Health Care & Social Services
2010 - 2011 curriculum of the Degree Programme in Social Services, Bachelor of Social Services
Common professional studies
44A001E Social Welfare as Basis for Professional Activity, 6 credits
Objective of the course: Students find out what social and social welfare mean as concepts and what the significance of social welfare in a society is. Students create a basic conception of professional activity in the so-cial field. Content: social welfare and health care systems; social welfare legislation; social security; basic concepts in social welfare and the social field; objectives, tasks and social functions in social welfare; basics of professional activities; responsibility and values of a worker; professional and personal growth.
Learning methods of the course: Contact teaching; independent work: assignment, examination
Literature and other materials: Niemelä, Heikki & Salminen, Kari 2006. Social Security in Finland. Social Insurance Institution, Helsinki. Kangas, Olli & Palme, Joakim 2005. Social policy and economic development in the Nordic countries. Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan. Ministry of Social Affairs and Health 2005:8. Trends in Social Protection in Finland 2004. Sipilä, Jorma 1998. Social Care Services - The Key to the Scandinavian Model. Brochures, articles (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health).
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44A002E Social Work, 8 credits
Objective of the course: Students understand the essence and significance of scientific social work as a collective and theoretic frame of reference and as the informational basis for the professional identification in a social field. Students understand social service work as a process in which a worker and a client together plan, realize and assess the goals, actions and methods of the work. Students recognize the central methods of individual and community levels in social work. Students internalize the significance of values and ethics in social work. Students recognize common and special features of social work in different working environments.
Learning methods of the course: Contact teaching, independent work, assignment, exam
Literature and other materials: Payne, Malcolm 1997. Modern Social Work Theory. London: Macmillan.
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44A004E Social Pedagogy, Art and Creative Activities in Social Field Work, 6 credits
Objective of the course: Students understand the approach of social pedagogy as part of theoretical and professional basis for the social field. Students understand social pedagogic thinking and its background theories. Students become familiar with practices and applications of social pedagogy. Students acquaint themselves with the concept and way of working of social cultural work and are stimulated to try different forms of socio-pedagogic and socio-cultural work in practice. Students understand the meaning of art in man´s cultural development and strengthen their personal relationship with art and practising art. Students study phenomena of social reality by means of art and fiction.
Content: traditions in socio-pedagogic thinking and activity; background values and theories in social pedagogy; practices in social pedagogy; modern social pedagogy; socio-cultural work; the meanings and possibilities of art in the social field; story character of life and experiential character in art; researching human and social themes with the help of different art forms and working methods (drama and connected with it music, dance, movement, picture, word art).
Learning methods of the course: Contact teaching, independent work, assignment, exam. Experiential and informational tuning in. Independent work and working in small groups with chosen theme applying art forms and working methods. Dividing within the group the process, output and experiences.
Literature and other materials: Collection of articles on communal art (given out during the course)
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44A005E Social Field Client Work, 3 credits
Objective of the course: Students become familiar with the central areas of client work in social field and adapt basic readiness for client work. Students become familiar with what is normal/divergent/different as a phenomenon in culture and society. Content: Treatment and care in client work: man´s everyday life, way and control of life; professionalism in client work, process of professional client work, problem solving, professional interaction; significance of dissimilarity and divergence for an individual, a community and the society; being normal - being different.
Learning methods of the course: Contact teaching, exercises, assignments and exam, expert visits.
Literature and other materials: Shera, Wes & Wells, Lilian M. 1999. Empowerment Practice in Social Work. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press. Coulshed, Veronica & Orme, Jaan. Social work practice. Thompson, Neil 2006. People problems. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44A006E Health Promotion, 3 credits
Objective of the course: Student recognizes the most common health problems (in Finland and in own countries) and methods to prevent and treat them. Student masters emergency first aid skills. Student can apply knowledge and skills in client work. Content: Most common health problems, risk factors of national diseases, health promotion, nutrition, emergency first aid.
Learning methods of the course: Lectures, exercises and independent work.
Literature and other materials:
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44A008E Structure and Functioning of a Working Community, 3 credits
Objective of the course: Students understand the functioning of a working community and the meaning of its dynamics. Students become prepared for working as responsible members of a working community. Students are aware of the significance of maintaining health and safety at work and working capacity as part of professional skill and part of the well-being of the whole working community. Students understand the meaning of supervision in maintaining professional skill and in managing at work. Content: structure and dynamics of a working community, types of organizing work (among other things team work), supervision: developing one´s own work and professional field, the basics of health and safety at work: health and safety legislation, occupational health service/maintaining working capacity.
Learning methods of the course: Contact teaching, assignments, exam.
Literature and other materials:
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
4A009E Management of an Organization and Norms Regulating Activities, 3 credits
Objective of the course: Student understands the meaning of objective-oriented activity in an organization and the basics of strategy process. Student becomes prepared to work as a manager, instructor and developer in a working community/organization. Student knows the essential norms that guide the activity of organizations and administrational policy.
Content: objective-oriented activity of an organization and strategy process, the basics of management: the views and patterns of management, the basic tasks of management, the development of organization/working community, norms defining the working environment of the social field (municipal law, administrative law, civil servant and collective agreement policy).
Learning methods of the course: Contact teaching, assignments, exam.
Literature and other materials:
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44A010E Innovations and Entrepreneurship, 3 credits
Objective of the course: Student recognizes the common basic principles of entrepreneurship, understand the meaning of entrepreneurship locally and for the whole society and understand the significance of economic, expenditure conscious, client based and high quality activity in an organization and their own work. Student understands different ways to produce new innovations, products and services.
Learning methods of the course: Lectures, learning conversations
Literature and other materials:
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44A012E Changing Welfare Society and the Future of Work, 5 credits
Objective of the course: Student studies the economic, political, cultural and social transition in affluent society and the national and international change in the working environment of the social field. Student deepens views about conflicts in the welfare society between education and labour market.
Learning methods of the course: Lectures, possible visiting lecturers and relevant seminars.
Literature and other materials: Koistinen, P. & Sengenberger, W. 2002. Labour Flexibility; Pfau-Effinger, B. & Geissler, B. (eds) 2005. Care and social integration in European societies; Kangas, O. & Palme, J. (eds) 2005. Social Policy and Economic Development in the Nordic Countries; Kemshall, H. 2002. Risk, social policy and welfare; Ritzer, G. 2000. The McDonaldization of society;
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44A013E Developing Services, 5 credits
Objective of the course: Student recognizes the needs to develop social services and adopts readiness and methods to develop services. Student gets instruments for evaluating services and for quality work. Content: pressure for change on service system and need of development, the basics of evaluation and quality work, alternative ways to produce services, service counselling, work in the network and project work as an instrument of developing a service system.
Learning methods of the course: Contact teaching, group assignments, working on the net and possible visiting lecturers and seminars.
Literature and other materials:
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44A015E Information Retrieval, 2 credits
Objective of the course: Student understands the significance of acquiring and directing information both in studies and in future working tasks. Student learns to utilize data bases of their field and to assess the credibility of information.
Learning methods of the course: Lectures, exercises.
Literature and other materials: Material in the net and library pages.
Assessment: Passed - failed.
44A014E Basics of Research Activity, 5 credits
Objective of the course: Student knows basic concepts of research activity and phases of research process. Student gets acquainted with the basics of drawing up a thesis that meets scientific criteria and learns to utilize methods of acquiring and analyzing information needed for drawing up different reports, accounts and others. In addition student becomes familiar with the prevailing law on privacy protection and ethical research policy.
Learning methods of the course: Contact teaching
Literature and other materials: Kazi, Mansoor A.F. 2003. Realist Evaluation in Practice. Health and Social Work; Layder, Derek 1998. Sociological Practice. Linking theory and social research.
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.