VERN1110 The Development of the Subject Social Education and Ethics Course description

In this course, the student will learn about the history and development of the social educator profession, the professional role and field of work. The course focuses on ethics, ethical dilemmas in professional practice and training in ethical reflection. Other key aspects of the course include the links between important ideologies and how services and measures are designed.

Admission to the programme

After completing the Development of the Subject Social Education (1) and Ethics (2), the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and competence:

Knowledge

The student:

• is capable of describing the development of services for people with learning disabilities (1)
• is familiar with the development of the social educator profession (1)
• is familiar with the relationship between views of humanity, professional principles and concrete care measures (1)
• is capable of explaining different ethical theories (2)
• is capable of explaining what is means to have a holistic view of humanity and respect for people's integrity and rights (2)

Skills

The student:

• is capable of explaining the links between ideological guidelines, attitudes to disabilities and how measures and services are designed (1)
• is capable of identifying a dilemma (2)
• is capable of using ethical reflection models in a given situation (2)
• has ethical reflection skills and ethical action competence (2)

Competence

The student:

• is familiar with the social educator profession and today’s field of work (1)
• is familiar with the situations of users and has insight into the obligation to provide services on the basis of an ideology of equality (1)
• is capable of discussing conflicts of values and ethical dilemmas in practical health and social care work at individual, group and societal level (2)

The course comprises lectures, self-study, excursions, group work and film viewings. The students will also be divided into seminar groups. Seminar group work is compulsory and totals approximately eight hours. The students will present a case, give examples of ethical dilemmas and plan for discussion and ethical reflection. When the students work in seminar groups in the ethics part of the course, the groups themselves must request supervision from the lecturer.

The welfare state works and exists through a wealth of texts. Texts as different as Norwegian Official Reports, journals, white papers, articles, news articles, letters, textbooks, literary texts and minutes of meetings contribute to form perceptions in society and influence important decision-making processes. How a "client", "user", "patient" or "resident" is portrayed in a journal can play a decisive role in the person's future life. The course focuses on language as a force in the welfare society and in the interaction between the social welfare administration's employees and the individual client.

None.

After completing the course, the students are expected to have achieved the following knowledge and skills:

Knowledge

The student has advanced knowledge of

• different traditions in textual analysis
• different theories about power and language
• different genres of text of importance to the welfare state

Skills

The candidate is capable of

• discussing how different methods of textual analysis can be applied in practice
• conducting analysis of all types of text material
• reflecting over language and text as forces in the welfare society and in his/her own academic work

Teaching is organised as a combination of lectures and practical analysis work in groups and through plenary discussions. The student will acquire a reflective attitude towards the tools of analysis through independent work with different texts.

The practical analysis work takes place in the form of two writing seminars. Prior to the first seminar, the student must submit the draft of an essay. Feedback from the person responsible for the seminar will be given in the first seminar. Prior to the second seminar, the student must submit a reworked draft of the essay, and read the first draft of two fellow students. During the second seminar, the student must provide written and oral opponent feedback on the drafts. Attendance is required at both seminars in order to receive opponent feedback and comments from the seminar tutor.

The students must write an essay based on a text of their choice. In this essay, the students must analyse the chosen text based on one of the methods of analysis included in the syllabus. The chosen method of analysis must be substantiated on the basis of how applicable it is in relation to the chosen research question and text. The essay must be 10 pages long, +/- 10 %. The students who participate in the writing seminars, will receive feedback on the first draft of their essay from two fellow students and the lecturer halfway through the course. Work on the essay continues, and is then submitted by the set deadline.