swk3017 social change and communities module handbook 2014 15#1

Social Change & Communities SWK3017

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SOCIAL WORK DIVISION

SWK 3017 SOCIAL CHANGE AND COMMUNITIES

Assignment Handbook

Prepared by

Timothy Curtis, Kelly Smith & Ian Healy (retired)

Senior Lecturers in Social & Community Development

" the full collective potential of community development is threatened by a resistance to praxis, a

theory-practice divide which results in ‘actionless thought’ on one hand, and ‘thoughtless action’ on the

other

— Professor Margaret Ledwith

Draft 1 Jul 2014


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Table of Contents

1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 3

Description ............................................................................................................................................................. 3

Overall Aim For The Module .................................................................................................................................. 4

Teaching, Learning And Assessment Strategy ........................................................................................................ 4

Context ................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Assessment Structure ............................................................................................................................................. 4

What Is Community Development? ....................................................................................................................... 5

2. This is a Demanding module .............................................................................................................................. 6

3. Quality standards for Level Six study ................................................................................................................. 9

Ethos of the assignment design ............................................................................................................................. 9

4. ASSIGNMENT 1 -Person Centred Social Change [Identity & Integrity] ............................................................ 10

5. ASSIGNMENT 2 Being & Writing Reflexively [Portfolio of Engagement] ......................................................... 12

What are you being asked to create? .................................................................................................................. 12

What is the point of it? ......................................................................................................................................... 12

How to proceed? .................................................................................................................................................. 12

The Portfolio as an active creation ....................................................................................................................... 12

But How? .............................................................................................................................................................. 12

So its not simply about theory and ideas then? ................................................................................................... 13

Content of the Portfolio ....................................................................................................................................... 13

Reflexive Recording .............................................................................................................................................. 13

Notes of Encouragement ..................................................................................................................................... 13

6. ASSIGNMENT 3 Analysing a Problem and Suggesting Complex Solutions [Project Report] ............................ 15

Assignment criteria .............................................................................................................................................. 15

Contents and structure guide ............................................................................................................................... 15

FIGURES

Figure 1 Core S&CD Skills and modules ...................................................................................................................... 5


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1. INTRODUCTION Welcome to the SWK3017 Social Change and Communities module. First thing- remember that this is a 40 credit

module- twice the size of the standard module. Your commitment to attend all of the workshops in this module

is vital. This is an assignment guide to assist you with your studies

SCHOOL * School Of Health

DIVISION * HEA Social Work Division

FIELD* SOCIAL WELFARE & SOCIAL WORK

MODULE TITLE* Social Change, Communities and Organisational Development

MODULE CODE * LEVEL* CREDIT VALUE* CO-ORDINATOR

SWK3017 6 40 Tim Curtis

NOTE: All three assignments will run from the start of the academic year- you will be creating your MI client in

the context of them living in the Lincoln estate in Corby. Even though the portfolio is officially the second

assignment, it will have the latest date of completion. The MI report will be submitted first, and the Corby

report second, and the reflective portfolio third. You should start work on all assignments from the beginning.

The word counts of the assignments have been significantly reduced: you will need to focus on summarizing

your work.

DESCRIPTION

The social policy changes that have been introduced over the last 30 years by successive Governments have led

to substantial change in the relationship between the state, communities and individuals resulting in significant

changes in the ways in which communities develop and are expected to develop. The education and training

needs for those working have also changed, with an increasing need to 'professionalise' service provision

resulting in a demand for people with a diversity of skills to navigate complex and often insoluble social conflicts

and problems.

This module is focused on social change looking at:

• Social Change and 'self' - workers need to understand the complexities of the values and ethical

concerns that underpin work in this area and the 'identity work' they undertake in their activities

• Social Change in wider society - understanding the complex changes taking place in communities

and the role of Government policy responses

• Social Change through community development - identifying need and the use of techniques to

facilitate change

The module will involve the consideration of self and identity in engaging with vulnerable individuals within

communities, the investigation of the social construction of social tensions within communities leading to

deprivation and social exclusion, and will culminate in the development of 'interventions' designed to enhance


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the wellbeing of a community within a defined locale. Interventions could include services, projects,

demonstrations, carnivals, buildings or even new organisations

OVERALL AIM FOR THE MODULE

To develop the students' critical faculties and personal resilience to prepare them to contribute to social justice

through third sector organizations and interventions.

TEACHING, LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT STRATEGY

TEACHING, LEARNING + ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES STUDY HOURS Workshops and, lectures 50 Seminars 50 Group based Activities 20 Tutorials 40 Directed independent learning 150 Assessment 90 TOTAL 400 The module is based on a 'blended learning' approach. At the very basic level, 'blended learning' refers to an

approach based on the amalgamation of different modes of delivery, models of teaching and styles of learning. It

is founded on transparent communication amongst all parties involved in the learning process and it places a

high premium on students developing a degree of autonomy and ownership over their own learning. In this

module we all learn from each other, each person is a resource that we can draw on.

CONTEXT

This module employs a mix of lecture, large group, small group and individual engagement with students. The

first assignment is prepared for through classes and workshops in small groups and forms the basis for a fictitious

'client' to work with the third assignment which involves designing a significant community based intervention.

The portfolio of engagement underlies the whole module and helps to ensure that the student has fully engaged

with the module and their future employability, prompting them to be self aware of areas and issues that they

have not understood or engaged with, and why. A significant amount of NILE based resources are employed for

extension learning.

ASSESSMENT STRUCTURE

Assessment Items Units Weighting Learning Outcomes

AS1- Identity and integrity group exercise 4 35% a,b,c,e,f,i,j,k

2,000 words equivalent

AS2- Portfolio of Engagement 1,500 words equivalent 2 25% a,b,e,f,i,j,k

AS3- Project Report 2,000 words equivalent 4 40% c,d,g,h,i,k,l


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WHAT IS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT?

Community development is a long–term value based process which aims to address imbalances in power and

bring about change founded on social justice, equality and inclusion. The process enables people to organise and

work together to:

• identify their own needs and aspirations

• take action to exert influence on the decisions which affect their lives

• improve the quality of their own lives, the communities in which they live, and societies of which

they are a part.

There are five key values that

underpin all community development

practice:

• Equality and Anti-

discrimination

• Social justice

• Collective action

• Community

empowerment

• Working and learning

together.

Figure 1 shows the Core skills

expected of a community

development professional, and how

the core modules of the S&CD

programme contribute to those core

skills

FIGURE 1 CORE S&CD SKILLS AND MODULES


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2. THIS IS A DEMANDING MODULE But then, so are communities……………………………………………………………………………………….………..demanding, that is

SWK 3017 is every bit concerned with reflective learning. It rejects the notion of students as empty vessels whose

lot is to be filled with knowledge by experts. Rather, the expectation is that all of us, as learners will embrace

knowledge. In this context we need to use not only our intellectual capabilities but our emotional intelligence as

well. We need to be truly present in the learning process.

The journey that you will be offered in this module is one you can choose to take in order to reach an enhanced

place in your life-long learning. It’s one that’s in keeping with the spirit of SWK3017- unlike any other module you

have studied before. You can choose to see it as a goal to be fulfilled or whatever kind of description that you

prefer. It entails a willingness to engage in your own change process. A heightened willingness to understand

‘where others are coming from’ in a colloquial sense. How do others see things that are for consideration within

the Module in relation to how you see them as individuals? In a sense it’s a case of really being open to the pulse

of the large group and other sub group scenarios that you will find yourself in midst changing times.

By saying that we live in changing times it is to offer a truism; yet what might this really mean? As far as

community development is concerned, here we are hearing more and more of the ‘The Big Society.’ The term

both has meanings and a certain elusiveness of meaning but it is not about to disappear from our considerations.

As if to warm our agenda up even further a few days in August 2011 saw an outbreak of civic unrest and riots in

communities around England. The aftermath remains with us. Each of you will have your own interpretations of

their meaning-social, economic, and political relevancies. Are you listening to what others are saying that might

somehow challenge or contradict your understandings? Maybe some of these others are unclear, aghast even.

Perhaps you fall into this category?

In any scenario of significance, if we are to be both critical and reflective, we need meaningful lines of inquiry. We

need curiosity and questions to pursue which emanate from our curiosity. We need the intrinsic motivation to

pursue. Ask yourself whether you have this curiosity and intrinsic motivation.

At this juncture an opportunity arises to further develop our lines of inquiry. If you could contemplate the August

2011 riots, for now. Government Ministers and the Mayor of London have appeared in the media offering

seemingly straightforward understandings of why they happened; at least some of the time. In turn these

insights and proposals have been variously added to and sometimes challenged by the Leader of the Opposition.

This rich mixture of perception and nudging towards action/responses has been further developed by specific

interpretations from the Leader of the Liberal Party {a coalition member of the Government} and others.

We can see assumptions, interpretations, and proposals for changes being made with a linking theme of

‘something needs to be done.’ Where do you stand in all of this interpretation and proposal? Perhaps you have

some certainty about what caused the riots and what now should be done? Are you prepared to examine what

all this surety is founded upon? Are you ready to examine the values and core beliefs that have shaped your

understandings? Are you ready to critically examine assumptions that you may well be making? Will you remain

open to critique of your ‘positions’ by others? Might this spur a re-evaluation, on your part, of positions that you

have previously adopted?

Alternatively, you may have some vagueness in relation to ‘the picture.’ Do you know what is generating this

vagueness? As a member of SWK3017 have you read and listened to a range of perspectives in order not to

remain stranded in prejudice and bias? Otherwise, are you ambiguous in relation to the riots per se, or aspects of

them? Do you have a sense of what has generated this ambiguity? Or are you ambivalent, in this context, in some

way? Is there a relative ignorance in you, of the complex issues entailed which is readily filled by sound bites from

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/london-riots


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politicians and others? At this point pause to consider the difference between these terms i.e. vagueness,

ambiguity, ambivalence, and ignorance. Try to actively make sense of them in terms of how you exhibit these

qualities, if only on occasions, in relation to significant social issues.

The reason that you are being challenged to reflect and introspect in this way is linked to ‘the journey’. Without

such a commitment it will be difficult to recall, openly, scenarios where you have been willing to change, take on

new understandings, new responsibilities, and even new roles. In all of this openness there is of course risk. Try

to contemplate situations in which you have been willing to take risks versus resisted or declined to do so. It may

be that it was wise to stick to an understanding, a meaning placed on the world, the community etc. However, it

maybe that to risk reinterpretation of why e.g. the riots occurred somehow threatened your worldview. In an

individual capacity you are entitled to hold to cherished understandings. As a reflexive practitioner within

SWK3017 you are effectively called not to do so. See again ‘When knowledge proves difficult’ on NILE and

consider concepts such as liminality, nettlesome knowledge, and threshold concepts. Spend some time using a

search engine to pursue your understandings of them.

What you are called to do is to exhibit enthusiasm/passion and objectivity in the ways that you learn. Both are

part of the same coin. Objectivity has always been part of academic rigour. Passion is….. well what do you

interpret to be the place of passion in learning? Spend some time contemplating its relevance for you. We can

also consider subjectivity i.e. the ‘I/Me’ in the learning process. Traditionally, this is not part of academic writing,

yet in reflective writing it is very much a part. In reflexive practice, in situ, ‘me the practitioner’ must reflect on

my own practice during and after. My thoughts and emotions/feelings need to inform my practice-somewhere,

amongst all of this lurks my passion.

In contrast we may experience scepticism in relation to a range of issues. Not least of this range of issues can be

learning per se or specific modes of learning. Students are capable of spending the whole year in a sceptical

ghetto in relation to reflective learning and reflexive practice; hardly a way to pursue a ‘social change’ journey,

uncomfortable for them, and ultimately results in poor grades. Incidentally, what about occasions when others

have been sceptical about something you have argued or believed in? Try to contemplate and capture your

thoughts, feelings and reactions around such occasions. How did it affect your subsequent behaviour, motivation,

passion even? Can we ever learn something from the scepticism of others? Indeed, our own, for that matter?

The way that this section is set out is intended to challenge you to look afresh, look critically {both within

reading/research and experience/practice} and reflectively- it also models the way in which you might write in

your portfolio!. Remember, the Module has both learning and change orientations. It does and ought to have

bias to enthuse you to want to get beyond mediocrity and certainly beyond passivity.

The challenge to you is to use your enthusiasm and passion to connect with yourself and others; active

engagement with research material, with individuals, groups, and tutors. Such a way of learning serves as a

relative measure of what value you place on learning. If you are willing you will become aware of trends, major

changes in the environments that you live, work and study within. These environments will be both integral and

external to the Module. Active research allied with critical and reflective approaches will move you beyond

passivity whilst transforming your understandings alongside practice.

Perhaps, then, it is a question of being willing to take on new challenges- to scale new heights even? Are you

familiar with such an approach to life and learning already? In ways that are relevant to you? These questions

provide an ideal opportunity for you to reflect and in so doing engage with others. Share experiences with them,

give and receive feedback; display a willingness to look at your assumptions, interpretations and the values, plus

beliefs, you already hold.


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We can arguably think in terms of creativity here. Where is the creative in you? Each of us has some of it are you

prepared to own yours? Remember ‘When knowledge proves difficult’ and Schon’s notion of professional

artistry? Additionally, what are you curious about in learning and practice terms? Can you be playful with ideas

and understandings versus seeking the security of fixed understandings? Are you willing to enrich your change

journey with a shift in this context? Difficult questions of self and others may be part of this shift; we can consider

this as ‘being present in learning’.

We might also contemplate notions of imagination, courage, and resilience/determination. A rich personal

chemistry-when and where have you displayed these ingredients? What might help you increase their

prominence in your learning journey? Ultimately, all that we have considered latterly and throughout this piece

will shape how to make and gain your mark within SWK 3017.


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3. QUALITY STANDARDS FOR LEVEL SIX STUDY These are the Academic Level Descriptors for this level of study

It is recommended that you compare each of your assignments to this list. Has you assignment met all of the

standards required?

1. a systematic understanding of key aspects of their field of study, including acquisition of coherent and detailed knowledge, at least some of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of defined aspects of a discipline

2. an ability to deploy accurately established techniques of analysis and enquiry within a discipline 3. a conceptual understanding: 4. to devise and sustain arguments, and/or to solve problems, using ideas and techniques, some of which

are at the forefront of a discipline 5. to describe and comment upon particular aspects of current research, or equivalent advanced

scholarship, in the discipline 6. to develop an appreciation of the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge 7. the ability to manage their own learning, 8. to make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources (for example, refereed research articles and/or

original materials appropriate to the discipline), 9. critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts and data (that may be incomplete), to

make judgements, and to frame appropriate questions to achieve a solution - or identify a range 10. and exercise initiative and personal responsibility and decision-making in complex and unpredictable

contexts Evidence of reading beyond the material provided in class, and full referencing, using the Harvard referencing

system is a basic requirement of all the assignments. Remember that referencing is a discipline in recognising

where your ideas and information comes from to prevent the theft of ideas- not just a dreary bureaucratic

exercise.

ETHOS OF THE ASSIGNMENT DESIGN

These assignments are designed to mimic the rather messy and ill-defined world of social and community

development. The assignments in this module are designed to replicate the messiness of the real world, and

force you to make active decisions about what you consider to be sufficient or adequate. You have the learning

descriptors, offered in lecture at the start, at the end of this term and above as your stable criteria for

performance.

The different sources may have slightly different information in but the core assignments laid out in the module

handbook are your starting point. The ASSIGNMENTS section on the NILE site serves to fill in more detail on the

basic assignment structure. Despite any differences, there is no conflict between what the NILE site says and

what the teaching staff might say in class. The responsibility is for you to take ownership of your decisions- rather

than punting it back on us or the NILE site

YOU need make the decision on what to include into the assignments, bearing in mind what we have said that we

want you to reflect on. We want you to be sure about what YOU think the boundaries of the assignment are, and

precisely what format you need to submit in.

We have been adamant that the world after graduation is messy and does not have assignments with fixed

boundaries and word limits. The assignments in this module are designed to replicate the messiness of the real

world, and force you to make active decisions about what you consider to be sufficient or adequate. You have

the learning descriptors, offered in lecture at the start, at the end of this term and above, as your stable criteria

for performance


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4. ASSIGNMENT 1 -PERSON CENTRED SOCIAL CHANGE [IDENTITY &

INTEGRITY]

Groups will develop a fictional character within a defined and credible social welfare situation and undertake a

series of ‘person centred social change’ exercises (drawn from motivational interviewing strategies) to explore a

person’s lived experience of a social issue and the challenges of initiating change.

The group will take notes during the sessions and report on the challenges of motivating the welfare clients’

intrinsic capacity to change.

The whole assignment will be the equivalent of 2,000 words in length and will be assessed using the following

criteria:

Awareness and exploration of concepts of self and identity work, empathetic listening, uncertainty, otherness and social construction of identity and change

Ability to critically analyse group formation processes

A range of appropriate illustrations/evidence, in a breadth of areas

Evidence should be provided of a) the group session having happened, b) that everyone has contributed and c) the note taker is being a reflexive practitioner.

It is important to show evidence of how your role playing is related to the lectures and workshops and the social construction of identity materials on the NILE site.

It is a basic assumption that you will draw on the literature about person centred social change techniques,

including motivational interviewing, and other references introduced in class, and that standard Harvard

referencing will be used.

Procedure for the assignment

1. You will be assigned (as randomly as possible) to small groups of 3-5 people 2. Decide on a specific social welfare situation which you are familiar enough to role play 3. ‘Name’ your welfare client (let’s call him Scott just now), and jointly devise a brief ‘back story’ of Scott’s

situation and history- not too much detail. Confirm these details with Tim. 4. Scott lives in the Lincoln estate in Corby. There is information about the Lincoln in the Reader which you

have a copy of. 5. For each person, one role plays the counsellor, one role plays the counselee (Scott), and one observes

and take notes 6. The person roleplaying the welfare client (Scott) draws on their own sense of identity, experience and

narratives to ‘play’ Scott as realistically as possible. 7. The counsellor discusses Scott’s ‘issues’ with him in the ethos of ‘Motivational Interviewing’ as per the

class instructions- this is not ‘counselling’ 8. Each person should be the Observer and take notes at least once and discuss the observations with the

group 9. The note-taker should reflect on the roleplaying in their notes- did it go well? what issue arose? what

was said? did it concur with the motivational interviewing frameworks? did it improve? 10. Repeat this cycle until every group member has had a chance to undertake each task as counsellor,

counselee and note taker. 11. With ALL of the notes in your group, discuss as a group on the notes and the processes you went

through and relate these to the lecture series. You have 8 weeks to complete this task and write it up. Plan to use at least four weeks doing the role plays- you

will need to meet a number of times per week in this period. This assignment will require 100 hours of work- 20

hrs of group work, 20 of tutorials and 60hrs of study and write-up.


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Contents and structure guide

Your 2000 word equivalent (+/- 10%) report will be expected to contain:

1. An introduction setting out what you think the objectives of the exercise are, a summary of what your report contains, and an indication of your conclusions (approximately 250 words)

2. A fully referenced literature review, using the literature provided on all of the areas of the NILE site, and your own independent reading, demonstrating an understanding of how the issues raised in class are related to the module, covering (approximately 1000words):

a. Current literature on person centred social change techniques including ‘motivational interviewing’

b. How theoretical concepts like ‘social construction of identity’, uncertainty and doubt, otherness and roleplaying informed the development of your group work.

3. Individual write-up (approximately 1000words): provide a reflective commentary covering the following issues

a. Back story research. How the group discussed and agreed on the back story for the client, what research was done and what issues were raised with respect to playing a ‘stranger’.

b. Identity work. Considering how you deployed your ‘identity’ and ‘masks’ in each of the roles (interviewer, client, observer) particularly focussing on what it was like to ‘be’ the client, and the challenges of being a non-directive interviewer.

c. Narrative. Some short stories that express the narratives that your client developed, how those narratives changed at different points in the cycle of the group work

d. Group work. How you went about negotiating the group work with your colleagues, your responsibility in the group dynamics and strategies you employed to get the work done on time.

e. Empathetic practice. How did you address the challenges of the group work in terms of being empathetic and client centred?

4. Conclusions, (approximately 250words) including a summary of everything that has been written, and final persuasive arguments on why your intervention is best suited to the specific situation.

5. References, at minimum 15 relevant texts, in standard Harvard format.


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5. ASSIGNMENT 2 BEING & WRITING REFLEXIVELY [PORTFOLIO OF

ENGAGEMENT]

WHAT ARE YOU BEING ASKED TO CREATE?

Essentially, a reflective, but not exhaustive, account of key themes and ‘incidents’ that have formed your

experiences of SWK 3017.

WHAT IS THE POINT OF IT?

The Portfolio will account for 25% of your overall mark in a 40 credit Module. So, clearly it is intended to be a

substantial piece of work, rather than an after thought. The guideline of 1,500words is just a guideline- you are

marked, as always, on the quality of your work, not the number of words

As important is the reality that professional work, not least of which community development, demands

reflexivity. In professional settings you are challenged to critically select ‘incidents’, aspects of practice, and ideas

which can inform interventions. The Module aims to give you a flavour of this without pretending to replicate a

diverse range of settings.

Roles in any kind of community or other collective settings need a reflexive base. Ultimately decisions need to be

made on the basis of challenging assumptions about knowledge and practice. Reflexive practice is a way to

respectfully engage with community need.

The Portfolio is the premier vehicle for you to exemplify your ability to critically select, analyse, reflect, evaluate,

and develop interventions.

HOW TO PROCEED?

The whole process is one that you can be creative within. For example, the media of expression that you use, the

issues that you seek to focus upon etc. So although there is writing to be done you might equally look at film,

music, photography, drawing, painting, drama perhaps.

Whatever the media deployed the portrayal cannot be purely descriptive, as if evidence speaks for itself. Your

critically reflective self needs to be the clear author of all materials.

THE PORTFOLIO AS AN ACTIVE CREATION

It cannot be an after thought i.e. one which ‘can be done later’, at the eleventh hour. It’s better that you begin it

from your first contact with the Module; making additional contributions week by week. A variety of media can

be used, written and visual, audio additionally. It can easily be a formula of:

written+visal+audio=experiences+thoughts+feelings=reflective understandings.

BUT HOW?

Professionally, you will need to:

Make sense of cognitions, behaviours and emotions; your own and those of others.

Subject them to structured evaluation.

Develop your own practice accordingly.

Allow others to benefit from such willingness to learn and practice reflexively.


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Take constructive risks which inevitably bring both success and failure.

Be willing to ethically challenge and be challenged.

SO ITS NOT SIMPLY ABOUT THEORY AND IDEAS THEN?

It needs to include both. However, good reflexive writing entails you bring ‘Self’ into its midst. The time honoured

tradition of ‘third person objectivity’ needs to be negotiated. Reading, research, and the credibility of sources

remain intact but your own perceptions which will interplay with them, matter.

Any form of realistic learning needs to be active i.e. you the learner engaging with the process. Reflexive learning

de facto intensifies this reality. Your understandings intellectually, experientially and emotionally must form a

dynamic chemistry to enhance your practice.

CONTENT OF THE PORTFOLIO

You are challenged to be critically selective in relation to Module content. A number of key themed areas can be

identified but you are not expected to cover every aspect of what we cover.

Consider, for example:

Critical incidents-notable, unfamiliar; perhaps that have challenged your prior understandings.

Significant contributions that you have made within Modular activities.

Shifts in understandings and subsequent practices.

Moves made from knowing to unknowing/vice versa. What impacts have such occurrences had on you?

Beliefs and values you hold that you feel have caused you tension in some ways i.e. occasioning shifts,

great or small, or perhaps ultimate reinforcements?

Resistances to change within you versus stimulations to re consider things or behave differently?

REFLEXIVE RECORDING

Founded on curiosity and intrinsic motivation.

How? Why? What? When? Who?

A balance of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.

Questioning assumptions: yours and those of others.

Considering alternatives to feed decision making and practice.

Creativity, including how you record, portray and emphasise your reflexive process.

Stepping beyond fear.

Knowing and unknowing to enrich understanding.

Reflexivity is a live process within practice, life, and the Module.

Reflexivity is a now process as well as post event.

NOTES OF ENCOURAGEMENT

We are offering encouragement to you in developing a year-long Reflexive Portfolio which will be borne out of

your own intrinsic motivation. It will need to be well focussed and creative. In choosing the focii for your Portfolio

you will be making critical judgements about what to emphasise. These critical judgments can extend to the

media which you choose in order to develop your reflexive understandings. Simply, although much of what you

seek to express is likely to be in written form you are at liberty to use both visual and auditory media. If you are

uncertain of what to make of these latter comments raise it with us.


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In order to be the reflexive practitioner in the Portfolio you will need to be prepared to question. Question, that

is, all ideas, arguments, practices, and assumptions. Indeed, the whole module is founded on this basis. The

lecturers may have expertises but they are not experts in informing you how to view the social world; how to

understand and view communities, organisations, and societies. So it is down to you to be curious and

challenging. Be curious to the extent that you are prepared to question and challenge the very assumptions that

lie behind community interventions. Be curious enough to want to ask questions about your own assumptions,

ideas, interpretations, arguments, and practices. Both the Module per se and the Portfolio can be a

representation of your curiosity, but it involves courage.

The Module will begin, for example, with an Overview and will soon include reference to a popular concept, at

least since the last general election. It’s difficult to escape references to ‘The Big Society’ in the quality press and

social and current affairs media contributions. What is this notion? Where has it come from, who started it?

What’s your interpretation of it? What do you think and feel about it? Are you altogether consistent in your

understandings of it? What are you basing your understandings upon? Might there be different ways of looking

at the Big Society idea? How might you benefit from it or perhaps be disadvantaged by it? What about the

implications for community practitioners?

You have been given a Reader with lots of references at the end of each article: does your curiosity extend to

reading them and begin to further your understanding? Discuss the ideas with your peers, others? Ask questions

of your Tutors; query any assumptions that you may have already made? Research the Big Society in more

depth?

Much of the writing that you have done within a range of modules, to date, has been concerned with your

attempts to be objective. Writing in the third party and using an evidence base to prove and disprove arguments;

to sustain or question models theories etc has been expected of you. At Level 6 you are expected to develop

critical understandings of the same. You need to develop your analytical abilities as well as a capacity to evaluate

the worth of something, whilst being open to synthesising different standpoints [see Bloom’s Taxonomy of

Knowledge]. The purpose of SWK 3017 and, indeed this Portfolio, is not to discourage those developments.

However, you are required to write subjectively. You are empowered to use ‘I’; to write in the first person. Your

own thoughts and feelings are to be used in conjunction with critical thinking to interpret the meaning and worth

of ideas, arguments, and practices.

If your aim is to involve yourself in a community setting, perhaps an organisational one, or some form of

collective you will need both cognitive/intellectual capacity and emotional literacy. The Reflexive Portfolio is an

excellent opportunity for you to hone these skills; to take risks and to learn creatively. It may indeed feel risky,

the very thought of writing and presenting in unfamiliar ways. Risk taking with appropriate support can be the

very essence of genuine learning. Again, we must return to your own intrinsic motivation. What stirs within you

when you are challenged to look at things differently versus the temptation, the resistance to wanting to learn

new things in, sometimes, new ways? A straightforward way of addressing this is to answer a simple question:

On a Scale of 1-10 [maximum] how motivated am I

to question my own assumptions about what I already know?

Is your answer sufficient to fall within the spirit of the Module and this Portfolio? If the answer is yes, how might

you enhance your capability to question, further? If your answer sheds doubt for you, as to your enthusiasm for

questioning your own assumptions, where does this leave you?

Will you choose to ‘stick’ or look at ways of developing your dispositions and skills to change things? The fact is

Tim and Kelly look forward to working with you; we are both motivated to do so. We can encourage, facilitate,

and help you raise your own level of motivation. You need to work out what YOUR investment will be


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6. ASSIGNMENT 3 ANALYSING A PROBLEM AND SUGGESTING COMPLEX

SOLUTIONS [PROJECT REPORT] Scott, the MI client you developed in the first assignment, lives in the Lincoln estate in Corby. Throughout the

module you will be introduced to where he lives, and where all the other social welfare clients live. They will

make up your community group. You are asked to design an ' intervention' in response to an identified need- i.e

the needs represented by the character that was the subject of the MI interviewing exercises in Term 1. These

needs will be placed in the context of the community of Lincoln Way and Kingswood in Corby. The assignment

will be written up in the form of a report.

An intervention can include a service, project, built environment developments, temporary activities like

carnivals and demonstrations or a new welfare organisation. It is expected that the intervention will have a

'significant' impact on the wider Kingswood community, as well as on the 'interviewee from Assignment 1. You

will be expected to draw upon your reflective work in the Portfolio of Engagement and relate your insights in this

to the process of investigating this assignment- particularly in section 6 of the proposed structure below.

ASSIGNMENT CRITERIA

Develop intervention as a group- report on detailed process individually

The groups will be required to investigate a social development situation (i.e. Corby and sustainable

communities) and devise a portfolio of interventions- this is likely to be more than one, or a web of interrelated

interventions. Each group member will then write a detailed report of the processes of investigation, describing

their proposed intervention, providing full justification for its implementation

The themes underlying the evaluation (and marking) will include:

Engagement with the social issues within the case-study

Connecting the MI Interviewing 'interviewee' to a specific location i.e. Kingswood, Corby, and consideration of coping mechanisms of the interviewee in the community context of Kingswood.

Investigatory techniques used to establish community profiling data

Use of rich pictures in exploring the situation and consideration of the 'wicked issues'

Research and creativity in developing a suite of potential interventions within the allocated portfolio

Reflection on the utilisation of self and group processes and concerns (from term 1) within the community development activities

Evidence of reading beyond the material provided in class, and full referencing, using the Harvard referencing

system is a basic requirement of all the assignments. Remember that referencing is a discipline in recognising

where your ideas and information comes from to prevent the theft of ideas- not just a dreary bureaucratic

exercise.

CONTENTS AND STRUCTURE GUIDE

Your 2,000 word (+/- 10%) summary report will be expected to contain:

1. An introduction setting out what you think the objectives of the exercise are, a summary of what your report contains, and an indication of your conclusions (250 words)

2. A fully referenced literature review, using the literature provided on all of the areas of the NILE site, and your own independent reading, demonstrating an understanding of how the issues raised in the module are related to the module, covering (250words):

a. Current literature on critical community development, sustainable communities and asset-based community development

3. Community investigation (500words) including:


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a. a summary of the existing secondary statistical data that is relevant to the communities living in Lincoln Way in Corby

b. A presentation of the primary data (fully referenced) you collected on your visit to Corby, including a description of your data collection methods

c. A review of how the different MI clients, representing the community of Lincoln in Corby informed your thinking about the problems of the estate

4. A scoping of possible interventions, (750words) including a. Evidence of having done independent internet research into examples of community

regeneration and development b. Extensive use of rich pictures to conceptualise the information gathered and to communicate

your appreciation of the complex ‘wicked ’ social issues in this locality c. Evidence of you working with other people in class over the development of your rich pictures,

and commentary on how they differ and why. d. Review of two or more possible interventions and a commentary on how you think they will

contribute to i. Your clients’ needs and coping mechanisms

ii. The needs and coping strategies of the clients of the other groups iii. The wider community with whom you have not been in contact

5. Conclusions, (250words) including a summary of your main points, and final persuasive arguments on why your intervention is best suited to the specific situation.

6. References, at minimum 20 relevant texts, in standard Harvard format.

swk3017 social change and communities module handbook 2014 15#1

Documents

social community development

assignment design

social work division

assessment strategy

assessment structure

portfolio of engagement

demanding module

kelly smith ian healy