DFVP20001 - Domestic and Family Violence Practice: Key Concepts and Perspectives

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This foundation unit will introduce you to core concepts in the field of domestic and family violence practice. There is a specific focus on investigating terminology issues and the prevailing understanding of domestic and family violence at state, national and global levels. You will make critical use of contemporary research, policy documents and legislation that address domestic and family violence (including intimate partner violence and the abuse of children, older persons, parents, siblings and animals). You will examine perspectives and theories that demonstrate the difference between gendered and non-gendered conceptions of domestic and family violence and explore societal and individual influences on this behaviour. You will learn about the sociological nature of domestic and family violence that illustrates the issues faced by priority populations and implications for practice. Legal and safety considerations that arise from working in this context and ethical, professional and self-management implications for practice are explored in this unit.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 8
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band 10
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Be Different Intakes

Note: BeDifferent Units are available to study all year round
2024 - Online
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Higher Education Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2024

Hyperflexible Annual Term - 2025 Profile
Online
Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 40%
2. Written Assessment 40%
3. Online Quiz(zes) 20%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2021 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 92.31% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 39.39% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluation
Feedback
Nicola provided us with incredibly helpful information with lots of examples and templates to use. This is my first formal studies in about 23 years and have felt both very supported and that the unit was very informative and useful in my learning. The essays expanded my thoughts and evidence base of current strategies in Victoria and contemporary theories.
Recommendation
Continue to provide essay templates and maintain the focus in assessment on relevance to personal professional practice
Action Taken
Assignments were updated to move away from the formal essay structure that students were struggling with, reducing the need for templates. Assessment items were written to maintain a focus on practice relevance.
Source: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluation
Feedback
Each unit was very helpful for my DFV practice. I enjoyed the variety of assessment questions and presentations styles. Thank you for the after hours tutorials and for recording these.
Recommendation
Continue to allow students to choose theories to apply to their practice and continue providing live web tutorials.
Action Taken
The assignments still drew on theories and I provided live tutorials.
Source: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluation
Feedback
The topic of this unit is interesting and was supported by a good range of readings. I liked the recorded lectures and lecture notes. By reading and listening, I felt more engaged with the content. Dr. Nicola was very approachable and knowledgeable. I also appreciated that, while being theory-based, the information was constantly drawn back to the application in practice.
Recommendation
Continue to provide a range of readings and recorded lectures. Continue connecting theory to professional practice.
Action Taken
A range of readings were provided and recorded lectures were also uploaded. I also continued to ensure that the unit content was connected back to practice.
Source: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluation
Feedback
Feedback on assignments was detailed and useful. The assignment questions were detailed and required a broad range of aspects to be considered in the assignments, this was somewhat difficult to do in the word count accepted.
Recommendation
Continue providing detailed feedback, but consider how the assessment items can be better scaffolded to direct students in completing the assignments and provide more resources on concise writing.
Action Taken
Detailed feedback continued to be provided and assessment items were updated so they were better scaffolded. Additional resources on writing were provided for students.
Source: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluation
Feedback
I did struggle with the powerpoint presentations and although I thought I followed the suggestions provided by Nicola I didn't seem to have grasped the intended ideas as well. Nicola is very open to questions however and did provide great feedback which I know I can ask more.
Recommendation
As a number of students noted the difficulty they faced in preparing the PowerPoint presentation, it is recommended that the utility of PowerPoint presentations be considered and whether this is an effective method of assessment going forward.
Action Taken
The PowerPoint presentation was removed as an assessment item.
Source: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluation and personal communications
Feedback
Some students noted that they found it difficult to apply theory to their practice, particularly if they were not currently working or if they were not in a DFV-specific role.
Recommendation
As some students found it difficult to apply theory to their practice, more scaffolding will be provided around how to apply theory to practice in teaching and assessment items. The assessment instructions will more specifically reference that students can think of theory as it applies to their current practice or the future role they would like to enter, whether that role is DFV-specific or not, as everyone has a role in the response to DFV.
Action Taken
More scaffolding was provided around the theory so students could see the application to current or future practice in assessment items.
Source: Student evaluation
Feedback
Students appreciated the focus on practice in their assessment items.
Recommendation
Continue to provide practice-focused assignments for students in the unit.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student evaluation
Feedback
Students appreciated being informed about the connection between theory and practice.
Recommendation
Expand efforts to demonstrate the connection between theory and practice by adding in additional examples to the unit materials and through videos.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student evaluation
Feedback
Students would appreciate more instructions on the assignment than is provided in written instructions and pre-recorded assessment videos.
Recommendation
Hold drop-in sessions specifically for questions on the assignments.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Evaluate key resources including relevant research, policy, and legislation regarding types of domestic and family violence and related impacts.
  2. Apply relevant theories to domestic and family violence practice, with a focus on gender.
  3. Critique the sociological nature of domestic and family violence, particularly with regard to priority populations.
  4. Appraise the ethical and legal context of professional practice in domestic and family violence.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment • •
2 - Written Assessment • •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Knowledge • • • •
2 - Communication • • •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills • • • •
4 - Research • •
5 - Self-management •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility •
7 - Leadership •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8