Embed trauma informed care and practice in to yout...
Learning Outcome 03
Prepare case notes and organise case files using t...
Learning Outcome 04
Explain the nature of crisis, stages of crisis, an...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- Defining trauma-informed practice and the principles that guide a trauma-informed response
- Understanding trauma and its impact on individual young people, families and communal groups.
- Trauma-informed assessment and its importance in supporting the young person.
- How to establish and maintain safe relationships and environments that provide support, safety, trust and respect for the traumatised young person
- Current methods and elements of case management, case planning, casework and case closure
- Cultural manifestations of trauma, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives.
- Theory and practice in responding to critical incidents and crisis
- Theory and practice in dealing with challenging behaviours.
- Building safe and supportive environments for working with children, young people and vulnerable adults.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The hurdle task is an online module that satisfies the requirement that students demonstrate competency-based knowledge for working with vulnerable children, young people and adults. This online module is interactive and provides a scaffolded learning experience that supports the growth of the student’s awareness of what is required for supporting young people who may come from trauma-informed backgrounds. This assesses learning outcome one.
Assessment task 1 is a written piece that requires students to write an essay that demonstrates their grasp of the content covered across the semester. Much of this unit deals with specific content areas that collectively contribute to a broader knowledge base that will inform the development of trauma-informed youth work practices. This task enables students to demonstrate their grasp of this knowledge and their ability to apply it to a youth work setting.
Assessment task 2 is a written piece that utilises specific case examples which then create the platform from which students develop a comprehensive and supportive case management plan. Students will draw on their developing knowledge base garnered from the weekly topics across the semester to strategically and specifically display how they would provide case management support to a young person who presents with trauma-informed behaviours.
Assessment task 3 is a tutorial presentation that requires students to work in pairs. The tutorial presentation must include either a role play or a group activity that demonstrates engagement with a weekly topic or a presentation and activity that is based on extended weekly readings. This task enables the students to demonstrate mastery of a subtopic within the broader curriculum of the semester’s content.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Written Piece Students are re...
Assessment Task 1: Written Piece
Students are required to write an essay on trauma-informed youth work.
40%
Assessment Task 2: Written Piece Students are req...
Assessment Task 2: Written Piece
Students are required to undertake a risk assessment of a case study using a case management approach.
30%
Assessment 3: Tutorial Presentation Students are...
Assessment 3: Tutorial Presentation
Students are required to present a tutorial activity
30%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
The hurdle task, the Child Safe online module, will take approximately 2 hours to complete. Successful participants will be given a record of completion.
This 10-credit point face-to-face unit provides hands-on learning, including collaborative learning. It takes the form of a face-to-face class incorporating activities through which students will gain a deep understanding of trauma-informed practice. Key learning activities will include debating, role play, reading, writing, group discussion, finding scholarly sources, and problem-solving. The lectures provide students with content and analytical frameworks necessary for understanding and analysing trauma-informed practice and assist students to synthesise a broad range of material related to theory and practice.