SBV4000 Knowledge perspectives in child welfare Course description

Child welfare is a social field whose practice is based on implicit and explicit theories drawn from many different disciplines. It is a normative area, and a critical basis is required for assessing what knowledge is valid and relevant to practice in the field. Ways of understanding children and their status in society form important premises for the child welfare service's activities at all times. An aim for the course is to develop critical and analytical  thinking of child welfare services knowledge base and activities.

None.

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

• in-depth knowledge of key theoretical understanding of children and childhood, including child constructions that address children as participants in daily life and in the child welfare services professional practice
• insight into the importance of theoretical understanding for the practice in the field
• knowledge of the importance of social class, ethnicity, age/generation and gender in the context of child welfare
• knowledge of the methodological implications of the different theoretical interpretations

Skills

The student is capable of

• analysing child welfare's implicit and explicit knowledge base
• analysing the phenomena related to child welfare
• analysing and discussing child welfare phenomena with a basis in social science theory and social science perspectives

General competence

The student has

• the necessary expertise to remain critical to new knowledge​

Teaching methods vary between lectures given by lecturers and guest lecturers. Students will actively participate in teaching and group work.

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

• Work requirements for groups are to make a summary and an assessment of a number of syllabus articles, equivalent to the number of students in the group. Syllabus articles will be distributed to groups. It is assumed that the group collaborates on the work requirement. The summaries of the syllabus articles should be submitted in Canvas, and will be available for the other students in the course. 

The exam in the course is an individual home exam over å period of seven days. A topic relevant to child welfare must be discussed in an analytical manner using the syllabus litterature and eventual other litterature. The exam paper must have a scope of 10 pages (+/- 10 per cent). Font and font size: Calibri 12 points. Line spacing: 1.5.

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

Grade scale A-F. 

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

At least 25% of the exam papers will be assessed by two examiners. The grades awarded for the papers assessed by two examiners form the basis for determining the level for all the exam papers.

Oddbjørg Skjær Ulvik