Social Work, Service Users Participation and Organization

Do you want to get involved and make an impact? Explore this independent second cycle course about human service organisations, anti-oppressive social work and service user initiatives . Learn to navigate power imbalances in social work contexts. This coursefosters a nuanced understanding of social work methods, empowerment, and different service user initiatives.

During the course, you will learn about:

•  how human service organizations are constructed and function (leadership, communication, work distribution and organizational culture)
• civil society and its role as a producer of public services
• theories of power and how power relations are embedded in different social work methods
• various types of service users’ involvement and participation in social work
• how social economies are structured in various countries

After finishing the course you can:

• analyze and discuss how organizational aspects influence various types of social problems and social interventions
• analyze how imbalances of power are embedded in different types of social work
• analyze and take part in various types of user initiatives (such as self-help organizations, social cooperatives or "advocacy")

The course covers topics within social work on a local and a global level:

• Theories and research on human service organizations.
• Various methods and technologies of social work within human service organizations.
• Contemporary challenges for human service organizations and changes in the social welfare sector, globally and locally.

The teaching

Teaching includes lectures, seminars and workshops. You may participate in study visits to organizations within civil society in Sweden. Some study visits take place digitally. You will also write a case study report. The case study report and the mandatory seminars are examinational.