Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education
Social Work Theories and their Application to Practice
Department: Family and Community Studies
Module Code: MOD002120
Module Leader:
Peter Scourfield (Cambridge)
Jas Sangha (Chelmsford)
Pat Curtis (Peterborough)
Academic Year: 2012/13
Semester 2
1
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Key Information.............................................................................................................................. 3
Introduction to the Module ............................................................................................................. 3
Intended Learning Outcomes ......................................................................................................... 4
Outline Delivery ............................................................................................................................. 5
4.1 Attendance Requirements ..................................................................................................... 6
Assessment ................................................................................................................................... 6
How is My Work Marked? .............................................................................................................. 7
Assessment Criteria and Marking Standards ............................................................................... 10
Assessment Offences .................................................................................................................. 15
Learning Resources ..................................................................................................................... 13
9.1. Library ................................................................................................................................. 13
9.2. Other Resources ................................................................................................................. 13
Module Evaluation ....................................................................................................................... 13
Report on Last Delivery of Module ............................................................................................... 14
2
1. Key Information
Module:
Module Leader:
Social Work Theories and their Application to Practice
Peter Scourfield, Webb 116, Cambridge.
0845 196 2561
peter.scourfield@anglia.ac.uk
Module tutor (Chelmsford)
Jas Sangha, William Harvey Building, 3rd Floor
0845 196 4861
jas.sangha@anglia.ac.uk
Module tutor (Peterborough)
Pat Curtis
Guild House
pat-curtis@anglia.ac.uk
Every module has a Module Definition Form (MDF) which is the officially validated record of the module.
You can access the MDF for this module in three ways via:

the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)

the My.Anglia Module Catalogue at www.anglia.ac.uk/modulecatalogue

Anglia Ruskin’s module search engine facility at www.anglia.ac.uk/modules
All modules delivered by Anglia Ruskin University at its main campuses in the UK and at Associate
Colleges throughout the UK and overseas are governed by the Academic Regulations. You can view
these at www.anglia.ac.uk/academicregs. A printed extract of the Academic Regulations, known as the
Assessment Regulations, is available for every student from your Faculty Office (all new students will
have received a copy as part of their welcome pack).
In the unlikely event of any discrepancy between the Academic Regulations and any other publication,
including this module guide, the Academic Regulations, as the definitive document, take precedence
over all other publications and will be applied in all cases.
2. Introduction to the Module
This module has four main components all of which are designed to fit together to provide a
basic foundation for observing, reflecting on and understanding social work practice in a variety
of settings. Firstly, building on the concept of the reflective practitioner, students will be
introduced to key theory and concepts relating to communication in its different forms and how
these might be used in practice situations. Secondly, students will be introduced to both a
selection of key theories and concepts relating to human development and to social work
generally in social work generally in order that these might provide theoretical underpinning for
different social work interventions Thirdly, this module will also provide students with an
opportunity to develop their observational skills and apply relevant theories, so that they can
better interpret the practice and behaviour they have seen.
Service User Statement for All Modules / Programmes
Understanding the perspectives of service users and their carers is central to the development
of health care professionals studying on our programmes. Evidence exists to demonstrate that
the involvement of service users and their carers in the education of health care and social work
students has had a positive impact in three key areas:
 Students’ understanding of the service user / carer perspective,
 Students’ communication skills
 Students’ motivation to improve services (Morgan and Jones 2007).
3
The Faculty of Health and Social Care and Education is committed to the involvement of service
users and carers in the education of our health care and social work students. This module will
provide the opportunity to engage with the experiences and perspectives of service users and
their carers.
3. Intended Learning Outcomes
This module is taught on the basis of the learning outcomes published below. The learning
outcomes are statements of what you should have learnt by the time you come to the end of the
module. To successfully complete the module, that is to pass it, you will need to
demonstrate that you have met all of the learning outcomes. The assessment task for the
module is designed to help you do this.
On successful completion of this module you will be able to:
Knowledge and
understanding
1. Demonstrate knowledge of key social work theories, methods
and models
2. Apply social work theories, methods and models to practical
situations appropriate to social work practice.
Intellectual,
practical, affective
and transferable
skills
3. Demonstrate the ability to use a reflective model to explore
understanding of the professional self.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of communication skills,
including verbal and non-verbal skills.
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the principles and practice
skills of observation.
4
4. Outline Delivery
The following is a broad outline of what topics will be covered over the semester. However,
there will inevitably be slight variations according to the teaching style, specific knowledge and
background of the different lecturers on different campuses. The dates refer to Cambridge and
Chelmsford sites, Peterborough may vary.
WK
1
Date (2013)
All sessions
are 1-4pm
31st January
2
7th February
3
14th February
4
21st February
5
28th February
6
7th March
7
14th March
8
21st March
9
18th April
10
25th April
11
2nd May
12
9th May
13th May
Indicative Content
Introduction to the Module
 Concept of theories, models and methods
 Understanding Human Growth and Development
 Beginning to communicate
 Reflection and Observational Skills
Developing Communication Skills I
 Starting, progressing and ending relationships
 Empathy and authority
 Verbal and non-verbal communication
 Active Listening
 Barriers to communication
Developing Communication Skills II
 Written communication
 Genograms, ecomaps, culturegrams
Introduction to Human Growth and Development I
 Psychodynamic (Attachment)
 Transition and loss across the lifecourse
Introduction to Human Growth and Development II
 Humanism (Maslow, Rogers)
 Erikson
 Behaviourism (Social learning theory, CBT)
Theories, models and methods I
 Systems theory
 Ecological theory
Theories, models and methods II
 Strengths Perspective
 Empowerment
 The service user voice
Theories, models and methods III
 Task centred
 Solution focused
 Crisis intervention
Easter Break
Preparation for the Observational Video
 Observation and observation skills
 Reflective models
Observational Video
 Watching video and group exercise
Module Consolidation
 Recap week
Assignment Tutorials
Assignment hand in
5
4.1 Attendance Requirements
Attending all your classes is very important and one of the best ways to help you succeed in this module.
In accordance with the Student Charter, you are expected to arrive on time and take an active part in all
your timetabled classes. If you are unable to attend a class for a valid reason (eg: illness), please
contact your Module Tutor/ Practice Team
Anglia Ruskin will closely monitor the attendance of all students and will contact you by e-mail if you
have been absent without notice for two weeks. Continued absence can result in various consequences
including the termination of your registration as you will be considered to have withdrawn from your
studies.
International students who are non-EEA nationals and in possession of entry clearance/leave to remain
as a student (student visa) are required to be in regular attendance at Anglia Ruskin. Failure to do so is
considered to be a breach of national immigration regulations. Anglia Ruskin, like all British Universities,
is statutorily obliged to inform the UK Border Agency of the Home Office of significant unauthorised
absences by any student visa holders.
5. Assessment
5.1
Guidelines for Assessment
This assessment is a Patchwork Text (see appendix) consisting of 4 ‘patches’ which, together, should not
exceed 6,000 words. Try to give equal weight to patches 1-3 (e.g. about 1,700 words. Patch 4 need not be
as long as the other three.
Patch 1
Communication. Explain the importance of good communication skills in social work. Outline why it is
important to understand different types of communication. Lastly, discuss barriers to communication that
might exist between social workers and service users and suggest ways or methods of overcoming these
barriers in practice. Support your discussion with evidence of relevant reading.
Patch 2
Choose two key theories, one from human development (e.g. ‘attachment’ or ‘loss’) and one from social
work theories/models/interventions (e.g. ‘strengths perspective’, ‘task-centred approach’ or ‘systems
theory’). For each, using references to support your discussion, outline key aspects of the theory and
explain how that theory might be applied appropriately to a practice situation.
Patch 3
Observation. Briefly explain the principles of good observation in social work. From the video of a social
work situation discuss your observations in line with the specific guidelines provided.
Patch 4
‘Stitching it all together’. Reflect on what you believe are the key concepts/points of learning from patches
1, 2 and 3, that assist your professional development as a social worker. In particular, how has what you
have learned help you, as a social worker, work effectively with service users?
Exceeding the word limit will result in a loss of marks – see Academic Regulations.
All coursework assignments and other forms of assessment must be submitted by the published deadline
which is detailed below. It is your responsibility to know when work is due to be submitted – ignorance of
the deadline date will not be accepted as a reason for late or non-submission.
The assignment hand-in date is 13th May 2013
6
You are required to submit your final assignment via Turnitin GradeMark
For this module you are required to submit your summative assessment (for your written assignment) via
GradeMark.
To check your draft (formative) assignment there will be a class section called ‘Check Originality Report’
(COR) set up in your Turnitin account. You will be able to submit to the Check Originality Report
section as many times as you wish and it will be available throughout your studies. This resource
is also a useful tool to share with your module leader or tutor. You can download your originality report
as a PDF file and email it to your tutor, print the originality report and bring it to the tutorial, or log into
Turnitin whilst in the tutorial to show and discuss your work.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
YOU ONLY HAVE ONE OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT YOUR SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT TO YOUR
MODULE CLASS.
On the class page is the start date, the due date and time for your assignment and the date that your
results will be available. Please remember that you must submit your assignment before the cut off time
on your due date, leaving submission to the last minute is not recommended. This time is Greenwich
Mean Time (GMT) adjusted for daylight savings, so please work out, in advance, your local time
difference.
If you upload your draft work by mistake to your summative module class, this will not be removed. If
you submit your summative assessment to the COR class, it will viewed as a non-submission and
recorded as a fail. Neither are subject to mitigation or academic appeal.
If you are not successful in your first attempt and are required to resubmit, any subsequent
submissions are also to be electronically submitted via Turnitin GradeMark and a new
assignment class will be set up for you to use.
More detailed information on using Turnitin Grademark is available on the Faculty’s VLE, at
https://vle.anglia.ac.uk/sites/2012/grademark
All student work which contributes to the eventual outcome of the module (i.e.: if it determines whether
you will pass or fail the module and counts towards the mark you achieve for the module) is submitted
either via the iCentre using the formal submission sheet, or electronically by up loading a file, or face to
face following a presentation (this is not an exhaustive list please check with your module leader for local
variation). Academic staff CANNOT accept work directly from you.
Any late work submitted (after 5pm GMT) in person, electronically or by post will NOT be accepted and
a mark of zero will be awarded for the assessment task in question. Any work submitted to the wrong
section of Turnitin GradeMark will ALSO be seen as a non submission and be given a mark of zero.
You are requested to keep a copy of your work.
Feedback
You are entitled to feedback on your performance for all your assessed work. For all assessment tasks
which are not examinations, this is provided by a member of academic staff completing either the
assignment coversheet or electronically on which your mark and feedback will relate to the achievement
of the module’s intended learning outcomes and the assessment criteria you were given for the task
when it was first issued.
Examination scripts are retained by Anglia Ruskin and are not returned to students. However, you are
entitled to feedback on your performance in an examination and may request a meeting with the Module
Leader or Tutor to see your examination script and to discuss your performance.
Anglia Ruskin is committed to providing you with feedback on all assessed work within 20 working days
of the submission deadline or the date of an examination. This is extended to 30 days for feedback for a
Major Project module (please note that working days excludes those days when Anglia Ruskin University
7
is officially closed; eg: between Christmas and New Year). Personal tutors will offer to read feedback
from several modules and help you to address any common themes that may be emerging.
At the main Anglia Ruskin University campuses, each Faculty will publish details of the arrangement for
the return of your assessed work (eg: a marked essay or case study etc.). Any work which is not
collected by you from the Faculty within this timeframe is returned to the iCentres from where you can
subsequently collect it. The iCentres retain student work for a specified period prior to its disposal. If
you are submitting via Turnitin GradeMark, then your essay, mark, and markers comment will stay within
your account for one academic year.
On occasion, you will receive feedback and marks for pieces of work that you completed in the earlier
stages of the module. We provide you with this feedback as part of the learning experience and to help
you prepare for other assessment tasks that you have still to complete. It is important to note that, in
these cases, the marks for these pieces of work are unconfirmed. This means that, potentially,
marks can change, in either direction!
Marks for modules and individual pieces of work become confirmed on the Dates for the Official
Publication of Results which can be checked at www.anglia.ac.uk/results.
6. How is My Work Marked?
After you have handed your work in or you have completed an examination, Anglia Ruskin undertakes a
series of activities to assure that our marking processes are comparable with those employed at other
universities in the UK and that your work has been marked fairly and honestly. These include:

Anonymous marking – your name is not attached to your work so, at the point of marking, the
lecturer does not know whose work he/she is considering. When you undertake an assessment task
where your identity is known (e.g.: a presentation or Major Project), it is marked by more than one
lecturer (known as double marking)

Internal moderation – a sample of all work for each assessment task in each module is moderated
by other Anglia Ruskin staff to check the marking standards and consistency of the marking

External moderation – a sample of student work for all modules is moderated by external
examiners – experienced academic staff from other universities (and sometimes practitioners who
represent relevant professions) - who scrutinise your work and provide Anglia Ruskin academic staff
with feedback, advice and assurance that the marking of your work is comparable to that in other UK
universities. Many of Anglia Ruskin’s staff act as external examiners at other universities.

Departmental Assessment Panel (DAP) – performance by all students on all modules is discussed
and approved at the appropriate DAPs which are attended by all relevant Module Leaders and
external examiners. Anglia Ruskin has over 25 DAPs to cover all the different subjects we teach.
This module falls within the remit of the FHSCE DAP. The following external examiners are
appointed to this DAP and will oversee the assessment of this and other modules within the DAP’s
remit:
External Examiner’s Name
Paul Hollingdale
Academic Institution
University of Huddersfield
Position or Employer
Senior Lecturer
The above list is correct at the time of publication. However, external examiners are appointed at
various points throughout the year. An up-to-date list of external examiners is available to internal
browsers only at www.anglia.ac.uk/eeinfo. Anglia Ruskin’s marking process is represented in the
flowchart below:
8
Student submits
work / sits
examination
Work collated and passed to
Module Leader
Work is marked by Module
Leader and Module Tutor(s)1. All
marks collated by Module Leader
for ALL locations2
Internal moderation samples
selected. Moderation undertaken
by a second academic3
Any issues?
YES
NO
Students receive
initial (unconfirmed)
feedback
Unconfirmed marks and feedback
to students within 20 working
days (30 working days for Major
Projects)
External Moderation Stage
Internal Moderation Stage
Marking Stage
Flowchart of Anglia Ruskin’s Marking Processes
External moderation samples
selected and moderated by
External Examiners4
Any issues?
YES
NO
DAP4 Stage
Marks submitted to DAP5 for
consideration and approval
1
2
3
4
5
Confirmed marks
issued to students
via e-Vision
Marks Approved by DAP5 and
forwarded to Awards Board
All work is marked anonymously or double marked where identity of the student is known (e.g.: in a presentation)
The internal (and external) moderation process compares work from all locations where the module is delivered
(e.g.: Cambridge, Chelmsford, Peterborough, Malaysia, India, Trinidad etc.)
The sample for the internal moderation process comprises a minimum of eight pieces of work or 10% (whichever
is the greater) for each marker and covers the full range of marks
Only modules at levels 5, 6 and 7 are subject to external moderation (unless required for separate reasons). The
sample for the external moderation process comprises a minimum of eight pieces of work or 10% (whichever is
the greater) for the entire module and covers the full range of marks
DAP: Departmental Assessment Panel – Anglia Ruskin has over 25 different DAPs to reflect our subject coverage
9
7. Assessment Criteria and Marking Standards
ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY GENERIC ASSESSMENT CRITERIA AND MARKING STANDARDS
LEVEL 4 (was level 1)
Level 4 introduces students to HE. Students are expected to demonstrate relevant skills and competencies; to be articulate in
expressing ideas orally; and to be coherent and structured in terms of written or other media. Forms of expression at this level may be
descriptive or imitative, but students are expected to demonstrate an increasing understanding of the theoretical background of their
study and the analytic competence to explore it, as well as its relationship, where appropriate, to particular skills. Students are expected
to develop an awareness of strengths and weaknesses in their skill sets
Generic Learning Outcomes (GLOs) (Academic Regulations, Section 2)
Mark Bands
Outcome
Knowledge & Understanding
Exceptional information base exploring and analysing the
discipline, its theory and ethical issues with extraordinary
originality.
Exceptional management of learning resources,
complemented by assured self-direction/exploration.
Exceptional structure/accurate expression. Demonstrates
intellectual originality and imagination. Exceptional
practical/professional skills.
Outstanding information base exploring and analysing the
discipline, its theory and ethical issues with clear originality
Outstanding management of learning resources,
complemented by assured self-direction/exploration. An
exemplar of structured/accurate expression. Demonstrates
intellectual originality and imagination. Outstanding
practical/professional skills
Excellent information base, exploring and analysing the
discipline, its theory and ethical issues with considerable
originality.
Excellent management of learning resources,
complemented by self-direction/exploration. Structured/
accurate expression. Very good academic/intellectual and
team/practical/professional skills
60-69%
Good information base; explores and analyses the
discipline, its theory and ethical issues with some
originality
Good management of learning resources with some selfdirection. Structured and mainly accurate expression.
Good academic/intellectual skills and team/practical/
professional skills
50-59%
Satisfactory information base that begins to explore and
analyse the discipline and its ethical issues but is still
mainly imitative
Satisfactory use of learning resources and input to team
work. Some lack of structure/accuracy in expression.
Acceptable academic/intellectual skills and satisfactory
practical/professional skills
40-49%
A marginal pass in
module outcome(s)
related to GLO at this
level
Basic information base; omissions in understanding of
major/ethical issues. Largely imitative
Basic use of learning resources with no self-direction.
Some input to team work. Some difficulty with structure
and accuracy in expression. Some difficulties with
academic/intellectual skills and developing practical/
professional skills
30-39%
A marginal fail in
module outcome(s)
related to GLO at this
level. Possible
compensation. Satisfies qualifying mark
Limited information base; limited understanding of
discipline and its ethical dimension
Limited use of learning resources. No self-direction, little
input to team work and difficulty with structure/accuracy in
expression. Weak academic/intellectual skills.
Practical/professional skills are not yet secure
Little evidence of an information base. Little evidence of
understanding of discipline and its ethical dimension.
Little evidence of use of learning resources. No selfdirection, with little evidence of contribution to team work.
Very weak academic/intellectual skills and significant
difficulties with structure/expression. Little evidence of
practical/professional skills
Inadequate information base. Inadequate understanding
of discipline and its ethical dimension.
Inadequate use of learning resources. No attempt at selfdirection with inadequate contribution to team work. Very
weak academic/intellectual skills and major difficulty with
structure/expression. Inadequate practical/professional
skills
No evidence of any information base. No understanding of
discipline and its ethical dimension.
No evidence of use of learning resources of understanding
of self-direction with no evidence of contribution to team
work. No evidence academic/intellectual skills and
incoherent structure/ expression. No evidence of practical/
professional skills
90-100%
80-89%
70-79%
Characteristics of Student Achievement by Marking Band
Intellectual (thinking), Practical,
Affective and Transferable Skills
Achieves module
outcome(s) related to
GLO at this level
20-29%
10-19%
1-9%
0%
Fails to achieve
module outcome(s)
related to this GLO.
Qualifying mark not
satisfied. No
compensation
available
Awarded for: (i) non-submission; (ii) dangerous practice and; (iii) in situations where the student fails to address the
assignment brief (e.g.: answers the wrong question) and/or related learning outcomes
10
8. Assessment Offences
As an academic community, we recognise that the principles of truth, honesty and mutual respect are
central to the pursuit of knowledge. Behaviour that undermines those principles diminishes the
community, both individually and collectively, and diminishes our values. We are committed to ensuring
that every student and member of staff is made aware of the responsibilities s/he bears in maintaining
the highest standards of academic integrity and how those standards are protected.
You are reminded that any work that you submit must be your own. When you are preparing your work
for submission, it is important that you understand the various academic conventions that you are
expected to follow in order to make sure that you do not leave yourself open to accusations of plagiarism
(eg: the correct use of referencing, citations, footnotes etc.) and that your work maintains its academic
integrity.
Definitions of Assessment Offences
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is theft and occurs when you present someone else’s work, words, images, ideas, opinions or
discoveries, whether published or not, as your own. It is also when you take the artwork, images or
computer-generated work of others, without properly acknowledging where this is from or you do this
without their permission.
You can commit plagiarism in examinations, but it is most likely to happen in coursework, assignments,
portfolios, essays, dissertations and so on.
Examples of plagiarism include:




directly copying from written work, physical work, performances, recorded work or images, without
saying where this is from;
using information from the internet or electronic media (such as DVDs and CDs) which belongs to
someone else, and presenting it as your own;
rewording someone else’s work, without referencing them; and
handing in something for assessment which has been produced by another student or person.
It is important that you do not plagiarise – intentionally or unintentionally – because the work of others
and their ideas are their own. There are benefits to producing original ideas in terms of awards, prizes,
qualifications, reputation and so on. To use someone else’s work, words, images, ideas or discoveries is
a form of theft.
Collusion
Collusion is similar to plagiarism as it is an attempt to present another’s work as your own. In plagiarism
the original owner of the work is not aware you are using it, in collusion two or more people may be
involved in trying to produce one piece of work to benefit one individual, or plagiarising another person’s
work.
Examples of collusion include:






agreeing with others to cheat;
getting someone else to produce part or all of your work;
copying the work of another person (with their permission);
submitting work from essay banks;
paying someone to produce work for you; and
allowing another student to copy your own work.
11
Many parts of university life need students to work together. Working as a team, as directed by your
tutor, and producing group work is not collusion. Collusion only happens if you produce joint work to
benefit of one or more person and try to deceive another (for example the assessor).
Cheating
Cheating is when someone aims to get unfair advantage over others.
Examples of cheating include:







taking unauthorised material into the examination room;
inventing results (including experiments, research, interviews and observations);
handing your own previously graded work back in;
getting an examination paper before it is released;
behaving in a way that means other students perform poorly;
pretending to be another student; and
trying to bribe members of staff or examiners.
Help to Avoid Assessment Offences
Most of our students are honest and want to avoid making assessment offences. We have a variety of
resources, advice and guidance available to help make sure you can develop good academic skills. We
will make sure that we make available consistent statements about what we expect. You will be able to
do tutorials on being honest in your work from the library and other central support services and
faculties, and you will be able to test your written work for plagiarism using ‘Turnitin®UK’ (a software
package that detects plagiarism).
You can get advice on how to honestly use the work of others in your own work from the library website
(www.libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/referencing.htm) and your lecturer and personal tutor.
You will be able to use ‘Turnitin®UK’, a special software package which is used to detect plagiarism.
Turnitin®UK will produce a report which clearly shows if passages in your work have been taken from
somewhere else. You may talk about this with your personal tutor to see where you may need to
improve your academic practice. We will not see these formative Turnitin®UK reports as assessment
offences. However when submitting the summative assessed work via Turnitin GradeMark, the
results of the report will be part of the written feedback.
If you are not sure whether the way you are working meets our requirements, you should talk to your
personal tutor, module tutor or other member of academic staff. They will be able to help you and tell
you about other resources which will help you develop your academic skills.
Procedures for assessment offences
An assessment offence is the general term used to define cases where a student has tried to get unfair
academic advantage in an assessment for himself or herself or another student.
We will fully investigate all cases of suspected assessment offences. If we prove that you have
committed an assessment offence, an appropriate penalty will be imposed which, for the most serious
offences, includes expulsion from Anglia Ruskin. For full details of our assessment offences policy and
procedures, see the Academic Regulations, section 10 at: www.anglia.ac.uk/academicregs
To see an expanded version of this guidance which provides more information on how to avoid
assessment offences, visit www.anglia.ac.uk/honesty.
12
9. Learning Resources
9.1. Library
Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education
libteam.fhsce@anglia.ac.uk
Recommended Texts
Communication
Egan, G., 2009. The Skilled Helper (9th edition). Andover: Wadsworth Publishing.
Hill, A., 2010. Working in Statutory Contexts, Cambridge: Polity.
Koprowska, J., 2010. Communication and Interpersonal Skills (3rd edition), Exeter: Learning
Matters.
Lishman, J., 2009. Communication in Social Work (2nd edition) Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Moss, B., 2012. Communication Skills for Health and Social Care, (2nd edition) London: Sage.
Human Growth and Development
Beckett, C. and Taylor, H., 2010. Human Growth and Development. (2nd edition). London:
Sage.
Crawford, K. and Walker, J., 2010. Social Work and Human Development. (3rd edition), Exeter:
Learning Matters
Sudbery, J., 2010. Human Growth and Development; an introduction for social workers,
London: Routledge.
Reflective Practice
Howe, D., 2005.The Emotionally Intelligent Social Worker: Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Knott, C. and Scragg, T., 2010. (Eds) Reflective Practice in Social Work (2nd edition), Exeter:
Learning Matters.
Social Work Theories
Beckett, C., 2006. Essential Theory for Social Work Practice. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
Coulshed, V. and Orme, J., 2006. Social Work Practice. 4th edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Howe, D., 2009. A Brief Introduction to Social Work Theory. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Oko, J., 2011. Understanding and Using Theory in Social Work, Exeter: learning Matters.
Payne, M., 2005. Modern Social Work Theory. 3rd edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Sheldon, B. and Macdonald, G., 2009. A Textbook of Social Work. Abingdon: Routledge.
Stepney, P. and Ford, D., 2000. Social Work Models, Methods and Theories. Dorset: Russell
House Publishing Ltd.
Teater, B., 2010. An Introduction to Applying Social Work Theories and Methods. Maidenhead:
Open University Press.
Trevithick, P., 2005. Social Work Skills: A Practice Handbook. 2nd edition. Berkshire: Open
University Press.
9.2. Other Resources
College of Social Work
Social Care Institute of Excellence
www.collegeofsocialwork.org/
www.scie.org.uk/
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10. Module Evaluation
During the second half of the delivery of this module, you will be asked to complete a module evaluation
questionnaire to help us obtain your views on all aspects of the module.
This is an extremely important process which helps us to continue to improve the delivery of the module
in the future and to respond to issues that you bring to our attention. The module report in section 11 of
this module guide includes a section which comments on the feedback we received from other students
who have studied this module previously.
Your questionnaire response is anonymous.
Please help us to help you and other students at Anglia Ruskin by completing the Module Evaluation
process. We very much value our students’ views and it is very important to us that you provide
feedback to help us make improvements.
In addition to the Module Evaluation process, you can send any comment on anything related to your
experience at Anglia Ruskin to tellus@anglia.ac.uk at any time.
11. Report on Last Delivery of Module
MODULE REPORT FORM
Module Code and Title: Social Work Theories and their Application to practice
Location(s) of Delivery: Cambridge and Chelmsford
Academic Year: 2011/12
Enrolment Numbers 110 across Cambridge; Chelmsford and Peterborough
Module Leader: Peter Scourfield
Other Module Tutors: Paula Sobiewchowska (Chelmsford) Pat Curtis (Peterborough)
Student Achievement
Passes 106 Fails 4
Feedback from Students
Students were generally pleased with the way that this module was delivered and could see its
relevance to practice. However the biggest cause of complaints was over not being offered a
suitable observation placement in reasonable time. This led to many students, particularly in
Chelmsford, needing to ask for extensions which delayed their completion of this module.
Module Leader Reflection on Delivery of the Module, including Response to Feedback
from Students
The single biggest problem with this module was in trying to find all the students suitable
observation placements during the course of the module. In the event, a number of students,
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across all three delivery sites, did not complete the observation placement until after the module
hand-in deadline. Whilst, real life observation placements can be a very useful learning
experience in social work, it was decided between module tutors, administrators and the
practice learning team that, given the significant problem with delays in finding placements and
with the variable quality of some of the placements, the observation placement element should
be reconsidered in order to avoid similar problems in future deliveries. In order to fulfil the
observation element, the students will be shown videos of real life social work situations (for
example, the BBC’s highly rated Protecting Our Children programme) and asked to write about
their observations of the practice shown.
External Examiner’s Comments
A module, that clearly provides opportunity for students to apply theory and reflection from
observations in placement settings
Most of the students work I have seen, show a good appreciation of the ‘fit’ between practice
and theory
Very important as we know from the Reform Board that students are introduced to a variety of
methods for intervention, it appears that this module addresses this need
Markers provide a range of very helpful feedback, identifying areas achieved well and areas to
develop
Recommended marks (feedback) congruent with marking criteria?
A lot to cover in one essay, albeit ,most do so very well
Full range of marks have been used, albeit upper 80 plus to be considered?
Paul Hollingdale 12th June 2012
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Appendix
Patchwork Text: Alternative to the essay
Regular writing tasks would aid learning far better than the last-minute essay
Richard Winter, The Guardian, Tuesday 10 June 2003
It's time we found an alternative to the student essay. For tutors across the country, it's marking time
again and, reading essays, we realise that many of our students have yet again taken refuge in "surface
learning". Failing to assimilate the significance of our courses into their understandings they produce
instead what they think the tutor wants; a despairing and deceptive ritual, a superficial imitation of the
outward form of learning, rather than the real thing.
The problems with the conventional essay are as follows.
First, it has to be undertaken at the end of the course, when only a few weeks remain before the
assignment deadline. This time pressure makes it difficult for students not only to create their own sense
of the relationships between a variety of new ideas, but to embody this new understanding in a written
text. So, lacking sufficient time, they panic.
Second, given this postponement of the writing task, teaching staff only become aware of students who
are having difficulties when time is short - a problem frequently made worse because such students
often keep a low profile and hope for the best.
Third, in order to maximise the time available to do the essay, students focus on earlier topics in the
course and attendance at later sessions drops off precisely when the overall structure of course content
may start to become clearer.
Fourth, the essay requires a specific style of writing, and, for many students, this style is difficult and
alien, especially those returning to formal learning after a substantial break and those who are firstgeneration participants in higher education. The essay thus disenfranchises students who may be quite
capable of embodying their understanding of ideas in other genres and styles, but are not given the
opportunity of doing so.
Finally, the essay requires the student to adopt the (essentially unrealistic) stance of one who has now,
after just a few weeks' teaching, “mastered” a new topic. The essay presents learning as an authoritative
“product”, rather than the gradual process by which new learning is assimilated, through reading,
discussion and personal reflection.
The essay is the source of the problem - but what would real learning look like?
A group of staff based at Anglia Polytechnic University and including colleagues at Nottingham Trent,
the Open University and Cambridge, have just completed a research project in which we substituted a
"patchwork text" assignment format for the conventional academic essay.
The key feature of the patchwork text assignment is that it consists of a carefully structured series of
short pieces of writing, carried out at regular intervals throughout the course - typically over a term or
semester.
These small-scale writing tasks are varied in style and genre. They may include, for example, a critique
of an article, a set of notes on a lecture together with a commentary, detailed and analytical accounts of
personal experiences (a visit, field trip, interview, classroom activity), a poster representation of the
relationship between key ideas, a project proposal and even (with some topics) a poem or a fictional
story.
Each piece of writing is shared with other students in small working groups of four or five, as the tutor
circulates between the groups, noting the discussions.
When the teaching sessions are completed, students submit an overall assignment consisting of their
collection of short pieces (edited and perhaps amended) together with a final retrospective commentary.
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In this they review the relationship between the separate pieces and describe where they feel they now
stand in relation to the ideas of the course. In this way they “stitch the patches together”. Each of these
features of the patchwork text explicitly addresses the problems of the academic essay noted above.
And the experience of our research project is that almost all students who have undertaken this
assignment format experienced very high morale, and a satisfying (and often unprecedented) sense of
ownership of their learning.
Moreover, in one detailed comparison of two cohorts of students, using intellectual criteria derived from
the essay format, students writing patchwork texts scored better than students writing essays, according
to some criteria, and no worse according to any of them. There were fewer failures and fewer marginal
passes.
And although the best students did well in all the varied writing tasks, the weaker students did better in
some than others, suggesting the patchwork text has a genuine potential for widening access to higher
education success.
Things are not quite so simple, of course, but this feels like a start.
Richard Winter is professor of education at Anglia Polytechnic University.
Scoggins J. and R. Winter 1999 The Patchwork Text: a coursework format for education as critical
understanding, Teaching in Higher Education Vol.4, No. 4, 485-499.
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