Lecture: 4 hours/week
In this course, students engage in a variety of learning activities such as lecture, discussion, group work, case studies and presentations.
• History, philosophy, and evolution of the social work profession in Canada
• Social welfare traditions and ideologies shaping contemporary social work practice
• Roles, responsibilities, and contexts of generalist social work practice
• Core social work values, ethics, and professional decision-making frameworks
• Anti-oppressive, anti-racist, and decolonizing approaches to social work practice
• Indigenous experiences of social work and Indigenous-informed social work practices
• Major social work theories and practice approaches and their application across settings
• The relationship between personal struggles, strengths, and broader social contexts
• Structural sources of injustice, including colonialism, racism, classism, ableism, ageism, cissexism, and heterosexism
• Social work’s mandate to advance human rights, social justice, and social change
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Describe social welfare traditions and ideologies that inform contemporary social work practice in Canada;
- Articulate how historical and contemporary factors impact the ways in which Indigenous people experience social work in Canada;
- Discuss the nature of social work and the roles of a generalist social work practitioner;
- Identify the core principles of anti-oppressive, decolonizing, and anti-racist social work practice;
- Describe wise practices in Indigenous social work and social work with Indigenous people;
- Explain how social work’s major theoretical and practice approaches can be applied in a variety of contexts;
- Apply professional ethics, values, and decision-making frameworks;
- Analyze structural sources of injustice and the relationship between personal struggles and public issues.
Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in a course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline. This is a letter-graded course.
Typical means of assessment include the following:
- Written papers
- Presentations
- Projects
- Exams
- Participation
- Attendance
Textbooks and materials are to be purchased by students. A list of required textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of the semester. Example texts may include:
- Ives, N., Denov, M. & Sussman, T. (current edition). Introduction to social work in Canada: Histories, contexts, and practices. Oxford University Press Canada.
- Canadian Social Work Association (current edition). Code of Ethics.
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