SOWK29002 - Working with Families, Groups and Communities

Showing: 2026 HE Term 1
General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this unit, you will develop an understanding of social work knowledge and practice, focusing on group work, family work and community practice. Using case study role plays and living labs, you will critically analyse and apply various social work theories and methods, integrating professional values and ethics to develop skills for working with families, groups and communities. From a critical perspective, you will evaluate and reflect on biases and assumptions inherent within these theories, methods and your practice and assess how they perpetuate and challenge social injustices. You will enhance your cross-cultural practice and explore culturally sensitive and ethical responses to challenges experienced by culturally and racially marginalised families, groups and communities. Guided by the AASW Code of Ethics (2020), this unit will equip you with skills for cultural humility, recognising different ways of knowing, being and doing that is responsive to the needs of all families, groups and communities.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 9
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisites:

SOWK29001 Ethical and Legal Issues in Practice

SOWK28005 Social Work Field Education 1

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

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Residential School Compulsory Residential School
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Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026


Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 30%
2. Practical Assessment 30%
3. Project (applied) 40%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

Previous Feedback

No previous feedback available

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Unit Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Engage with case study role plays and living labs to critically analyse and apply various theories, methods, professional values and ethics, while developing skills for working with families, groups, and communities.
  2. Critically evaluate the biases and assumptions inherent in theories, methods and your practice and assess their contribution to achieving social justice for families, groups and communities.
  3. Integrate knowledge of social work theories, ethics and values, and skills with cross-cultural practices to foster culturally responsive practices with families, groups and communities.
  4. Engage in critical reflective practice to ensure that social work practice is ethical, equitable, and responsive to the needs of families, groups and communities.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - Practical Assessment • • • •
3 - Project (applied) • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Knowledge • • •
2 - Communication •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills • •
4 - Research • •
5 - Self-management • •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility • • • •
8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8