Syllabus
ASCK100133 Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare
Teachers: Mgr. Daniel Štěpánek, PhD., PhDr. Melanie Zajacová, Ph.D., LL.M.
Compulsory elective course
Attestation: exam.
Number of credits: 3
Social policy and social work contribute to processes of societal integration and disintegration in modern welfare states. The course aims to introduce core social issues and concerns in the Czech Republic which are closely associated with social work. The course will explore theories and concepts related to social exclusion and integration, legal concerns and bring examples of practical applications to be analysed and discussed by the course participants. Between covered topics will be discussed: a) Contemporary concepts of welfareness and their consequences for different conceptualizations of welfare state, histories of these and discussions that were and still are surrounding them. b) Varieties of criticism towards neoliberalism and managerialism of social work and their conseuqeunces on development of SW approaches. c) Community social work as expression of reformist approach towards managerialist form of working with clients. Feminist, ethnic and critical SW methods. d) Contemporary social policies and their influences on welfareness in Czech Republic.
The course will be taught in the form of interactive seminars where current field resources will be analysed. Students will choose a text (article, book chapter) to study and present to the other students according to their professional focus. In the subsequent structured discussion, the student will first respond to questions from colleagues and in the second part, the group will analyse the text in the context of contemporary Czech experience. Texts of the students' choice in consultation with the instructor, available on the UK electronic resources.
Course requirements:
In LMS Moodle, the students are required to submit a seminar paper and a presentation on a specific topic corresponding to the course content, active participation in teaching blocks.
Grade (Points: 100-91 A, 90-81 B, 80-71 C, 70-61 D, 60-51 E, 50 and less D):
· Attendance with active participation (min. participation in 5 blocks): 50 points
· Individual presentation on selected text (article, book chapter): 50 points
Required reading:
Pease B. et al. (2016). Doing Critical Social Work. Allen Unwin.
The journal Czech and Slovak Social Work (English issues) https://socialniprace.cz/en
Glumbíková, K. Non-Normative Use Of Reflexivity In Social Work With Families In The Czech Republic, The British Journal Of Social Work, Volume 51, Issue 2, March 2021, Pages 583–599, Https://Doi.Org/10.1093/Bjsw/Bcaa201
Janebová, R. (2022). Loïc Wacquant, the concept of the ‘Centaur state and social work: The case of the Czech Republic. European Journal of Social Work, 25(1), 4-14.
International Federation of Social Workers. (2022). Global definition of social work. Available: https://www.ifsw.org/what-is-social-work/global-definition-of-social-work/
Navrátilová, J. & Navrátil, P. (2021). The concept of professional identity in selected approaches to the education of social workers. In Sajid, S.M., Baikady, R., Sheng-Li, C., Sakaguchi, H. The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Work Education. 1st. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 133-150. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39966-5_9
Recommended reading:
Glumbíková, K., Vávrová, S., & Gojová, A. (2018). The critical reflexivity of field social workers who are working with families: recommendations for the educational process. In: Conference on education and new developments 2018: Education and New Developments 2018 2018- 06-23Budapešť (pp. 279–283), Lisbon, in Science Press. [Google Scholar]
Navrátil, P. (2014). Participation and child protection: conceptualization. In International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference on Social Sciences and Arts. 1st. Sofia, Bulgaria: SGEM2014. p. 607-614. http://dx.doi.org/10.5593/sgemsocial2014B12
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Annotation
The aim of the course is to strengthen the students' competences to perform social work with English-speaking clients and at the same time to place the acquired knowledge in an international framework. The course will be taught in the form of interactive seminars in which actual resources from the field will be analyzed. Students will choose a text (article, book chapter) to study and present to other students according to their area of expertise. In the subsequent structured discussion, the student will first respond to the questions of colleagues and in the second part the group will analyse the text in the context of the contemporary Czech experience.
Students will gain knowledge according to the texts they have currently analysed. Students will be able to find a current source in English, study it, prepare a presentation for the other students and then answer their questions. They will be able to put the knowledge from the text into the Czech context. Verification will be student's presentations and their reactions in the discussion. Due to the nature of the seminar, attendance will be monitored.
