SWK352 Tutor-Marked Assignment SUSS January 2025 : Children And Their Issues, Singapore

TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT (TMA)

This assignment is worth 35% of the final mark for SWK352 Children and their issues.
The cut-off date for this assignment is Thu, 13 March 2025, 2355hrs. Late submissions will be penalised.
Note to Students:
• You are to include the following particulars in your submission: Course Code, Title of
the assignment (e.g., TMA01, GBA01 etc) SUSS PI No., Your Name, and
Submission Date.
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CourseCode_AssignmentCode_UserID_FullName
• The submitted assignment is limited to a word length not exceeding 2,200 words (excluding references). Do a word count and indicate the word length on the last page. It should be typewritten, double-spaced, with a size 12-font face and a 2.54 cm (one-inch) margin all round. All pages should be numbered.
• Plagiarism and/or collusion is a form of cheating and is not acceptable in any form in assignments and examinations. Please ensure your sources are correctly cited and references in APA style.
• You are not allowed to include any AI generated writing in this assignment.
Students must keep copies of their original drafts, and all references or materials used in the writing of this assignment in a zipped folder.
Read the case study and answer all the questions.
Sharon, 14 years old, is s in Secondary 2 this year. Since starting secondary school, she had found it difficult to cope with her studies and fit in socially.
Sharon did not get into the secondary school of her parents’ choice due to her Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). results. Her parents, Anne and David, are both successful lawyers. They had envisioned her attending an elite school, hoping it would set her on a path to law school to continue the family’s tradition of practicing law. David and Anne were rarely home due to their busy schedules. However, they had invested significantly in private tuition and enrichment classes for Sharon. They hoped these would help ensure her academic success. When Sharon’s results did not meet their expectations, they felt deeply disappointed.
Determined to give her another chance, her parents increased her tuition hours for her secondary school education. They believed that additional academic support would help her improve her grades. However, Sharon continued to struggle. Her ongoing academic challenges became a point of frequent tension at home. When her grades fell short, her parents would often scold her. They believed she was not applying herself fully, despite all the resources they provided. During these moments, they sometimes called her “useless,” “a disgrace to the family,” or even “an anomaly to the family’s smart gene.”
Sharon rarely confided in anyone about her feelings. Her paternal grandmother, Mdm Low, would visit her twice a month to offer encouragement. Sharon respected her grandmother, a retired district judge, deeply. Although Sharon felt her grandmother cared for her, she kept her emotions at a distance. She looked up to her grandmother from afar rather than opening up to her.
Under the constant pressure and frequent scolding, Sharon grew quiet and withdrawn. She started feeling resentful toward her parents. She felt increasingly isolated and unloved. At night, she often cried herself to sleep, feeling overwhelmed by loneliness. She began doubting her abilities and struggled even more to focus on her studies. Making friends at school also became difficult.

Sharon’s first year in secondary school had been especially tough. Quiet and reserved, she found herself often distracted by her self-doubt, loneliness and the tension at home. Her teachers frequently scolded her for her slow pace and lack of focus in class. Once, a teacher even called her “a grandmother” when she could not complete her assignments on time. The nickname stuck, and her classmates began calling her “Grandma” as a way to mock her.
One of Sharon’s classmates, Martha, noticed the teasing. Martha felt sorry for her. She decided to inform their form teacher, Mr. Tan, about the name-calling. Mr. Tan warned the class to stop, but he did not take any further action to hold the students accountable. He reassured Martha that such teasing was common. In his view, it would likely subside on its own, especially since he had spoken to the class.
In her second year, a group of older Secondary 4 schoolmates began approaching Sharon.
Initially, Sharon tried to avoid them, wary of their intention. Yet, they persisted, and over time, Sharon relented. She grew especially close to Candice, one of the girls in the group. Candice was kind to her and gave her the attention she had been longing for. Sharon quickly came to see Candice as an older sister. For the first time, she felt a sense of belonging.
As time went on, however, the group began pressuring her to try smoking and alcohol. They occasionally asked her for money as well. When she resisted, they called her names like “coward” and started ignoring her. Their taunts soon escalated into physical bullying. They would pull her hair violently and slap her across the face. Candice, whom Sharon admired and trusted, told her that this was just how the group liked to “play rough.” She suggested that Sharon should try harder to fit in. Despite this reassurance, the abuse continued. The beatings grew more frequent and severe.
As the school’s student welfare officer, you had recently noticed some bruises on Sharon’s arms. Concerned, you invited her to a counselling session. When asked about her bruises, Sharon claimed they were from an accidental fall. She was too afraid to reveal the truth. She feared her parents would find out and be deeply disappointed in her once again. She also dreaded the group’s reaction if they discovered she had told anyone.
You were in the midst of reaching out to Sharon’s teachers and parents to better understand her situation. At this point, Martha approached you, visibly distressed. She shared that Sharon was being bullied, both in class and by a group of older schoolmates. Martha hesitated but eventually showed you a video she had secretly recorded. The video showed Sharon being beaten by the older students—an incident Martha had witnessed a few days earlier.
During the session, Martha broke down and cried. She expressed guilt for not intervening at the time. She felt powerless and terrified, fearing her actions might only worsen things for Sharon. Martha begged you not to disclose what she had shared to anyone, fearing it would only bring more trouble to both her and Sharon.
While you understood Martha’s fear of retaliation, you were gravely concerned for Sharon’s safety. With the December school holidays only two weeks away, you knew there was a limited window to intervene before students would disperse for the long break.

Question 1

Appraise the risk and protective factors faced by Sharon using the Bio-psycho-social assessment model that you learnt in this course.
(30 marks)

Question 2

Martha had requested you to keep what she told you a secret and not to inform anyone about her disclosure.
a) Discuss the concepts of privacy and confidentiality that would be important for your consideration under such circumstances.
(10 marks)
b) Assess FOUR (4) concerns you might have as a social worker that justify breaking confidentiality of Martha’s disclosure. Substantiate your points with examples and literature.
(20 marks)

Question 3

Apply any FIVE (5) principles of Saleebey’s (2013) Strengths Perspective that might be useful in addressing the concerns/issues in the case study. Support your points with examples from the case study.
(30 marks)
Structure, organization, language, references and correct use of APA style.
(10 marks)