A disadvantaged group usually
refers to the membership in a specific age,
sex, racial, ethnic, religious, political
orientation, or social economic status, etc.
As contrast to the dominant group, they are
a minority or have less influence. Instead
of numerical minority, this definition emphasizes
the political disadvantage, which means being
less influential in determining the allocation
of public resources. Since the rise in late
19th century, the social work profession has
regarded herself as the advocate for the disadvantaged
in the society. While being constrained by
its own middle class background, most social
work professionals have a very limited understanding
of the circumstances of the disadvantaged
groups, the students in Social Work department
here at National Taiwan University face with
similar challenge. And this course intends
to open a window for the social work students
to have a basic understanding of the circumstances
facing the disadvantaged groups, such as street
people (the poorest among the poor), people
with disabilities, people with different sexual
orientation, and the etc. And through the
course the students will learn how to work
with them from the aspect of empowerment practice.
Based on the original teaching plan, in the
mean time taking into consideration of the
students' various interest, different disadvantaged
groups may be chosen after negotiation between
the students and the instructor at the first
session of this course. In this semester,
the circumstances of five disadvantaged groups
which include people with mental health problems
and their families, the prisoners (especially
with substance abuse problems) and their families,
the aboriginal people, the migrant workers,
and the new migrant families from the south
eastern Asian countries in Taiwan will be
studied.
Through closely examining the existing services
provided by both public and private sectors,
if there is any, issues on professional ethics
will also be explored. For example, the power
struggle among different professions in services
delivery, as well as the power inequality
between the professionals and their service
users will be confronted. The pros and cons
of religious groups providing social services
will also be addressed, since most private
sector agencies serving the disadvantaged
groups in Taiwan are affiliated with some
religious institutions.
In order to enhance the impression, audio-visual
materials and study tours have been arranged
for each topic in addition to course lecture.
The students will be provided opportunities
to integrate their understandings of each
disadvantaged group and practice ethics through
film reviews and the first hand experiences
with the experienced service workers as well
as their service users. Three sessions will
be scheduled for each topic, and the students
are expected to actively participate in all
the course activities and discussion. The
most important among other things for the
students is to understand the context in which
how a disadvantaged circumstance has been
constructed, therefore, it will become possible
for them to look into the structural barriers
rather than the individual attribution as
the real causes of all the sufferings. Empowerment
practice has been emphasized by the social
work profession in Taiwan to address the contemporary
circumstances facing the disadvantaged groups.
Consciousness raising will be the first step
to work with our clientele, they need to be
aware of the real attribution of their circumstances
and to stop blaming themselves. Skill training,
positive experiences building, and self-help
group organization constitute very critical
elements of empowerment practice, the students
will have the opportunities to learn from
those service agencies arranged at each study
tour. Once the clientele knows how to voice
out their own needs through collective actions,
the social work professionals successfully
empower their clients.
After taking this course, the students are
expected to be a better advocate for their
clientele. Given their understandings of the
structural causes attributed to the disadvantaged
circumstances and their knowledge of the existing
service organizations to meet their clientele's
needs, this will further enhances their capability
to mobilize the community network to empower
the disadvantaged groups.
Schedule & Content:
9/22 Teaching Plan Overview
9/29 Social Work Professional Code of Ethics
10/6 Issues on Mental Illness (films)
10/13 Community Sheltered Employment Programs
(study tour)
10/20 People with Mental Health Problems and
Their Families
10/27 Prisoners (with substance abuse problem)
and Their Families (film)
11/3 Taipei Prison or The New Hope Work Station
(study tour)
11/10 Prisoners and Their Families under the
System
11/17 The Aboriginal People (films)
11/24 Service Programs for the Aboriginal
People (study tour)
12/1 The Aboriginal People in Taiwan Society
12/8 The Migrant Workers and the Migrant Families
(films)
12/15 New Job Service Center (study tour)
12/22 Migrant Workers in Taiwan
12/29 New Immigrant's Building (study tour)
1/5 The Migrant Families from South Eastern
Asia
1/12 Final Project Due
Evaluation Criteria:
There is no specific text books required
for this course, instead, many books, documents
from service agencies, and journal articles
will be selected for each different advantaged
group. All relative reading materials have
been reserved in the underground Reference
Room of the Main Library under LS-3. Some
updated reading materials will also be handed
to the class when the class proceeds. While
there is no mid term exam for this course,
the students are expected to review the
relative readings and turn in a short paper
of their afterthoughts at the end of each
topic, which means a short assignment every
three weeks. At the end of the semester,
each student needs to choose a disadvantaged
group which is not limited to those studied
in this course, as his/her specialized area
to work on his/her final project. And each
student should discuss his or her topic
with the instructor in advance, so that
there will not be too many students picking
up the same topic.
Being on time for class and regular attendance
are required, absence from study tour will
cause serious consequence to your study.
Class discussion participation will be highly
encouraged.
Afterthoughts on each topic: 25%, Class
participation: 20%, and Final Project: 55%
