Course Topics
1. Theoretical and Methodological Foundations of Community and Outreach Social Work - Placement within the historical evolution of social work - Key theories and definitions at the international level - Intervention perspectives across micro and macro levels - The Italian context: an overview of community and outreach social work 2. Introduction to Community Social Work Practice - Main theoretical and operational models for community-based intervention - Roles and core competencies of the social worker - The phases of community work: initiation, facilitation, management, and monitoring - Methods and techniques for working with communities 3. Introduction to Street Work and Outreach Interventions - Definition of outreach social work - Main goals and challenges of outreach interventions - Involving hard-to-reach populations - The non-linear phases of outreach work and the management of uncertainty 4. Analysis of case studies, to be defined based on the interests of the students.

Propaedeutic courses
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Teaching format
This elective course is delivered remotely in synchronous mode.

Educational objectives
1. KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING Students will: - Acquire knowledge of the historical evolution and international theoretical foundations of community and outreach social work. - Understand the main models of intervention at micro and macro levels, and how these are applied in different contexts, including the Italian experience. - Become familiar with key concepts such as anti-oppressive practice, advocacy, and policy practice within community work. - Explore a range of strategies, methods, and tools used in outreach social work, with particular attention to hard-to-reach populations. - Develop awareness of the stages of outreach work — including contact, joint needs assessment, service agreements, referrals, and informal/formal evaluation — and the complexity of managing these processes. 2. APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING Students will: - Apply theoretical models and practical methods to simulated or real-life case studies, with attention to different social contexts and types of marginality. - Reflect on and analyze their own experiences (where applicable) in working with vulnerable or excluded groups. - Design context-sensitive community and outreach-based interventions in various fields, considering both ethical and operational aspects. 3. MAKING JUDGEMENTS Students will: - Develop critical awareness of intersectional factors that influence vulnerability and social exclusion. - Recognize the limits and opportunities of community-based and outreach interventions, especially when operating in unpredictable or rapidly changing environments. 4. COMMUNICATION SKILLS Students will: - Learn and practice basic communication strategies for initiating low-threshold contact and building trust in community and outreach settings. - Develop skills for facilitating dialogue and participatory processes with individuals, groups, and communities. 5. LEARNING SKILLS Students will: - Enhance their capacity for context analysis and needs assessment in diverse territorial and social environments. - Strengthen their ability to autonomously expand their knowledge base through reflection, critical reading, and discussion of case studies defined in collaboration with fellow students.

Assessment
1. Formative evaluation: During the course, students will be invited to present a potential intervention design co-constructed as a group. After each presentation, the lecturer will provide an individual commentary and invite students to carry out a self-assessment. 2. Summative assessment: The final assessment will consist of an oral interview based on the project presented (which must also be submitted in written form) and on the content covered during the course.

Evaluation criteria
- Project work: adaptation of the conceptualised strategies and methods to an awareness-raising intervention aimed at a specific context. - Appreciated content characteristics will be: critical reflection, reflections on one's own experience when relevant, creative solutions, attention to collaborative processes, centrality of agency and choice of target in the design of the intervention, awareness of relational asymmetries, risks and structural factors when discussing targeted interventions. - Appreciated formal characteristics will be: adherence to deadlines, accurate definition and representation of the phenomenon studied, appropriate use of technical language, active participation in collaborative work.