Use this guide as the go-to for doing your

assessments. Also ask questions in the

discussion forum and attend the sessions
about assessment

Associate Professor Lorna

Hallahan
SOAD9207: Integrity in Social Work Practice

ASSESSMENT GUIDE
SUCCEEDING IN SOAD9207
CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION: AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT............................................................................................................2

NUMBER ONE: CRITICALLY EXAMINING SOCIAL WORK JUDGMENT AND ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING IN A CASE
OF CHILD DEATH IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA .................................................................................................................3
Critically examining social work judgment and decision-making in a case of child death in South Australia
............................................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Link to learning opportunities and outcomes: ................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Getting started ................................................................................................................................................4
Move 1: Research and analysis .......................................................................................................................5
Move 2: Synthesis and thesis presentation ....................................................................................................6
NUMBER TWO: DOCUMENTING YOUR SOCIAL WORK STATEMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN ..7
Documenting your social work statement and professional development plan ................................................7
Assessment tasks ............................................................................................................................................7
Professional Development Plan: Self-Assess, noting and building on feedback ...........................................10
CONCLUSION: CRITICAL, REFLECTIVE, REFLEXIVE, ETHICAL, CREATIVE, THINKING SOCIAL WORKERS WHO ARE
EFFECTIVE IN COMPLEX SITUATIONS ....................................................................................................................11
American Philosophical Association report of CT skills and dispositions ...............................................................11

1
INTRODUCTION: AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT

This booklet provides you with details about the assessment tasks and guidance about how
to learn and complete successfully. Both tasks are ‘authentic’. This means that is designed to
reflect something you could be required to do in practice world. We know that you can
write an essay, so these tasks help you learn other approaches to enquiry, thinking, writing
and document presentation. You will be supported as you prepare your submission.

Check announcements and use the Discussion Forum to seek clarification.

The tasks have been designed according to authentic assessment practices:

Authenticity has been identified as a key characteristic of assessment design which

promotes learning. Authentic assessment aims to replicate the tasks and
performance standards typically found in the world of work, and has been found to
have a positive impact on student learning, autonomy, motivation, self-regulation
and metacognition; abilities highly related to employability.1

This requires you to exercise judgement and explain why you arrived at your conclusion. So,
the tasks are not simply seeking decontextualised subject knowledge which invites
presentation (recitation) of information and description. The evaluation of your work
applies a holistic approach which you will see reflected in the rubric.

1
Villarroel, V., Bloxham, S., Bruna, D., Bruna, C., & Herrera-Seda, C. (2018). Authentic assessment: creating a
blueprint for course design. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(5), 840–854.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2017.1412396

2
NUMBER ONE: CRITICALLY EXAMINING SOCIAL WORK JUDGMENT AND ETHICAL
DECISION-MAKING IN A CASE OF CHILD DEATH IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA

CRITICALLY EXAMINING SOCIAL WORK ASSESSMENT, JUDGMENT AND DECISION-MAKING IN

THE KATE ALEXANDER REVIEW OF CHILD PROTECTION IN SA: TRUST IN CULTURE (NOV 2022)
Due: 5pm 26 April 2024

Word limit/Weighting: 2300 words/55%

Task: In November 2022, Social Worker Kate Alexander presented a review report to the
Department for Child Protection in SA. You are required to conduct an analysis of relevant sections
of her review report with a focus on assessment, professional judgment and decision-making.
Detaied instructions which you MUST follow are found here.

Here is the link to the report: https://www.childprotection.sa.gov.au/documents/report/trust-in-

culture-a-review-of-child-protection-in-sa-nov-2022.pdf

Refer to Banks, S., Nohr, Kirsten, & ProQuest. (2012). Practising social work ethics around the world
cases and commentaries. Abingdon [England]; New York: Routledge. (Available online through
Flinders Library). Other articles will become available in the early weeks of the semester. For a deeper
reading see Sayer, Andrew. (2011). Why Things Matter to People. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press. (also available online at Flinders Library) and Kennedy, R. (2009). Duty of care in the human
services: Mishaps, misdeeds and the law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Hardcopy in
Flinders Library, selected chapters available in the Readings Module of Canvas). See also: Hallahan,
Lorna, & Wendt, Sarah. (2020). Social Work Registration: Another Opportunity for Discussion.
Australian Social Work, 73(2), 217-226.

Refer to: DCP Practice Guide Summary

https://www.childprotection.sa.gov.au/documents/foi/policies/dcp-practice-approach-summary-
guide.pdf

Link to learning opportunities and outcomes:

This assessment relates to Sequence #1: Minds and Messes in which we aim to come to grips with the
compelling ethical challenges in complex human services.

Aim of this assessment: To experiment with some applications of your learnings by exploring an
influential document for social work practice.

The authentic assessment task will assist you to:

• Follow multi-step instructions.

• Develop and demonstrate perspectives and skills that will advance a critical,
reflective and ethical approach to social work practice.
• Assess the values, principles, and competing interests influencing professional
practice.
• Articulate a high level of understanding of the AASW Code of Ethics (2020).

3
This work requires 2 moves: Research and Analysis followed by Synthesis and Thesis
Presentation: This is a complex task with specific requirements. Please follow this
guidance carefully.
Move #1: Requires you to carry out research and analysis which explores the questions
presented below.
Move #2: Requires you to produce a synthesis that includes a thesis.

GETTING STARTED
Read the Review Report with a particular focus on Chapter 1 – Overview, Chapter 2 – The
System and Chapter 5 – Observations. Apply Reading Three Times Process (see ppt, first
lecture: first in summary; second in depth; third to examine how it was written—structure,
voice, use of academic and expert sources) so that you know what it contains but you don’t
have to decide yet about its strengths and weaknesses. Put it aside for the moment.
Imagine that the document is a dark room. You could go into the dark room and stumble
around trying to find out what is in it and in the process arrive at some conclusions which
may or may not be accurate. So, what would you do in this situation?
You will bring some sources of light into the room so that you can get a more accurate view
of what is there and what it means. ( Refer to the Refer to: DCP Practice Guide Summary
https://www.childprotection.sa.gov.au/documents/foi/policies/dcp-practice-approach-
summary-guide.pdf to see a detailed picture of the elements in a practice guide) . Your
sources of light are:

4
 • Your professional experience, including prior learning and placement experience,
especially in child protection and social work.

• Your growing formation as a social worker with reference to our core documents
such as The AASW Code of Ethics (2020)

• Your lecture notes and growing understanding of what is happening with social work
decision-making and action described in the account as we strive to make sense of
what is happening in a person’s life and the population of vulnerable people to
whom they belong and their interaction with welfare and health systems and
services…shaped by policy, legislation and established practice.

• Your reading and research in the literature which constitutes part of the evidence
base that you will develop for your ongoing work

• The questions (below) that will assist in unlocking meaning in the report.

MOVE 1: RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

Once you have familiarised yourself with these (and other) sources you will be able to carry
out the tests of the document you are evaluating. Check your work for unsubstantiated
opinions and assertions and determine whether they really belong here. Remember, you
are learning to approach these issues as a professional, not simply a well-intentioned
helper.
Research Questions
Before you strive to locate the ethical tensions in the situation, it is important to answer
these questions: Use this table to present your findings in this section.

Questions Tips

Who is the author(s)/researcher (s)? Note name and official role, and qualifications

What is the area being addressed? This is the field of social work, but you can
give more precise information about which
parts of the system are under investigation.
Look at systems interfaces as well.

What is the purpose of the review? There may be more than one!

How was the document developed? This is the methodology chapter…you need
only summarise in dot points

To whom is this report directed? There could be multiple audiences…think of it

as a case-based approach to policy making
that directly affects social work practice.

How are the social workers positioned? This is where you look more closely at the
Are they seen as effective in their work social workers and how the reviewer describes

5
 or not? Are there any examples of their actions/analyses their professional
acceptable practice? practices.

What are the relevant Look at what the reviewer is recommending.

recommendations that aim to improve What is directly relevant to social work
social work practice? practice in ethically complex situations? List
here.

Analysis
Once you have gone through these questions you will be able to make some claims about
your reading of the report. Answer this question: Is the job to catch people at their worst
or get them to their best? (Alexander, 2022, p.118)

MOVE 2: SYNTHESIS AND THESIS PRESENTATION

This section requires you to step back from the particular review, and to identify and
articulate some conclusions about social work decision-making in complex systems and
human services settings with mandated decisions as well as professional discretion: So,
answer this question: based on what you understand might be a social work concern for
respecting individuals and for advancing social justice, what do you conclude about what is
being said about social work status, ethics and decision-making in this service system?

6
NUMBER TWO: DOCUMENTING YOUR SOCIAL WORK STATEMENT AND
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

DOCUMENTING YOUR SOCIAL WORK STATEMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Due: 5pm 06 June 2024
Word limit/weighting: 1700 words/ 45%
Task: Suppose that you are applying for a position as a graduate social worker/community
worker and follow these instructions.
Background steps
1. Go to Seek.Com or LinkedIn and select a position that you are applying for (Suggestion:
make it in the area in which you have done a placement so that you can rely on your
field knowledge).
2. Access the following documents:
• PD which should have a brief statement about the organisational context, and the
sort of work expected in the role.
• The Selection Criteria which will tell you what the recruitment will be based on.
• These will give you an idea of the context and role. Insert these at the head of your
paper (they are outside the word limit).
3. After an initial interview, you have been asked to submit a piece of written work for
the next stage of the selection process. (These are the creative bits of the task).

ASSESSMENT TASKS
The request is this:
Please supply a statement of your understanding of social work in this role. It should
include answers to these questions and rely on your own words built on the academic
literature, properly referenced.

Question
What is your mission as a social
worker translated into this role?
What does professional integrity
mean to you?
Tips
Be mindful of the application/organisation but this is
an opportunity for you to think about yourself as a
social worker…own it!
You may or may not declare your own philosophical
position e.g., derived from your
faith/spirituality/politics in a job search process …it
may be applicable depending on the
organisation…your call here but you can definitely

7

How will you deal with ethical
complexity in this role?
What are your plans for
professional growth and
development, especially in
relation to social work judgment
and decision-making and ethical
practice?
How will you sustain yourself in
this role?
makes statements that are consistent with wider
social work thinking and values
Remember to draw on AASW Code of Ethics (2020),
check whether the organisation has a public Code of
Practice; refer to the relevant legislation in this field;
also draw on the resources from this and all your
topics. It is important that you identify and describe,
in everyday ethics language, the ethical dilemmas that
you expect could emerge in this setting.
Refer to what you have learned in this topic across
your degree– what did you learn about yourself and
what you need to develop further? Use the template
provided on Canvas.
Resources on their way! See the separate module on
Canvas: Sustaining Self and Building Success

Link to learning opportunities and outcomes: This assessment links to Sequence #2: Reason
and Resources in which we examine resources and start building a synthesis across the
MSW.
Aim of this task: Synthesise learning and prepare for practice, either in field education or
employment.
The task will assist you to:
• Follow multi-step instructions.
• Start building a philosophical and conceptual framework as part of your journey
towards mature practice and integrity with a focus on yourself as an ethical,
knowledgeable, and skillful decision-maker in social work.
• Reflect on and generalise from your life and learning experiences.
• Prepare for employment as a graduate social worker.

** Rubrics, Marking Guides and other Resources for these Assessments are found in the
Canvas Topic Site.

Additional tips to assist with completing this task: (analysis and synthesis)
Apply concept or mind mapping
• What is the core question I am asking here?
• How do I now link it to other questions?
• I think this is a question about social work effectiveness, so
• What do I need to be and to have in order to be an effective social worker?

8
Build dynamic links, not simply linear arguments… use hierarchies e.g., from general to
specific.
http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryCmaps/TheoryUnderlyingConcept
Maps.htm

Revisit your resources

Ask: Now that I have taken my thinking deeper – from reporting to analysing and organising
– is there anything else I need here to build relevance, accuracy, precision, clarity, depth,
and breadth into my argument?
Arrive at a tentative conclusion
Writing up is also a thinking process based on ongoing judgment, seeing a point of view in a
new light, evaluating our argument… an early/evolving draft helps you discipline and direct
your thinking. Distil this into a simple proposition…maybe 3 sentences. This forms the top of
your argument pyramid. This is a way of moving from a plan to research and investigate to
presenting a convincing statement. It is the point at which you switch to persuasion. Note
that we are developing a document to present to a prospective employer, not a
conventional academic essay.
One model is Barbra Minto’s The Pyramid Principle (2009)
The main components of pyramid theory:
1. Start with ‘the answer’
2. Ideas at any level must always be summaries of the ideas grouped below them
3. Ideas in each group must always be the same kind of information
4. Ideas in each group must be logically ordered
Work on 2nd and final drafts, including revisiting the answer statements
Pay attention to the flow of the argument, to logic and the connections between thoughts.
Have I over relied on ‘the authorities’? Have I inserted my own personal, unsubstantiated
opinions here? Does my conclusion hold up now? Do I need to revise, refine, make more
explicit, clear and direct? (ideally, this should be a succinct statement about how you
describe yourself as a social worker)
Ensure rigorous academic integrity. When in doubt cite it!
Academic integrity governs the way in which you research and write while at University. It is
founded on the principles of respect for knowledge, truth, scholarship and acting with
honesty. These principles and values are the foundation of academia.
http://www.newcastle.edu.au/service/library/tutorials/infoskills/glossary.html
To get more depth and understanding about the application of the principles of academic
integrity and to see where you might unintentionally breach accepted practice, use Canvas
resources.

9
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN: SELF-ASSESS, NOTING AND BUILDING ON FEEDBACK

This is an ongoing activity that is about being able to view your own work critically, looking
for clarity, precision, accuracy, relevance, depth, breadth, and logicalness. It is also about
being able to build on the feedback/ feedforward you receive.
This forms the basis for your Professional Development Plan which must address these
questions, answered within a table, based on the template on the Assessment Hub on
Canvas.

10
CONCLUSION: CRITICAL, REFLECTIVE, REFLEXIVE, ETHICAL, CREATIVE, THINKING
SOCIAL WORKERS WHO ARE EFFECTIVE IN COMPLEX SITUATIONS

Remember critical thinking is not about whinging and complaining or trotting out your
favourite biases and opinions about the government, people, the world and everything! And
then finding a few references to back you up. It is primarily about learning about yourself –
personally and professionally. It is about gaining insight, knowledge, and skills that will
contribute to you becoming a confident, compassionate professional social worker, making
sound judgements and defensible decisions in collaboration with your colleagues and clients
within the context of an evidence informed human service underpinned by law and driven by
policies.

https://thephilosophyclub.com.au/2018/09/20/what-are-we-doing-here/

American Philosophical Association report of CT skills and dispositions

Appendix to Strategies for Teaching Students to Think Critically: A Meta-Analysis by Abrami
et al, published in the Review of Educational Research, 2015.
Cognitive skills and subskills
• Interpretation: Categorization, Decoding Significance, Clarifying Meaning
• Analysis: Examining Ideas, Identifying Arguments, Analyzing Arguments
• Evaluation: Assessing Claims, Assessing Arguments
• Inference: Querying Evidence, Conjecturing Alternatives, Drawing Conclusions
• Explanation: Stating Results, Justifying Procedures, Presenting Arguments
• Self-Regulation: Self-examination, Self-Correction
Approaches to specific issues, questions, or problems
• Clarity in stating the question or concern.
• Orderliness in working with complexity.

11
 • Diligence in seeking relevant information.
• Reasonableness in selecting and applying criteria.
• Care in focusing attention on the concern at hand.
• Persistence though difficulties are encountered.
• Precision to the degree permitted by the subject and the circumstance.
Approaches to life and living in general.
• Inquisitiveness with regard to a wide range of issues
• Concern to become and remain generally well-informed.
• Alertness to opportunities to use CT.
• Trust in the processes of reasoned inquiry
• Self-confidence in one’s own ability to reason.
• Open-mindedness regarding alternatives and opinions
• Understanding of the opinions of other people
• Fair-mindedness in appraising reasoning
• Honesty in facing one’s own divergent world views.
• Flexibility in considering biases, prejudices, stereotypes, egocentric or sociocentric
tendencies.
• Prudence in suspending, making or altering judgments.
• Willingness to reconsider and revise views where honest reflection suggests that
change is warranted.
Note. CT = critical thinking

12