01. Awareness of Difference Be aware of how your own experience influences your understanding of what difference means and how you may contribute to creating a sense of difference or otherness. You should be able to: a. Identify a variety of ways of thinking about what is normal and what is different b. Understand and be able to communicate your own experience of difference otherness and how you may create a sense of difference with others. c. Articulate and use the processes of critical reflection to identify your own assumptions and values about difference and how this may influence your social work practice.

Activities:

Individual activity that student identifies an experience of being 'othered' Small group feedback and then feedback to larger group

02. Knowledge of core concepts of how social work is practiced in a diverse society Compare and analyse social work practice in work with individuals and families, in organizations and communities in terms of working with difference You should be able to: a. Identify how social workers work with difference across social work practice areas ie with individuals and families, organizations and in communities b. Identify and use specific practice strategies for working with difference including, for example, working with interpreters.

Activities:

Small group work on specific scenarios. Feedback to larger group

03. Understanding how structural inequities relate to difference and marginalisation Analyse how social structures, international and national development and policy responses impact on the experiences of individuals and groups in terms of marginalisation You should be able to: a. Identify structural inequities, international and national developments in relation to social diversity and define marginalisation b. Describe the issues experienced by groups that are marginalised in our culture because of their difference c. Identify the policy responses in relation to a specific dimension of diversity.

Activities:

Small group work on how particular countries have experienced colonisation and conflict and how this influences issues regarding migration. Group presentation to class.

04. Practice Ethically in Relation to Difference Analyse the complexities of applying the ethics expressed in the code in particular situations related to difference. You should be able to: a. Identify the ethical expectations of social workers as expressed in the AASW code of ethics b. Articulate ethical tensions in working ethically as a social worker in relation to difference c. Relate the code of ethics to working with difference

Activities:

AASW Code of Ethics and Practice Standards used to see how working with difference has many layers and what social workers might need to know to be able to work effectively with people from diverse backgrounds

05. Quality of Practice in Health & Human Services Describe and critique possible ways of working with difference. You should be able to: a. Describe the situations that may arise in social work practice in relation to working with difference b. Articulate what being #difference competent# means c. Identify strategies for working competently with difference as a social worker.

Activities:

Use of critical reflection to understand the complexities of working with clients who come from diverse backgrounds Critical reflection loop developed and added to as more information is understood Linking of policy to practice and how this might lead to difficulties for social workers and their use of the Code of Ethics