BV3200 Child protection in the welfare state - Diversity and minorities Course description

This course provides nuanced perspectives on diversity and the relationship between the majority and minority, as well as challenges that can arise in interactions between the child welfare system and children, young people and families that belong to/are placed in different minority groups. The course addresses how power structures in society construct preconceptions about ‘the other’ through different categorisation related to ethnicity, gender, sexuality, functional level, age, class and religion. The students will learn how inclusion and exclusion mechanisms can play out at the individual, institutional and societal levels and how the different levels affect each other.

Students must participate in the interprofessional teaching programme ‘Interprofessional Cooperation on and with Children and Young People’ (INTER1300). Relevant topics include children and young people’s cooperation with professionals, explorative approaches to children, young people and their families, and professionals’ contributions to parents’ and children/young people’s formation of opinions. See INTERACT’s website for a more detailed description of the content of INTER1300: https://www.oslomet.no/forskning/forskningsprosjekter/interact

Language of instruction is Norwegian.

The student must have completed and passed the second year of the Bachelor Programme in Child Care and Welfare.

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 different theoretical perspectives on diversity and equality, including sociological, post-colonial and inter-sectional perspectives, and knowledge of how these can be used in work with children, young people and families
• has knowledge of identity and belonging and how different identities and group affiliation can work together in categorisation and marginalisation processes
• has knowledge of inclusion and exclusion mechanisms at the institutional and individual level, including categorisation, marginalisation, stigmatisation, segregation, discrimination and racism
• has knowledge of different perspectives on power and how structural power can play out in the relationship between the majority and minority
• has knowledge of ethnic minorities and refugees’ life situations and rights
• has knowledge of indigenous people’s life situations and rights, including the rights of Sami children to practise their own language and culture
• has knowledge of using interpreters in child welfare work

Skills

The student

• can apply relevant theoretical perspectives and knowledge to analyse and develop a nuanced understanding of different minority groups’ situation and challenges in the Norwegian welfare state
• can reflect on society’s general understanding of different minority groups and how these understandings can influence their own professional practice with children, young people and families
• can reflect on how their own childhood, cultural background, preconceptions and values influence interactions with different minorities and can influence assessments and decisions in child welfare work
• can reflect on how power plays out in interactions between child welfare officers and children, young people and families from different minority backgrounds

General competence

The student

• can critically reflect on their own and other’s actions, attitudes, experiences and values relating to different minorities
• can contribute to ensuring equitable services for all groups in society, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, sexual expression, sexual orientation, religion and life philosophy, functional ability, age and class

The teaching takes place with in-person attendance on campus through lectures, self-study, group work and other teaching methods as needed.

No coursework requirements or compulsory activities.

The exam in the course is an individual oral exam with a time frame of approx. 30 minutes.

No aids are permitted.

Grade scale A-F.

Oral exam is assessed by one internal and one external examiner.

Amela Pacuka og Wenche Bekken