BV1800 Work Placement with Ethics and Theory of Science Course description

The course includes philosophy of social science, which focuses on how knowledge matters for professional practice in child welfare. Furthermore, the course includes ethics, which concerns theories of right and wrong, good and bad, and sheds light on the purpose of professional practice, standards for ethically sound professional practice and understandings of the professional practitioner and children, young people and families.

The course includes supervised professional work placement in fields of work that are relevant to child welfare work, including various working areas with which child welfare services collaborate. These include educational arenas such as kindergartens, schools and preventative measures in the leisure and cultural sector, as well as institutions and child welfare services. In this course, students practice child welfare work and the use of key concepts and theories in ethics and philosophy of social science. The purpose of the course is to establish an understanding of the connections between professional practice, knowledge and ethics.

The language of instruction is Norwegian.

The student must have passed an exam corresponding to 20 credits from the autumn semester.

After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• has knowledge of his/her own profession, professional practice and the organisation of the work
• has knowledge of ethical theories and concepts relevant to child welfare work
• has knowledge of basic theoretical positions within the philosophy of social science and concepts relevant to child welfare work
• has knowledge of relevant digital tools in child welfare work

Skills

The student

• can apply ethical theories and concepts to issues from the fields of practice
• can apply theories and concepts from the philosophy of social science to issues from the fields of practice
• can reflect on and further develop their understanding of their own professional practice
• can use relevant digital tools in a safe and secure manner

General competence

The student

• understands the connection between ethics, philosophy of social science and professional practice in child welfare services
• has insight into their own professional formation

Teaching takes place with physical attendance on campus, and alternates between lectures, self-study, group work, seminars and work placement.

The student will mainly follow the work routines and working hours of the work placemnet site and will have study days throughout the work placemnet period. The student will receive weekly supervision and follow-up from the work placemnet supervisor. At work placemnet sites where there are several students, individual and group supervision may be alternated.

The following coursework requirements must have been approved for the student to take the exam:

• Coursework 1: One individual written assignment

In the work requirement, the student must briefly explain a topic from work placemnet, with the aim of demonstrating that the topic contains both a (some) knowledge challenge and an ethical challenge. The student must then outline a philosophy of social science approach and an ethics approach and briefly explain why/how the student thinks these may be relevant to the challenges from the work placement. The assignment must have a scope of 2-3 pages.

The required coursework must be completed and approved by the given deadline for the student to take the exam. If the coursework requirement has not been approved, the student will be given one opportunity to submit an improved version by a given deadline.

• Coursework 2: Attendance in seminar teaching

80% attendance is required in seminar teaching (pre-practice seminar and practice-oriented seminar - a total of 3 days). In case of absence of more than 20%, an alternative work requirement is given as compensation for the absence. In case of absence of more than 40%, the student loses the right to appear for the exam. The length of the teaching days will vary, and the individual student is responsible for staying informed about the length of each teaching day. The justification for the requirement for active attendance in seminar teaching is that the student should be as prepared as possible before the start of the work placement period and be able to reflect on their learning outcomes in practice.

• Coursework 3: Work placement

The student must complete one work placement period of approximately 9 weeks. The work placement supervisor recommends that the work placement be approved or not approved. Final approval is given by OsloMet. There is a requirement for 80% attendance at the work placement site. Approval of is regulated by the work placement regulations. Work placement is a central part of the study and should contribute to the integration of learning outcomes within knowledge, skills and general competence.

• Coursework 4: INTERACT - INTER1100

The following work requirements must be approved: Submitted individual log. Scope: 500 words +/- 10%. The log requires participation in the seminar over two days. Absence will result in an individual compensatory assignment. See also The following work requirements must be approved: Submitted individual log. Scope: 500 words +/- 10%. The log requires participation in the seminar over two days. Absence will result in an individual compensatory assignment.Also see https://www.oslomet.no/forskning/forskningsprosjekter/interact

The required courseworks must be completed and approved by the given deadline for the student to take the exam.

If the work placement is not approved, the student must also obtain approval for written assignment and attendance in seminar teaching again, as the requirements are linked to the specific placement/ work placement period.

The exam in the course is an individual semester assignment with a scope of 8-10 pages. Font and font size: Calibri 12 points. Line spacing: 1,5. An approved APA reference for academic writing must be followed. A student who receive a fail grade are given one opportunity to sumit an improved version of the semester assignment for assessment. If the student fails the second attempt, a new semester assignment must be written.

All aids are permitted, as long as the student complies with the rules for source referencing.

Grade scale A-F.

All exam papers are assessed by one internal and one external examiner.

The course is equivalent to the courses BV1500 Professional practice - Observation and interaction and BV1600 Child protection in the welfare state - Scientific theory, ethics and view on humanity.