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Unit of Study SWRK5001 - Social Work Foundations for Practice (2025)

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Unit Snapshot

  • Unit type

    PG Coursework Unit

  • Credit points

    12

  • Faculty/College

    Faculty of Health

  • Placement

    No

  • Enrolment information

    Full-time students are advised to take this unit at the same time as SWRK5002 Social Work Direct Practice I. Students are required to meet participation requirements in this unit. Attendance is compulsory. Online students must attend a three-day residential and Gold Coast students must attend 3 one-day seminars across the term. Further details, including dates, will be advised via the Blackboard site.

Unit description

Social Work Foundations for Practice introduces students to the profession of social work, and outlines the core knowledge and values required of practising social workers in Australia. The profession is understood within the context of contemporary social welfare arrangements and the labour market. The unit seeks to critically examine social work theories and models, as well as different ways of transferring knowledge to practice.

Unit content

  1. Social work definitions, ethics and values 
  2. People in context
  3. The Australian context for social work practice
  4. Social work theories for practice 1
  5. Social work theories for practice 2
  6. Critical reflection on culture

Availabilities

Location Domestic International
Gold Coast
Term1,5
Term1,5
Online
Term1,5
Term1,5

Learning outcomes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

discuss the core knowledge and values of the social work profession

analyse how social workers respond to oppression and trauma in practice

critically evaluate different social work theories and models

explain how evidence-based and reflective practice models can be used to inform social work practice.

Prescribed learning resources

Prescribed Texts
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Prescribed Resources/Equipment
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Prescribed Texts
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Prescribed Resources/Equipment
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Prescribed Learning Resources may change in future Teaching Periods.