Class Descriptions

Prevention of Child Maltreatment

SW723

Credits:	3
Prerequisites:	None

Pathway Associations

Community Change
Global	Elective
Interpersonal Practice
Mgmt & Leadership
Policy & Political
Program Evaluation
Older Adults
Children & Families	Elective (Host)

Course Description

This course will examine the correlates and consequences of child maltreatment, as well as the social, environmental, and cultural buffers and mitigating factors that lessen risk and promote protection/ resilience in maltreated children and adolescents. Students will learn about the public health model of child abuse prevention and examine a range of strategies that extend from this model. Throughout the course, students will critically review programs and practices in primary and secondary prevention and consider how they align with core values of the social work profession. Students will also consider how social workers can become more integrally involved in advancing local, national, and international efforts to promote the well-being of maltreated children across the lifecourse.

Objectives

By the end of the course, students will demonstrate knowledge of current research and theory about the social, developmental, and environmental contexts of child maltreatment; patterns of risk and resilience in children and families; and prevention. Students will understand the correlates and consequences of child maltreatment, as well as the social, environmental, and cultural buffers and mitigating factors that lessen risk and promote protection/ resilience in maltreated children and adolescents, as well as approaches to public health model of child abuse prevention. Core values of social work will be integrated throughout the course.

Design

This seminar course will use a number of pedagogical approaches to enhance students' learning, including short lectures, group discussions facilitated students, videos, and case examples. Assignments will strengthen knowledge of research-practice connections, encourage critical thinking, and provide opportunities to engage in scholarly writing. In each class session, one or more students will be asked to facilitate a conversation about assigned readings. Student facilitators will be encouraged to pose questions about the readings for others in the class to consider as they detail and explain major findings of the research.

Intensive Focus on Privilege, Oppression, Diversity and Social Justice (PODS)

This course integrates PODS content and skills with a special emphasis on the identification of theories, practice and/or policies that promote social justice, illuminate injustices and are consistent with scientific and professional knowledge. Through the use of a variety of instructional methods, this course will support students developing a vision of social justice, learn to recognize and reduce mechanisms that support oppression and injustice, work toward social justice processes, apply intersectionality and intercultural frameworks and strengthen critical consciousness, self-knowledge and self-awareness to facilitate PODS learning.