This paper has four forms of assessment - quizzes; oral presentation; essay outline, and an essay.

1. Online Quizzes - Quiz 1 Due: 23 July; Quiz 2 Due: 3 September (5% for each quiz = 10% total)

There will be a short online quiz after each Block based on the readings and content covered in sessions. Each quiz has 10 questions and will be worth 5%. Students will have at least a week following the block course days to answer the quiz. Please note that there is a 20 minute time limit with answering the quiz.

This is an individual assignment. Time allocated is up to 10 minutes per presentation followed by 5 minutes of class feedback and discussion. Time management is essential! Please ensure you practice so that you know that you will all keep to the time limit.

Making an oral presentation and facilitating discussion is an important skill for community psychologists and many other professions. These sessions are an opportunity to gain experience in these skills, integrate your learning from the year, and apply what you know about community health psychology issues. During Block 1 there will be a discussion about possible presentation topics to help you choose a topic and think about how you might narrow it down.

Ideally, your presentation should work at two levels - it should encourage your audience to engage with the topic on a personal and professional level, as well as help them understand the topic in the context of its broad organising theme. For example, under the theme of community health psychology, you might present a seminar on the function of public libraries as spaces for social inclusion and civic participation, or on prisoner rehabilitation programmes that build cultural connections and a sense of belonging. Or, you could look at the role the Kohanga Reo movement has had in relation to fostering whānau and community health and well-being. Please bring a USB with your PowerPoint presentation on it to the class so it can be uploaded to the class computer. Please ensure you keep to the time limit. The block course is on a tight schedule, and you will not be popular if you take up other speakers’ time slots. More information and presentation tips are provided on the Moodle page.

3. Essay Outline - Due Block 2: 22 August (10%)

Students are expected to submit a 1-2 page outline of their essay in second block of the course. This outline is worth 10%. The marker will be looking to see whether you have made a clear plan for your essay, have given your topic sufficient thought and have searched literature for your topic. Bullet points and mind-mapping can be used to present your ideas. You do not need to provide a full reference list, but do try to demonstrate that you have started researching the topic and give the marker a sense of the academic literature you might draw on.

4. Essay - full essay is due Monday 9 October (60%)

Overview

The aim of this assignment is to give you experience in researching a community health issue and communicating a particular set of arguments about the issue from a community health psychology (CHP) perspective. The assignment requires you to review literature (relevant to your chosen topic) on the type of work undertaken by social scientists working in community health psychology and related areas, such as public health, social policy, Māori and indigenous studies, education and sociology. Consideration should be given to the contexts, norms, values and ideologies that surround the health issue, and how these impact on the formation and focus of community research and interventions. Remember that your essay needs to have an argument that ties the different parts together. Crucially, this argument must relate to issues, concepts and ideas that are relevant to PSYCH582. In this essay it is important to demonstrate how a CHP perspective can extend our analyses of issues in psychology.

Guidelines

The essay should be 4000 words (excluding references). Prepare your essay following either one of the scenarios below, or one which you have devised yourself. Alternative scenarios must be of the form of those below (a clearly defined issue and context) and need to be approved by the course convenor (check this out in plenty of time.)

• Select a specific community health issue [e.g., housing, poverty, disabilities, Māori inequities, environmental issues, unemployment, crime, migration, minorities and social inclusion, lack of access to leisure activities or appropriate health services, etc..]. Discuss what community health psychology has [or might] contribute to our understandings of, and responses to, this issue.
• The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions has asked you to recommend the position it should take in respect of work-based health promotion [or] the management of organisations as communities.
• The Minister of Internal Affairs has asked you to prepare a critical review of the literature on disparities in health. The review may suggest possible policy interventions to address health inequalities.

Points to remember as you write: Rather than just writing a lot of detail about the chosen topic, the point of the essay is for students to demonstrate how much they know and understand from what is being taught in PSYCH582. Hence markers will be looking to see how you apply community health psychology theories, concepts and examples in your essay and arguments. It is not necessary to only write about issues and problems. One could also include initiatives or 'solutions' to problems. Just remember to do some critical analysis, bring in structural dimensions, and take account of contextual factors. For instance, you could critically review the potential benefits and barriers of implementing participatory community health initiatives. Write in a form that is accessible for your intended audience. Simple language and sentence construction are important. It will be helpful to start with a statement of the issue you are considering. You cannot cover everything written on a topic, so will need to summarise and make decisions on what to put in and leave out. The essay needs to draw on academic scholarship, but make sure that your essay does not simply list studies. Having a clear structure, argument and a narrative flow is useful to guide your reader and will help to lift your writing beyond description. You are not alone if you find the essay a challenge. Most psychology students have had little practice with essay writing. So, it is best to start on this assessment early and to make the most of writing support services.

Note: This paper does not allow the use of AI tools for completing assignments and all essays will be analysed with AI detection software. Students presenting AI generated material as their own work risk losing marks and may be referred to the Disciplinary Committee.

Additional considerations are as follows:

• Presentation: The General Guide for Psychology Students sets out School policies regarding the general style and format of assignments. You should get a copy (obtainable from Psyc Café on Moodle under Forms and Guides or from the School of Psychology office) and follow its general guidelines, except where these conflict with more specific information contained in this paper outline. Assignments should be typed, 1.5 spaced, and in a clear font (at least 11pt).

• References: You must include a list of academic references at the end of your essay, and citations within the body of the work, including page numbers if direct quotes are used. You should be consistent in the use the APA or another referencing system; please see the School’s ‘General Guide for Psychology Students’. The library has resources and tutorials for referencing and for using Endnote software.

• Revision: After you have revised your document, have someone else go through it in detail to note any points which are not clear and any missed typos. Proof-reading your own work is important. However, it is useful to also have others read your work since most of us have a tendency to “read” what we intend to write, not always what we have actually written. Do a final check on a hard copy.

• Student Learning Services: In this course there is a strong emphasis on essay writing. Investing some time to work with a Student Learning tutor is advisable for most students. Even if you think you can write well, Student Learning can help you plan your essay and help you to improve your writing – this can be a vital skill in the job market and in graduate study. You can access the Student Learning service in person, by email slsadmin@waikato.ac.nz or view their website https://www.waikato.ac.nz/teaching-and-learning/student-learning