EPN-V2

VERPRA35 Practical Studies Related to Bachelor Thesis Course description

Course name in Norwegian
Praksis i faglig fordypning
Study programme
Bachelor's Programme in Social Education
Weight
15.0 ECTS
Year of study
2025/2026
Course history

Introduction

The main focus is milieu therapeutic work, habilitation and rehabilitation, related to the social educator's field of work. VERPRA35 includes user-oriented practice in real professional situations. The bachelor's thesis in VERB3900 is prepared on the basis of experiences in VERPRA35. Collaboration across enterprises, levels and sectors, quality-improving work processes and innovative thinking are central to the measures that are to be established/continued.

The students themselves choose a relevant area of specialization that the university offers. Alternatively, the students themselves can suggest a relevant area of specialization. The students will collaborate with the practical training institution and service recipient(s) on relevant issues that they will work on independently in the course.

VERPRA35 includes 11 weeks (330 hours) of user-oriented practical training in real professional situations.

Please note, that in connection with VERB3900, there is 1 seminar week prior to the practical training in VERPRA35. In this seminar week, the focus will be on project description, data collection methods, APA standard and implementation of projects in preparation for the bachelor's thesis.

Required preliminary courses

Passed all credit-bearing courses in the 2nd year of study, as well as VERPRA21.

Learning outcomes

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

Knowledge

The student

  • can give an account of laws and regulations that are relevant to the activities at the place of employment
  • can describe the professional foundation of the place of employment and how the place of employment describes the purpose of its own activities
  • can describe the service location's quality, notification and deviation management systems
  • can describe case processing routines at the place of employment
  • can give an account of the enterprise's reporting and journal system
  • can give an account of interdisciplinary and interprofessional cooperation the service institution has across enterprises, levels and sectors
  • has knowledge of evidence-based methods that contribute to improving the service recipient's quality of life

Skills

The Student

  • can prepare a project description
  • can safeguard the rights of service recipients, self-determination and provide decision-making support
  • can use relevant methods in mapping and assessment work to identify the service recipient's goals and needs as a basis for measures
  • can develop measures that are in line with ethical requirements, laws and regulations to promote mastery and participation
  • can plan, implement, document and evaluate a knowledge-based training and/or care measure in collaboration with the service recipient and others
  • can assess the risk of undesirable incidents and can describe methods for following up this systematically in collaboration with others
  • can supervise, or possibly provide training to, service recipients, next of kin, employees or other actors by applying professional knowledge and results from research and development work

General competence

The student

  • can discuss professional, ethical and legal challenges and dilemmas in milieu therapeutic work, habilitation and rehabilitation
  • can discuss and make use of critical reflection of their own work process and their own collaboration with others
  • can contribute with innovative thinking and possible systematic quality-improving work processes, including the use of digital and welfare technology opportunities and solutions, in collaboration with service recipients, next of kin, other service providers and actors
  • can discuss the professional role in an interdisciplinary context and can initiate and contribute to interprofessional and cross-sectoral collaboration
  • can exchange professional views and experience and contribute to the development of good practice.

Teaching and learning methods

The work and teaching methods include external practice, lectures, seminars, group work, self-study and skills exercises related to supervisory skills and meeting and group leadership. The practical training requires active participation in work tasks at the place of employment.

Course requirements

The following coursework must be approved in order to take the final assessment:

  • Project description of up to 1000 words for the bachelor's thesis*
  • Participation in teaching related to the chosen specialization topic - 80 percent attendance
  • participation in work tasks at the place of employment, minimum 90 per cent attendance
  • assessed in accordance with suitability criteria ; Regulations relating to suitability assessment in higher education
  • submitted, completed and signed practice documents according to given criteria

*If the project the student is participating in is changed after the original project description has been approved, the student must submit a new project description for approval within given deadlines.

Assessment

Assessed practical training:

The assessment is based on the learning outcomes for the course, and the ongoing assessment made of the student's achievement of the learning outcomes in the practical training courses. In order to be able to give an assessment of the student, a minimum of 90 per cent attendance in the practical training is required.

New and postponed assessment:

"Failed" practical training normally means that the student must retake the entire practical training course.

The following applies to all the practical training courses in the programme

Practical training is assessed as pass/fail. Passing the practice requires that three elements are passed:

  • Compulsory attendance
  • Learning outcomes
  • Fitness

Passed practical training requires that the student has fulfilled the requirement for compulsory attendance. In the practical training courses, a minimum of 90 per cent attendance is required. If the limit for absence is exceeded, the student can make up for missing practical training/teaching, provided that this is practically possible. If the absence cannot be compensated, the period must be made up in full. This leads to a delay in the student's study progression.

Permitted exam materials and equipment

Not relevant

Grading scale

Pass/Fail

Examiners

Internal teacher on the recommendation of the practical training supervisor.

Overlapping courses

10 ECTS from VERPRA30