VERNL2400 Planning, Documentation and Evaluation Course description

The student must have passed the course SBV4100 Child welfare and society in order to start the practical training.

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

• advanced knowledge of how children’s and families’ experiences, everyday lives and living conditions influence their situation and relationship with the support system
• advanced knowledge of how ways of understanding ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class and culture have an impact on interpretation and interaction at different levels of society

• advanced knowledge of how interdisciplinary and interprofessional cooperation can provide assistance to children, young people and families in vulnerable life situations
• advanced knowledge of conditions for and the development of measures and methods in the child welfare service
• advanced knowledge of conditions that impede and promote professional development
• in-depth knowledge of communication and interaction, including how the use of interpreters affects communication and interaction in the child welfare service

Skills

The student

• can analyse their own contribution in an interaction process, listen and respond to criticism from different parties, and re-evaluate their own assessments and actions in light of new knowledge and information
• can, in collaboration with others, reflect on what it means to act ethically and well-founded in situations involving conflicts of interests and other conflicts
• can analyse how factors such as class, gender, ethnicity, age and sexual orientation have an impact on interaction and the exercise of authority in child welfare work

• can assess whether and how their own and other peoples’ cultural values and practices influence and impact on the situation of children and families

can use an interpreter, demonstrate an understanding of and assess the quality of the role of interpreting in communication

General competence 

The student 

• has insight into how the social and cultural norms, attitudes, values and theoretical basis of professionals have an impact on their perception and understanding of and their work with children, families and social issues
• can communicate with children and parents and other target groups/agencies about the child welfare service’ role, assessments and conclusions
• can help to coordinate interdisciplinary cooperation in complex situations

Teaching takes place in parallel with the practical training and varies between lectures and seminar work. In the seminars, students will use a model for critical reflection as a basis for systematic work with their experiences from their practical training. Critical reflection should contribute to a deeper understanding of the foundation and context of child welfare work and promote understanding of how given norms and values, as well as cultural, structural and organisational framework conditions, guide and influence practice. Critical reflection will also help students to increase their awareness of the importance of their own norms and values and their role as professionals in a cultural, political and institutional context.

The following required coursework must be approved in order for the student to take the exam:

• Coursework requirement 1: Minimum attendance of 80% in practical training.
• Coursework requirement 2: Minimum attendance of 80% in seminars.

If the absence exceeds 20%, but is below 30%, the student can compensate for the absence by additional coursework. If the student’s absence exceeds 30%, it cannot be compensated by additional coursework, and the student cannot take the exam.

The seminars are linked to the practical training where the students work methodically together on critical reflection and analyse concrete experiences from the practical training.

The required coursework must be completed and approved by the stipulated deadline in order for the student to take the exam. If the coursework is not approved. the student will be given the opportunity to submit an improved version of the written assignments once by a given deadline.

The exam in the course is an individual written practical training assignment. The exam paper must be 10 pages long (+/- 10 %). Font and font size: Calibri 12-point. 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.

This course is designed to inform and enrich the material learned in the research methods courses. It combines a descriptive and a normative approach to reflection on social science. In addition, the course contains a master thesis preparation seminar leading to a master thesis design proposal which supports the master thesis work process. The thesis preparation seminar runs in collaboration with the two courses on methods (SIW4210 and SIW4220).

Among topics covered in philosophy of science are the role of values in research, objectivity, realism, social constructivism, social ontology, feminist philosophy of science, evidence-based policy, models, and causality. The master thesis preparation seminar covers research design.