SW8153: Social Work Practice Methods: Macro Practice and Organizations

The course presents community practice and macro-level interventions as integral to professional social work. The relationship between power and privilege, social justice, theories of social change, and the values of the social work profession are applied and learned in terms of how they shape social work community practice in the processes of engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation. Building upon theoretical approaches to human service organizations and their distinct attributes, the course addresses key practice knowledge, skills, and values that promote, develop, and maintain human service organizations that effectively meet community and client needs. Topics addressed include: the complementary and interactive relationship between practice with individuals/families and community practice; social worker competency and roles in a diverse society; power and privilege as related to social justice; policy practice and policy advocacy to bring about community and legislative change; frameworks for organizational analysis and models for organizational change; strategic planning and maintenance; roles, functions and types of leadership; valuing and practicing diversity in organizations; empowering clients and stakeholders; the role of organizations in policy advocacy, coalition, and campaign building.

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