California State University, Bakersfield
Department of Social Work
SW 620 Advanced Human Behavior in the Social Environment
Fall, 2006
Instructor: Jong Choi, Ph.D. Office: A112, DDH
Phone: 654-2390 Email:
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 2:00 – 5:00
Other hours by appointments
Course Description
SW 620 critically evaluates how the cultures of human groups, organizations, and communities contribute to the life issues that social workers confront everyday. Further, the course emphasizes the application and integration of contemporary theory and research on multiple dimensions of social behavior in human groups of all sizes. Focus is placed on the ways culture affects empowerment issues, ideas about social and economic justice, values and how understanding culture can improve advocacy for non-majority culture groups, communities and organizations within the larger society. Regardless of practice concentration, groups, organizations, and communities are integral parts of social workers’ relationships with clients. Therefore, it is essential that social workers have the ability to effectively assess and intervene with and within all these systems.
Objectives
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. Critically assess macro social work practice issues associated with organizations and communities from multiple theoretical perspectives.
2. Identify and articulate the boundaries of communities and organizations and understand how these groups operate to influence people in their social environment.
3. Critically analyze power arrangements and the processes of oppression, poverty, discrimination and privilege in the physical environment, social institutions and social structure, formal organizations, communities, and small groups, with particular attention to vulnerable or disenfranchised segments of American society.
4. Identify implications of contemporary theory and research about the multiple dimensions of person and environment involved in human behavior for social work practice at the macro level of practice.
5. Critically apply selected social science theories, models and concepts to multiple dimensions of environment, including the physical environment, social institutions and social structure, social movements, formal organizations, communities, and small groups.
6. Access resources, interpret data and demonstrate an understanding of variations in communities based on demographics, social class, ethnicity, economic, and political processes.
7. Demonstrate an ability to interact constructively with fellow learners in relation to group process utilizing self-analysis and self-awareness as well as communication skills learned in practice courses.
8. Apply knowledge and macro skills to implement social change in communities, groups and/or organizations.
9. Critically evaluate the value and ethical dilemmas associated with social work macro practice.
Methods to Attain Objectives
Objectives will be attained through class discussions, group project, group presentations, and written papers. Class sessions will include lectures, videos, guest speakers, and other forms of experiential learning. Class times will be most productive if each student is prepared. Please bring your texts to class so we can refer to them.
Texts
Johnson, M. M. & Rhodes, R. (2005). Human Behavior and the Larger Social
Environment: A New Synthesis. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Long, D. D. & Holle, M. C. (2006). Macro Systems in the Social Environment (2nd ed.).
Australia: Brooks/Cole.
Course Requirements, Evaluations, Grading
· Reading Assignments: Students must complete all assigned readings before coming to class. Readings for each class are outlined below.
· Participation: Students are expected to read all assigned material in advance, to arrive in class on time, to be prepared to participate in discussions, and to remain for the entire scheduled period. Students will be given up to 100 points for participation.
· Attendance: Regular class attendance is required for all students. Unexcused absences are not permitted. If a student is unable to attend all or part of any class, he/she should notify the instructor in advance or as soon as possible. A student who misses three or more classes for any reason may be subject to Student Advisement. (See Handbook for students, advisors, and field instructors). Students will be given up to five points for participation in each class session. If absent, then no points can be awarded. If student is more than fifteen minutes late or leaves fifteen minutes early then no points will be awarded for participation.
· Reflection papers: Students will write three reflection papers which will each be scored up to 50 points. The papers will be due on September 21st, October 5th, and October 19th. Instructions are listed below under Guidelines for Reflection Papers.
· Paper on Community Influence: Students will write a paper discussing the influence of their community of origin on their childhood development. Instructions for writing this paper are given below under Guidelines for Paper on Community Influence. The paper will be scored up to 150 points and is due on November 16th.
· Group Presentation: Students will be divided into groups of three and will present to the class information they have learned about the effect of certain environmental influences on a person in a specific psychosocial stage of development. More detailed instructions are given below under Guidelines for Group Presentation. The presentation will be scored up to 100 points.
· Grading: The final grade will be determined in the following manner:
o 3 reflection papers (50 points each) 150 points
o Paper on community influence 150 points
o Group presentation 100 points
o Attendance/Participation 100 points
o Total points possible 500 points
A= 450-500 points (90-100%)
B= 400-449 points (80-89%)
C= 350-399 points (70-79%)
D= 300-349 points (60-69%)
F= under 299 points (0-59%)
Guidelines for Reflection Papers
Reflection papers are a vehicle to help the student apply course material to real world issues. Students are expected to use critical thinking skills, self-analysis, and information from the texts, other readings, videos, guest speakers, and class discussions. Students who have difficulty in written expression are expected to seek assistance from the Oasis Center on campus and may be given a referral.
o After reading the first two chapters in Macro Systems in the Social Environment, hearing the lectures from week 1, reflecting on information you learned in SW 520, and viewing the video, Safe from the Start, discuss the macro systems that would be present in the ideal world to address the needs of infants and toddlers and their families. This paper should be three to five pages in length and will be worth 50 points.
o After viewing the video, Legacy, discuss the community influences on the family depicted in this documentary. Consider institutions, and conditions such as poverty, race, racism, violence, substance abuse, socioeconomic status, schools, churches, social programs, individual mentors, as well as more complex influences such as self image, self efficacy, self direction, and family cohesion and vision. Pay particular attention to the issue of resilience and the risk and protective factors associated with this family. This paper should be four to six pages in length and will be worth 50 points.
o After viewing the video, Roger and Me, discuss the impact corporations have on the community, families, and individuals. Discuss how communities attempt to respond to radical changes created by corporations and determine if there are ways communities can prevent what happens when corporations make decisions that are solely for the benefit of the organization. This paper should be four to six pages in length and will be worth 50 points.
Guidelines for Paper on Community Influence
Using the information that you have learned about child development, family systems, and organizations and communities, discuss your community of origin and its influence on your family and on you as a child growing up. Perhaps you lived in a number of communities. Pick one or two that you remember well and/or that influenced you the most. Perhaps your family was part of a community within the larger community such as an upper middle class suburb or a neighborhood of recent immigrants within a large city.
· Was the community urban or rural? What was the population size and density?
· Was your community heterogeneous or diverse? Describe its ethnic and racial make-up.
· Was your community economically healthy? What was the socio-economic make-up of its members? Low income? Middle class? A wide spectrum of incomes? Where did your family fall on the spectrum?
· What kind of school(s) did you attend? Was it public or private? Academically strong or weak? Small or large? Were most students college bound or did most eventually drop out?
· What church, if any, did you attend? Describe some of the customs and tenets that were most influential in your life.
· With what other institutions in your community were you and/or your family involved?
· Were services (e.g. health care, transportation, day care) easily available in your community? What kinds of services did your family need? Were these services sufficient to meet your family’s needs?
· Did your community have certain values and customs that were specific to that community? If so, how did these values and customs influence you?
· In summary what are the major influences your community had on your childhood and/or your adolescence? You may talk about your growing up years in general or pick some particular stage in your development to discuss.
Guidelines for Group Presentation
Divide into groups of about three students. Interview two or three persons of different ages and developmental levels who have experienced some condition or situation that has impacted their lives such as homelessness, poverty, physical disability, learning disability, rural isolation, multiple foster placements, substance abuse, violence/abuse, dementia, divorce, immigration, biculturalism, teen pregnancy, death of a family member, mental illness, illiteracy, unemployment, serious physical illness, racism or other forms of discrimination etc. You will also interview at least one person whose agency or organization seeks to address the issues faced by your chosen population. Your group will present your findings to the class in weeks nine and ten. The presentations should be about 20 to 30 minutes in length and may use PowerPoint and/or other audio visual materials.
· The objective of this assignment is to learn as much as you can, as a small group, about the effect of certain environmental influences on persons in a specific psychosocial stage of development.
· Choose one or two developmental theories that you learned in SW 520 (e.g. Erikson, Piaget, Kohlberg, Gilligan, and Fowler) and use them to explain the impact of environmental issues on your chosen population.
· Determine what community based activities and organizations impact your chosen population (e.g. special education, DHS or DCFS, Regional Center, City Council, Family Court, Probation, Literacy Council etc.). Interview a person who is involved in one of these organizations and who has some information and/or opinions about the issues facing your chosen population.
· You may choose to conduct your interviews individually rather than as a group. You may also wish to develop a set of questions to be asked of each interviewee.
· Using one of the perspectives discussed in your text, describe the players involved in the lives of your chosen population. What are the subsystems? What are the issues of power, control, and authority? What is the impact of the media? What is the impact of your population’s socioeconomic status? Gender? Ethnicity? Education?
· Rating Sheets: All members of the group will be given rating sheets to rate the other group members’ involvement in the project and their own level of involvement. Rating sheet will be provided before your presentation. This should be handed in after your group delivers their presentation, the day of your presentation.
Academic Honesty
Students are expected to complete their own work without assistance from others (except in the case of group projects). The use of other people’s work will be accompanied by APA (5th ed.) style of references giving the authors full credit for their work. Plagiarism and/or cheating will not be tolerated and will result in severe penalties including the issuance of a grade of F for the class and/or possible expulsion from the program. See the CSUB policy concerning “Academic Integrity” on page 57 and “Student Discipline” beginning on page 91 of the 2003-2005 CSUB Catalog or “The Student Code of Conduct” in the Handbook for MSW students, advisors, and field instructors (located at http://www.csub.edu/Social Work/StudentHandbook.doc).
Student Grievance Procedures
See p. 64 of the Handbook for MSW students, advisors, and field instructors (2004-2005 edition) for information on both appeals and grievances.
General Policies
It is important to follow the course schedule. Arriving late to class and leaving early is disruptive to other students and to the instructor. So, plan your schedule well ahead in order to be in the classroom on time. When you do not attend the class, you miss an integral part of the learning experience provided in the course. Therefore, regular attendance and participation is important. Missing classes for any reason may reduce your overall grade. For the benefit of every student’s learning, behavior appropriate of graduate students is expected. Appropriate and courteous behavior includes being awake for every class, paying attention, not talking to classmates during class, turning off all cell phones and pagers, and not doing work for other classes. The instructors and students are expected to collaboratively work together to complete the course successfully.
Course Outline and Reading Assignments:
I. The Effect of Macro Systems throughout the Life Cycle of the Individual
Week One: September 12 & 14, 2006
· The importance and usefulness of macro systems
· Macro systems and the infant
o Video: Safe From the Start
o Readings: Long and Holle, Chapters 1 & 2
Week Two: September 19 & 21, 2006
· Macro systems and the preschooler
· Macro systems and the school age child
o Video: Color Blind
o Readings: Long and Holle, Chapters 3 & 4
o Assignment Due: Reflection paper #1 on Safe From the Start
Week Three: September 26 & 28, 2005
· Macro systems and the adolescent
· Macro systems and the young adult
o Video: Legacy
o Readings: Long and Holle, Chapters 5 & 6
Week Four: October 3 & 5, 2006
· Macro systems and middle adulthood