Unit rationale, description and aim
Students need to apply their knowledge and skills in a supported and supervised context. This unit aims to expose students to professional youth work practices to foster an understanding of professional roles, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the practical application of theoretical knowledge within the youth work sector.
Building on Field Placement 1, this unit requires students to complete 300 hours of placement in an approved youth work agency. This allows students more time to develop professional working relationships with young people and to establish connections within a youth work agency. Students will consider their connection to praxis and reflect on where theory integrates with real-world applications. This practical experience solidifies the theoretical concepts learned in the classroom and develops the skills necessary for effective youth work practice.
During placement, students will integrate their knowledge of theory into youth work practices and service delivery. Students are supported in choosing a field placement that fits their preferred career pathway. Throughout the placement, students articulate their learning and apply these insights to theoretical frameworks and professional practice. Students will examine their values and beliefs through reasoned, goal-directed critical thinking and apply adult learning principles to develop self-directed learning and autonomous work practices.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.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.
Analyse and apply youth work theories and models i...
Learning Outcome 01
Communicate effectively with young people, providi...
Learning Outcome 02
Demonstrate developing professional youth work pra...
Learning Outcome 03
Content
Topics will include:
- Individual and group activities with young people
- Program development and implementation
- Intervention and support strategies
- Conflict resolution, conflict management and violence prevention strategies
- Report writing and agency documentation processes
- Networking and referral processes
- Community education strategies
- Participate in professional supervision
- Career planning and self-evaluation
- Working with at risk and marginalised young people in agency settings
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment tasks for this subject are pass/fail.
Students must complete 300 hours of field placement at an approved youth service or agency. This unit allows students to fully engage in the programs, service delivery, and daily operations of the host organisation. They take part in a project that offers them increased responsibility, control, and leadership within a program. Through regular supervision with both the host organization and the ACU field placement coordinator, students will enhance their self-awareness regarding their evolving practice.
The report on fieldwork requires students to outline the works of their host agency with reference to programs, services, and practices they were involved in during placement. Students must reflect on where and how they experienced the intersection of youth work theories and their enactment in the workplace. Students must reflect on how they saw the successes and challenges of this nexus and discuss tensions/learning from the experience.
The reflective journal is an evolving work that captures students' knowledge development and critical reflective practice. It serves as a record of the skills acquired during placement and offers a focused examination of the learning experience provided while on placement.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Field Work Placement Students...
Assessment Task 1: Field Work Placement
Students are required to undertake 300 hours of placement in a youth work agency and receive a satisfactory report from their agency placement supervisor.
Pass/Fail
Assessment Task 2: Reflective Journal Students ...
Assessment Task 2: Reflective Journal
Students are required to record and reflect on experiences during placement. These are to be submitted in 4 separate journal entries provided to the LIC throughout the placement.
Pass/Fail
Assessment Task 3: Written Piece : Bridging theor...
Assessment Task 3: Written Piece:
Bridging theory and practice in Youth Work
Students are required to select one key youth work theory or model and critically evaluate its application within the host agency’s approach to youth work they observed during their placement.
Pass/Fail
Assessment Task 4: Professional Portfolio Studen...
Assessment Task 4: Professional Portfolio
Students are required to submit a professional portfolio that documents their engagement in and knowledge of key systems and processes required for professional practice within their host organisation. This is to include samples of anonymised documentation (e.g., referral forms, program plans), reflective summaries on supervision sessions, and evidence of community engagement and networking they took part in during the placement.
Pass/Fail
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit adopts an experiential learning approach that prioritises self-directed learning and critical reflection. Building on prior placement experience, students engage in a 300-hour field placement within an approved youth work agency, enabling deep immersion in professional practice. Classroom-based activities, including lectures, workshops, case studies, and guest speaker sessions provide 15 hours of preparatory learning designed to support students' transition into the field and enhance their professional development. Students are encouraged to link theoretical knowledge with lived practice, drawing from real-world experiences to deepen their understanding of youth work models and principles. Through supervision, reflective practice, and structured assessment tasks, students explore their personal values, develop autonomous work practices, and refine their capacity for critical analysis and ethical decision-making in complex youth work environments.