Master Programme in Applied Social Sciences - Programme Option Child Welfare Work Programme description

The Master’s Programme in Applied Social Sciences – Programme Option Child Welfare Work is a master’s degree programme for social workers, social educators and child welfare officers that aims to produce candidates with in-depth knowledge of children, young people and families in vulnerable life situations and of the social conditions that have a particular impact on their welfare, everyday life and development opportunities. Students should also be able to analyse the individual child’s care situation and, in cooperation with children and families, initiate change work to improve the child’s care situation and development opportunities.

This programme option provides insight into the importance of social conditions to children’s welfare and living conditions, as well as conditions for parenthood. Connections between welfare schemes, social policy decisions and children’s concrete everyday lives are emphasised and discussed. The master’s programme understands child welfare as a broad field where the term is assigned meaning not only in the child welfare service context, but generally in welfare administration, social services, the health sector and children’s residential institutions. Emphasis is placed on interprofessional and inter-agency cooperation. The programme emphasises the child welfare service’s role in a society characterised by cultural complexity, social inequality and diversity, and therefore focuses on child welfare work in large cities.

Child welfare is a social field whose practice is based on implicit and explicit theories drawn from many different disciplines. It is a normative area of activity, and a critical basis for assessing what knowledge is valid and relevant to practice in the field is required. Ways of understanding children and their status in society form important premises for the child welfare service’s activities at all times. The programme combines practice-based and research-based teaching.

The programme description and the content of the programme are based on the Regulations relating to national guidelines for master’s degree programmes in child welfare work.

The Master’s Programme in Applied Social Sciences – Programme Option Child Welfare Work is intended for social workers, child welfare officers and social educators who want to deepen their knowledge of child welfare work and the field of child welfare. The programme is also relevant to work in other arenas targeting children, young people and families in vulnerable life situations.

The programme qualifies students for:

• positions in municipal and state child welfare services
• positions in other welfare services and public administrative bodies working with children and families in vulnerable life situations
• positions in specialist environments, research and educational institutions
• admission to PhD programmes

The admission requirement is a completed bachelor’s degree or three-year first degree programme in social work, child welfare or social education.

After completing the programme, the candidate should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The candidate has

• advanced knowledge and understanding of social science theories of relevance to the child welfare service’s sphere of activity
• in-depth knowledge of the child welfare service’s heterogeneous knowledge base and interdisciplinary perspectives
• in-depth knowledge of different analytical perspectives on professional practice, institutions and social policy interventions
• specialised knowledge of the exercise of discretionary judgement involved in child welfare assessments and decisions

Skills

The candidate can

• analyse and take a critical approach to different sources of knowledge and use them when making decisions in the best interests of the child
• carry out comprehensive care assessments by analysing and assessing the child’s best interests in light of context, relevant theories and methods
• analyse and reflect on the child welfare service’s complex remit and function in society
• carry out professional child welfare work in a metropolitan context
• analyse and assess methodological procedures for exploring the subject area

General competence

The candidate can

• apply research-based knowledge in areas relating to child welfare work
• critically assess social policy measures and the implementation of (new) work models and work methods that affect children and families
• critically assess the opportunities and limitations of research-based knowledge in the field of child welfare
• analyse ethical issues related to research, innovation and development in the field of child welfare

The programme is offered as a full-time course of study over two years and a part-time course of study over three years. The full-time workload is 30 ECTS credits per semester.

In addition to the master’s thesis, the programme option comprises eight compulsory courses and one elective course. The courses build on each other. It is therefore recommended that students take the courses in the order in which they are listed in the table. The master's thesis is an independent work of 30 ECTS credits. Ongoing research projects that the student can link up to will be presented in the second semester at the Mastertorg. In the second semester, the student will prepare a project outline for the master's thesis and then be assigned a supervisor. The master's thesis is submitted in the fourth semester.

Progress requirements

The student must have passed the course Child welfare and society and the course Knowledge perspectives in child welfare work in order to start the practical training in the course Supervised professional practice and critical reflection in the third semester. The student must have passed the course Application of law in child welfare work in order to register for the course Perspectives on legal rights, cooperation, prevention and application of law in the best interest of the child.

Students must have passed all the programme courses before they can submit their master’s thesis for assessment.

Bachelorstudiet baserer seg på studentaktive undervisningsformer, og studentene får individuell oppfølging gjennom veiledning og arbeid med større oppgaver. Varierte arbeidsmåter benyttes, så som forelesninger, diskusjoner, gruppeaktiviteter, skriftlige oppgaver (individuelle oppgaver og gruppeoppgaver), seminarer og veiledning. Det forutsettes at studentene danner kollokviegrupper på eget initiativ og benytter Internett til faglige diskusjoner seg imellom og med faglærerne.

Det er lagt til rette for at studenter som ønsker det skal kunne ta ett eller to semester av bachelorstudiet som utvekslingsstudent ved en utenlandsk utdanningsinstitusjon. Normalt vil dette skje i fjerde eller femte semester av bachelorstudiet. OsloMet har inngått samarbeidsavtaler med universiteter i flere land i ulike verdensdeler. Dette gir studentene et bredere tilbud av utviklingsrelaterte emner de kan velge mellom, samtidig som det å tilbringe et semester ved en utdanningsinstitusjon i et annet land er en svært nyttig erfaring.

Dette er beskrevet i hver enkelt emneplan.

Vurderingsordningene varierer i løpet av studiet med type arbeider, progresjon i krav og forventninger og bruk av interne og eksterne sensorer. Studentene vil i løpet av studiet blant annet være innom følgende vurderingsformer: hjemmeeksamen, feltarbeidsoppgave, muntlig eksamen, skriftlig oppgave og skriftlig eksamen under tilsyn.

Se hver enkelt emneplan for mer informasjon om vurdering.

Vurderingskriterier ved bruk av gradert karakter:

A, fremragende: Fremragende presentasjon som klart utmerker seg. Kandidaten viser usedvanlig god reflekterende og analytisk evne og uvanlig stor grad av faglig modenhet og selvstendighet.

B, meget god: Meget god presentasjon. Kandidaten viser god reflekterende og analytisk evne og stor grad av faglig modenhet og selvstendighet. Mindre mangler kan aksepteres.

C, god: Jevnt god presentasjon som er tilfredsstillende på de fleste områder. Kandidaten viser en viss reflekterende og/eller analytisk evne og en viss grad av faglig modenhet og selvstendighet. En del mangler kan aksepteres.

D, nokså god: En akseptabel prestasjon med noen vesentlige mangler. Kandidaten viser en viss svakhet når det gjelder reflekterende og/eller analytisk evne og har relativt lav grad av faglig modenhet og selvstendighet.

E, tilstrekkelig: Prestasjonen tilfredsstiller minimumskravene, men heller ikke mer. Kandidaten viser klare svakheter når det gjelder reflekterende og/eller analytisk evne og har lav grad av faglig modenhet og selvstendighet.

F, ikke bestått: Prestasjonen tilfredsstiller ikke de faglige minimumskravene. Kandidaten viser både manglende faglig modenhet og selvstendighet.

Godkjent av studieutvalget ved Høgskolen i Oslo 21. juni 2004

Revisjon godkjent av studieutvalget 13. januar 2015, 23. mai 2016 og 1. juni 2016

Redaksjonelle endringer foretatt 3. juni 2016 og 24. oktober 2016

Revisjon godkjent av studieutvalget 11. mai 2017

Redaksjonelle endringer foretatt 19. juni og 20. desember 2017

Revisjon godkjent på fullmakt av leder i studieutvalget 27. november 2017

Revisjon godkjent av utdanningsutvalget 24. mai 2018

Redaksjonell endring foretatt 12. juli 2018

Revisjon godkjent på fullmakt av leder i utdanningsutvalget 22. mars 2019

Revisjon godkjent av utdanningsutvalget 17. februar 2020

Redaksjonell endring foretatt 3. mars 2021

Gjeldende fra høstsemesteret 2021

Revisjon godkjent av utdanningsutvalget 12. februar 2024

Gjeldende fra høstsemesteret 2024