Health Care & Social Services
2010 - 2011 curriculum of the Degree Programme in Social Services, Bachelor of Social Services
Line-specific professional studies
44S001E Work with Children, the Youth and Families, 8 credits
Objective of the course: Student gets information on factors influencing the growing up of children and young, and understands the significance of a family and other growth milieu for the well-being of children and the young. Student gets acquainted with the legislation concerning a child and a family. Students become familiar with the need and ways of realization of individual and family child protection work, preventive child protection, non-institutional and institutional care. Student is able to scan risk factors in a child ´s development, on an individual, family and close community level. Student understands the starting-points, principles and possibilities of family work in different stages of a child protection process. Student knows the central working methods of child protection based on a family. Student becomes familiar with social youth work and youth as a cultural phenomenon.
Content: The significance of a family for the well-being of a child and a young person. The basics of child protection: factors in society, a community and individual factors; the basics of child protection legislation; processes of child protection; the most common problems of mental health and treatment alternatives with children and young people;; special problems in a family (family violence, substance abuse in a family, mental health problems); concept and principles of family work; youth as a cultural phenomenon; disturbing behaviour of the young.
Learning methods of the course: Contact teaching, work on the net, exercises and exam.
Literature and other materials: Satka, Mirja 1995. Making Social Citizenship. Conceptual Practises from the Finnish Poor Law to Professional Social Work. Jyväskylä. Hiilamo, Heikki 2002. The Rise and Fall of Nordic Family Policy? Helsinki: Stakes. Research report 125. Hiilamo, Heikki 2004. Changing Family Policy in Sweden and Finland during the 1990s. Social Policy & Administration 38 (1) 21-40. Alanen, Leena & Sauli, Hannele & Strandell, Harriet 2004. Children and Childhood in a Welfare State: The Case of Finland. Leinonen, Jenni 2004. Families in Struggle; child mental health and family well-being in Finland during the Economic Recession of the 1990s; the importance of parenting. Articles.
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44S002E Work with Seniors and the Aged, 3 credits
Objective of the course: Student gets acquainted with aging from an individual and socio-cultural point of view and knows how to use central concepts. Student becomes familiar with aging of the population and the changes in society caused by aging and get to know the living conditions of seniors and the aged.
Student gets to know age policy and its meaning in society. Student can connect different levels of age policy. Student understands the significance and principles of multi-professional work in working with seniors and aged. Student reflects their own relationship with aging and aging people and becomes prepared for encountering a senior and an elderly person as an individual and are able to see aging as a natural phase of life. Content: Aging processes, socio-cultural frame of reference, multiprofessional social work for seniors and the aged;
age policy.
Learning methods of the course: Contact teaching, operational methods, interviewing assignment, exam.
Literature and other materials:
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44S023E Changes of Life Style and Social Problems, 5 credits
Objective of the course: Student understands the originating and changing processes of social problems, problems of marginalization and participation as target phenomena of social field work. Student gets a general view of current problems in work, livelihood and social participation and their background factors on society.
Content: community and individual factors in the way of life, changes in life control; social problems: alienation, marginalization and the problem of sharing, poverty, divergence and helplessness etc. Current problems and challenges of work, livelihood and social participation.
Learning methods of the course: Contact studying, working on the net, lectures and independent work.
Literature and other materials: Rik van Berkel and Iver Hornemann Møller Ed.) 2002: Active social policies in the EU inclusion through participation? Bristol Policy Press
Current international and national articles connected with the theme will be agreed on at the start of the course.
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44S024E New Possibilities of Communities, 3 credits
Objective of the course: Student explores the new possibilities of communal activity in promoting work, participation and livelihood.
Contents: New communality, civil society, the 3rd and 4th sectors, community economy, social enterprises - cooperatives.
Learning methods of the course: Contact studying, working on the net, lectures and independent work.
Literature and other materials:
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44S025E Social Security and Employment Services, 4 credits
Objective of the course: Student deepens their knowledge of the principles, legislation and realization of social security. Student knows the social security system and the way it is directed to different life situations and phases and student understands its significance in professional work. Student understands labour market policy, labour administration and employment services as part of a networking system of services and activity. Content: Socio-legal thinking, social security system, social insurance and its execution and benefits in social welfare. Customs of labour administration. Operating models and service processes of the services of labour administration. All welfare services, connections and possibilities of the public sector, enterprises and the third sector. Central principles of income security
Learning methods of the course: Contact studying, working on the net, exercises and independent work.
Literature and other materials:
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44S026E Rehabilitation, 6 credits
Objective of the course: Student gets acquainted with disability as an individual and social concept. Student becomes familiar with the principles, objectives, contents and forms of work in interdisciplinary rehabilitation. Student recognizes the meeting of the needs of the clients and the service system. Student gets acquainted with service systems and workers in rehabilitation and is able to act as expert in the social field in multi-professional rehabilitation. Student is able to contribute to making the disabled persons participate in different levels of the society. Student especially developes their instructing and directing skills. Content: Starting points of rehabilitation, rehabilitation process, workers and service systems in rehabilitation, legislation, rehabilitating working activity. Rehabilitation supporting participation and being employed (work shops, rehabilitating work activity, psycho-social rehabilitation), path from handicap to life control and participation (rehabilitation plans and direction). Disability as a phenomenon, principles and basis of the work in multi-professional rehabilitation.
Learning methods of the course: Contact studying, working on the net, seminar work and independent work.
Literature and other materials:
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44S028E Methods of Working in Communities, 6 credits
Objective of the course: Student recognizes the significance of way of work that make people participate in change and development work in communities. Student deepens their understanding of the methods of individual, group and community work in social work and social pedagogy and is able to apply them in the work of the social field. Student explores and experiments the possibilities of art in empowerment and making individuals and communities participate.
Content: A. Methods of changing and development in social work and social pedagogy and others in individual, group and community work. B. Community theatre as a working method in community work and in the social field.
Learning methods of the course: Contact studying, working on the net, exercises, group and independent work.
Literature and other materials: Literature, articles and Internet sources are decided at the beginning of the course.
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44S029E Mental Health Work, 6 credits
Objective of the course: Student gets information on the most common mental health disorders and perceives social, cultural and environmental factors that influence mental health. Student becomes prepared to support and direct clients and their networks. Student recognizes different crises of a client and a family. Student works own readiness of working in crises and skills to direct clients in crisis situations towards services. Student forms an over-all picture of multi-professional mental health rehabilitation and its realization. Student understands that rehabilitation starts with the person to be rehabilitated. Content: building up of a good mental health, the most common mental health disorders, different ways of operating in mental health work, special legislation, service system, crisis as a process, methods and services of crisis work, rehabilitation as a process, directing to services, starting points of functional rehabilitation and practical work training.
Learning methods of the course: Lectures, visits, working in small groups, becoming familiar with literature, problem based learning, examination, written works.
Literature and other materials:
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44S030E Communication between Cultures, 3 credits
Objective of the course: Student recognizes the significance of culture in the development of personality. Student understands the influence of local, regional and national culture on human behaviour. Student knows the main similarities of cultures and theories that explain differences. Student knows the process of acculturation and factors influencing it. Student recognizes different levels of cultural encounter in professional activity and gets acquainted with own cultural preconceptions, beliefs, attitudes and values. Student becomes familiar with the basic concepts of communication between cultures and interaction. Student develops readiness to encounter at work people coming from different cultures and recognizes the factors that promote and prevent communication between cultures.
Learning methods of the course: Contact teaching and independent work, learning assignment
Literature and other materials: Other material and literature will be decided at the beginning of the course.
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44S031E Basics of Multicultural Work, 5 credits
Objective of the course: Student gets acquainted with the basic concepts of multicultural work. Student learns to understand different cultures and the way of thinking and set of values connected with them. Student becomes familiar with the adaptation process of immigrants, the development of identity and psycho-social problems and the influence of a growing number of cultures in the work of the social field. Student is familiar with the grounds and process of receiving asylum seekers and refugees and the programme of family reunification.
Learning methods of the course: Contact teaching and independent work, a learning assignment and/or an examination.
Literature and other materials:
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
44S032E Work with Substance Abusers, 3 credits
Objective of the course: Student learns to recognize problematic use of substances, substance addiction and risk factors in an individual and a community that expose to addiction behaviour. Student can observe social work with substance abusers and its possibilities on the level of an individual and the society as a social, cultural and health question. Student gets information on problematic use of alcohol, drugs and medicine and on the possibilities of preventive work with substance abusers.
Learning methods of the course: Lectures, exercises
Literature and other materials:
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
Other: Contents specified at the beginning of the period.
44S033E Treatment, Services, Rehabilitation and Legislation, 3 credits
Objective of the course: Student acquires information and skills to direct and support a client with substance abuse problem and client’s network. Student gets acquainted with different treatment oriented approaches: treatment based on the AA movement, cognitive thinking of treatment, using a group in the work with intoxicant abusers etc. Student becomes familiar with special problems in the treatment of substance abusers. Student gets information on the legislation concerning substance abuse, the services for substance abusers in social welfare and health care and in the private sector.
Learning methods of the course: Lectures, learning assignments, an examination.
Literature and other materials: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
Assessment: Passed on the scale from 1 to 5.
Other: Contents and literature will be specified at the beginning of the period.