Advanced Studies in Social Work Seminar

Recommended Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Teaching Methods

The methodology of teaching and learning will privilege the methodology of seminar, with the prior programming of topics and bibliography that supports the autonomous work of students.

The evaluation will be based on a writen scientific article that articulates the syllabus of the UC with the purpose of research of students.

Learning Outcomes

— Understand and critically discuss the process of knowledge construction in Social Work today, namely the challenges associated with the articulation between scientific knowledge, practical knowledge and "indigenous" knowledge;

— To develop an in-depth debate on the (re)configuration of the theory of SW in contemporary times, in light of the contributions of current thinking and social theory, and their applications in professional practice;

— To promote an in-depth debate and a current reading on the core values of the Social Service and their respective influences in the framework of research and intervention.

— To analyse the debates and trends of Social Work research.

At the end of the course the PhD students should be able to critically discuss the major scientific and contemporary axiological orientations and their implications for the production of knowledge and for the practice of Social Work.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. 1. construction of knowledge in Social Work

1.1 The new configurations and debates on the relationship between theory and professional practice: from scientific knowledge to 'indigenous' knowledge.

1.2 Associations and dissociations between Social Work and Social Sciences: critical issues

2. Theory of Social Work: In-depth Contemporary Debates

2.1 Classical and critical traditions: current reinterpretations and contributions to the understanding of current social problems and the action of SS

2.2 For an integrated theory of Social Work - New perspectives of social thinking and theoretical-conceptual contributions to the (re)construction of knowledge and intervention of contemporary Social Work

3.To revisit the fundamental values of the Social Work: a renewed ethical agenda for knowledge and action.

4. Social Work Research: itinerary, debates and trends. The case of Portugal.

Head Lecturer(s)

Joana Carla Marques Vale Mendes Guerra

Assessment Methods

Assessment
The evaluation will be based on a scientific paper that articulates the programmatic contents of the course with the students' research purpose: 100.0%

Bibliography

— Austin, Michael J. (2014). Social Justice and Social Work: Rediscovering a Core Value of the Profession. Sage Publications.

— Gray, Mel & James Midgley, Stephen A Webb (2012). The SAGE Handbook of Social Work. Sage Publications Ltd.

— Healy, Lynne M. & Rosemary J. Link (2012). Handbook of International Social Work: Human Rights, Development, and the Global Profession.

Oxford University Press.

— Shaw, I., Briar-Lawson, K., Orme, J., & Ruckdeschel, R. (Eds.). (2010). The Sage Handbook of Social Work Research, London: Sage.

— Shaw, I. (2018). Mapping social work research. In I. Shaw (Ed.), Research and the social work picture. Bristol: Policy Press

— Stephen Webb (2019). The Routledge Handbook of Critical Social Work. Oxon: Routledge.