Unit rationale, description and aim
The purpose of social work is to promote social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people, through engaging with people and structures to manage multiple and complex factors in addressing life challenges and enhancing wellbeing. This work involves ensuring safety and wellbeing by upholding high standards of competence, accountability, and professionalism across all areas of practice. High level interpersonal skills are required for engaging with confidence and compassion, for applying effective counselling, advocacy, negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution skills, and for building and sustaining relationships with service users, professional colleagues, employers and other stakeholders. In this unit students will develop critical understanding of the skills required to work with people, through applying theoretical knowledge to professional practice contexts, including with people who may identify with cultures, social groups and diverse identities. The experiential component includes exercises in foundational interpersonal communication skills and reflective practice that progress students' development of professional practice and identity. The aim of this unit is to prepare students for social work practice with people informed by social work values, ethics, knowledge and skills.
This unit is one of four social work professional skills units. To meet AASW accreditation criteria, 100% attendance is required.
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.
Evaluate various models and frameworks for practic...
Learning Outcome 01
Demonstrate effective social work practice skills ...
Learning Outcome 02
Demonstrate high level interpersonal communication...
Learning Outcome 03
Apply ethical principles and values underpinning s...
Learning Outcome 04
Critically reflect on the influence of personal va...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Social Work Processes in Working with Individuals
- Anti-oppressive practice with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and people of diverse ages, abilities, racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, socio-economic-educational circumstances, sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions
- The influence of personal values
- Reflective practice and self-care
Social Work Practice Skills
- Interpersonal communication skills
- Communication processes
- Communication for survival, for healing, as power
Client Engagement Skills
- Engaging with clients
- Worker qualities that enhance engagement
- Rapport building
- Empathy reflective and deep listening
- Working with involuntary clients
Social Work Assessment
- Assessment tools
- Genograms
- Ecomaps
- Culturagrams
- Road maps
- Stay strong plans
- Multi-dimensional assessment
- Biopsychosocial assessment
- Risk assessment
Intervention Planning Skills and understanding the change process
- Planning for endings
- Evaluation and termination
Practice Approaches
- Strengths perspective
- Solution focused therapy
- Crisis intervention
- Task centred approaches
- Solution focused approach
- Empowerment and advocacy approach
- Cultural responsiveness
Values and Ethics
- Respect
- Social justice and human rights
- Practice competency
- Social work service and propriety
- Professional boundaries and dual relationships
- Conflicts of interest
- Ethical issues and ethical dilemmas in social work practice
- Professionalism
- Information recording and sharing
- Professional development and supervision
Assessment strategy and rationale
This unit takes an authentic assessment approach that will allow students to demonstrate their social work knowledge and skills for practice with individuals from diverse backgrounds and in diverse practice contexts.
Assessment 1 (Case Analysis): enables students to evaluate and apply a social work assessment framework, drawing on social work knowledge, skills, values and ethics.
Assessment 2 (Skills simulation - Graded Hurdle): is a recorded skills-based simulation that enables students to demonstrate their knowledge and interpersonal practice skills in working with individuals. This is a compulsory assessment which students must pass to demonstrate they are adequately prepared for professional practice placement, consistent with the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards.
Assessment 3 (Critical Reflection): is a detailed written account of the communications between the student and client from the Assessment 2 simulation, using process recording as a reflective tool to analyse their interactions and improve professional skills.
In order to pass this unit students must:
- Demonstrate achievement of every unit learning outcome, and
- Obtain a minimum mark of 50% for the unit, and
- Achieve a mark of 50% or greater in Assessment 2 which is a graded hurdle, and
- Meet the attendance requirements
Where students achieve a cumulative mark of 50% or more for the unit, overall, but do not achieve a mark of 50% or greater in Assessment 2 they will be offered one further attempt in Assessment 2. If students pass this further attempt, they will pass the unit, and their original mark will be the final mark. If students fail the further attempt, they will fail the unit.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Case Analysis : Students ide...
Assessment Task 1: Case Analysis : Students identify a social work assessment framework, and critically assess their approach in applying this framework, drawing on social work knowledge, skills, values and ethics.
30%
Assessment Task 2: Skills Simulation : Is a recor...
Assessment Task 2: Skills Simulation: Is a recorded skills based simulation that tests the knowledge and skills students have developed in the unit. Graded Hurdle (must pass)
40%
Assessment Task 3: Critical Reflection: A detail...
Assessment Task 3: Critical Reflection: A detailed written account of the communications between the student and client from the Assessment 2 simulation, using process recording as a reflective tool to analyse their interactions and improve professional skills.
30%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit involves 150 hours of learning with a combination of lectures online learning materials, interactive tutorials and self-directed learning. Teaching and learning activities include reading, role plays reflective and critical thinking exercises, small group and class discussions. The unit promotes experiential learning methods to enable students to develop interpersonal communication skills. Strategies are designed to scaffold students’ learning through observation, demonstration and live methods (role play and feedback) into self-reflection on the following dimensions of practice:
- The use of self in the practitioner role
- The stages of the social work process from engagement to completion
- The micro-skills of counselling with individuals
- The use of theory and ethics in practice with individuals
Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and to participate actively in class activities. This unit has a prescribed attendance requirement deemed necessary to achieve the intended learning outcomes and skill development.
Students enrolled On-campus are required to attend all on-campus classes.
Students undertaking the unit Online are required to attend a compulsory 5-day on-campus intensive.