Bachelor Programme in Child Care and Welfare Programme description

The Bachelor Programme in Child Care and Welfare is a programme of professional study that qualifies students to use the title ‘child welfare officer’. The objective of the programme is to educate professionals who can identify needs and provide the right help at the right time to children, young people and families in vulnerable situations. Child welfare officers can work within many areas of child care and welfare, and possess special expertise for work in the municipal child welfare service and child welfare institutions. The programme also qualifies candidates for work related to children and young people’s mental health, preventive work and work in different educational and residential institutions.

Child welfare officers are trained to focus on children and young people’s life situations and rights. Their job is to help to create a safe and secure situation, inclusion, learning and mastery through understanding, empathy, recognition and knowledge. Child welfare officers contribute to ensuring that the child’s interests are safeguarded both in direct relations with those the child is in contact with and in cooperation with other agencies. Cooperation skills are therefore essential in the child welfare officer’s work.

The programme forms the basis for specialisation at further education level and/or master's degree level and on to PhD level. The bachelor's degree is awarded in accordance with the Regulations Relating to Studies and Examinations at OsloMet.

The programme description is approved for one academic year at a time.

People who meet the admission requirements, and who wish to work with children, young people and families requiring public assistance can apply to the programme.

Students need a Higher Education Entrance Qualification in order to qualify for admission to the Bachelor Programme in Child Care and Welfare.

Applicants who do not have the Higher Education Entrance Qualification can apply for admission on the basis of prior learning and work experience. At least five years of relevant work experience is then required, and the applicant must be 25 or over in the admission year, cf. the Guidelines for admission on the basis of prior learning and work experience at OsloMet.

Transcript of police records

Students must present a transcript of police records on admission to the programme. The transcript is handed in at the beginning of the programme. See also the Regulations concerning Admission to Higher Education, Sections 6-1 and 6-2.

Through the programme, the candidate will develop broad expertise that builds on contributions from several relevant disciplines in the social sciences, humanities and natural sciences. The programme’s learning outcomes correspond with the learning outcomes specified in the Regulations on national guidelines for the education of child welfare officers, adopted by the Ministry of Education and Research on 15 March 2019. The Regulations describe the purpose of the programme, competence areas, learning outcomes and the structure of the programme’s practical training component (https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/5af90a9044c74d568d7de5c1d7f554eb/forskrift-om-nasjonal-retningslinje-for-barnevernspedagogutdanning.pdf).

The learning outcomes are grouped under the categories knowledge, skills and general competence, and are related to four overarching competence areas:

· Child care and welfare expertise

· Upbringing and family life

· Professional role, ethics and cooperation in the child’s best interests

· Innovation, critical thinking and evidence-based practice

Knowledge

The candidate

· has broad knowledge of the social mandate of the child welfare services, partners, the division of responsibility and tasks in the social welfare administration and multidisciplinary knowledge about fundamental child care and welfare topics, issues and processes

· has broad knowledge of applicable Norwegian and international law of relevance to child care and welfare and relevant legal methods

· has broad knowledge of children’s upbringing, childhood, socialisation, learning, formative education and development, and family and network cooperation, with particular understanding of children, young people and families in vulnerable life situations

· has broad knowledge of assessing and understanding what is in the child’s best interests, and children and families’ rights, including the rights of Sami children to practise their own language and culture

· has broad knowledge of neglect, abuse and violence including potential causes, characteristics and consequences

· has knowledge of different educational methods and measures in social therapy and other child care and welfare work

· has broad knowledge of communication, conflict management and interdisciplinary, inter-agency and interprofessional cooperation in a diverse society

· has knowledge of professional ethics, ethical values, dilemmas and issues in the area of child care and welfare and of inclusion, non-discrimination and equality

· has knowledge of relevant debates, research and development work and innovation processes

Skills

The candidate

· can apply relevant legislation, regulations, guidelines and knowledge from research, experience and from children, young people and parents as the basis for evidence-based practice in work with children, young people and families

· can apply relevant knowledge from children and young people as part of the basis of ensuring children and young people’s participation and co-determination

· masters preventive and health promoting work in arenas where children and young people spend time, and can apply multi-disciplinary knowledge to social therapy work

· can apply relevant measures that contribute to work inclusion of young people in disadvantaged situations, and reflect on power relations, professionalism and their own professional role when working with children and families

· can apply professional knowledge to communicate and cooperate expediently with children, young people and parents/guardians, and can talk to children about topics such as neglect, violence and abuse

· can apply professional knowledge of cultural diversity and demonstrate multicultural understanding and cultural sensitivity when providing services

· can use experience and knowledge to build relations, cooperate and communicate in a way that promotes inclusion, participation and co-determination

· can apply new academic knowledge in a methodological and scientific way for the purpose of professional development, quality improvement and service innovation

General competence

The candidate

· can use knowledge and experience to investigate, adapt, carry out, document, analyse, assess and evaluate child care and welfare work, and safeguard the child’s best interests and children and families’ rights in an ethical and responsible manner, both independently and when working with others

· has insight into their own preconceptions, attitudes and values and the importance of relational competence in child care and welfare work

· can use knowledge, skills and experience to demonstrate understanding, empathy and recognition when working with children, young people and families in vulnerable life situations

· has insight into and can handle ethical issues in the field of practice and their own service provision

· has insight into and can safeguard children, young people and families’ rights and help to ensure equitable services in a diverse society

The structure of the programme promotes the integration of theory and practice, academic progress, a continuous profession-oriented approach and alignment with research. The students will practise critical and ethical reflection and practical skills, and will be challenged to work on their own attitudes and preconceptions.

The teaching methods, syllabus and forms of assessment correspond with the learning outcome descriptions. Academic progress is achieved by the student developing their expertise from general towards specialised child care and welfare expertise. To achieve this principle, the programme is structured so that each year has overarching core topics that will be covered.

Core focus areas in the first year are the professional practitioner and fundamental theory. Recurring topics are the relationship between self-understanding as a professional practitioner and understanding of the other, as well as ethics and theory of science. Work arenas for the child welfare officer form a core aspect of the second year. Recurring topics are knowledge management, user participation, critical reflection and practical skills in fields characterised by power and control. Practical training and critical reflection are in focus in the third year. The students will select specialisation areas and practise critical and analytical reflection on topics related to professional practice. The courses in the programme are centred around four subject areas that run as a thread throughout the programme.

· child care and welfare in the welfare state

· psychosocial perspectives

· law

· practical training

In the final semester, students will work on a bachelor’s thesis with the aim of integrating all four subject areas.

Different learning methods, educational methods and forms of assessment are used throughout the programme and are designed to support the learning outcomes of the various courses. The programme’s use of varied work methods and learning methods require active participation by the students both individually and in groups. Examples of learning methods are lectures, seminars, skills training, practical training, group work, written and oral assignments, and self-study.

Godkjent i studieutvalget 2. mai 2013. Redaksjonelle endringer foretatt 29. juni 2015. Revisjon godkjent av studieutvalget 11. mai 2017. Gjeldende fra høstsemesteret 2017.

Studentene skal tilegne seg grunnleggende ferdigheter i norsk tegnspråk slik at de kan forstå og selv delta i enkle samtaler om hendelser i hverdagen, og slik at de kan forstå og selv produsere korte og enkle fortellinger.

Ingen forkunnskapskrav.

Etter fullført emne har studenten følgende læringsutbytte definert som kunnskap, ferdigheter og generell kompetanse:

Kunnskap

Studenten

• kjenner til de basale tegnene
• kjenner til håndalfabetene
• kjenner til grunnleggende grammatikk i norsk tegnspråk
• kjenner til turtakingsregler

Ferdigheter

Studenten

• kan kommunisere og bruke enkle setningstyper som fortellende, spørrende, benektende og bekreftende
• kan fortelle både i monologer og dialoger
• kan enkle strategier for å sikre kommunikasjon og unngå misforståelser

Generell kompetanse

Studenten

• har kjennskap til myter og andre misoppfatninger av norsk tegnspråk og om døve mennesker
• har kjennskap til grammatiske strukturer i norsk tegnspråk

Den praktiske undervisningen foregår gruppevis med faglærer. Det forutsettes aktiv bruk av video ved selvstudium. Det blir gitt fortløpende tilbakemeldinger fra faglærerne på studentenes tegnspråklige produksjon. Undervisningen gis i all hovedsak på norsk tegnspråk. Det forventes at studentene ikke bruker talespråk i disse timene. Det benyttes tolk ved behov.

Undervisningen gis i form av forelesninger, veiledning og praktiske oppgaver. Gjennomføring av praktiske oppgaver skjer på tegnspråk. Tavlebruk, bilder, skrift, video og håndalfabet vil også bli benyttet. Utstyr som hørselsvern og ørepropper vil benyttes i perioder.

Rules for study progress

All coursework requirements/compulsory activities must be completed/passed in order for the student to take the exam in a course. All exams in an academic year must be passed in order for the student to continue to the next academic year. The student must have earned at least 20 credits in the first semester in order to take the practical training in the second semester.

Suitability assessment

The Bachelor Programme in Child Care and Welfare falls under the scope of the Regulations relating to Suitability Assessment in Higher Education, adopted by the Ministry of Education and Research on 30 June 2006:

A suitability assessment is a comprehensive assessment of the student’s academic and personal qualifications for work as a health care or social worker. More information about the suitability assessment can be found on the intranet for OsloMet students.

Interprofessional project – INTERACTStudents participate in the INTERACT projectin which part of the teaching programme is taken in interprofessional student groups. The teaching (INTER1100, INTER1200 and INTER1300) in the first, second and third study year, respectively, becomes more complex for each year, and is integrated as a coursework requirement in the existing courses in the programme description. For further information about INTERACT, see https://www.oslomet.no/forskning/forskningsprosjekter/interact