- Department: Social Policy and Social Work
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: C
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
In this module, you will develop an understanding of critical approaches to social work practice.
Occurrence | Teaching period |
---|---|
A | Summer Semester 2024-25 |
In this module, you will develop an understanding of critical approaches to social work practice. You will consider the role of power in the development of social work knowledge and its manifestation in social work practice settings. You will draw on your work experience to explore power dynamics in practice and reflect on your own use of power in your work. You will develop an understanding of social justice, community participation and advocacy as core values in social work and explore how participatory approaches have the potential to challenge power inequities. In particular, you will be introduced to critical perspectives on social inclusion and inequality, and the role of anti-oppressive approaches in challenging power inequities in social work practice. This module will enable you to consider the role of social work in social change, and reflect on the structures which support and inhibit social work practice in the UK.
The module will be taught in six interactive seminars which will feature a combination of lecture content, workshops and seminar-style small group discussion. This will be supported by independent study and reflection on work experiences. The overall aim of the module is to support you to take a critical approach to social work practice and to support your professional development in the following Professional Capabilities Framework domains:
Knowledge
Values and Ethics
Contexts and Organisations
Professionalism
Diversity and Equality
Critical Reflection and Analysis
Rights, Justice and Economic Wellbeing
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
Understand the role of power in social work systems and practice using relevant theories and research.
Understand the role of participatory practices in counteracting unequal power dynamics and evaluate different approaches to participation.
Reflect on the use of power in practice settings encountered during prior and current work experience.
Understand the application of anti-oppressive approaches in social work.
Reflect on service user and carer experiences of power in social work practice.
The module will be taught in six interactive seminars which will feature a combination of lecture content, workshops and seminar-style small group discussion. This will be supported by independent study and reflection on work experiences.
Indicative content:
Theories of power and their relevance to social work
Critical and radical approaches to social work
Feminist & anti-racist social work
Anti-oppressive practice
Participatory approaches to social work
Services user voices and power.
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
Non-compensatable
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
Written feedback provided 20 working days after submission.
Smith, R. (2008) Social Work and Power, Palgrave Macmillan
Thompson, N (2020) Anti-Discriminatory Practice: Equality, Diversity and Social Justice (7th ed) Red Globe Press
Adams, R., Dominelli, L. and Payne, M. (2002) Anti-Oppressive Practice, Palgrave MacMillan
Tedam, P. (2021) Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice, Learning Matters