Sustainable Development Goals Research/Comparison Paper
DUE: April 22 by 9:00pm
The purposes of this assignment are to: a) Identify and discuss social issues from a comparative
global perspective and develop a plan for change in another country. b) Allow you to explore
proposed solutions within the professional framework of social work values, personal values,
social/economic justice theory and feasibility of those solutions within current social/political
context. c) Discuss at least two social justice theories relative to social work practice that would
support your proposed change actions. d) Apply intersectionality and social justice theories to
assessment of international policies.
This paper is expected to consist of the following: (part A) a cover page, (part B) written
text, and (part C) a References section. The entire paper should be double-spaced, in 12-pt
font and include page numbers in upper right-hand corner with your last name as a ‘header’
on all pages.
Cover page requirements (part A):
*Format with your name, course/semester, assignment title, and date – one line each
(all ‘centered’ on your cover page)
Content/formatting requirements (part B):
Formatting:
*Use paragraph structure and headings/sub-headings to organize your paper
*Write in complete sentences and use appropriate grammar and punctuation
*Use APA format to cite your sources—NO EXCEPTIONS!
Content:
*Choose a foreign country
*Describe the social make-up of the United States and then the selected country (Germany)
population, ethnic groups, languages, religions, education, etc.)
*Describe the economic make-up of the United States and then the selected country (economy,
household income, workforce/employment, major sources of industry, etc.)
*Describe the political make-up of the United States and then the selected country (government
structure, leaders, etc.)
DO NOT COPY AND PASTE!! – Paraphrase and cite
*Choose one sustainable development goal for each country (same or different), and address the
following questions in your analysis:
o What is the goal? Give a brief descriiption of the overview of the goal.
▪ Which specific population(s) is/are affected? How? To what degree are they
affected?
▪ For each country, discuss current statistics (within last 5 years) as they relate
to the issue(s) chosen. (responses must be thorough)
o What social policy (government) efforts have been taken to reduce or eliminate the
problems?
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o Who (what organizations/entities) supports these efforts? How have they
demonstrated support of those efforts?
o Have the government efforts been successful? What evidence leads you to this
conclusion?
o With which social work values are those efforts congruent? Justify your argument.
o Are those efforts supported by social justice theories? Discuss at least two social
justice theories to justify your argument.
o FOR EACH, if you were a LBSW in those countries, what actions (interventions)
would you take to improve the efforts already made to reduce or eliminate the issue?
▪ Which social work values and ethics support your actions?
▪ What research supports your actions?
▪ Which human-behavior theories support your actions? Explain.
▪ What social justice theory supports your actions? How?
▪ Step back – think critically here…
• Do you think your actions would be feasible in those countries
current social/political climates? (Think about who you are, what you
bring to the table in terms of intersectionality and how that may or
may not be relative to undertaking change in a foreign country).
Considering all of the other items listed above, why or why not?
▪ Present a clearly worded descriiption of how you would evaluate the
effectiveness of your actions. How would you know your efforts were
successful? Describe what one would expect to see. Diagram the baseline,
the interventions, and the expected outcome for each over time.
References page (part C):
*The References page must be in correct APA format and include at least 5 reputable sources.
Here are two excellent resources to help you get started:
https://sdgs.un.org/goals
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/