SOSV3220 Social Work in a Global Context Course description

The aim of this course is to provide an understanding of the historical and contemporary context in which social work has been developed and is practised. The course will critically consider the Western, power-based knowledge and theoretical perspectives that inform and are reinforced in social work, and the influence this has globally. This will be considered through focus on decolonial history, intersectional perspectives and globalisation processes.

The course will also focus on how social work has been developed within specific contexts of practice. We will demonstrate how theory is connected to practice within social work. We use a case-based approach in which we explore social work, as practised in Norway and other countries, to demonstrate the importance of contextualisation as a framework for understanding social work theories and practice. Through an investigation of cases, we will also explore the ways in which practice reaffirms certain theories as ‘normal’ and ‘natural’.

The student must have passed all exams in the first and second year of the programme.

Knowledge

The student has knowledge of

• the ways in which perspectives in social work are shaped within specific social and normative contexts and how the field of social work also shapes our understandings of the contexts within which we practice

• the history and development of social work and its influence on contemporary understandings of social work globally
• hegemonic knowledge production in social work, contemporary social problems, social inequalities and systems of oppression for social work in an international context

Skills 

The student can

• identify different perspectives and apply knowledge about how these perspectives are shaped within specific contexts

• critically reflect on how specific conceptualisations shape social work understandings, how context-based and power-based perspectives shape social work practice and how social work practices reinforce these perspectives
• understand how context is key to understanding how social work practice and services are developed and delivered, with reference to values, ethics and anti-oppressive practice

General competence

The student can

• identify and communicate knowledge concerning different, global perspectives on key issues taken up in the field of social work
• exchange knowledge about how dominant norms within social work function to set the premises for models applied and for the meaning this has at the social and individual levels

Throughout the study programme, the students will increase their skills in social care and child welfare work with ethnic minorities in the Norwegian welfare state. This course will help to strengthen the students’ skills in working with adults, children and families with ethnic minority backgrounds. The students will develop the ability to reflect on the relationship between social workers and minority families. They will also acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes that encourage greater tolerance, understanding and knowledge when it comes to the situation of ethnic minorities in the majority society, as well as how one’s own culture can affect the cooperation. Emphasis is placed on further developing the students’ knowledge and experience from earlier courses in the programme.

The student must have passed all exams in the first and second year of the programme. 

After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student has knowledge of

• majority and minority relations from a historical, social and political perspective

• the production of knowledge ideology, power and marginalisation processes
• language and communication
• anti-racist social work
• identity, culture and cooperation
• participation and inclusion in the majority society

• integration strategies
• domestic violence
• work with unaccompanied minor refugees
• the living conditions of minority ethnic groups

Skills

The student can

• analyse structural, cultural and individual power relations
• demonstrate an ethical and sensitive approach in social work
• reflect on how one’s culture can affect the way they interpret things and cooperate
• cooperate and communicate with the help of an interpreter

General competence

The student

• has developed an understanding of how cultural diversity and complex power relations are related to people’s different needs, values and lifestyles
• can analyse and assess what is special and what is common for social work with ethnic minorities compared to social work with ethnic majority persons
• has acquired knowledge that encourages reflection on the power positions of social workers and child welfare officers as both representatives of the public authorities and representatives of a majority culture

• has acquired knowledge of and skills in obtaining and using sources (basic reference and quotation techniques)

The following must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam:

1. One written coursework requirement in the form of a memo of up to one page long. In the memo, the student chooses a topic and research question for their in-depth assignment in the field of child welfare work, or social work and ethnic minorities, and gives grounds for their choice. The coursework must be completed and approved by the given deadline. If the coursework requirement is not approved, the student will be given the opportunity to submit an improved version once by a given deadline.

Compulsory coursework must be completed and approved by the given deadline in order for the student to take the exam.

An individual written in-depth paper. The students will work on the assignment throughout the course. The answer paper should be 8-10 pages long. Font and font size: Calibri 12 point. Line spacing: 1.5. The approved citation style APA for assignments must be complied with.

A selection of self-chosen readings, which comprises of 400 pages must be attached in the assignment.

Students who were absent for a valid reason or who fail the exam may take a resit/rescheduled exam in the same format as the ordinary exam. If the student fails the exam, they will be given one opportunity to submit an improved version of the assignment for assessment.

All aids are permitted, as long as the rules for source referencing are complied with. 

Grade scale A-F.