Social Work: Practice, Policy and Research

In this social science course, you will learn how social workers in the United States engage in creating change and supporting the resilience of individuals, families and communities in this new era.

Learners will have an opportunity to explore the social work profession, the different roles of social workers in a range of settings, the cross cutting themes that guide social work practice, the history of social work, and current challenges.

Using a social justice lens, learners will reflect on current challenges facing the lives of individuals, families and communities and examine ways to advocate for needed changes.

This course is part of the Social Work: Practice, Policy and Research MicroMasters Program offered by MichiganX. Please note that to complete this program with a MicroMasters certificate, you must be enrolled as a verified learner in all courses in the program by November 30, 2020, and you must complete all assessments by March 29, 2021.

This course focuses on the transactional relationships between people and their social environments.

You will learn social work practice methods to restore, maintain and promote social functioning as it relates to individuals, families, and small groups.

This course integrates content on multiculturalism, diversity, and social justice issues. You will examine social work values and ethics as well as issues of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, religion, and ability as these relate to social work practice.

This course builds off of behavioral and social science theories to inform the practice concepts and skills presented. You will learn how to perform various social work roles (i.e. counselor/clinical social worker, group facilitator, mediator, and advocate), recognizing that these roles must adhere to social work values and ethics. You will learn the importance of developing relationships with clients, colleagues, supervisors, other professionals, and other constituencies. You will learn how to apply skills such as active listening, empathic responding, contracting, and critical and creative thinking in practice.

All phases of the social work practice intervention process (i.e. engagement, assessment, intervention and evaluation) are presented and applied with individuals, families, and small groups.

You will learn how to assess vulnerabilities and strengths in clients' lives that relate to attributes (e.g. ability, age, class, color, culture, ethnicity, family structure, gender {including gender identity and gender expression}, marital status, national origin, race, religion or spirituality, sex, and sexual orientation) as well as situational and environmental factors relevant to the client's social functioning.

You will also learn how to assess risks, barriers, and plan, implement and monitor change strategies and evaluate techniques in order to demonstrate effectiveness.

This course is part of the Social Work: Practice, Policy and Research MicroMasters Program offered by MichiganX. Please note that to complete this program with a MicroMasters certificate, you must be enrolled as a verified learner in all courses in the program by November 30, 2020, and you must complete all assessments by March 29, 2021.

Understand social work research through the critical examination of the methods and organization of the ever-expanding professional literature associated with social work practice.

The field of social work research has experienced considerable growth over the past 25 years. This body of research is an essential source of knowledge for helping understand and solve complex social problems, but utilizing this research effectively requires proper contextualization. This course is intended to help you become an effective consumer of this professional literature by providing the tools necessary to find and comprehend what the research does and, importantly, does not tell us.

This course will cover:

• quantitative and qualitative research methods

• searching procedures to effectively find existing research

• application of research to practice

Be a part of this exciting time for the profession of social work and the opportunity to use this literature to help find solutions to complex social problems. Learn how to understand and appreciate a scientific approach to building and evaluating practice knowledge, and to use research to advocate for clients and inform policy. As you develop these skills, you will be well positioned to make correct use of the existing professional literature.

This course is part of the Social Work: Practice, Policy and Research MicroMasters Program offered by MichiganX. Please note that to complete this program with a MicroMasters certificate, you must be enrolled as a verified learner in all courses in the program by November 30, 2020, and you must complete all assessments by March 29, 2021.

In this social sciences course, you will develop a framework for:

• Engaging diversity and differences in social work practice.
• Advancing human rights and social and economic justice.

We will explore the knowledge base that underlies skills needed to work towards justice. You will learn about types and sources of power, multiple social locations, social constructions, social processes, social identities, conflicts, and how all these interact.

You will develop skills in critical contextual thinking and analyses, and in praxis, learn to use knowledge and theory to recognize and critique underlying assumptions and paradigms and inform working for change.

You will learn how multiple kinds of boundaries are especially important--across groups, between organizations and system levels, and within and between people, related to intersecting social locations.

You will actively explore how societal power and diversity characterize and shape the human experience, and are critical to the formation of social structures, cultural understandings, group and organizational processes, and identities. You will learn how the dimensions of diversity are understood as the intersectionality of multiple factors including: age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, political ideology, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.

You will learn how current experiences of privilege and oppression are shaped by historical forces, societal structures, social constructions, groups, interpersonal processes and human understandings. This includes an understanding of the institutional, organizational, policy, and socio-cultural arrangements that contribute to privilege and oppression. Additionally, this course will explore formulations of human rights, including positive rights, and negative conditions that need to be eradicated.

You will also study how social justice and injustice occur in organizations, institutions, and society, relevant theories that can inform work for justice (e.g., critical race theory, and components of many theories), and how mechanisms of oppression and privilege work (e.g., marginalization, exploitation, violence, cultural hegemony, and powerlessness).

This course is part of the Social Work: Practice, Policy and Research MicroMasters Program offered by MichiganX. Please note that to complete this program with a MicroMasters certificate, you must be enrolled as a verified learner in all courses in the program by November 30, 2020, and you must complete all assessments by March 29, 2021.

In this social science course we will discuss various methods, strategies and skills within macro social work practice, used to help identify and address needs on a larger scale. You will gain knowledge and skills in the areas of community organizing, management, and policy advocacy, and learn about the various roles social workers play within these areas. This course will provide an appreciation of the historical and contemporary importance of these social work methods and the relevance of these methods for diverse populations and identities.

We will focus on:

• understanding the context of macro practice;
• identifying community and organizational interventions to address social needs and problems;
• organizing and building relationships within communities and organizations;
• organization-based and community-based policy making, planning, and program development.

You will also learn concepts and practice skills involving assessment, problem solving and intervention planning at the macro level, and strategies to work effectively with communities and organizations. Content includes reflective practice and utilizing interpersonal skills in macro practice.

This course is part of the Social Work: Practice, Policy and Research MicroMasters Program offered by MichiganX. Please note that to complete this program with a MicroMasters certificate, you must be enrolled as a verified learner in all courses in the program by November 30, 2020, and you must complete all assessments by March 29, 2021.