SOWK29003 - Contemporary Social Policy Development and Implementation

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Given the location of social work at the critical interface between social concerns and private problems, social workers must be able to analyse and evaluate the policy context in which they work. This unit explores the historical, political and structural dimensions of social policy and policy making, in Australia and internationally. You will interrogate key concepts and debates in contemporary social policy and alternative ideologies underpinning the allocation and distribution of resources, such as the welfare state and neo-liberalism. Finally, you will analyse the role of social workers charged with the responsibility of interpreting and enacting many social policy decisions while advocating on behalf of those impacted adversely by policy developments and in influencing the broader social policy environment.

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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2024

There are no availabilities for this unit on or after Term 3 - 2024

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. Online discussion forum 20%
2. Written Assessment 40%
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

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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. Appraise the key concepts and processes influencing the social policy making cycle
  2. Reflect on the historical development of social policy and its relationship to contemporary policy debates
  3. Evaluate the role of social policy to social work practice, and the barriers and challenges for social work practice within a shifting welfare state.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Online discussion forum • •
2 - Written Assessment • •
3 - Project (applied) •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Knowledge • • •
2 - Communication • • •
4 - Research • • •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 - Online discussion forum • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • •
3 - Project (applied) • • • •