Columbia University School of Social Work
 
T7103 Advocacy in Social Work Practice: Changing Organizations and Communities, Influencing Social Policies and Political Processes

Overview and Rationale

Advocacy in Social Work Practice assists students in developing the repertoire of macro knowledge, skills, and values needed to analyze and assess organizations, communities, social policies and political systems as they relate to client welfare. The course teaches students how to formulate macro interventions, advocate for, and work collaboratively in change and capacity building processes within organizations and communities and to influence social policies and political processes that affect the everyday lives and opportunities of clients. In addition, the course seeks to deepen students� understanding of distributive justice, human and civil rights and the dynamics of oppression as well as the saliency of advocacy and social change action in the pursuit of social and economic justice through responsible organizational, community, policy and political practice.

Learning Outcomes

In this course, students will learn to . . .

1. Demonstrate conscious, purposeful, and differential use of oneself as a professional, advocate, and change agent in promoting social, organizational, community, policy and political changes that benefit clients and/or society.
2. Identify the risks that confront highly vulnerable populations when participating in efforts to change organizations and communities and influence social policies and political processes.
3. Analyze the dynamics of privilege, power and oppression and the ways in which the interests, traditions, and expectations of culturally diverse clients coincide and collide with the interests, traditions, and expectations of relevant organizational "actors," community leaders, and social policy makers.
4. Systemically evaluate and monitor the impact of one's own practice within and across systems levels (organizational, communal, political and societal).
5. Demonstrate skills integral to organizational, community, policy and political practice that strengthen the capacities of organizations, communities and society to meet client needs and foster sustainable development.
6. Identify and systematically assess, in collaboration with their clients, the need for advocacy and social action at the organizational, communal, policy and political levels and formulate subsequent interventions supported by empirical evidence and best practice.
7. Demonstrate cultural competence and responsiveness to diverse populations when working with various organizations, communities, social policies and political processes affecting these populations.
8. Negotiate dilemmas of values and ethics across macro system levels (organizational, communal, policy and political) in a manner congruent with contemporary standards of social work practice.
9. Identify the local, national and global interconnections of human and civil rights, distributive justice, and oppression and strengthen one's professional commitment to pursue economic and social justice, especially for diverse and at-risk client populations, through organizational, community, policy and political practice and social action.

Council on Social Work Education Core Competencies

This course contributes toward mastery of the following core areas of social work competency identified by the Council on Social Work Education.

Social workers . . .

• Identify as professional social workers and conduct themselves accordingly.
• Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice.
• Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments.
• Engage diversity and difference in practice.
• Advance human rights and social and economic justice.
• Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research.
• Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment.
• Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being, and to deliver effective social work services.
• Respond to contexts that shape practice.
• Engage individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
• Intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
• Evaluate individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

Core Content Themes

• Social Work's Commitment to Social and Economic Justice, Advocacy and Social Change
   
  • Rationale for profession's historic and current efforts; social workers' ethical responsibilities and roles; local, national and global interconnections
  • Conceptual and theoretical frameworks applicable to advocacy and social change, including human and civil rights, distributive justice, social movements
  • Conceptual and theoretical frameworks regarding oppression, discrimination, power, privilege and economic disparity within organizational, community and political systems
  • Cultural competence and responsiveness in advocacy and social change, including knowledge of cultural variation, how to tap into subjugated knowledge and understanding, awareness of cultural orientation.
     
• Advocacy and Social Change Macro Assessment, Planning and Intervention Formulation and Evaluation
   
  • Parallels and differences between assessment of case (micro) and cause (macro) issues/systems, use of multiple methods to generate assessment data, dynamics of insider verses outsider status
  • Conduct force field and power analyses
  • Select and/or formulate change intervention strategies, taking into consideration internal versus external advocacy, capacity building, sustainable development, as well as vetting values reflected in choices, appraising the empirical/best practice base
  • Communicate and implement change goals, plans and interventions
  • Systematically evaluate effectiveness of change efforts, incorporating lessons learned into on-going change efforts.
     
• Advocacy in Organizational Practice
   
  • Theoretical frameworks for understanding organizational development, structure, culture, functioning, and its sources of power, resources, and resistances
  • Identify and/or formulate organizational change interventions, community organizing efforts, and organizational capacity building options.
     
• Social Action and Community Practice
   
  • Explore multiple definitions of community
  • How to enter and gain understanding of a community, identifying community assets, formal and informal community structures and processes, analyzing problems from different community perspectives
  • Identify and/or formulate community change interventions, community capacity building strategies.
     
• Influence Social Policies and the Political Process
   
  • Explore political governing processes (local, state, federal) and decision-making
  • Analyze major social policies and programs and various aspects of social service delivery, governmental structure and political processes
  • Strategize political, legislative or policy change intervention techniques of public education, lobbying and media influence.