Instructor: Nancy A. Amos, ACSW, LCSW
Phone: 677-3614
E-mail: amos@hilltop.bradley.edu
Office Hours: M 4:00 - 5:00p.m.; W 10:00a.m. -12:00noon; TH 3:00 - 4:00p.m.; F 10:00a.m. - 12:00noon; and by appointment
Class Schedule: T and TH 10:30 to 11:45a.m. Bradley 314
Accommodation: Any student with a disability or special need who requires accommodation should inform the instructor at the beginning of this course.
Non-discrimination Statement: Students will be expected to display respect of fellow students' and potential clients= unique characteristics including race, color, religion, creed, ethnic or national origin, age, veteran status, disability, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, and political orientation. All written assignments will use non-discriminatory language.
Confidentiality: Any information shared in this course which is protected under legal codes or the NASW Code of Ethics must be treated ethically.
Intercollegiate Competition: Any student representing Bradley University in an intercollegiate competition may be excused from class for a scheduled event if she/he discusses this with the instructor in advance and with the proper documentation. Students will be allowed to make up any work; however, the student has the responsibility to arrange this with the instructor.
Creation of a Proper Learning Environment: The instructor encourages students to ask questions and to critically evaluate class material. However, this must be done while still creating a proper learning environment. Any behavior which disturbs the learning of others such as talking with peers during a lecture or presentation by a peer will not be allowed and the student will be asked to leave class. Students are encouraged to discuss with the instructor any concerns or suggestions for improvement for the class as soon as possible and not to wait until the end of the course. This allows the instructor to modify the course to meet student needs as much as possible.
Generalist Practice Principles: The following eight generalist practice principles support all courses in the social work curriculum:
1. A systems approach provides the basic framework for understanding the generalist practice perspective and planning interventions with multiple systems.
2. Problems in living are presented from a person-in-environment perspective, with focus on the transactions between individuals and the environment.
3. Assessments and interventions must address both intrapsychic and environmental strengths and stressors.
4. Generalist practice involves assessments and interventions at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.
5. Practice is based on the problem-solving process and the knowledge, skills, and values which are applicable across settings with diverse populations and in a variety of problem areas.
6. Critical analysis of social problems is inherent in and results in both practice and policy responses.
7. Empirical research provides a solid foundation for both education and practice, and generalist practitioners are expected to participate in practice evaluation activities.
8. Generalist practice often requires the social worker to function in multiple roles depending on the needs of the client system.
Relationship to Other Courses in the Social Work Curriculum: This course is a continuation of SW 354. In SW 358, the relationship between the environment and human behavior in large and small groups is examined. It provides the theoretical framework on which social work skills for use with families, small groups, and communities is based.
Course Description: This course will study the theories relevant to working with small groups, families, and large groups including organizations and communities from a generalist perspective. There will be particular emphasis placed on the influence of diversity issues in the development of theory and how practice interventions are derived from these theories. Students will learn about the deconstruction of theory as relevant to inclusion of diversity. Social work ethics will be examined as they relate to mezzo and macro groups. Students will be asked to examine how their own learning and values will impact their understanding of and practice at the mezzo and macro levels. Learning methods will include assigned readings, class lecture, audiovisuals, class discussion, the writing of a paper about a nondominant group, the creation of a mock social welfare agency, and a simulation exercise designed to bring out issues related to theories of power and leadership.
Course Objectives: Students will be expected to demonstrate learning in the following areas:
Knowledge
1. Epistemological and ontological assumptions and biases of current theories used to understand human behavior in the mezzo and macro social environments.
2. Knowledge of how individual human behavior interacts with and is influenced by the forces in the mezzo and macro human environment.
3. Knowledge on the theories of family development.
4. Knowledge on the theories of group development.
5. Knowledge on the theories of organizational and institutional development.
6. Knowledge on the theories of community development.
7. Knowledge of ways that diversity issues change social work practice.
8. Knowledge of the impact of discrimination and oppression based on diversity in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability or disability, age, or socioeconomic status on the ability to attain social and economic justice.
9. Appreciation and awareness of the significance of research and evaluation as essential to building and testing knowledge about human behavior in the social environment and how this translates into competent practice.
10. Integration of knowledge that policy issues, especially those that create or perpetuate social and economic injustice, influence human behavior and the individuals= ability to maintain optimal health and well being in mezzo and macro groups.
Skills
1. Students will acquire the ability to apply theoretical knowledge to mezzo and macro client systems of diverse types and populations.
2. Students will acquire the ability to critically analyze theoretical knowledge in its usefulness to understand human behavior and the environmental influences.
3. Students will acquire the ability to appreciate that family, group, organizational, and community behavior is multi-causal and mutually influenced by interactions among the various social systems.
4. Students will acquire the ability to integrate multiple theories at multiple system levels to understand human behavior in a comprehensive, holistic way.
5. Students will be able to describe their roles in mezzo and macro systems and how this could influence their social work practice.
Values
1. Students will value how issues of diversity such as a person=s unique characteristics of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, creed, religion, age, veteran status, disability, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or political orientation can have an impact on human behavior at the family, group, organizational, or community level.
2. Students will appreciate and be able to apply the professional code of ethics to understand human behavior in the social environment.
3. Students will value the importance of advocacy for clients with organizations and systems to ensure the protection of and procurement of needed resources.
4. Students will acquire a greater awareness of self and personal values and the nature of how this impacts on value and ethical conflicts in social work practice.
5. Students will understand that knowledge creation is always dynamic and acquire the value of being life long learners in the development of knowledge, skill, and values for competent social work practice
Resources:
A. Required texts:
Dimensions of Human Behavior - Person and Environment by
Elizabeth D. Hutchison, Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press, 1999.
Social Work Macro Practice (Second Edition) by F. Ellen Netting, Peter M. Kettner, and Steven L. McMurtry, New York, New York: Longman, 1998.
B. Required Readings On Reserve:
Boyd-Franklin, Nancy. (1989). Black Families in Therapy: A Multisystem Approach. New York: Guilford Press.
Brach, Cindy and Leslie Scallet. AManaged Care Challenges for Children and Family Services,@ in Humane Managed Care? ed. by Gerald Schamess and Anita Lightburn, Washington, D.C.: NASW Press, 1998, pp. 99-108.
C. Other readings as assigned.
Learning Evaluation:
The final grade will be based on points earned by successfully completing the assignments and participation and attendance in class. A total of 400 points are possible. Written assignments should be typed and double spaced. Papers should be grammatically clear, correct, and properly documented and free from any bias. Assignments that are turned in past the due date without the prior approval of the instructor will have the grade lowered. Points will be earned as follows:
A. Attendance and Participation 50 points
Preparation, attendance, and participation in this course is the responsibility of each student. The student is responsible for all content covered or assignments made during a missed class. Students must take an involved role in all classroom exercises.
B. Chapter Summary 25 points Due February 22
Students should read any two chapters of the Boyd-Franklin book on reserve. Students should write a 2 - 3 page summary.
C. Personal Reflection on Community Organization Exercise 25 points Due April 3
Students will write a 2 - 3 page paper describing their personal reflection on the coalition building exercise done in class. What was learned? How did the student feel in the role assigned? Can any relationship to actual events be seen? This paper will be due at the time of the final examination.
D. Diversity Paper 100 points Due April 17
Students will write a 7 to 9 page paper about a nondominant group in the United States. Students may choose from the following groups: Native American (suggest choosing a specific tribe or nation); Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, or Transgendered; African-American; Asian (suggest choosing a specific culture such as Chinese, Vietnamese); any of the Latino groups.
Students may not pick a group of which they are a member. Also, if a student has taken Sociology 314 ANative Americans,@ she/he must not choose Native American as the subject of their paper.
Please discuss the following:
1. What is the history of the group that you have chosen?
2. How does the group define family? Are there specific family forms or traditions?
3. Are there specific health issues associated with this group?
4. Are there predominant values associated with this group?
5. Do you believe that any stereotypes exist about this group? What are they? How has assimilation and/or acculturation of this group been influenced?
6. What are the most frequent forms of discrimination and/or prejudice against this group?
7. What are cultural issues - material and nonmaterial - for this group?
8. What are the issues for social work practice with this group?
At least three references must be used. The class text does not
count as one of the references. Only one of the three references can come
from the Internet. You may substitute an interview with a member of your
chosen group for one of your references as long as you include written
permission to use the person=s information with your paper. After the papers
are turned in, you will meet in class as groups according to the topic
of your paper, and each group will make a short presentation to the class.
E. Examinations 200 points
There are two examinations including the final examination with each one worth 100 points.
Class Schedule:
Week 1: January 25 Introduction to the Course
Review of Issues Relevant to Individual Development
Week 2: January 30, February 1 Aspects of Human Behavior
Critical Use of Theory and Research
This section will review the multidimensional approach to human behavior with emphasis on the mezzo and macro dimensions. It will serve as an overview of the course and a template for future assignments. Critical thinking and its use in applying theory and research will be studied.
Assignment: Hutchison - Chapter 1
Weeks 3 and 4: February 6, 8, 13, 15 Theoretical Perspectives on Human Behavior
In this section, the class will study theories relevant to mezzo and macro groups. Included will be Systems Theory, Conflict Theories, Rational Choice Perspective, Social Construction Theory, Social Exchange Theory, and Social Behavioral Perspective among others. Students will also look at how to select a theoretical perspective to guide social work practice.
Assignment: Hutchison - Chapter 2
Week 5: February 20, 22, The Family as a Social Institution
The Role of Culture in Families
This section will explore the role of the family in society. Included will be discussions of the functions that families serve, the various definitions of family including sociological vs. legal, roles, and variations in family structure. Consideration will be given to the influence of culture and to the changes in family structure across time. Students will be expected to discuss how their individual definitions of Afamily@ developed and changed.
Assignment: Hutchison - Chapters 8 and 9
Week 6: February 27, March 1 Identifying Family Well-Being
This section will explore ways in which theorists have defined well-being in families. Included will be learning about the family life cycle models, role theory, ecological models, conflict theories, and the psychodynamic perspective. The strengths perspective will be reviewed and students will be expected to assess how the theories of family well-being are useful in assessing diverse families. The class will also look at common problems in families such as divorce and remarriage and their theoretical perspectives.
Assignment: Hutchison - Chapter 14
Hand-outs regarding family life cycle models
Week 7: NO CLASS ON MARCH 6 DUE TO NASW LOBBY DAY. IF STUDENTS ATTEND LOBBY DAY AND WRITE A 1 PAGE SUMMARY OF HOW ONE OF THE THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES STUDIED CAN BE SEEN IN POLITICAL ACTION EFFORTS, THEY WILL RECEIVE 5 EXTRA CREDIT POINTS.
MARCH 8 - EXAM 1
Weeks 8 and 9: March 13, 15, 27, 29 Social Interaction in Communities
This section looks at communities as macro organizations. Issues of social policy will be emphasized including immigration policies. Models of community development will be explained and their relationship to social work practice examined. Students will participate in a simulated community exercise and will write up their reactions to the experiment. The use of coalitions will be demonstrated. Assignment: Hutchison - Chapter 11
Netting - Chapters 4 and 5
Weeks 10 and 11: April 3, 5, 10, 12 Social Interaction in Organizations
This section will look at theoretical models for understanding organizational behavior. In addition to the required readings and class lectures, the students will develop a simulated social service agency and will use critical thinking to decide the implications for various theoretical choices.
Assignment: Hutchison - Chapter 10
Netting - Chapters 7 and 8
Weeks 12 and 13: April 17, 19, 24, 26 Issues in Diversity in Mezzo and Macro Groups
This section will focus on the issues of diversity, prejudice, and discrimination as they influence family development and functioning and social work practice. Theories about the development of prejudice and discrimination will be studied as well as the effect of both on family development. Institutionalized racism, ageism, and sexism, will be explored and theories of ways to combat them discussed. Finally, the strengths of diverse families will be presented by asking the students to present a brief summary of their learning from the writing of the diversity paper assigned.
Week 14: May 1, 3 Identifying Special Concerns in Mezzo and Macro Groups
This section will look at certain special issues. Groupthink will be explained and students will watch a film which demonstrates the concept. Students will also study managed care as a theoretical concept and a speaker will discuss some of its implications for social work practice.
Assignment: Brach reading
Week 15: May 8 Ethics as Related to Mezzo and Macro Groups
This section looks at the ethical requirements for work with mezzo and macro groups including the ethical responsibilites of supervisors and administrators in social work agencies and of individual social workers to mezzo and macro communities.
Assignment: Review your copy of the NASW Code of Ethics. Bring a copy to class.
FINAL EXAM: MONDAY, MAY 14 12:00noon - 2:00p.m.