Professional Social Work Practice

77122

This online course introduces learners to the history and development of professional social work practice in Aotearoa New Zealand including its unique indigenous and bicultural context and its relationship to international social work. Learners will consider the nature of professionalism, professional regulation, and the requirements of professional accountability in the “risk society”.

Availability

Our distance learning courses are offered throughout the year to help you fit study around your work and life commitments.
Courses are offered up to 12 times per year depending on demand and availability of academic staff.
Exact start dates are in the course information pages and in our Enrolment dates page:

Enrolment dates

Cost

Course costs can be found on all course pages. The fees may increase annually.
Qualification cost – to give you an idea of how much a qualification may cost in total over the duration of your studies, an approximate cost is provided for many of our qualifications. This is based on the required number of courses to complete the qualification and the average cost of those courses. It does not include annual administration fees, text books and course materials or external exam fees, and is subject to annual course fee increases.

Credits

Courses are assigned credits depending on how much time and effort is needed to complete their learning outcomes. In general, each credit represents approximately 10 hours of study time.

Delivery method

Online – The course materials for online courses are delivered in an online format and all assignments are submitted online.
Mixed – These courses are delivered using a mix of online and paper based course materials. This may include receiving paper course materials, submitting assignments online, or being required to participate in online forums and learning activities.
Print Only - The course will be delivered using paper based courses materials, and assignments may need to be submitted in hard copy rather than online. This will depend on the course.

Whether courses are delivered online, on paper or a mixture of both, there may also be components such as workshops, noho marae, work experience and practicum to participate in. To find out what your course involves check the course information page.

EFTS

EFTS stands for equivalent full-time student. An EFTS is the study time required for each course and is used by the Tertiary Education Commission to decide if a course is part-time or full-time.

One year of full-time study is generally between 0.8 and 1.2 EFTS.

Level

You can tell how hard a course or qualification is by the level it is set at:

Levels 1-4 are about the same as secondary school and basic trades training.
Levels 5-7 are the same as university study.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites are courses that must be completed before another course can be studied.
Co-requisites are courses that can be studied at the same time as another course.

If a course has a specific prerequisite or co-requisite course, it will be listed on the course page under the title 'Prerequisites'. If no courses are listed, check the entry and other requirements under the qualification you are studying for. Some courses require you to have studied at a particular level prior to enrolling.

Student loans

Not all qualifications or students are eligible for student loans. You will need to meet criteria such as studying a minimum number of credits over a specific study period. It is up to you to apply for a student loan via StudyLink - Open Polytechnic does not do this for you.

Information about student loans and eligibility

StudyLink website

Teaching weeks

Teaching weeks is the number of weeks that we teach a course. This differs from the enrolment period, which is based on the course start and end dates.

For example, a 20-week enrolment period will have 16 teaching weeks, followed by four weeks to accommodate marking, any extensions and reassessments, or exams.

Workload

The workload estimate given on a course page is calculated like this:

Number of credits x 10, divided by the number of teaching weeks for the course. The hours will be rounded up to nearest whole number.

Please note, this is a guide only. You may need more or less time for study, and you may also need to do more hours during assessment due dates or exams times.

Level
5
Credits
20
Cost

$964 NZ Domestic
EFTS
0.1667
Delivery type

Online only
Teaching weeks 16 weeks
Workload Approximately 13 hours per week
Prerequisites
- 77120 Te Ao Māori and Social Practice
If you need to discuss prerequisites for this course
contact us

The types of knowledge, skills and values underpinning professional social work practice will be discussed, and key aspects of the legislative and ethical framework described. The different organisational contexts for social work practice will be considered and learners will be introduced to reflective practice and the use of professional supervision

For more information watch the course introduction video below.

Students who successfully complete this online course will be able to

Discuss the origins, development and the indigenous and bicultural context of social work and community development in Aotearoa New Zealand, and its relationship with international social work practice.
Discuss professionalism, professional regulation and accountability in the context of the “risk society”.
Describe the types of knowledge, skills, values and ethical frameworks for professional social work practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Describe the legislative framework underpinning social work practice in Aotearoa New Zealand including obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Discuss the diverse organisational, social and cultural contexts for social work and community development practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Explain the purposes of professional supervision and reflective, self-aware practice.
Formulate information search questions, identify relevant sources and find needed information.

Course content

Topics will include:

the development of social work in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally
the unique indigenous and bicultural context for the development of social work practice in Aotearoa New Zealand
volunteerism and the rise of professional social work – including community, faith-based, not-for-profit and indigenous movements
the nature of professionalism, professional regulation and social work practice in the “risk society”
professional knowledge, skills and values for social work practice
social work, regulation and the state
the legislative framework for professional social work including obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi
the organisational, social and cultural contexts for professional social work
social and community development practice in Aotearoa New Zealand
the functions of supervision
self-aware, relationship-based and reflective practice
developing a personal practice model
Skills to formulate information search questions, identify relevant sources, and find needed information

Delivery and support

Students will undertake self-directed study working through a series of modular course materials consisting of a learning guide and core course readings. Brief text-based scenarios and reflective exercises embedded within the course materials will help connect theories and concepts with practice situations.

Course materials will be accessible online where students can also access formative quizzes for self-assessment of key course concepts. A discussion forum will be available to post questions and issues and a lecturer will be accessible by telephone and/or email.

Resources

Resources will include:

course materials and a selection of key articles (paper based and in pdf)
a course asynchronous discussion forum
interactive quizzes to test knowledge of key concepts
a course web page with recommended and additional resources (some accessible online and some through the Open Polytechnic Library).

Computer and internet requirements

To complete this course you will need access to a laptop or desktop computer, reliable broadband internet connection and a data plan able to support online learning such as streaming of videos (including YouTube), downloading content, and writing and submitting online assessments. If you are unsure if your current computer or internet access allows you to complete your online learning with us, please contact us before applying to enrol.

Learn more about our online learning and study tools.

How to enrol

Before enrolling in this course you need to:

choose the qualification you will study the course under
check the order that courses in the qualification should be studied in the Qualification Structure table. This is in the Choose courses and apply tab on the qualification page.

Work towards

You can do this course as part of these qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree

Bachelor of Social Work (OP7400)

Course availability over the next 12 months

Nov

Dec

2025

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct