Manchester Metropolitan University

Department Psychology and Speech Pathology

MSc Modular Psychology Scheme (all routes):

Short Course

COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY

TEACHING ARRANGEMENTS

The course will be taught by Carolyn Kagan, Paul Ducket and Kath Knowles. It will be taught over 6 teaching days with small group and project work in between, and followed by a day of presentations. The course will be based on action learning principles, wherein you work on a real issue in the community, explore relevant literature and reflect upon your learning, and then go on to identify further action and so on. You will be asked to discuss and present progress on your assignments throughout the course and to give an overall presentation at the end of the course. Clearly what is possible within the course is limited by the duration of the course. It is a 15 credit course for which you are expected to undertake 150 hours of study. Approximately 40 hours will be class attendance, which leaves 110 hours to do background reading, work on your project, work on your assignment, write it up and prepare presentations.

Our aims are that by the end of the course you will:

  1. understand some of the main principles and methods of community psychology and how it differs from other forms of psychological practice;
  2. appreciate how community psychology is a way of being, rather than a way of undertaking a specific piece of work; and
  3. be able to assess the contributions made by community psychologists.

Specifically, we hope that by the end of the course you will:

Students who have undertaken this module, from whichever programme, have all succeeded. Sometimes the mark they have received for their report is not commensurate with the amount of learning they have achieved. This reflects the difficulties of learning a totally new way of working and developing skills as well as academic analysis. Some of the comments made by past students include:

Course Outline

Whilst the emphasis on certain aspects of the course may change, depending on the projects on which you are working, the broad outline of the course is as follows:

Day 1: Course requirements. Introduction. What is community psychology? Principles of community psychology; nature of community psychology; nature of social change; values of community psychology; conceptual orientation; overview of strategies and methods; evaluation

Day 2: Systems perspectives; stakeholder analyses; power and empowerment; context and problem assessment; strategies and methods; process and change. The identification of project work for assignments.

Day 3: Group presentations of assignments (1) background (including literature review); nature of community; analysis of assignment issue (context, power, diversity, levels of analysis, systems and subsystems) and focus of assignment

Day 4: Skills and methods; social policy and other documentary analysis; bargaining and negotiation; group facilitation; networking and forming alliances; participatory work; ecological analyses; soft systems methodology; strategies for sustainability; evaluation

Day 5: Group presentations of assignments (2) change (including values, goals) implementation (including strategies and skills)

Day 6: Constraints on working as a community psychologist; resistance; professionalism; values and ideology; political and policy stakeholds; access, inclusion and exclusion. Evaluation, change and development in context over time

Day 7: Group presentations of assignments (3) Critical assessment and evaluation. Project and methods of working (within the group and in the community). Community partners may be invited to this presentation.

Some of the workshops and research seminars you see advertised on notice boards may be useful - keep your eye on them. From time to time we have visitors from abroad and may be able to arrange additional sessions.

 

READING

You will be given some articles during the course, but you MUST read journals as well as reports, and books e.g. Journal Community Psychology, Community, Work and Family; American Journal Community Psychology; Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology; Journal Social Policy; Critical Social Policy; Social Issues; Race and Class; Disability and Society; British Journal Social Work; Organization.

Key Texts:

See Also:

A number of books have been placed in the Short Term Loan system in the library:

Key Texts:

· Burton, M and Kagan, C (1995) Social Skills and People with Learning disabilities: A Social Capability Approach London, Chapman and Hall

See Also:

KEY ASSESSMENT DATES

Presentation 1: December 5

Presentation 2: January 23

Presentation 3: March 7

Portfolio Hand-in: March 7

ASSIGNMENT

The assignment is a set assignment, within which you can direct and focus your interests whilst working in the community. You may work alone, with a partner or in a small group.

Community Psychology is concerned with social change and with social disadvantage. Your task is to work on a change project. Whilst clearly the most important aspect for you is to undertake a project which will meet the course requirements, it is essential that within the spirit of community psychology, you work in partnership with a neighbourhood or community group on an issue of importance to them. You must ensure that you take account of the timescale in which you are completing the course and that you do not begin something that cannot be finished or that will not be sustainable. This means that some of you will be able to do preliminary work leading to a proposed change project, whilst others will be able to see through some change issue.

Either in relation to a community group with which you are currently involved, have recently been involved, or have begun to be involved, write 4000 words each on:

 

Critically assess the contribution of community psychology to (a named issue in the community)

Your project must be agreed in advance with tutors. You will need to produce an assignment which includes:

(1) Background and context to your work (including literature review; nature of community and your involvement; analysis of assignment issue (context, power, diversity, levels of analysis, systems and subsystems etc.) and focus of assignment. This section should refer to a specified community issue and ‘problem’ on which you will, or intend to work.

(2) Change (including values, goals) implementation (including strategies and skills). This section may be based on actual or proposed action, depending on the nature of the issue and timescale.

(3) Critical assessment and evaluation: Project and methods of working (within the group and in the community). This section may be based on actual or proposed evaluation, depending on the nature of the issue and timescale. It should also include some reflexive analysis of how you have worked within your group, and of what you have learnt about yourself as a community psychologist.

You must draw on relevant literature throughout your assignment, referencing it fully and thoroughly.

You may submit an individual 4000 word report or a group report in which individual people have contributed 4000 words each. A group report must contain a statement of who has contributed what, and how marks should be divided amongst members of the group, and signed by all members of the group.

Opportunities will be provided within the course sessions for presentations of these three parts of the assignment. each presentation will be worth 10% of the marks, and the final report worth 70%. The presentations may be in any form. If it would be useful for your project to present your material in non-standard mode, such as via drawings, videotape, leaflets, drama performance etc., you must discuss this with one of the tutors. The presentations are assessed and the assessments must be capable of external moderation. (There is usually a way of ensuring that all presentations meet this requirement, but this must be agreed in advance.) All presentations will be assessed on content and process by peers and a tutor.

Outcome criteria

Your work will be assessed according to the extent to which you have shown:

 

Working in the Field

As you will be working in an ‘uncontrolled environment’ all work must undergo a risk assessment in advance. You will be required to complete a risk assessment process and, if relevant an ethical clearance process. This will be undertaken in class time. You must agree your project with a tutor. Projects we may be able to link you with include:

You may find the Community Exchange directory a useful source of ideas about other projects.

Examples of types of recent projects:

 

See also www.compsy.org.uk

 

Community Psychology

Module Evaluation 2002-2003

We would appreciate your comments on this module. They really do help us plan for any changes to the course in the future. Please write your comments below and leave the form in CK’s pigeon hole. Thanks.