SWTP627 - Social Work with Communities

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

( SWTP634 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Social Work AND SWTP620 Social Work Theories, Context and Fields of Practice ) OR SWTP632 Social Policy, Contemporary Issues and Social Work

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Social workers are required to understand and respond to human experiences in the context of socio-political, cultural and environmental factors. This unit introduces students to community development work as a method of social work practice. This unit focuses on developing knowledge and skills for practice with communities, in order to enhance the rights and wellbeing of community members. The unit requires students to develop advanced level capacities to identify, analyse and critically evaluate the role of social work in professional practice with communities in Australia and internationally, with particular reference to community development and social activism. Through critical examination of a range of community projects, campaigns and initiatives, students will identify, and appraise a range of theoretical underpinnings, methodological approaches, ethics and values involved in social work with communities. Ethical issues in community work and particular themes for diverse populations, including rural communities, indigenous populations, culturally and linguistically diverse groups, and international communities, will be explored. This aim of this unit is to provide students with knowledge and skills in community work, an essential area of social work intervention and the profession’s commitment to wellbeing and social justice, including the opportunity to participate in a community project to put their theory and skills into action.  

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.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Explain contemporary community work approaches and trends in social work practice in a variety of community contexts, including urban, rural, ethnic, indigenous and international (GA1, GA2, GA4, GA5, GA6)

LO2 - Identify and critique the key theoretical principles, models and interventions in community work practice and their applicability in the Australian and international context (GA2, GA4, GA5, GA6)

LO3 - Evaluate and reflect on the use of self and the influence of personal values and ideologies on community practice (GA1, GA2, GA4, GA5, GA6, GA7)

LO4 - Apply models, values and ethical principles in community practice to plan and evaluate potential solutions to community problems (GA1, GA2, GA4, GA5, GA7, GA9)

LO5 - Critically appraise the roles of social workers in, and with, communities and the concept of participation in social work practice with marginalised and diverse communities (GA1, GA2, GA4, GA5, GA6)

Graduate attributes

GA1 - Demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity 

GA2 - Recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA4 - Think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - Demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA6 - Solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

GA7 - Work both autonomously and collaboratively 

GA9 - Demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

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  

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  

Content

The Concept of Community 

• The relationship between community work and social work 
• Ethical issues in community work 
• Differences between  
• community development 
• social development 
• social action 
• community organization 

Contextualising Community 

• Historical development of community work 
• State intervention and the community 
• Community as arena for social policy 
• Community practice theories 
• Emerging and innovative initiatives in community practice,  

Social Action 

• Radicalism and community work 
• Activism and the labour movement 
• Social movements and building alliances (Australian and overseas examples) 
• Activism and the social justice movement and the role of social media 

Social Development 

• Integrated development 
• Concept of social planning 
• International development 
• Aid programs and developments 
• Role of agencies 
• World Bank 
• Civil Society in Development 

Community Organising 

• Understanding community organisations 
• Legitimacy 
• Accountability 
• Representativeness 
• Engaging with a community, including cultural sensitivity and consultation with Elders and cultural experts when required 
• Participation and power 
• Identifying inequality and discrimination in communities 
• Strategies for working together 
• Collaboration or competition 

Community Development in and with Diverse Communities 

• Local communities 
• urban 
• rural 
• International communities 
• Working with culturally and linguistically diverse communities 
• Engaging and partnering with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities 
• Concept of community work in these contexts 
• Understanding the community and self as practitioner 

Doing Community Work 

• Models of community practice  
• Capacity Building 
• Asset-Based Community (ABCD approach) 
• Needs and Wants 
• Doing a community profile 

Community Development Roles and Skills in Social Work Strategies: 

• using the media 
• lobbying 
• funding 

Evaluation in Social Work with Communities 

• Program planning 
• Evaluation in community organisations 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit adopts an authentic learning approach where students work in small groups in collaboration with human service organizations to identify a community issue, to plan a community work response and to implement some community work strategies. This unit involves 150 hours of learning with 36 hours of face-to-face lectures, interactive tutorials, and community engagement. Teaching and learning strategies include lectures, tutorials, workshops, community development projects, and reflective and critical thinking activities. Teaching and learning strategies will reflect respect for the individual as an independent learner, and as a social worker who needs to work productively in groups and collaboratively with communities. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and to participate actively within class and community activities. This unit comprises learning and teaching activities with a prescribed attendance requirement deemed necessary to achieve the intended learning outcomes and skill development. Lectures will provide detailed content about the theory of community development, practice models, collaborative and participatory practice, and responding to diversity and unique community contexts. The major project for this unit has students participate in a current community project with a service in their local area, to ensure active practice of community engagement and intervention skills on a real life project. This approach ensures theory and skills for community development are practiced, integrated and applied, preparing students for successful professional practice.   

Assessment strategy and rationale

This unit takes an authentic assessment approach allowing students to develop their learning and competency in social work practice with communities. The first assessment is designed for students to demonstrate their ability to evaluate and reflect on the use of self and the influence of personal values and ideologies on community practice.   

Assessment 2 enables students to participate in a community project (30 hours) in a small group and present the project to the tutorial group. Students will demonstrate effective use of oral presentation skills to communicate key concepts, theories and frameworks when working in communities. 

Assessment 3 enables students to describe, critically analyse and evaluate a community based project, campaign or initiative and identify: 

• The degree of community participation with particular reference to community strengths and social capital building 
• The roles of social workers and/or other professionals involved 
• The theoretical principles employed 
• Ethical issues and considerations. 

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Briskman, L. (2007) Social work with Indigenous communities. Avondale NSW: Federation Press. 

Forde, C. & Lynch, D. (2015) Social Work and Community Development, London: Palgrave/MacMillan.  

Ife, J. (2016) Community Development in an Uncertain World (2nd Ed), Melbourne: Cambridge University Press 

Kenny, S. & Connors, P. (2017) Developing Communities for the Future (5th ed), Melbourne: Cengage Learning Australia. 

Kickett-Tucker, C., Bessarab, D., Coffin, J., Wright, M., & Gooda, M. (2017). Mia Aboriginal Community Development : Fostering cultural security. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press 

Howard, A. & Rawsthorne (2019). Everyday Community Practice: Principles and Practice. Crows Next: Allen & Unwin. 

Kirst-Ashman, K., & Hull, G. H. (2006). Generalist Practice with Organisations and Communities ( 3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Thompson Brooks/Cole. 

Long, D., Tice, C., & Morrison, J. (2006). Macro social work practice: A strengths perspective. Belmont, CA: Thompson, Brooks/Cole. 

Smith, R. (2008). Social work and power. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. 

Twelvetrees, A. (2017). Community Development, Social Action and Social Planning. Basingstoke: Macmillan. 

Weil, M. (2005). Handbook of community practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sag