In this course, we will examine 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. We will also explore disparities in child maltreatment and child welfare system involvement. Throughout the course, you will learn about the public health model of child abuse prevention and examine programs that align with different tiers of a public health approach. In discussing these programs, you will be asked to consider how social work professionals can play a role in prevention, health promotion, and advocacy for children’s rights and protection from abuse.
Pathway Elective For
- Global Social Work Practice
- Children, Youth, and Families
Objectives
- Demonstrate knowledge of current research and theory about the social, developmental, and environmental contexts of child maltreatment.
- Demonstrate knowledge of patterns of risk and resilience in children and families; and prevention.
- Understand the correlates and consequences of child maltreatment.
- Understand the social, environmental, and cultural buffers and mitigating factors that lessen risk and promote protection/resilience in maltreated children and adolescents.
- Understand the approaches to public health model of child abuse prevention.
- Integrate core values of social work throughout the course.
Design
This seminar course will use a variety of pedagogical approaches to enhance students' learning, including assigned readings, videos, podcasts, lectures, group discussion, and case examples. Assignments will strengthen knowledge of research-practice connections, encourage critical thinking, and provide opportunities to interact with the research literature on core topics. In our synchronous sessions, we will interrogate key themes from each module and discuss implications for practice and policy.
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.