SOCWORK 202A/B : Law, Policy and Social Action

Education and Social Work

2024 Semester One (1243) / Semester Two (1245) (30 POINTS)

Course Prescription

A critical exploration of the legislative and policy contexts for social work practice in Aotearoa, including the contradictions inherent between te Tiriti o Waitangi and settler capitalism, and tino rangatiratanga and the colonial doctrine of sovereignty. Exploration of social work ethics, and the challenging processes involved in working for change.

Course Overview

This course allows students to understand how social work practice is shaped by history, society, and politics. You will be given the opportunity to explore social issues that are relevant to your life. You will also be provided with tools that you can use to bring about change.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: SOCWORK 101 or 112 Restriction: SOCWORK 211, 216 To complete this course students must enrol in SOCWORK 202 A and B, or SOCWORK 202

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: People and Place
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 5: Solution Seeking
Capability 6: Communication
Capability 7: Collaboration
Capability 8: Ethics and Professionalism
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Social Work

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Examine the tension between the ideologies of ‘sovereignty’ and ‘rangatiratanga’ as competing models of organising society, and how this tension shapes law and policy in Aotearoa. (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 4.1)
  2. Analyse the competing interests inherent in society, and the implications of these in the creation of policy and law relevant to social work. (Capability 1.2, 4.1 and 5.2)
  3. Analyse the role of the law in the lives of individuals, communities, iwi, practitioners, and the contexts in which practice occurs. (Capability 1.2, 1.4, 4.1, 5.2, 8.1 and 8.2)
  4. Analyse how social problems stem from social, economic, and political conditions in society and their relationship to social policy. (Capability 1.2, 1.4, 4.1, 5.2 and 8.1)
  5. Demonstrate effective advocacy skills that enable practitioners to influence social change towards social justice. (Capability 1.4, 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Test 7.5% Individual Coursework
Essay 15% Individual Coursework
Test 7.5% Individual Coursework
Essay 15% Individual Coursework
Presentation 10% Group & Individual Coursework
Research 20% Group & Individual Coursework
Assignments 10% Individual Coursework
Essay 15% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5
Test
Essay
Test
Essay
Presentation
Research
Assignments
Essay
Students must complete and submit all components for each of the assessment tasks for this course - students must achieve at least 50% mark to pass the overall course.
This course uses Turnitin for submitting assignments. This is a website which checks your written work alongside any other relevant material available on the internet. Turnitin provides you and us with a 'similarity score' on an originality index which tells us whether you have put things in your own words or not. The skill of academic writing is to learn from what you read but to write it in your own style, not copy.
Turnitin and Canvas are linked, so when you submit your assignment to Canvas, you should be able to view your originality report (and make any changes before resubmitting if necessary).

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 30 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 72 hours of lectures, 110 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 158 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at scheduled activities to complete components of the course.

Lectures will be available as recordings.

The course will not include live online events including [group discussions/tutorials].

The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Attendance and Participation

Attendance in class as well as engagement with course activities and readings supports academic success. Students are encouraged to attend all classes and tutorials and are encouraged to complete all the necessary in-class requirements.

Students are urged to discuss privately any impairment-related requirements face-to-face and/or in written form with the course director/lecturer and/or tutor

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Based on feedback provided by students the assessments for this course have been revised significantly. This is intended to promote greater student engagement. It will also allow student to gauge their progress more accurately throughout the course.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Published on 29/11/2023 09:57 a.m.