Course Syllabus

Text

Farley, O. W., Smith, L. L., & Boyle, S. W. (2012). Introduction to Social Work (12th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Additional readings may be assigned throughout the semester and can be found on canvas or on electronic reserve in the Marriott Library.

General Information

Student’s with Disabilities: The University of Utah’s College of Social Work seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in this class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the instructor and to the Center for Disability Services, http://disability.utah.edu/ 162 Olpin Union Building, 581–5020 (V/TDD) to make arrangements for accommodations. This information is available in alternative format with prior notification. Please provide the instructor with a letter from the Center for Disability Services as soon as possible.

Grading: Grading in this course is based upon the following activities and assignments. Since all graded assignments are related directly to course objectives, failure to complete any assignment will result in an unsatisfactory course grade. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling will be taken into account in grading. Please carefully proofread your written assignments before submitting them for a grade. Each of the assigned papers should be completed in APA format: typed, double-spaced and, where necessary, citations, references and headings. Students who turn in assignments late will have points deducted unless a legitimate reason for the tardiness has been discussed with the instructor PRIOR to the due date.

Grading Scale: A = 94-100%, A- = 90-93%, B+ = 87-89%, B = 84-86%, B- = 80-83%, C+ = 77-79%, C = 74- 76%, C- = 70-73%, D+ = 67-69%, D = 64-66%, D- = 60-63%, below 60% = F

Assignments

1. Class Participation and Attendance: Students are expected to attend class and participate in class discussions every week. For campus students, this means attendance to all classes with active participation in class discussions and activities. For online students, this means logging into class several times a week and responding to peers and instructor in the discussion boards (see weekly discussion board criteria).

2. Weekly Discussion Board(s): After you complete the readings and view the additional content for each module, you will answer the following 1-2 discussion questions for each module. In addition to your initial response (answer), you must also respond to at least two classmate's postings in each discussion board. Your post and your responses should be clear, concise and contain appropriate APA citing and references. The answer to each board is due on Thursday by 11:59 pm. Responses to classmates are due by Sunday by 11:59 pm. The instructor will also be providing feedback and/or follow up questions about your posts. It is expected that you will respond to instructor posts within the specified time frame. Your initial post should be completed by the due date so that your peers have enough time to respond. Delay on posting your initial response will result in a deduction in your grade for this assignment.

3. Weekly Reflection Journal: Students are expected to submit a weekly reflection journal of 100-250 words. Reflections can be about what you have learned during the week, readings, videos or pod casts, or discussions with classmates or your instructor. The purpose of this assignment is to ensure you are processing your thoughts on the course content. This will enhance your learning and knowledge. This reflection journal is private. None of your peers will be able to see it. Your instructor will be providing feedback or comments via the assignment comment tool.

4. Poverty Assignment: Using the worksheet attached to the syllabus (and below), you are to conduct a field study to determine what level the poverty line should be set. The most important point of this exercise is to obtain actual data. For example, to set the food budget you should actually develop menus and then go to the grocery store and find the costs of the items. You will turn in a typed report describing the criteria you used for each budget item (for example, to determine house or apartment size, should each child have their own room?, is cable necessary?), the data collection procedure (where you obtained the information), the results, the total yearly level at which you would set the poverty line, your reactions to the process, and concluding comments.

This report should be written in APA format using appropriate citations when necessary. College level writing (sentence structure, grammar) is expected. For the third part of the assignment you will post your reflections about this assignment in a discussion board.

Where would you set the poverty line?

The purpose of this project is for you to estimate the income for a family of four. This yearly income must allow the family to survive with decency, dignity, and as full participating members of the community. Using the worksheet provided, conduct a field study to determine at what level you think the poverty line should be set. The most important point is to obtain actual data. For example, to set the food budget you should actually develop a menu for one week, go to the store, and price the items on the menu. You will be required to submit a typed report describing the criteria you used for each budget item (example: should each child have a bedroom in the home? or, is cable necessary?), the data collection procedure, the remarks, the total yearly level at which you would set the poverty line, and any concluding comments.
You should set the poverty line just above what you believe to be the poverty line. In other words, this family should be living at a level at which they would not need social welfare assistance, either private or public. However, if their income is reduced in any way, as a social worker, you would feel justified in advocating for them. Your family of four is a married couple with a three-year-old son and an eight-year-old daughter. Both parents work full-time. The family lives in a town that you are familiar with. This assignment is based on your opinion, so make your estimates accordingly. If you don’t think it is necessary for the 8 year old to have after school care, don’t budget for it. If you think it is necessary to give donations to the church, budget for that. All of the items on the budget list must be addressed in your paper. However, you may use another format and include additional items as you wish. For some items you may want to figure weekly or monthly totals and then convert to a yearly number. The poverty line should be the amount for one year. Lastly, you should reflect and comment on the process you went through to obtain the information, your overall reaction to the assignment, as well as any new ways of thinking about the economy and the strategy for establishing the federal poverty line. How has this assignment impacted your thinking about poverty in the U.S.?

5. Site Visit Interview and Presentation: Students will be required to interview, write a report and present about a visit to a social services agency and interview with a social worker (BSW, MSW, CSW, or LCSW). It is the student’s responsibility to find an agency and a social worker to interview. The interview must take place at the social worker’s place of employment. You may not interview a social worker in private practice, a social worker at your place of employment, or a professional in a related field. After completion of the visit and interview, the student will write a report and present to the class. The following should be included in the report and presentation: description of the agency, the mission of the agency, clientele, social worker’s responsibilities at the agency, how the social worker became employed with the agency, starting salary, opportunities for advancement, and overall job satisfaction. Include a copy of the agency’s organizational chart in your report. Conclude with your reaction to the site and application to the field of social work. Students will have up to 10 minutes to present the material.

6. Personal Growth Papers: Students are expected to complete four personal growth activities/assignments during the semester and write a reaction paper about the experience. Papers should be 2-3 pages in length and written in APA format. Specific directions for each assignment are below:
Paper 1: In a short paper answer the following questions. What are your life goals? What are the reasons you are considering social work as a profession? (If you are not considering the social work profession, discuss the reasons you chose to take this class). What do you envision social workers doing? What is your experience working in the social work field or with social work populations? What are your values/beliefs/comfort level with cultural, gender, socio- economic, and sexual orientation diversity?

Paper 2: Attend an activity in your community. Activities may be chosen at the students’ discretion and should focus on a social work population, such as a minority or at-risk population. In a short paper, discuss why the activity was chosen and how it relates to social work. Papers should demonstrate critical thought in relation to the experience. Questions to consider include: What were your preconceptions or expectations before going in? What were your reactions to the experience? What did you gain from this experience?

Paper 3: Read the "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" (attached article) and "Colorblind Ideology is a Form of Racism." Discuss ways that you have privilege and ways that you lack privilege on the basis of your race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, mental ability, religion, and class. (Make sure to address each identity status). How has your experience with privilege affected your life? Describe what social, economic, and cultural justice mean to you. Describe what a socially, economically, and culturally just society would look like. How would such a society differ from U.S society?

Paper 4: In a short paper, answer the following questions. When choosing a career, there are many things to consider. Following are questions to ask yourself when deciding whether social work is right for you: What types of things make you happy? Are these consistent with the work you see yourself doing as a social worker? What people and events in your past have influenced your interest in social work? Consider experiences with your family and friends, interactions with social service professionals, and so on. Why do you want to be a social worker? How would being a social worker add to your satisfaction and happiness? What are your life goals? When you look into the future, what do you think you will need to be happy? How do these needs fit with a career in social work? Considering how much money social workers earn, the respect and prestige they receive, the hours they work, and so on, will being a social worker bring you the financial security you want? Will it allow you the time and financial resources to do the things you want to do? Reflect on your personal values and beliefs and the NASW code of ethics as you respond to each question. Has your perspective changed from the beginning of the semester to now.

Course Outline

The instructor reserves the right to change the course requirements as warranted.

Additional References

The following reference list contains articles and readings that may be used to complete one or more assignments in this course or to extend your knowledge in a specific area of social work. The list is not intended to provide an exhaustive list on any particular topic but only to familiarize you with some of the literature in our field. Please feel free to recommend additional articles or readings that you think should be added to the list.

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Barker, R. L. (2003). The social work dictionary (5th ed.). Washington, DC: NASW Press.

Brill, N. I., & Levine, J. (2004). Working with people: The helping process (8th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Compton, B. R., Galaway, B., & Cournoyer, B. R. (2004). Social work processes (7th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Cournoyer, B. (2005). The social work skills workbook (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Crosson-Tower, C. (2004). Understanding child abuse and neglect (6th Ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Frazer, M. (Ed.) (2004). Risk and resilience in childhood: An ecological perspective (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: NASW.

Gardella, L. G. & Haynes, K. S. (2004). A dream and a plan: A woman’s path to leadership in human services. Washington, DC: NASW.

Gibelman, M. (1995). What social workers do. Washington, DC: NASW Press.
Hepworth, D. H., Rooney, R. H., Rooney, G. D., Strom-Gottfried, & Larsen, J. A. (2006). Direct social work

practice: Theory and skills (7th ed). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Huxtable, M. & Blyth, E. (Eds) (2002). School social work worldwide. Washington DC: NASW Press.

Kaye, L. W. (Ed.) (2005). Perspectives on productive aging: Social work with the new aged. Washington, DC: NASW Press.

Keigher, S. M., Fortune, S. E., & Wilkins, S. L. (Eds.) (2000). Aging and social work: The changing landscapes. Washington, DC: NASW Press.

Kemp, A. (1998). Abuse in the family: An introduction. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Kopels, S. (1995). The Americans with Disabilities Act: A tool to combat poverty. Journal of social work

education 31(3), 337-346.
LeCroy, C. W. (2002). The call to social work. Washington, DC: NASW Press.
Leigh, J. W. (2001). Communicating for cultural competence. Waveland, MS: Waveland Pub.

Mattani, M. A., Lowery, C. T., & Meyer, C. H. (Eds.) (2002). Foundations of social work practice (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: NASW Press.

McMahon, M. (2001). The general method of social work practice (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. NASW (2000). Code of Ethics (Revised). Washington, DC: NASW.
NASW (2003-2006). Social work speaks: NASW policy statements (6th ed.). Washington, DC: NASW. Reamer, F. G. (2005). Pocket guide to essential human services. Washington, DC: NASW.

Roberts, A.R., & Green, G. J. (Eds.) (2002). Social workers’ desk reference. Washington, DC: NASW.

Shulman, L. (2006). The skills of helping individuals, families, and groups. (5th ed). Garden Grove, CA: Brooks/ Cole.