School of Social Work Syllabus Template Guide - University of ...

Social Work 688
Section School Violence
3 Units Spring 2017 | |Instructor: |Dawn Bray |
| |E-Mail: |dbray@usc.edu |Course Day: |Friday |
| | | |Course Time: |8:40am-10:00amPT |
| |Office |Monday |Course Location: |VAC |
| |Hours: |2:30pm-3:00pm | | |
| | |(PT) | | |
| | |Friday | | |
| | |7:45am-8:30am | | |
| | |(PT) or | | |
| | |10am-10:30am (PT)| | |
Course Prerequisites NONE
Catalogue Description
Course Description School violence has become a serious concern for school-based professionals
and the general public. This course presents the etiology of school
violence as well as critical examination of such issues as bullying, hate
crimes, sexual harassment, dating violence, and perceptions of violence,
school violence involving weapons, corporal punishment, and gang violence.
Models of intervention will include school-based cognitive-behavioral
models, including social skills-building and problem-solving, youth
empowerment interventions, behavioral interventions, prevention models
based on developmental precursors to violent behaviors, and programs
designed to improve relationships between the community and school.
Intervention programs will include: teacher training efforts, gang violence
prevention, and law enforcement vs. educational approaches to school
violence, the use of suspension / expulsion, school-based punitive
measures, community-school interventions, and policy / legal interventions.
Special focus will be placed on ways that the school social system can
regulate violence and create a nonviolent school culture. The roles of
school professionals such as school social workers, teachers, school
psychologists, security personnel and administrators will also be examined. The course examines the theoretical and empirical literature and explores
evidence-based practices related to school safety and school violence. It
explores how school violence affects students' physical well-being,
academic functioning, social relations, and emotional and cognitive
development. Students will also examine research documenting how school
violence erodes the effectiveness and threatens the safety of
administrators, teachers, and support staff. The theoretical assumptions
of various evidence-based interventions will be examined, as well as how
they apply to promotion, prevention, treatment in the school environment
and with individual students. Special emphasis will be given to the impact
of school violence on oppressed groups and how social contexts such as
poverty and urban settings influence school safety.
Course Objectives Upon completion of the course students will be able to demonstrate mastery
of the curriculum in the following ways: |Objective # |Objectives |
|1 |Explain the historical and current prevalence of youth and |
| |school violence, including organizational, student-related, |
| |and community factors such as poverty and culture, that |
| |influence school violence. |
|2 | Critically explain dynamics of violence in schools, |
| |including bullying, gang activity, gun violence, hate crimes,|
| |and dating violence, as well as the influence of culture, |
| |adolescent development, mental health, and the school |
| |environment. |
|3 | Analyze and critique diverse responses to school violence |
| |demonstrated by stakeholder groups in the school, the |
| |community, and larger macro systems. |
|4 |Conduct program planning with current evidence-based models |
| |of intervention, including program components that are |
| |empirically demonstrated to be effective, with special |
| |emphasis on three-tier models and social emotional learning. |
|5 |Apply threat assessment, safety monitoring, and evaluation |
| |for strengthening school safety in an actual school |
| |environment. |
Course format / Instructional Methods The curriculum content in this course will be presented through recorded
lectures by experts in several areas of school violence, videos
illustrating various aspects, perspectives, and programs, readings on model
programs, theories, and policies, class discussions, and group as well as
individual exercises that apply concepts to practice.
Student Learning Outcomes Student learning for this course relates to one or more of the following
ten social work core competencies: |Social Work Core Competencies |SWK xxx |Course |
| | |Objective |
|1 |Professional Identity | | |
|2 |Ethical Practice |* |2 |
|3 |Critical Thinking | |3, 4, 5 |
|4 |Diversity in Practice |* |1, 2 |
|5 |Human Rights & Justice | | |
|6 |Research Based Practice |* |4, 5 |
|7 |Human Behavior | |1, 2, 3 |
|8 |Policy Practice | | |
|9 |Practice Contexts | |1, 5 |
|10 |Engage, Assess, Intervene, |* |4, 5 |
| |Evaluate | | |
* Highlighted in this course
The following table explains the highlighted competencies for this course,
the related student learning outcomes, and the method of assessment. |Competencies/ |Student Learning |Method of |
|Knowledge, Values, Skills |Outcomes |Assessment |
|Professional Identity-Identify |Advocate for client | |
|as a professional social worker|access to the services | |
|and conduct oneself |of social work. | |
|accordingly. | | |
|Social workers competent in | | |
|Professional Identity: | | |
|Serve as representatives of the| | |
|profession, its mission, and | | |
|its core values. | | |
|Know the profession's history. | | |
| | | |
|Commit themselves to the | | |
|profession's enhancement and to| | |
|their own professional conduct | | |
|and growth. | | |
| |Practice personal | |
| |reflection and | |
| |self-correction to | |
| |ensure continual | |
| |professional | |
| |development. | |
| |Attend to professional | |
| |roles and boundaries. | |
| |Demonstrate professional| |
| |demeanor in behavior, | |
| |appearance, and | |
| |communication. | |
| |Engage in career-long | |
| |learning. | |
| |Use supervision and | |
| |consultation. | | |Ethical Practice-Apply social |Recognize and manage |Assignment 3 |
|work ethical principles to |personal values in a way| |
|guide professional practice. |that allows professional|Class |
|Social workers competent in |values to guide |participation |
|Ethical Practice: |practice. | |
|Fullfill their obligation to | | |
|conduct themselves ethically | | |
|and to engage in ethical | | |
|decision-making. | | |
|Are knowledgeable about the | | |
|value base of the profession, | | |
|its ethical standards, and | | |
|relevant law. |