Unit rationale, description and aim

Social workers engage and facilitate change with individuals who are experiencing complex issues in their lives, requiring effective and sensitive communication skills. In this unit, students are introduced to the social work process that includes engagement, assessment, planning, intervention and review and to practice theory and frameworks for practice with individuals. Students are also encouraged to develop interpersonal communication skills through experiential learning. Ethical principles and values that underpin social work practice with individuals are explored through examples of ethical issues that confront practitioners. The aim of this unit is to prepare students for social work practice with individuals in a way that is informed by social work values, ethics, knowledge and skills.

2025 10

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  • Semester 1Campus Attendance
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  • Semester 1Campus Attendance

Prerequisites

Nil

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.

Explain social work processes, models and framewor...

Learning Outcome 01

Explain social work processes, models and frameworks for practice with individuals from diverse and historically marginalised communities.
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC2, GC9

Demonstrate effective written, verbal and non-verb...

Learning Outcome 02

Demonstrate effective written, verbal and non-verbal interpersonal communication skills with individuals from diverse and historically marginalised communities.
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC3, GC9, GC11, GC12

Demonstrate social work practice skills in engagem...

Learning Outcome 03

Demonstrate social work practice skills in engagement, assessment, planning, intervention and review
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC2, GC4, GC7, GC8

Critically reflect on the influence of personal va...

Learning Outcome 04

Critically reflect on the influence of personal values, professional values and ethics in social work practice with individuals
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC6, GC7, GC8

Content

Topics will include: 

Social Work Processes in Working with Individuals 

  • Anti-oppressive practice 
  • Cultural and diversity issues
  • Critical reflection and reflective practice
  • The influence of personal values on practice
  • Self-care 

 

Social Work Practice Skills 

  • Interpersonal communication skills  
  • Understanding communication processes
  • Communication skills with individuals from diverse and historically marginalized communities

 

Client engagement skills with service users

  • Engaging with service users
  • Worker qualities that enhance engagement 
  • Tasks of engagement 
  • Rapport building 
  • Empathy and reflection of feeling
  • Reflection of content skills
  • Active and reflective listening
  • Working with involuntary service users 
  • Working with clients from culturally diverse communities


Social work assessment  

  • Assessment skills - questioning, summarizing, paraphrasing, gathering and interpreting information.
  • Assessment tools 

- Genograms  

- Ecomaps 

- culturagrams 

- road maps 

  • Multi-dimensional assessment 
  • Biopsychosocial assessment 
  • Strengths based assessment
  • Risk assessment 

 

Intervention planning skills 

  • Understanding the change process 
  • Collaborative goal setting
  • Planning for endings 
  • Evaluation and termination 


Practice Models 

  • Task centered approaches 
  • Crisis intervention  
  • Strengths perspective  
  • Solution focused approach 
  • Critical approaches, empowerment and advocacy
  • Cultural responsiveness 

 

Ethical Practice

  • Professional values - respect and social justice principles in professional practice with individuals 
  • Practice competency and professionalism
  • Professional boundaries and dual relationships 
  • Conflicts of interest 
  • Ethical issues and ethical dilemmas in social work practice 
  • Information recording and sharing 

 

Assessment strategy and rationale

A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. These include: Assessment 1 - a Short Answer Quiz, Assessment 2 - an Interview Plan and Assessment 3 - a Roleplay Skills Assessment and Reflection. The Roleplay Skills Assessment and Reflection comprises of 1) Part A - a prepared video recording of a roleplay social worker – client interview using set case scenarios, and 2) Part B - a written reflection by the student of their performance in the professional interview. Submission of both Parts A and B are required. The assessment tasks are designed as authentic social work tasks in which students demonstrate the reflective, analytic and practice skills that will be required of them when undertaking field placements.   

To pass the unit, students must meet the attendance hurdle requirement (as classes are only offered once, students must attend to pass there is no additional attempts for this), demonstrate that they have achieved each learning outcome, pass the hurdle Roleplay Skills Assessment and obtain a total mark of 50% in the unit as the minimum standard.

Should a student fail the role-play assessment they will be offered one further opportunity to take the role-play assessment. 

Overview of assessments

Assessment 1. Short Answer Quiz Enables students...

Assessment 1. Short Answer Quiz

Enables students to demonstrate their knowledge of key concepts in the social work process

Weighting

15%

Learning Outcomes LO1, LO2

Assessment 2. Interview Plan Enables students to...

Assessment 2. Interview Plan

Enables students to prepare an initial service user interview informed by social work knowledge, ethics, and values.

Weighting

40%

Learning Outcomes LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment 3. Graded Hurdle Roleplay Skills Ass...

Assessment 3. Graded Hurdle Roleplay Skills Assessment and Reflection

Enables students to demonstrate social work practice skills in undertaking an interview with a client and to reflect critically about their own interview performance.

Students must pass the Roleplay Skills Assessment to pass the unit. Should a student fail the role-play assessment they will be offered a second chance to take the role-play.

Weighting

45%

Learning Outcomes LO2, LO3, LO4

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit prepares student for direct and face to face communication, relationship building, assessment and report writing with clients in the social work practice setting. The unit encourages student development in self-awareness, written and verbal reflection on practice social work assessment and synthesis and analysis of information. Therefore, teaching and learning strategies for this unit include prerecorded lectures, and skill development workshops, including small group discussions, roleplay and reflection on practice activities.   This unit is a pre-requisite to SWTP333 Social Work Field Education 1.

This unit encourages the development of students’ professional identity, and use of self in the professional context, using written and oral reflection exercises.

This unit is delivered via a multimode attendance. This unit is structured in three modules with different learning and teaching activities that are designed specifically in each module to support student learning. Each module builds on the next and is designed to reflect the actual process of working with an individual client or service user in a social work practice context.

 

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS OF UNIT 

This Unit incorporates professional social work skills based teaching and learning, and therefore has an attendance requirement of a minimum of 80% attendance at weekly skill development practice workshops.

An attendance record for weekly workshops will be kept.

 

Reasons why attendance is required 

In workshops, you will be interacting with other students and developing skills which you will use in your professional/clinical experience. Students who do not attend are at risk of not developing the required knowledge and essential skills needed to demonstrate unit learning outcomes."  

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  

Standards/Attributes/Criteria

Values and ethics

Professionalism

Culturally responsive and inclusive practice

Knowledge for Practice

Applying knowledge to practice

Communication and Interpersonal skills

Information recording and sharing

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

Standard/Attributes/CriteriaLearning Outcomes

3.1 Work inclusively and respectfully with cultural difference and diversity 

4.4 Understand and articulate how and when theories, knowledge bases and knowledge sources inform practice.

5.3 Use a range of specific social work methods and techniques appropriate to area of practice.


LO1. Explain social work processes, models and frameworks with individuals from diverse and historically marginalised communities. (GA1, GA5, GA8)

6.1 Communicate with a diverse range of people

6.2 Communicate the details and nature of the service offered to people

7.1 Record and manage information appropriately

LO2. Demonstrate effective written, verbal and non-verbal interpersonal communication skills with individuals from diverse and historically marginalised communities. (GA7, GA9)

5.1 Assess and analyse needs to inform practice

5.3 Use a range of social work methods and techniques appropriate to the area of practice

5.4 Apply critical and reflective thinking to practice

LO3. Demonstrate social work practice skills in engagement, assessment, planning, intervention and review

1.1  Practice in accordance with the AASW Code of Ethics

2.1 Represent the social work profession with integrity and professionalism

2.2 Behave in a professional manner and be accountable for all actions and decisions

5.4 Apply critical and reflective thinking to practice

LO4. Critically reflect on the influence of personal values, professional values and ethics in social work practice with individuals; (GA1, GA2, GA3, GA4, GA5)

Representative texts and references

Representative texts and references

Bolton, G. (2010). Reflective practice: Writing and professional development. London, UK: Sage. 

Chenoworth, L & McAuliffe, D (2017). The Road to Social Work and Human Service Practice (5th ed.). Melbourne, Vic. Cengage Learning

Coulshed, V., & Orme, J. (2012). Social work practice (5th ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 

Dudgeon, P., Milroy, H., Walker, R. (Eds.) (2014) Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice (2nd ed.). Commonwealth of Australia 

Harms, L., (2015). Working with People – Communication Skills for Reflective Practice. (2nd Ed.), South Melbourne: Oxford University Press

Healy, K. (2012). Social work methods and skills. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 

Ling, H.K., Martin, J., & Ow, R. (2014). Cross-cultural social work local and global. South Yarra, Victoria: Palgrave Macmillan.

Lishman, J. (2015). Handbook for practice learning in social work and social care. Knowledge and theory (3rd ed.). London; Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Maidment, J. & Egan, R. (Eds.). (2016). Practice Skills in Social Work and Welfare: More than just common sense (3rd Ed.). Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin.

Oelofsen, N. (2012). Developing reflective practice. London, UK: Lanten. 

O’Hara, A., & Pockett, R. (2011). Skills for Human Service Practice: Working with Individuals, Groups and Communities. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press

Trevithick, P. (2012). Social work skills and knowledge: A practice handbook (3rd ed.). Maidenhead Berkshire, UK: Open University Press/McGraw-Hill. 

Walker, S., & Beckett, C. (2011). Social work assessment and intervention (2nd ed.). London, UK: Russell House Publishing. 

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