Postgraduate Course: Collaborative Working in Children's Services (EDUA11249)
Course Outline
| School | Moray House School of Education |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course is designed to enable students to demonstrate specialist knowledge and understanding of collaborative working in children's services.
|
| Course description |
This course is designed to enable students to demonstrate specialist knowledge and understanding of collaborative working in children's services. Taking schools, nurseries, out of school care, youth/community work and family work (including integrated teams and children/family centres) as its focal point, it will enable students to consider issues of inter-professional collaboration. Students will be required to demonstrate a systematic understanding and knowledge of the key issues of collaborative working including inter-personal skills, self-assessment, joint assessment, participation/emancipation, power/hierarchy and the gaps in social policy. This will include the ability to demonstrate a critical awareness of the different definitions of integrated working and different theories (e.g. psychological, medical, social, anthropological, sociological, pedagogical etc) that underpin practice. In particular the course will consider contemporary research that has identified key problems in integrated working and students will be required to assess the impact of this on their own practice. Students will consider how to tackle and solve problems in the work place, act autonomously (e.g. when developing assessments and reports for planning groups) and take part in professional planning meetings. Students will be required to establish techniques of research/enquiry, develop their own initiative and analyse complex situations. They will develop critiques of taken for granted practice (e.g. in relation to the labelling of parents and children) whilst considering best practice in relation to specific case studies (including those concerning Visual Impairment, Hearing Impairment, Restorative Justice, Disability, Young Carers, Child Protection and First Nation People).
This course will enable students to become critically aware of theoretical principles and processes that underpin interpersonal skills in education and children¿s services including issues of change management, leadership, risk and responsibility. We have developed the course so that participants can critically reflect on their own theoretical constructs of childhood, the constructs of other professionals and compare them to a range of theories that underpin professional practice with parents and children (including psychological, medical, social, anthropological, sociological, pedagogical and those that relate to the early years). Critically compare and contrast theories of child development, family/individual therapy, ecological/environmental models, notions of children¿s rights/agency and post-structural approaches to children¿s services.
The course will also allow students to source and compare different national and international academic writing on integrated working, disability, family work, parenting, children¿s services and diverse family types and to develop techniques for discussing issues of integrated working with specialist and non-specialist audiences.
Participants will also consider diverse childhoods, practical contexts and the policy implications of issues of inclusion, social justice, respect and anti-discrimination e.g. in relation to issues such as culture, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, linguistic access, religion, disability, poverty.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2017/18, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
| Course Start Date |
18/09/2017 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 24,
Online Activities 8,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 8,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
156 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Components of Assessment
Students will carry out a 4,000 word assignment around the theme of 'Collaborative Working: Barriers, Problems and Solutions'.
All four learning outcomes are expected to be demonstrated through this assignment. |
| Feedback |
Formative feedback is given within each class session via discussion groups and activities. There is also the opportunity to submit a 300 word assignment plan between Unit 6 and 8 and feedback via Turn it in will be given by the course organiser/lecturers. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Critically review and apply the theoretical constructs of working collaboratively to forefront developments in the sector
- Analyse and appraise the approaches and skills that facilitate shared assessment,
- Demonstrate an extensive and detailed critical knowledge of a range of key socio-cultural influences on peer relations within collaborative working
- Critically evaluate national and international polices of collaborative working
|
Reading List
Davis, J. M., (2011), Integrated Working in Children's Services, Sage
Hill, M. (2012) Children's Services: Working Together, Pearson
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The graduate attributes from this course:
Participants will;
be able to critically assess existing understanding and the limitations of their own knowledge and recognise the need to regularly challenge all knowledge.
Search for, evaluate and use information to develop their knowledge and
understanding
be able to use collaboration and debate effectively to test, modify and strengthen their own views
recognise the benefits of communicating with those beyond their immediate environments
be able to work effectively with others, capitalising on their different thinking,
experience and skills.
work with, manage, and lead others in ways that value their diversity and equality and that encourage their contribution to the organisation and the wider community |
| Special Arrangements |
None |
| Study Abroad |
Not an option |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
There are 8 X 3 hour sessions (usually twilight between 5 and 8pm) to accommodate the need for practitioners to access the courses. All sessions are face to face. |
| Keywords | Childhood Collaboration Integrated Working Education Social Work Health |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Martin Toye
Tel: (0131 6)51 6429
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Susan Scott
Tel: (0131 6)51 6573
Email: |
|
|
University Homepage