KSW123 Human behaviour and the Social Environment

The purpose of this course is to acquaint social work students with human development knowledge as the foundation for social work practice. Human problems are viewed within their environment. People and environments reciprocally affect one another therefore plans of intervention must consider the reciprocal impact of people and a range of environmental systems. The course equips students with critical perspectives on a variety of theoretical frameworks used to understand regularities and irregularities in human development and functioning across the life span. Important theories in this course are: the ecological perspective and the systems theory which emphasise the ways in which culture and the broader social environment shape human behavior and identity, both in terms of general patterns and unique configurations by intersecting with the individual. The course also focus is on the biological, psychological, and spiritual person and the interrelatedness of emotion and cognition, neurobiology, and the social environment. The course also focuses on the changing, dynamic, and interactive processes that shape human behavior and development of the ‘self’ across the life span.