Academic programme

3-YEAR BACHELOR PROGRAMME IN SOCIAL EDUCATION

Main objectives
The profession of health and social-workers is based on common values. The content of the programme is to ensure that the students will have the knowledge and the understanding within a common framework for professionals in the health and social sector. The students are to develop an understanding of humans as a whole, show respect for humans' integrity and legal rights and take care of the clients' autonomy and rights to take part in decisions concerning themselves. The common part of the framework should also train the students' ability to ask questions about their profession in order to develop new knowledge, practical skills and attitudes. It should also strengthen the ability to cooperate with other professions.

• be able to read research reports and make sense of the results in their profession;
• be able to argue and justify their profession from a theoretical and research based methodological perspective to the clients and employers;
• document, develop and assess the quality of their work;
• see the individuals as whole and have respect for each individual's integrity, legal and human rights;
• identify ethical dilemmas in society, in practical health work and social work;
• reflect on ethical issues, have a set of ethical tools and be able to reveal value conflicts;
• possess knowledge of health and social problems, the welfare state and it's professions;
• know the frames for their own professional group and the distribution of tasks between the different workers in the health- and social sector;
• be familiar with the legislative and decision-making structures in the health and social sector and laws and agreements concerning the field;
• be familiar with the background for health political priorities and know the consequences of these;
• possess knowledge on how to influence health and social politics;
• be familiar with main objectives and measures of social policy and be able to assess these critically as well as providing the premises for decisions in the social sector and in politics;
• be familiar with health and social politics in a national and international perspective;
• be able to communicate with people of different ethnical, religious and cultural background;
• be able to cooperate with the client and other professional groups;
• demonstrate knowledge and abilities in conflict solving.

After completion of the programme the students should possess knowledge, skills and attitudes that give them the necessary background for assist and perform services to people with different functional disabilities. The professional practice should be based on values of human equality, respect for each individual's integrity and aim to empower the client. The competence of the social educator is built on an integration of theoretical studies and practical training, and they should be able to document, ensure the quality and evaluate their own professional work.

• will meet the client with respect and empathy, seeing the perception of equal status as a condition for their professional work independent of age, sex culture, religion and perceptions of reality;
• be able to communicate and act in an ethical responsible way together with the client, the next of kin and social network;
• be able to advocate the client's interests in cooperation with other professional groups
• possess knowledge about normal and abnormal development and development disabilities of physical, mental or social kind;
• be bale to understand the consequences of different functional disabilities, the most common somatic and psychiatric diseases;
• identify interests, resources and limitations in cooperation with the client and be able to implement practical and methodological milieu therapy aiming at improved life quality and coping of everyday life;
• be able to handle medicine in a sensible way;
• be qualified to counsel, train and give basic nursing to people in need of these services;
• advice and counsel next of kin
• be familiar with general administrative principles and relevant legislation, taking the clients' needs and rights into account when performing casework;
• possess knowledge and understand how the structures and processes in the society influence on the clients' situations;
• have developed competence in changing and be bale to assess different methods and measures in order to change various structures in order to improve the client's situation;
• be able to document, develop and assess the quality of their work;
• be able to evaluate the ideology and measures employed by the health and social politics and function as a contributor of premises on whitch decisions are made, both on local and national political level;
• be able to prevent and handle conflicts of various kinds;
• demonstrate ability to explore professional issues in a systematic and reflective way.