This unit aims to provide students with an understanding of a range of theoretical perspectives underpinning social work research and practice in a range of settings. This unit will offer students the opportunity to reflect upon the relative contributions of these perspectives towards achieving social justice, particularly with marginalised individuals and communities. Developing requisite knowledge, skills and values to engage in critically reflective social work research and practice is a core component of this unit. Students are encouraged to reflect upon and analyse research and practice through multiple lenses.

This unit of study introduces students to a range of research methods and focus on quantitative and qualitative methods. Many other research issues in developing a research proposal will be addressed through the semester. It is intended that, at the conclusion of this unit, students will have developed a research project able to implement through either further study or in workplaces.

Working with communities is a key policy and practice priority for government and non-government agencies in Australia. This unit will critically examine the current policy frameworks informing work with communities as well as current practice models of community development and community engagement. The unit seeks to explore the why and how of work with communities. It will draw on an emerging Australian body of research about working with communities based in the community of Glebe. This unit is suitable for practitioners seeking to work more effectively with communities.

This unit of study is designed to provide students with the opportunity to undertake in-depth, guided study with a supervisor. It provides students with the opportunity to explore a specific practice issue such as working with women experiencing violence or effective policy advocacy in-depth. Students must initially develop a short proposal and discuss this with the unit coordinator. A suitable supervisor will then be appointed to work intensively with students. This unit provides students with flexibility, enabling them to tailor study around practice issues of interest. Field based learning can be arranged for students enrolled in this unit.

This unit aims to provide students with a sound understanding of the key institutional components of the Australian welfare system and the key issues and debates associated with the theory and practice of contemporary social policy. The target audience for this unit includes participants from a diverse range of organisations involved in human service provision. All human service work takes place in the context of social policy: social policy provides the mandate and the resources for human service work, and the activities of workers are extensively defined and shaped by social policy. In turn, human service workers are increasingly involved in the shaping of policy, or policy action. The rationale for this unit is to provide an opportunity for students to develop an advanced understanding of social policy frameworks in order to inform policy action.

There is a well-established scholarship and governmental interest in both the impact of globalisation on social policy and the emergence of what is increasingly termed 'global social policy' which is a direct response to global social problems. It is a field that is growing in the areas of social policy and social work research and practice and can be clearly linked to increased employment opportunities for social workers and social policy graduates in the international/global arena. A key perspective of this unit of study is from non-government organisations' participation in the development of a global civil society and their contribution to global social policy. It also examines the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and how NGOs have contributed to both the ambitions of the goals as well as the outcomes for different countries. This unit provides opportunities for students to deepen their understanding and knowledge of core global concerns such as poverty, health, education, environment, NGO corporate engagement and gender equality and make links to the vital role of NGOs in these areas.

This unit of study introduces a range of perspectives and key contemporary debates in mental health policy and practice. Students develop knowledge relating to an ecological framework of mental health, statutory and professional power negotiated by social workers within the mental health field, social work advocacy in mental health policy and practice, and the importance of lived experience knowledge. Areas of mental health that are examined include psychosis, self-harm and suicidality, trauma and addiction, and child and adolescent wellbeing.