NGO Education Survey

Change and Community Justice

This unit will build your knowledge by considering how theoretical frameworks that link to Youth Work and Community Justice work can be applied to our understanding of service users. The unit will use the context of culture, socio economic status, family, education and employment to build a greater conceptual understanding of why particular groups of people are so marginalised that they engage in a range of activities outside of community norms. Current Youth Work, Community Development and Criminal Justice graduates need to be able to develop strong theoretical frameworks that drive their practice and this subject will enable that foundation to be built. Community practitioners must also be strong advocates for the human rights of their service users and reject social practices that often result in further marginalisation of the most vulnerable. It is particularly important that youth, community development and community justice workers are working with young people and other service users in the context of the rapid economic changes that they are experiencing across the world. The unit will contribute to a better understanding of the changing landscape of the global economic environment and the resultant impacts on the most vulnerable.

Community Development from the Local to the Global

This unit introduces students to the theories and practices of community development. The unit begins with a discussion of the concept of community and the nature of community development work. The unit introduces the historical emergence and evolution of community development, both in Australia and globally. These include United Nations, Western models and Third World models. It also aims to familiarise students with existing and emerging linkages between community development and action at local, regional, national and global levels. In conjunction with this, students are introduced to issues and methods of research as a way to explore and analyse community development models.

Conflict Resolution in Groups and Communities

This unit of study introduces conflict resolution theory and its application to conflicts at both group and community levels. Through seminar presentations, discussion and analysis, experiential exercises, role-plays, and problem-solving tasks, the unit of study aims to develop students' skills in understanding and practising appropriate means of resolving or managing community conflicts. The unit commences with defining the theories of social inclusion, social capital and community advocacy and then presents the theory, principles and practical strategies of community development. Specific processes and skills for resolving or managing conflict in a range of differing contexts are then considered, including: individual conflicts, multi-party and multi-issue conflicts, intra group conflicts, cultural and inter group conflicts, and disputes in neighbourhood and workplace contexts.

Management in Non-Government Organisations

This unit of study will look at different forms of organisational structures involved in organising and mobilising for social change. These range from service-providing government departments and semi-governmental authorities to various types of non-governmental organisations, co-operatives and community businesses. The unit aims to give students a background in relevant theory, eg. theory of organisational development, and also encourage them to develop their practical skills in the area of organisational management.

Rights, Advocacy, and Discrimination

This unit will provide students with an understanding of the current Local, State and Federal Government policy and legislation regarding young people with diverse abilities and their families. Service delivery, advocacy and inter professional collaboration models will be examined in order to analyse the benefits and limitations of the current legal/court system regarding young people. Students will be given the opportunity to critically examine case studies outlining ethical issues around duty of care vs dignity of risk when working with young people who have diverse abilities. Other legal issues such as guardianship and power of attorney, consent and capacity, and justice plans all have significant impacts on a young person's life and the need for youth worker advocacy will be identified.

Working in Human Services

This unit of study introduces students to key dimensions of human service organisations. A range of theoretical models from different disciplinary perspectives are presented and critically examined from the viewpoints of key stakeholders including workers, service users, managers, funding bodies and policy makers. A focus on the organisational context of professional practice in the human services contributes to students' preparation for their future practice.