Module SOCI42830: International Social Work

Department: Sociology

SOCI42830: International Social Work

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To enable students to extend their knowledge, understanding and application of social work theory and practice within international legislative, policy and organisational frameworks and contexts.

Content

• International social work: Debates and controversies.
• The history of international social work.
• International institutions and social work theories and practices.
• Comparative approaches and analyses in international social work: Opportunities and challenges.
• Legislative underpinnings to international social work.
• Globalisation, privatisation and social work practice.
• Ethics, social justice and human rights in international social work.
• International social and community development.
• Internationalised social problems and social work practice.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of this module students will be able to demonstrate a systematic understanding and application of:
• the scope and functions of social work in international contexts;
• the role that globalisation plays in the development of policies, procedures, practices and theories of/for social work;
• the history of international social work;
• knowledge of international organisations and bodies relevant to international social work;
• the legislative bases for interventions in social work in international contexts;
• contemporary international policies in social work;
• international contexts in working with individuals, families, groups and communities in specific localities;
• the different contributions that community development makes within understandings of social work internationally.
• the role of social workers in the context of structures and processes that promote partnership working with service users, carers, and inter-disciplinary and inter-agency working at international level, particularly in international organisations like the United Nations or international non-governmental agencies, e.g., Oxfam;
• the principles and value bases of social work that inform ethical practice in changing international contexts that make various demands on social workers.

• By the end of this module students will be able to demonstrate skills in:
• integrating theories to social work interventions carried out in international arenas;
• the description of their role in assessing, planning, intervening in and evaluating social work theories and research relevant to international social work;
• comparative analysis; and
• writing about complex interventions that link international contexts to locality-specific social problems.

• theoretical skills, especially those linked to understanding what constitutes international social work;
• empathetic skills in understanding diversity and working with the people of diverse origins encountered in undertaking international social work;
• analytical skills in utilising the knowledge and theories knowledge and theories provided by international social work in local practice;
• communication skills;
• presentation skills; and
• connective skills in understanding the interdependence between globalising forces and social problems encountered in local practice.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Modes of teaching, learning (Lectures, Seminars and Tutorials) in this module are designed to: develop student responsibility for their own learning; develop student’s responsibility for contributing to the learning of others; extend and deepen the integrated understanding of social work values, theory and research, methods and skills in international arenas; further develop skills in the communication of information and the presentation of systematic and logical arguments that integrate locality specific social work interventions with international developments;
• Knowledge, understanding and skills will be assessed through:
• an individual poster presentation of a comparative case study (the UK and another country of the student's choice) demonstrating the integration of locality specific with international developments in the application of social work theory and research in practice (formative assignment);
• a 5000 word written report of the same project/case study (summative assignment).

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Individual poster presentation of a comparative case study. (Peer assessed and tutor assessed according to pro-forma with clearly specified criteria devised by module convenor. Written feedback and tutorial discussion).

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University