D0073 - LABORATORIO SUL LAVORO SOCIALE CON UTENTI STRANIERI: ESPERIENZE E PRATICHE NEI SERVIZI SOCIALI

Learning outcomes

By the end of the workshop, students will have acquired a critical and up-to-date understanding of social work with migrants and of the responses developed by social welfare services.

Course contents

The workshop comprises nine seminar sessions devoted to social work with people from diverse migration backgrounds. By bringing theoretical contributions into dialogue with professional experience and practices developed within social services, the workshop critically examines access to welfare provision, approaches to assessment and support, and the main tensions affecting social work in increasingly diverse and complex contexts.

The workshop takes as its starting point the recognition that people administratively classified as “foreign nationals” or “migrants” do not constitute a homogeneous category. Their circumstances vary according to their legal status, migration trajectory, gender, age, family situation, socioeconomic and health conditions, social networks and the characteristics of their local contexts. Particular attention will therefore be paid to the effects of administrative and professional categorisations and to the need for reflective, inclusive, intersectional and rights-based practice.

The sessions will address the following topics, including through the analysis of professional experiences and appropriately anonymised case studies:

• migration, social citizenship and transformations of welfare systems;
• access to services, institutional inequalities, and administrative, linguistic, digital and territorial barriers;
• the plurality of legal statuses, international protection and reception systems;
• the role of social workers in integrated reception pathways and the development of personalised support plans;
• support for unaccompanied foreign minors, including guardianship, reception and the transition to adulthood;
• social work with families, parenting, gender, violence and human trafficking;
• severe social exclusion among adults, housing insecurity and low-threshold interventions;
• health, mental health, vulnerability and integrated health and social care;
• linguistic and cultural mediation and intercultural and transcultural approaches;
• teamwork, interprofessional collaboration, local networks and relationships between public services and third-sector organisations;
• professional discretion, the tension between care and control, advocacy and anti-oppressive practice;
• professional language, social work documentation and critical reflection on the categories used in professional practice.

The first session will also introduce the learning pathway and provide guidance on writing the academic paper. It will address the formulation of an initial research question, the definition and delimitation of the topic, the development of a central argument, the structure of the paper, the identification and assessment of sources, citation practices and the preparation of the reference list.

No specific prerequisites are required. A basic understanding of the principles, methods and organisation of social work, together with a basic knowledge of the sociology of migration, would be useful.

The detailed schedule, the topics covered in each session and information about guest professionals will be published on Virtuale.

Readings/Bibliography

Core text

Barberis, E., Boccagni, P., & Denaro, C. (2024). Il lavoro sociale con le persone immigrate: Verso una pratica riflessiva e inclusiva (2ª ed.). Maggioli.

The chapters most relevant to the topics covered in each session will be indicated during the workshop and on Virtuale.

Recommended and further reading

Welfare, social citizenship and access to services

Accorinti, M. (2021). L’immigrazione e la necessità di trasformare il welfare State. Autonomie locali e servizi sociali, 44(1), 87–93. https://doi.org/10.1447/100476

Ferretti, D. (2017). Il welfare locale alla prova delle migrazioni. Un’analisi dei progetti SPRAR nelle città medie italiane. Autonomie locali e servizi sociali, 40(1), 95–108. https://doi.org/10.1447/86952

Rosini, M., & Tomasi, M. (2020). La legge regionale tra integrazione dei cittadini stranieri e “frantumazione” dei diritti sociali. Diritti regionali. Rivista di diritto delle autonomie territoriali, 1, 419–462. https://www.dirittiregionali.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/documento-integrale-62.pdf

Tognetti Bordogna, M. (2012). Accesso ai servizi sanitari e costruzione della cittadinanza dei migranti. Autonomie locali e servizi sociali, 35(1), 111–124. https://doi.org/10.1447/37770

Vitiello, M. (2020). Le politiche di integrazione e i servizi sociali per gli immigrati. Parolechiave, 28(2), 213–225.

Critical, reflective and anti-oppressive practice

Fook, J. (2022). Social work: A critical approach to practice (4th ed.). SAGE.

Popescu, M., & Libal, K. (2018). Social work with migrants and refugees: Challenges, best practices, and future directions. Advances in Social Work, 18(3), i–x. https://doi.org/10.18060/22600

Schwarzer, B., Kämmerer-Rütten, U., Schleyer-Lindenmann, A., & Wang, Y. (Eds.). (2016). Transnational social work and social welfare: Challenges for the social work profession. Routledge.

Valtonen, K. (2001). Social work with immigrants and refugees: Developing a participation-based framework for anti-oppressive practice. Part 1. The British Journal of Social Work, 31(6), 955–960. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/31.6.955

Viola, E., Biondo, E., & Mosso, C. O. (2018). The role of social worker in promoting immigrants’ integration. Social Work in Public Health, 33(7–8), 483–496. https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2018.1546252

Organisation of services, reception and professional practice

Accorinti, M., & Spinelli, E. (2019). L’attività degli operatori sociali tra aiuto e controllo nel nuovo sistema di accoglienza. La Rivista delle Politiche Sociali, 2, 103–120.

Falcone, F. (2021). «Qui abbiamo sempre fatto così». Le incertezze organizzative nei servizi per migranti: spunti per una formazione permanente per gli operatori sociali. Autonomie locali e servizi sociali, 44(2), 393–415. https://doi.org/10.1447/101461

Regione Emilia-Romagna. (2023). Costruire la salute per/con i migranti: Servizi sanitari e socio-sanitari in un welfare di comunità (Sestante, n. 12). https://salute.regione.emilia-romagna.it/salute-mentale/documentazione/la-rivista-sestante/i-numeri-pubblicati-dal-2015/costruire-la-salute-per-con-i-migranti-servizi-sanitari-e-socio-sanitari-in-un-welfare-di-comunita

Vulnerability, inequalities and pathways to inclusion

Di Rosa, R. T., & Tumminelli, G. (2022). Vulnerabilità sociali e diseguaglianze digitali post pandemia: l’inclusione trascurata dei migranti. Autonomie locali e servizi sociali, 45(3), 459–474. https://doi.org/10.1447/106441

Ims, R., Lorås, L., Ness, O., & Finlay, L. (2021). Immigrants’ experiences on integration while attempting to access the labour market: Implications for social work practice. Social Sciences, 10(4), Article 121. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10040121

Additional academic readings, legislation and institutional documents relating to individual sessions will be provided or recommended on Virtuale.

For the purposes of writing the paper, students must use:

• at least one relevant chapter from the core text;
• at least two academic contributions or other materials included in the syllabus or presented during the sessions;
• at least one further relevant academic or institutional source identified independently.

Teaching methods

The workshop is taught in person and adopts a seminar-based, participatory and reflective approach. The sessions combine:

• theoretical introductions;
• contributions from social workers and other professionals working in public services and third-sector organisations;
• the presentation and discussion of professional experiences;
• the analysis of case studies and challenging situations.

The experiences presented by guest professionals will be critically examined in the light of the academic literature and the concepts discussed during the workshop. Particular attention will be paid to the relationship between the individual, organisational and structural dimensions of social problems, as well as to the possibility that professional practices and categories may inadvertently reproduce stereotypes, inequalities or power relations.

Active participation in discussions and group work is an integral part of the learning experience.

Assessment methods

The course is assessed on a pass/fail basis.

A pass is awarded when both of the following requirements have been met:

1. attendance at no fewer than six of the nine seminar sessions;
2. submission of an individual paper assessed as satisfactory.

No alternative programme is available to non-attending students, given the participatory and workshop-based nature of the course.

Paper requirements

The paper must focus on one of the topics addressed during the workshop. It must not be limited to summarising the sessions or the assigned readings. Instead, it must:

• identify and clearly define a problem or question;
• provide a critical account of the main aspects of the selected topic;
• relate the experiences discussed during the workshop to the relevant academic literature;
• develop a clear and independently constructed line of argument;
• present conclusions that are consistent with the analysis undertaken.

The paper should be approximately 15,000 characters in length, including spaces, notes and the reference list. It must be written in 12-point Times New Roman with 1.5 line spacing and submitted as a PDF by email to the lecturer ten days before the relevant examination date.

Detailed guidance on structure, formatting, citations, the reference list and file naming will be published on Virtuale, together with a dedicated template.

There will be no assessed interim assignments.

Assessment criteria

The paper will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• ability to understand, select and organise the topics and issues addressed during the workshop and in the literature used: 50%;
• quality of argumentation, critical analysis and development of an independent line of reasoning: 30%;
• accuracy of spelling and syntax, clarity of expression and formal organisation of the paper: 10%;
• relevance, reliability and appropriate use of the bibliography, including independently identified sources: 10%.

These percentages indicate the relative weight assigned to each criterion in determining the pass/fail outcome and do not result in a numerical mark out of 30.

The paper will be assessed as satisfactory when it provides an accurate and adequately developed account of the selected topic, presents a recognisable line of argument, makes relevant and verifiable use of sources, and is written and organised to an overall appropriate standard. A paper consisting mainly of summary, lacking references to the relevant literature, displaying serious weaknesses in its argument or containing non-existent or unverifiable sources will not meet the requirements for a pass.

If the paper is assessed as unsatisfactory, it must be revised in accordance with the feedback provided and resubmitted for a subsequent examination session.

Use of generative artificial intelligence

For the purposes of assessment, limited, declared and non-substantial use of generative artificial intelligence is permitted for support activities. Generative AI must not be used to outsource the development of the argument, the critical analysis, the substantive drafting of sections of the paper or the unverified construction of the reference list.

Any use of generative AI tools must be declared in a brief statement at the end of the paper, specifying the tool used and the purpose for which it was employed. Students remain responsible for the entire content of their paper, the reliability of the information presented, and the existence and accuracy of the sources cited. Substantial and undeclared use of generative AI constitutes a breach of academic integrity.

Registration and recording of the result

Students must register for the relevant examination session. The paper must be submitted as a PDF by email by the stated deadline. Students are not required to attend in person for the pass result to be formally recorded.

Students with specific learning disabilities or temporary or permanent disabilities are advised to contact the relevant University office in good time (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ). The office will propose any adjustments for eligible students. These must in any case be submitted to the lecturer for approval at least 15 days in advance. The lecturer will assess their appropriateness in relation to the learning outcomes of the course.

Teaching tools

The workshop will use presentation slides, academic publications, legislation and institutional materials, professional documents, anonymised case studies, worksheets and, where appropriate, audio-visual materials.

The following will be made available on Virtuale:

• materials used during the sessions;
• the updated schedule and information about guest professionals;
• guidance on planning and writing the paper;
• a template for the paper;
• guidance on citations and the preparation of the reference list;
• materials for independent study and further reading.

Office hours

See the website of Alice Lomonaco