ØASPR2200 Professional English kurs B Emneplan

Aesthetics and Special Needs is one of the courses under Nordic Childhoods. It focuses on Nordic culture where nature plays an important role in society, aesthetics and in work with children. Joint events with the other Nordic Childhoods courses, are integrated as overnight trips and outdoor excursions. We also visit schools, kindergartens and other institutions. We focus on play, learning by doing, experience and workshops.

Aesthetics has not been a common way of approaching children with special needs. This course tries to change this by focusing on the value of aesthetics for children with special needs. The course is interdisciplinary, and takes a holistic approach to the field.

Aesthetics are important for everybody, also including children and young people with special needs. Through literature, storytelling, music, dance, drama and other aesthetic acts we perceive and understand the world and ourselves. Through aesthetics we perform and collaborate with others. For some children and young people lack verbal language; have problems with emotions, communication and interaction or find it hard to take other perspectives; aesthetic communication becomes is particularly important. The aim of this course is

1. to enhance knowledge about and discuss the relationship between children and young people with special needs and aesthetic expressions,
2. to introduce ways of working in practise with different kinds of aesthetic expressions when targeting various kinds of special needs.

The course is interfaculty and explores different disciplines, and ways of conceptualising and practicing aesthetics with respect to a variety of special needs.

The course will assume that students are familiar with basic concepts of strategy, financial accounting and cost and management accounting.

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

Knowledge

The student

• has knowledge of aesthetics and different aesthetic approaches
• has knowledge of historical changes in the views on children and young people, normality and deviance, inclusion and exclusion

Skills

The student is able to

• work creatively with aesthetics and children and young people with special needs
• reflect on work with children and young people with special needs
• communicate with children and young people through aesthetics

General competence

The student

• has an understanding of aesthetics and its value to children and young people with special needs
• has an understanding of the value of perspectives from different subjects, professions, trades, arts and sciences
• is able to analyze and discuss how to understand and respond to children and young people with special needs

There is one course assignment to be carried out in groups of 2-3 students. In order to take the final exam, the assignment must be approved by the teacher. Students will be given the opportunity to try again if the assignment has not been approved. The teacher will give information regarding deadline for handing in the assignment.

There will be a 4 hour individual written exam that counts 100% towards the final grade.

There will be a 4 hour individual written exam.

A list of reference aids allowed will be published on our website.

In addition to the course instructor, an external or internal examiner will be used for all the exams. The exam questions will be approved by an external examiner.

Exam in English from upper secondary school or equivalent knowledge of English. A large part of the syllabus is related to subjects within business and economics.