SPR470 Gender Perspectives in Social Work Practice

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2015
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 8 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Magda Tesárková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Kateřina Kubalčíková, Ph.D.
Department of Social Policy and Social Work – Faculty of Social Studies
Supplier department: Department of Social Policy and Social Work – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Wed 9:45–11:15 Studio 527
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/25, only registered: 0/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Goals of the course:
The course has three main goals. The first goal is to gain theoretical knowledge of gender and feminist theory and the role it has played in development of social policy and social work theory and practice. Attention will be given also to the intersectionality approach and critical social work theory, which are both useful for developing gender sensitive social work practice that responds to the specific needs of the clients, but also enables understanding of their problems on a structural, rather than only individual level. Although gender here is seen as a crucial structural characteristic, attention will also be given to other social categories such as class, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation and the role they play in different situations and settings as a basis of advantage as well as oppression. Within gender theory, more attention is given to women as a specific group, however the course is focusing also on men, both in the role of social workers as well as clients with specific issues and needs which should be addressed. The second goal of the course is to learn how gender theory can be practically applied to understanding specific issues such as criminality, domestic violence, homelessness, drug use, involvement in the sex industry, parenting etc. This goal will be fulfilled especially through seminars where students will discuss principles of gender sensitive social work practice with various target groups of clients and in various forms of social services and institutions. The third goal of the course is to develop and improve writing skills of short academic papers, which will be fulfilled through seminar assignments and final paper. The learning process will be strengthened by feedback which will be given by the teacher as well as by the students themselves at the seminars.

Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course students will be able to:
- identify and critically reflect feminist and gender theory contribution to contemporary social work theory and practice;
- understand the role that gender and other social categories play in social work practice;
- employ the gender perspective in social work practice with clients and in social work organizations;
- employ gender perspective in their further studies;
- write short academic papers, using proper form, structure and quotation standards.
Syllabus
  • Gender theory and its influence on social policy and social work
  • Gender sensitive social work
  • Gender perspectives in social work practice / specific issues and target groups
  • Guest lectures and seminars: social work with homeless women, violence against men from gender perspective, social work and LGBTQ, social work with female drug users, feminist participatory action research,
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Staunæs, Dorthe 2003. Where have all the subjects gone? Bringing together the concepts of subjectification and intersectionality. NORA - Nordic Journal of Women Studies, 11 (2): 101-110.
  • Sainsbury, Diane (ed.). 1999. Gender and welfare state regimes. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
  • Young, Iris Marion 1994. Punishment, Treatment, Empowerment: Three Approaches to Policy for Pregnant Addicts. Feminist Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1, 32-57.
  • Thompson, Neil 2006. Anti-discriminatory Practice. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • DOMINELLI, Lena. Feminist social work theory and practice. 1st pub. Houndmills: Palgrave, 2002, x, 193 s. ISBN 0-333-77154-0. info
  • FOOK, Jan. Social work : critical theory and practice. London: SAGE, 2002, vii, 179. ISBN 076197251X. info
  • Practice and research in social work : postmodern feminist perspectives. Edited by Barbara Fawcett. 1st pub. London: Routledge, 2000, xi, 201 s. ISBN 0-415-19511-X. info
  • HEALY, Karen. Social work practices : contemporary perspectives on change. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2000, ix, 165. ISBN 0761962727. URL info
  • Transforming social work practice : postmodern critical perspectives. Edited by Bob Pease - Jan Fook. 1st pub. London: Routledge, 1999, xii, 234. ISBN 0415216478. info
  • ADAMS, Robert. Social work and empowerment. 1st ed. Houndmills: Macmillan Press, 1996, xvii, 221. ISBN 0-333-65809-4. info
Teaching methods
The goals and learning outcomes of the course will be fulfilled through lectures (teacher´s lectures and guest lectures by external experts in the field), seminars (students participate in discussions and group projects), writing seminar assignments and final paper based on students´ own reading of the compulsory course literature. To all written papers students receive feedback from the teacher as well as from other students at the seminar.
Assessment methods
Requirements:
The course consists of lectures and seminars. Attendance at the seminars and guest lectures is compulsory!

Seminars and seminar assignments:
- Before each seminar you should write a short assignment briefly addressing several questions, drawing on the compulsory literature for that seminar. The questions will be sent by the teacher before the seminar.
- The seminar assignment must be uploaded to odevzdávárna/homework vault in the Information system no later than the Monday before each seminar. Assignments uploaded after that time will not be accepted.

- If you miss a seminar or guest lecture you should write an extra paper in which you critically discuss the compulsory literature for that seminar. Please write a critical reflection and your own thoughts about the text, not only a summary!
- Length of the paper is approximately 1000 words.

Grading:
50% of the grade will be based on your active participation at the seminars.
50% of the grade will be based on the quality of your seminar assignments and final paper.
Assignments and papers which do not fulfill the requirements (content, length, quotation standards, or are handed in late) will fail and you will have to rewrite them. Likewise if you submit a paper late it counts as a fail. In total you are allowed to fail three times during the entire course.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2017.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2015, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2015/SPR470