TEACHING RESOURCES
International Social Work in Context
International Social Work
Makes connections beyond boarders
"Through exploration of definitional issues and current immigration realities… international dimensions of social work with immigrants and refugees offers opportunities to improve practice and to enhance the relevance of international social work" – Lynne Y. Healy Ph.D.
Global Outreach
Ensuring social welfare on a global scale
Refugees and Immigrant populations are increasing and only through global outreach and research can the practice of social work be prepared for the future Welfare State
Applied Social Work Theory
Educators can support students to think beyond the classroom
"schools play a critical role in helping refugee children find some sense of safety and helps maximize their learning potential. This human rights emphasizes a social inclusion approach that requires active participation from government, school administration, the ESL teachers, teachers, the school social worker, students and their parents, refugee students and their parents, and the community. Ideally, these forces would partner together to create an environment for active learning and socialization for productive citizenry in the US" - Rebecca L. Thomas, Ph.D.
Comparative Social Welfare Policy Between the United States and Armenia
UConn School of Social Work and Yerevan State University
Course Description
This cross national course involves a comparative analysis of social welfare policies between the United States and Armenia. It will utilize collective learning from faculty and students at the Department of Social Work at Yerevan State University in the Republic of Armenia and the UConn school of Social Work in the United States. The content of this course will focus on comparative policy analysis using examples from Armenia and the United States. It will also utilize Gilbert and Terrell’s framework to discuss the major perspectives that shed light on social welfare policy: institutional, analytical, and political. In addition, the course will address how non profit organizations, NGOs, and private social service agencies are critical to the development and implementation of social welfare policies and practice.
Students will explore the evolution and development of social welfare policy through critical analysis. Class content will address both the positive and negative outcomes, and the intended and unintended consequences of such policies. These discussions will be explored through the lens of human rights and social justice, and will address the social protection of vulnerable populations and social inclusion. Students will have opportunities to share through discussion groups and responses to questions, and will work in groups to address various social welfare policies.
Course Objectives
By the end of the semester, students should be able to:
- Compare the evolution of social welfare policies developed in Armenia and the United States.
- Analyze social welfare policies in response to current social problems.
- Evaluate the impact of NGOs, non profit organizations, and private social service agencies.
- Develop a program intervention in response to the identified social condition.
Course Outline
Week 1: Introduction to Course and Framework for Social Welfare Policy Analysis
Week 2: Armenia and United States Development of Country Profiles
Week 3: Human Rights and Social Justice: Paradigms for Organizing Social Welfare Policy
Week 4: Cross National Comparison of Social Service Policy
Week 5: Basis of Social Allocation of Social Welfare Services
Week 6: Role of NGOs, non profit organizations, and Private Social Service Agencies
Week 7: Role of Social Workers in Social Welfare Policy Making
Week 8: Design and Analysis of the Social Welfare/ Service Delivery System
Week 9: Methods of Financing Social Service Policies and Programs
Week 10: Wrap-Up Discussion
Reading Materials:
- Neil Gilbert and Paul Terrell (2013). Dimensions of social welfare policy Eighth Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. (Students are free to use any edition of this book.)
2. Katherine Van Wormer and Rosemary Link (2016). Social welfare policy for a sustainable future: The U.S. in global context. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Additional Reading Resources
