THE REFLECTIVE SOCIAL EDUCATOR 060-073

Course Objectives

The aims of major course unit 3 are taken from the goals of the General Curriculum.

When students have completed major course unit 3 they will:

• Be able to justify their actions towards users, other professional workers, and employers from a scientific theoretical and research methodological viewpoint.
• Be able to perform case handling which is based on administrative principles and the relevant laws and which attends to the needs and rights of the users.
• Have knowledge of the background to health and social policy priorities and be aware of the relevance of these.
• Have knowledge of health and social policies in both national and international contexts.
• Have knowledge of how it is possible to influence health and social policies.
• Know how to be a team player and also how to cooperate with users and other professional groups.
• Be able to map and analyse the relationship between social conditions and the life-situations of people with disabilities.
• Be able to demonstrate knowledge of conflict management.
• Be able to read research reports and use research results in practising their profession.

Course Description

COURSE UNIT 9: CRITICAL REFLECTION

30 ECTS

When students have completed course unit 9 they will:

• Display understanding of current discourses in their own field, and discourses regarding the health and social sector professions’ contribution to the development of society and their legitimacy in the population.
• Be able to reflect critically regarding professional methods.
• Have sufficient knowledge of scientific theory and methodology to serve as a basis for specialisation.
• Have an understanding of the subject’s core areas, core concepts and their own professional role.
• Show a reflected understanding of disability as a social and cultural phenomenon, and of the disabled’s own contribution to identity and cultural understanding and various forms of self-organisation.
• Exhibit knowledge and understanding of legal topics especially in relation to the legal rights of the disabled in a welfare state.
• Be able to perform case handling.
• Demonstrate the ability to cooperate across professional, organisational and cultural dividing lines.
• Have knowledge of initiatives in the local community and humanitarian voluntary organisations’ efforts to protect vulnerable groups and their families.
• Be able to assess ideology and measures in health and social policies and function as a supplier of conditions for decisions made in the support apparatus both locally and at a higher political level.
• Display the ability to manage conflicts.

The content of the course unit embraces the ability to understand and reflect over the subject, and covers amongst other things the subject areas of organisation theory and public administration practices, scientific theory, methodology and cultural understanding.

The course unit also focuses on case handling, especially with regard to the principle chapters in the Social Services Act. The course unit provides an introduction to organisation and management theory with a focus on the role of co-workers in organisations.

The themes of culture, identity and disability will contribute to the student’s knowledge of, and insight into, the social and cultural aspects of disability. The course will focus on the possibilities and barriers which people with disabilities meet.

The topic “cooperation across boundaries” takes as its starting point knowledge of political, formal and legal pre-conditions for cooperation. The course unit will contribute to students being able to identify what promotes and hinders cooperation with regard to users, user groups, public services across the various levels of public administration and cooperation with voluntary organisations. In addition, the course unit is underpinned by a common intention of maintaining a comprehensive view of the human being, which is a focus of all the health and social worker study programmes, with a special focus on the common challenges for health and social workers with regard to responsibility for coordination.

Teaching and Learning Methods: Self study, lectures, discussion groups with practice assignments, fieldwork, training in forms of cooperation with other professional groups, presentations and training in case handling.

Assessment methods: Course unit 9 has two assessment assignments:

Course unit code: 060-073 9-1

Assessment assignment 9-1: Case exposition

The assessment assignment is a complete case exposition (document in administration). The case exposition will deal with social services available to the functionally disabled according to the Social Services Act, and the assignment must satisfy the minimum requirements regarding case handling in public administration.

Individual assignment. (1000 words). Letter grade which counts for 20% of the course grade for main course unit 3.

Course unit code: 060-073 9-2

Assessment assignment 9-2: Critical reflection

The assignment focuses on critical reflection on the main areas of the course unit. Individual assignment. Letter grade which counts for 20% of the course grade.

COURSE UNIT 10: PROFESSIONAL SPECIALISATION.

30 ECTS

When students have completed course unit 10 they will:

• Have a critical perspective regarding the practice of their own profession.
• Be able to assess ideology and measures in health and social policies.
• Be able to exhibit the ability to reflect and discuss matters with regard to the practice of health and social professional work in a multicultural society.
• Be able to exhibit an independent ability to document, quality-control and assess their own work.
• Have become acquainted with current discourses in their own field of practice and discourses regarding the health and social professions’ contribution to social development and the legitimacy of their position in society.
• Exhibit the ability to examine professional problems in a systematic and reflective manner.

The Content of course unit 10 is related to the relevant topic for specialisation-practice and the Bachelor’s degree assignment. The period of practical training will be arranged so that it will be possible to relate it to the Bachelor’s degree assignment, and it will also be possible to apply to spend the period of practical training abroad.

The student’s area of specialisation and practical training placement should be professionally challenging and relevant in relation to the core areas of the respective professional groups.

Teaching and learning methods: Practical training, supervision, lectures, self-study, group work and written and oral presentations.

Assessment methods: Course unit 10 includes one documentation assignment and one assessment assignment.

Course unit code 060-073 DO1

Documentation assignment: The student should complete a written assignment in connection with methodological specialisation/the period of practical training. The assignment should be based on the student’s own experiences and document his/her knowledge and ability to professionally reflect (2000 words).

Course unit code 060-073 101

Assessment assignment 10-1: Bachelor’s degree assignment and oral examination

The Bachelor’s degree assignment comprises 12 ECTS. As a rule the Bachelor’s degree assignment is a written group assignment. The groups may either be composed of students from similar or different programmes. The guidelines for the Bachelor’s degree assignment are described in more detail in a separate requirements document. Written Bachelor’s degree assignment (10,000 words). Letter grade which counts for 60% of the grade for major course unit 3.

The individual oral examination will be based on the Bachelor’s degree assignment. In addition, the student may be asked questions from the obligatory or self-chosen syllabus for major course unit 3. The Bachelor’s degree assignment must receive a passing grade prior to taking the oral examination. The grade for the Bachelor’s degree assignment is given before the oral examination. The oral examination may influence the grade for the assessment assignment 10.1. If the grade is F, the student will be permitted to re-sit by taking a weeklong individual written home-examination, followed by an oral examination along the lines described above.

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