Course Title: Group and Community Work Strategies

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Group and Community Work Strategies

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

HWSS2213

City Campus

Postgraduate

365H Global, Urban and Social Studies

Face-to-Face

Sem 1 2015,
Sem 1 2016,
Sem 1 2017,
Sem 1 2018,
Sem 1 2019,
Sem 1 2020,
Sem 1 2021,
Sem 1 2022,
Sem 1 2023,
Sem 1 2024

Course Coordinator: Susan McCallum

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 9925 1965

Course Coordinator Email: susan.mccallum@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: Building 8. Floor 10.

Course Coordinator Availability: By appointment


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None


Course Description

This course is designed to provide you with a critical understanding of theoretical and practical developments in, and approaches to, group and community work. This course introduces you to group work processes especially as they relate to community level practice. Key concepts to be explored include the important definitions of communities and differences in types and styles of participation and leadership. You will develop skills in group work facilitation using a critical practice framework that informs both group and community level practice. A focus on social justice will provide a philosophical underpinning in the course; critical social work perspectives will provide the overarching theoretical framework with attention to race, gender, culture and other power dimension in community work and group processes and dynamics. Through building a community of practice among your peers you will identify core principles of ethical community work and explore the role of group and community work in active and participatory citizenship 


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

Program Learning Outcomes  

In this course you will develop the following program learning outcomes: 

  • Apply specialist social work knowledge and skills to understanding and responding to contemporary social disadvantage, oppression and marginalization, recognizing the fundamentally political nature of social suffering 
  • Apply advanced problem solving skills and techniques of intervention that bring together complex information transferable across different institutional and cultural contexts of practice, incorporating innovative interventions to effectively meet the needs of individuals, families, groups and communities 
  • Apply critical analytical problem solving skills to develop innovative and creative policy and practice responses to contemporary social problems, and promote the fundamental social, economic and cultural rights of individuals, families, groups and communities 
  • Engage in practice which acknowledges the fundamentally multicultural nature of contemporary societies and acknowledges the unique position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, seeking to promote the rights of these groups 


Course Learning Outcomes 

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to: 

  1. Interpret and evaluate the scope and diversity of group and community work practice and their purpose within contemporary social, political, ethical and organisational contexts
  2. Compare and contrast major theories and concepts informing group and community work practice
  3. Create, facilitate and reflect on small group experiences
  4. Apply self-reflexive skills to critically analyse the role that personal, social and structural factors play in the functioning of groups and communities.


Overview of Learning Activities

You will be engaged in learning that involves a range of activities such as lectures / seminars, workshops, large and small group discussions, experiential activities and independent reading and research. 


Overview of Learning Resources

All the readings and course material will be provided on CANVAS. A list of recommended learning resources will be provided by your lecturer, including book chapters, journal articles and web resources. You will also be expected to seek further resources relevant to the focus of your own learning. 

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems. There are services available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services. For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal. 


Overview of Assessment

You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes and on your development against the program learning outcomes.
 
Assessment Tasks
Assessment Task 1: Community work case study analysis (20%), 1000 words, CLO 1, CLO 2 and CLO 4
Assessment Task 2: Run a facilitated group discussion and evaluation 50 min session + 500-word plan (1 per group) (45%) CLO 1, CLO 3 and CLO 4
Assessment Task 3: Critical analysis of your experience in groups(35%), 1600 words (Part A: 900 words; Part B: 700 words), CLO 1, CLO 2, CLO 3 and CLO 4.
 
Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks.
 
If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more.
 
Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures and instructions