SOWK-365 Macro Human Behavior in the Social Environment

Please note that this syllabus is intended as an example only. It may not exactly match each session of the class offered.

Instructor: Jeff Bryant, MSW, LCSW

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General Course Description

Course integrates and consolidates theories from prerequisite social, behavioral, and biological sciences courses focusing them on the interaction between people and large systems (organizations, institutions, and communities). Themes include providing basic knowledge about the structure and function of large systems and their impact on people. Attention is given to theories that aid in understanding social network, neighborhood, community, institutions and organizations behavior as they apply to comprehensive assessment of person and environment dynamics. Special emphasis will be placed on learning the importance of recognizing the functions and effects of racial, ethnic and cultural diversity as they relate to macro theories.

Prerequisites/Co-requisites

Admission to the Social Work program or approval of the instructor is recommended.

Academic Course Standards

Criteria from the Council on Social Work Education Curriculum Policy Statement (CSWE C.P.S.) relevant to this course are as follows:

• Social Work Values and Ethics
  • B6.3 Programs of social work education must provide specific knowledge about social work values and their ethical implications and must provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their application in professional practice. Students must be assisted to develop an awareness of their personal values and to clarify conflicting values and ethical dilemmas. Among the values and principles that must be infused throughout every social work curriculum are the following:
    • B6.3.1 Social workers' professional relationships are built on regard for individual worth and dignity and are furthered by mutual participation, acceptance, confidentiality, honesty, and responsible handling of conflict.
    • B6.3.2 Social workers respect people's right to make independent decisions and to participate actively in the helping process.
    • B6.3.3 Social workers are committed to assisting client systems to obtain needed resources.
    • B6.3.4 Social workers strive to make social institutions more humane and responsive to human needs.
    • B6.3.5 Social workers demonstrate respect for and acceptance of the unique characteristics of diverse populations.
    • B6.3.6 Social workers are responsible for their own ethical conduct, the quality of their practice, and seeking continuous growth in the knowledge and skills of their profession.
• Diversity
  • B6.4 Professional social work education is committed to preparing students to understand and appreciate human diversity. Programs must provide curriculum content about differences and similarities in the experiences, needs, and beliefs of people. The curriculum must include content about differential assessment and intervention skills that will enable practitioners to serve diverse populations.
    Each program is required to include content about population groups that are particularly relevant to the program's mission. These groups include, but are not limited to groups distinguished by race, ethnicity, culture, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, physical or mental ability, age, and national origin.
• Promotion of Social and Economic Justice
  • B6.5 Programs of social work education must provide an understanding of the dynamics and consequences of social and economic injustice, including all forms of human oppression and discrimination. They must provide students with the skills to promote social change and to implement a wide range of interventions that further the achievement of individual and collective social and economic justice. Theoretical and practice content must be provided about strategies of intervention for achieving social and economic justice and for combating the causes and effects of institutionalized forms of oppression.
• Populations At Risk
• B6.6 Programs of social work education must present theoretical and practice content about patterns, dynamics, and consequences of discrimination, economic deprivation, and oppression. The curriculum must provide content about people of color, women, and gay and lesbian persons. Such content must emphasize the impact of discrimination, economic deprivation, and oppression upon these groups.
  Each program must include content about populations-at-risk that are particularly relevant to its mission. In addition to those mandated above, such groups include, but are not limited to, those distinguished by age, ethnicity, culture, class, religion, and physical or mental ability.
• Human Behavior and the Social Environment
  • B6.7 Programs of social work education must provide content about theories and knowledge of human bio-psycho-social development, including theories and knowledge about the range of social systems in which individuals live (families, groups, organizations, institutions, and communities). The human behavior and the social environment curriculum must provide an understanding of the interactions between and among human biological, social, psychological, and cultural systems as they affect and are affected by human behavior. The impact of social and economic forces on individuals and social systems must be presented. Content must be provided about the ways in which systems promote or deter people in the maintenance or attainment of optimal health and well-being. Content about values and ethical issues related to bio-psycho-social theories must be included. Students must be taught to evaluate theory and apply theory to client situations.

Course Objectives and Measures

This course has the following objectives and measures:

• Objective 1. Apply critical thinking skills within the context of professional social work practice by integrating learning from other disciplines, into a comprehensive model of social work assessment and practice. (CSWE C.P.S.: B5.7.1)
  Measurement of this objective includes performance on examinations, participation in class discussions, demonstration of critical thought in Cultural Experience logs, and successful completion of the Developmental Paper.
• Objective 2. Engage in practice within the values and ethics of the social work profession with an appreciation of, understanding of, and respect for the positive value of human diversity in many contexts. (CSWE C.P.S.: B5.7.2)
  Measures include performance on examinations, participation in class activities and discussions,successful completion of the Cultural Experiences, and integration of ethics and diversity into the Developmental Paper.
• Objective 4. Understand the forms and mechanisms of political, economic, and social oppression and discrimination. (CSWE C.P.S.: B5.7.3)
  Measures include performance on examinations, participation in various class activities, and integration of relevant social structures and issues into the Developmental Paper.
• Objective 7. Identify and apply physiological, social, familial, cultural, and psychological influences upon
  individual development and behavior, using various theoretical frameworks. (CSWE C.P.S.: B5.7.7)
  Measures include performance on assignments, examinations, the Theory Presentation, and primarily the successful completion of the Developmental Paper, which focuses upon the full understanding and application of a bio psychosocial perspective upon human development.
• Objective 8. Analyze the implications, values, and impact of social policies on client systems by focusing upon recent and current issues relevant to the field. (CSWE C.P.S.: B5.7.8)
  Measures include class discussions and performance on examinations.

Resources

Required

There are two required resources for this course. The first are the texts, both of which are currently available in the bookstore:

• Human Behavior, Communities, Organizations, & Groups in the Macro Social Environment
  Karen K. Kirst-Ashman
  Brooks/Cole 2000

There may be supplemental readings included in this course that will be handed out by the instructor.

Course Design

This course is divided into two basic units.

Unit I: Community

This unit will explore the basic components of communities.Topics include:

• Defining Communities in the Social Environment
• History of Generalist Practice in the Macro Environment
• Theories and Concepts on Communities
• Human Behavior, Power, and Empowerment in Communities
• People and Power in Communities
• Social Networks
• Neighborhood Empowerment
• Diversity, populations-at-risk, and human behavior in the Macro Environment
• Types of Groups in the Macro Environment
• Community Action for Survival, Recovery, and Sustainable Human Development

Unit II: Organizations and Institution

This unit explores the basic underlying components of organizations and institutions. Topics include:

• Knowledge and Theories about Organizations and Institutions
• Internal and External Environments of Organizations and Institutions
• Agency Settings
• Agency, Organizational, and Institutional Goals
• Human Behavior in Traditional Organizational Environments
• Culture, Structure, Management, and Bureaucracy
• Human Behavior and Empowerment in Organizations
• Ethics, Management, and the Macro Environment
• Total Quality Management
• Current Economic and Social Crises of Concern to Social Workers.

Course Evaluation

Students will be evaluated by performance on the following measures:

1. Examination - 30%
   There will be a mid-term examination designed to measure comprehension of the course content. This will be a combination of multi choice, true/false, definitions, fill in the blank and short answer. Students will receive a comprehensive study guide and participate in a review session. Only content from the study guide, or that which is added to the study guide during review, will be covered on the exam.
    
2. Community Assessment Paper - 25%
   The purpose of this exercise is to assist the student in integrating the approaches and content learned in this course to the assessment of a community. Your assignment will be to look at a traditional geographic community and assess its make-up. Define the community you want to work with and discuss the reasons you chose it. Areas of focus in your community include culture, racial and ethnic mix, social-economic status, oppression, populations-at-risk, and promotion of social and economic justice. Students will receive a handout outlining the specific expectations of this assignment.
    
3. Project and Presentation - 30%
   Each student will select a community agency that they have an interest in learning about. Utilizing information learned in class lectures and assignments, each student will develop a theoretical or conceptual perspective (to view, analyze and understand) of the agency. Content to be covered will include using the basic terms in systems theories to help the student develop and demonstrate a basic understanding of human behavior within the macro environment of an agency setting. Each student will then do a 15 to 30 minute class presentation and must turn in a detailed outline of the presentation at that time. Students will receive a handout outlining the specific expectations of this assignment.
    
4. Class performance – 15%
   The class performance grade is comprised of the following: attendance, class discussion, participation in groups and successful completion of cultural experiences developed more in a Macro setting, as much as possible.

• Each student is expected to attend/participate in 4 cultural experiences, and may do an additional 2 experiences for extra credit points. The list of Cultural Experiences will be developed by the class and the professor. You may attend these experiences in small groups, but will need to write separate reaction paper.
• For each, the student is to write a brief reaction paper (1-2 pages double-spaced) which addresses feelings, thoughts, and issues the student had and/or has regarding the experience. See class schedule for due dates.

Extra Credit

This may be earned by bringing in current newspaper articles, information off the Internet or magazine articles related to the topics in this class. You will bring in the article, give a brief summary and the professor may generate comments from other students. Put your name and the date on the article and turn into the professor. There is a maximum of 5 articles for the semester. This could make a difference in a letter grade.

Portfolio Requirement

The minimal portfolio requirement for this course is one copy of the Community Assessment Paper.

Course Policies

1. Attendance is mandatory and participation in discussions and activities is expected.
2. Paper, exam, and assignments are due on assigned dates. Late work will not be accepted w/out significant penalty and no make-up exams will be given, except extreme emergency that needs to be approved by professor.
3. All University policies regarding Academic Misconduct will be strictly followed, including pre-grading. Any student who plagiarizes will receive an “F” in this course.
4. Pre-grading of the paper, with opportunities to revise in order to improve the grade, is available to
   all students. However, students may only take advantage of this prior to the pre-grade deadline. All
   pre-graded papers must be submitted with the final revision. Students are encouraged to utilize the
   University's Writing Lab if experiencing difficulty with conceptual development, grammar, or
   composition, as the student is expected to prove proficiency in these areas.
5. Pagers and cell phones must be turned off or in silence mode during class, and must be turned off during
   exams unless otherwise approved by the professor.
6. For the exam, students will receive a comprehensive study guide and participate in a review session.
   Only content from this study guide, or that which is added to the study guide during review, will be covered
   on the exam.
7. The professor is committed to being available to students when needed. Students may utilize Email or
   Voice mail to reach the professor. Office hours are posted on my door in Good Hall room 216. The students
   should feel free to stop by or call outside of formal office hours. However, office availability is not limited to
   these times. It is advantageous to make an appointment when possible, but this is not necessary.

Class Schedule

UNIT I: Community

Week 1
Introduction and Overview of the Course.
Develop Cultural Experience List.
Defining the Macro Social Environment

Week 2
Theories and concepts on Communities in the Social Environment

Read: Kirst-Ashman Chapter 1, “Introduction to Human Behavior in the Macro Social Environment
Kirst-Ashman Chapter 2, “Communities in the Social Environment: Theories and Concepts.”
Kirst-Ashman Chapter 12, “Diversity, Populations-at-Risk, and Human Behavior in the Macro Social Environment.”

Week 3
The Significance of Power in Communities and the Macro Environment
Handout: Go over Community Assessment Paper

Read: Kirst-Ashman Chapter 11:
Highlight 11.1, “Analysis of a Conversation According to Social Exchange Theory.”
Highlight 11.2, “An Example of Negative Reinforcement in a Macro Setting”
Highlight 11.7, “Sources of Power in Groups”

Week 4
Community Functioning and Empowerment

Read: Kirst-Ashman Chapter 3, “Human Behavior, Power, and Empowerment.”

Week 5
Neighborhood re-development and Empowerment

Read: Kirst-Ashman Chapter 4, “Neighborhood Empowerment.”

Week 6
Introduction to Theories about Organizations and Institutions
Review of Communities in the Social Environment

Read: Kirst-Ashman Chapter 5, “Knowledge and Theories about Organizations.”
Due: First 2 Cultural Experiences Papers

Handout: Review Study-guide for mid-term exam

NASW Statewide Education Conference: October 6 - 8, 2004. More information in the
Social Work Office – GH 216.

UNIT II: Organizations and Institutions

Week 7
Mid-term Exam

Handout: Go over Project Presentations

Week 8
No Class: Fall Break

Week 9
Examining organizations within social environments, both internally and externally

Read: Kirst-Ashman Chapter 6, “The Internal and External Environments of Organizations.”
Due: Pre-grade Community Assessment Paper

Week 10
Economics, Human Behavior and the Macro Social Environment

Read: Kirst-Ashman Chapter 7, “Human Behavior in Traditional Organizational Environments”

Week 11
Economics and Leaderships influence on Organizational Functioning and
Total Quality Management

Read: Kirst-Ashman Chapter 8, “Human Behavior and Empowerment in Organizations.”
Due: Community Assessment Paper Due

Week 12
Human Behavior and Ethics influence on organizations and ultimate impact on the community.
Internal Organizational Management’s Ability to Promote or Deter Optimal Practitioner/employee Performance.
Due: Second 2 Cultural Experiences Papers

Week 13
Review of Theories and Knowledge about the range of social systems that affect and are affected by human behavior, specific to organizations and institutions.
Due: Additional extra credit cultural experiences.

Week 14
Project Presentations: Sign-up sheets will be passed out.

Week 15
Project Presentations: Sign-up sheets will be passed out.