Length: Ecomap + 750 words (+/-10%)

Extensions: Available as per policy

        The 72-hour grace period applies to this assessment.

Aim

This task invites you to explore the social and ecological influences in your life through a visual mapping activity and a reflective analysis. In this exercise, you will explore the notion that individuals are situated in a web of relationships, community systems, and broader social, cultural and environmental influences.  Your submission will include an ecosystem map with a written analysis.

Instructions

Please follow the steps below to complete your assessment task:

(1)  Create an ecosystem map to visually represent the relationships between you and your social systems either in the present or at any particular period of your life.  Your map may include connections to family and kinship networks, community, institutions and services (e.g. schools, workplaces, community and government organisations) as well as wider macrolevel influences.  Use lines, symbols or storytelling elements that are meaningful to you.  The goal is not to replicate a traditional ‘ecomap’ but to present a holistic representation of your social and structural environment.

(2)  Write a reflective analysis (750 words) that discusses your findings from your ecomap development.  In your discussion, draw on concepts from systems theory.  Analyse the strengths, supports and challenges that you have identified. These could include resources and gaps, both tangible (e.g. education) and intangible (e.g. emotional support).  Consider how these systems may impact on your sense of inclusion, empowerment as well as disempowerment.  Consider your interactions with the systems and whether and how you may impact the systems.

(3)  Critically reflect on the applicability of the critical theory’s proposition that the “personal is political” to your experiences within systems and structures.  Engage with critical theories’ ideas in your analysis.  

NB  As this task involves personal reflection, you are only expected to share what you feel is appropriate in a professional learning context.

Literature and references

In this assessment use at least 4 contemporary references (<10 years) to support your discussion. You may also use influential scholarly literature where relevant. Suitable references include peer-reviewed journal articles and textbooks. When sourcing information, consider the 5 elements of a quality reference: currency, authority, relevance, objectivity, and coverage. 

Requirements

·       Use a conventional and legible size 12 font, such as Times New Roman, with 2.0 line spacing and 2.54cm page margins (standard pre-set margin in Microsoft Word).

·       Include page numbers on the top right side of each page in a header.

·       Use formal academic language.

·       Use the seventh edition American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style. The CQUniversity Academic Learning Centre has an online APA Referencing Style Guide.

·       The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. The word count excludes the reference list but includes in-text references and direct quotations.

Resources

·       You can use unit provided materials and other credible sources (e.g. journal articles, books) to reference your argument. The quality and credibility of your sources are important.

·       We recommend that you access your discipline specific library guide: the Social Work and Community Services Guide.

·       We recommend you use EndNote to manage your citations and reference list. More information on how to use EndNote is available at the CQUniversity Library website.

·       For information on academic communication please go to the Academic Learning Centre Moodle site. The Academic Communication section has many helpful resources including information for students with English as a second language.

·       Submit a draft before the due date to review your Turnitin Similarity Score before making a final submission. Instructions are available here.

Academic Integrity 

1.    You must abide by the principles of academic integrity (see Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure). Completion of this assessment with another party or sharing of responses is not permitted at any time. 

2.      Level of GenAI use allowed:

Level 2: You may use Al for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.

Submission

Submit your assessment via the unit Moodle site in Microsoft Word format.

Learning Outcomes Assessed

·      Analyse social work practice through a theoretical and social work values lens

·      Analyse the social context and how it influences social workers’ understanding of individual issues or problems and how to initiate change

Please refer to the marking rubric on the unit's Moodle site for more detail on how marks will be assigned

·       Visual representation of the ecomap depicting the person and social systems; and the nature and strength of these relationships (10%)

·       Presentation and structure of the written submission (10%)

·       Analysis of the ecomap and the relationships between the person and the social environment (30%)

·       Reflection on the proposition that the “personal is political” (20%)

·       Application of theoretical concepts (20%)

·       Use of references and APA referencing (10%)

Length: 1700 words +/-10%

Extensions: Available as per policy

    The 72-hour grace period applies to this assessment.

Learning Outcomes Assessed

·       Analyse how key philosophies inform the delivery of human services and the practice of social work.

·       Analyse social work practice through a theoretical and social work values lens.

·       Justify the importance of integrating a philosophy, ideology or theory into your emerging professional practice framework

·       Analyse the social context and how it influences social workers’ understanding of individual issues or problems and how to initiate change.

Aim

The aim of this assessment task is for you to demonstrate how two theories of change can support your understanding of a client’s situation and inform your social work practice. This task will build your ability to explain, apply, and reflect on theory in practice contexts.

You will examine two theories of change covered during weeks 2-6 that can include: systems, critical approach, feminism, & anti-oppressive approach. You will apply the theories to a client case study.  

Context

You are undertaking a field education placement in a human service organisation of your choice.  Your supervisor has asked you to explore how two theories of change can help you understand a client’s situation and support your social work response. The client case study is provided in the Assessment 2 tile on Moodle.

Instructions

Please follow the steps below to complete your assessment task.  

·      Identify an organisational setting relevant to this case study and very briefly outline the type of support provided. 

·      Choose two theories covered in weeks 2-6.  Briefly explain why you chose them and their appropriateness to the case study.  Discuss the theories’ key views, outlining their similarities and differences.

·      Apply the selected theories to the case study.  Use theory 1 to help explain and explore the client’s circumstances.  Explain how theory 2 would inform your work with the client. Consider how your use of theory may initiate the process of change.

·      Evaluate the application and effectiveness of your chosen theories.  Discuss how each theory is useful in this case and the organisational setting.  Consider any challenges or limitations that might arise when using these theories when working with the client in the organisation.

Literature and references

In this assessment use at least eight contemporary references (<10 years) to support your discussion. You may also use influential scholarly literature where relevant. Suitable references include peer-reviewed journal articles and textbooks. When sourcing information, consider the 5 elements of a quality reference: currency, authority, relevance, objectivity, and coverage. 

Requirements

·       Use a conventional and legible size 12 font, such as Times New Roman, with 2.0 line spacing and 2.54cm page margins (standard pre-set margin in Microsoft Word).

·       Include page numbers on the top right side of each page in a header.

·       Use formal academic language.

·       Use the seventh edition American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style. The CQUniversity Academic Learning Centre has an online APA Referencing Style Guide.

·       The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. The word count excludes the reference list but includes in-text references and direct quotations.

Resources

·       You can use unit provided materials and other credible sources (e.g. journal articles, books) to reference your argument. The quality and credibility of your sources are important.

·       We recommend that you access your discipline specific library guide: the Social Work and Community Services Guide.

·       We recommend you use EndNote to manage your citations and reference list. More information on how to use EndNote is available at the CQUniversity Library website.

·       For information on academic communication please go to the Academic Learning Centre Moodle site. The Academic Communication section has many helpful resources including information for students with English as a second language.

·       Submit a draft before the due date to review your Turnitin Similarity Score before making a final submission. Instructions are available here.

Academic Integrity 

1.    You must abide by the principles of academic integrity (see Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure). Completion of this assessment with another party or sharing of responses is not permitted at any time. 

2.    Level of GenAI use allowed:

Level 2: You may use Al for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.

Submission

Submit your assessment via the unit Moodle site in Microsoft Word format only.

·       Refer to the marking rubric for more detail on how marks will be assigned.

·       Presentation and structure (10%)

·       Explanation and relevance of two theories of change (20%)

·       Application of theory 1 - understanding the client’s circumstances (20%)

·       Application of theory 2 – Informing social work practice (20%)

·       Discussion of strengths and limitations of the theories in the case study context (20%)

·       Use of references and referencing (10%)

Length: 1700 words +/-10%

Extensions: Available as per policy

    The 72-hour grace period applies to this assessment.

Learning Outcomes Assessed

·       Analyse how key philosophies inform the delivery of human services and the practice of social work.

·       Analyse social work practice through a theoretical and social work values lens.

·       Justify the importance of integrating a philosophy, ideology or theory into your emerging professional practice framework.

Task

You are tasked with designing a theoretically informed social change campaign that addresses a pressing social issue relevant to your local community. In this assessment, you will apply theories of change presented in this unit to macro-level change and align your campaign with the ethical values and principles of the profession.

Instructions

You are required to do the following:

1.    Choose a current and significant social issue (e.g. housing insecurity, climate justice, disability rights, etc.).  Using trustworthy data, briefly describe the social issue and its impact.  Consider how its presence may reflect broader systemic inequalities.  Explain why this issue needs intervention in your community.

2.    Now consider a campaign to address this social issue. Begin by conceptualising your campaign by defining purpose, goals and target audience.  Examine how the campaign seeks to promote social change alongside the core strategies or actions your campaign will use to achieve change (e.g. creating new conversations, modelling new practices, influencing policy change).  

3.    Discuss how the campaign engages and mobilises broader community to be active participants.  In your discussion, consider how does the literature conveys the role of individuals in being part of the change process.

4.    Drawing on theoretical concepts in this unit, demonstrate how the theoretical concepts shape your understanding of the issue and the methods of initiating change.

5.    Examine how your campaign aligns with social work principles (e.g. social justice, self-determination).  In reference to the literature, consider the role of the social work profession in supporting or leading this campaign.   

Literature and references

In this assessment use at least 8 contemporary references (<10 years) to support your discussion. You may also use seminal scholarly literature where relevant. Suitable references include peer-reviewed journal articles as well as textbooks and credible websites. When sourcing information, consider the 5 elements of a quality reference: currency, authority, relevance, objectivity, and coverage. Grey literature sourced from the internet must be from reputable websites such as from government, university, or peak national bodies: for example, the Australian College of Nursing or the Australian Association of Social Workers.

Requirements 

·       Use a cover page for your assignment 

·       Use a conventional and legible size 12 font, such as Times New Roman, with 2.0 line spacing and 2.54cm page margins (standard pre-set margin in Microsoft Word). 

·       Include page numbers on the top right side of each page in a header. 

·       Indent the first line of each paragraph 1.27cm (standard pre-set indent in Microsoft Word). 

·       Use formal academic, discipline specific, professional and inclusive language. 

·       Use Microsoft Word English (Australia) spelling and grammar checker. 

·       Paraphrase, summarise or quote information acknowledging the original source (referencing) to avoid plagiarism. 

·       Follow academic writing conventions: spell out contractions in full; introduce abbreviations and acronyms; spell out numbers for zero through nine and use numerals for numbers 10 and above. 

·       All work submitted must be your own work. 

·       Start your reference list on a separate page to the body of your assessment. 

·       Use the seventh edition American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style. The CQUniversity Academic Learning Centre has an online APA Referencing Style Guide. 

·       The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. The word count excludes the reference list but includes in-text references and direct quotations. 

Resources

·       You can use unit provided materials and other credible sources (e.g. journal articles, books) to reference your argument. The quality and credibility of your sources are important.

·       We recommend that you access your discipline specific library guide: Social Work and Community Services Guide.

·       You may like to manage your citations and reference list. Information on how to use academic referencing software (EndNote) is available at the CQUniversity Library website should you wish to learn how to use it. 

·       For information on academic writing and referencing please go to the Academic Learning Centre Moodle site. The Academic Communication section has many helpful resources, including information for students with English as a second language. 

·       You may wish to submit a draft to Studiosity. 

·       Submit at least one draft before the due date to review your Turnitin Similarity Score before making a final submission. Instructions are available here. Please remember, the similarity score is only a matching tool, and the score alone does not necessarily indicate or eliminate the presence of plagiarism. 

Academic Integrity 

1.    You must abide by the principles of academic integrity (see Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure). Completion of this assessment with another party or sharing of responses is not permitted at any time. 

2.    Level of GenAI use allowed:

Level 2: You may use Al for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.

Minimum Pass Criteria

·    You must achieve a cumulative grade of at least 49.5% across all assessments to pass this unit.

·    In order for a supplementary assessment to be considered, all assessment tasks must be reasonably attempted in this unit.

Submission

Submit your assessment via the unit Moodle site in Microsoft Word format only.

·       Refer to the marking rubric on the Moodle site for more detail on how marks will be assigned.

·       Presentation and structure (10%)

·       Analysis of the social issue (20%)

·       Exploration of campaign strategies and community engagement (20%)

·       Application of theoretical concepts throughout the assessment task (20%)

·       Examination of  social work principles and professional role (20%)

·       Use of references and APA referencing (10%)