Undergraduate Course: Children and The Family (EDUA08091)
Course Outline
| School | Moray House School of Education and Sport |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course discusses topics such as family definitions and boundaries, children and families in policy and practice, deficit vs. strength-based ways of working in children¿s services, power relations, governmentality, different ways of assessing child outcomes, young carers, disability, and partnership working. |
| Course description |
The course consists of the following sessions:
1. Introduction: Examining Family Boundaries
2. Children and Families in Policy and Practice: Challenging Deficit Models
3. Relations of Power: Governing Children and Families
4. Assessing Children and Families
5. What is a Family? Diverse Family Types
6. Young Carers: Beyond the Tragedy Model
7. The Myth of the Perfect Parent
8. Working in Partnership with Children and Families
9. Critical Perspectives on ADHD
10. Assessment Workshop
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | This course is only available to students on the BA Childhood Practice. Please note that there is a maximum number of students who may be enrolled on the course and we are currently not able to accept students from other programmes. |
| Additional Costs | n/a |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2022/23, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Assessment:
Each student is required to write an essay of around 2,500 words. This constitutes 100% of the possible marks for this course.
In the essay, students should demonstrate their development as a reflective practitioner by:
- Identifying a key issue in a national or local childcare legislation, guidance or policy document that influences their work with children and families;
- Drawing upon literature from the course work and beyond to compare and contrast theories and examples relevant to this issue; and
- Demonstrating how this literature has influenced their work with children and families. |
| Feedback |
In addition to feedback on the course assessment, in Children and the Family we offer the following opportunities of formative (= non-assessed) feedback to all students:
1. GROUP DISCUSSIONS
Learning activities for this course have been designed to include interactive group activities. Information about these activities can be found in the learning materials in advance of each class. You should come fully prepared and able to share ideas and questions. Through discussion, your tutor and other students will help clarify any misunderstandings, and work on applying theoretical ideas to practical examples. Such discussions are very important opportunities for feedback. Your tutor will comment on your understanding of the ideas covered in the course, and may give you specific advice regarding your progress. Such feedback is intended to help you understand what your strengths and development points are, and to enable you to take informed responsibility for your learning and progression. To really make the most of them, you may find it helpful to write up notes from the discussions.
2. REFLECTIVE WRITING TASKS
During the course, you will be asked to write short reflective pieces about a topic covered on or related to the course, in which you reflect critically on how the issues covered in the course affect your work with children and families. Your reflective statement should address at least one of the following points. The course organiser will provide group feedback on these pieces of writing.
3. FEEDBACK ON ESSAY PLANS
There will be a chance to raise questions about the course assignment throughout the course. Students can bring their essay plans and discuss them in groups and with the course organizer. There will also be a chance to see assessments from previous years. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Evaluate theories of child development and sociological and anthropological theories of children and the family and relate this to the evolution of children's services.
- Demonstrate knowledge of and compare different contexts of family and learning (e.g. family and school) and a variety of family types (e.g. those described in disability studies.
- Compare, contrast and synthesise different ideas concerning power relations within the family and the roles of actors who contribute to a child's development (including children).
- Demonstrate reflexivity when critically evaluating practical examples and case studies of professional interaction with children and parents.
- Demonstrate knowledge of different social policies relating to children, families and the state.
|
Reading List
Aldridge and Becker (2002) Children Who Care: Rights and wrongs in debate and policy on young carers, in: Franklin, B The New Handbook of Children's Rights: Comparative policy and practice, London: Routledge, pages 208-222.
Davis, J. (2006) Disability, Childhood Studies and the Construction of Medical Discourses, in Lloyd, G., Stead, J. and Cohen, D. (eds) Critical New Perspectives on ADHD, London: Routledge.
Davis, J.M. (2011) Integrated Children's Services, London: Sage.
Davis, J.M. and Smith, M. (2012)Working in Multi-Professional Contexts: A Practical Guide for Professionals in Children's Services, London: Sage.
Furedi, F. (2002) Paranoid Parenting: Why Ignoring the Experts May be Best for Your Child, London: Continuum.
Gilligan, R. (1999) Working with Social Networks: Key Resources in Helping Children at Risk, in Hill, M. (ed.) Effective Ways of Working with Children and their Families, London: Jessica Kingsley.
Gilligan, R. (2000) Family Support: Issues and Prospects, in Canavan, J., Dolan, P. and Pinkerton, J. (eds) Family Support As Reflective Practice, London: Jessica Kingsley.
Hallam, A (2008) The Effectiveness Of Interventions To Address Health Inequalities In The Early Years: A Review Of Relevant Literature, Scottish Government, Health Analytical Services Division
Hill, M. (2005) Children's Boundaries, in: McKie, L. and Cunningham- Burley, S. (eds) Families in Society: Boundaries and Relationships, Bristol: Policy Press.
Jones, C. and Leverett, S. (2008) Policy into Practice: Assessment, Evaluation and Multi-Agency Working with Children, In Foley, P. and Rixon, A. (eds) Changing Children's Services: Working and Learning Together, Bristol: Policy Press.
Mayall, B. (1996) Children, Health and Social Order, Basingstoke: Open University Press.
Newman, T. (2002) Young Carers and Disabled Parents: Time for a Change in Direction? Disability and Society 16 (6): 613-625.
Ramaekers, S. and Suissa, J. (2012) The Claims of Parenting: Reasons, Responsibility and Society, London: Springer.
Rose, N. (1999) Governing the Soul: The Shaping of the Private Self, London: Free Association Books.
Rose, Nikolas, (2007) Politics of life itself: biomedicine, power and subjectivity in the twenty-first century, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
Platt (2001) Refocusing Children's Services: Evaluation of an Initial Assessment Process, Child & Family Social Work 6 (2): 139-148.
Smith, M. and Davis, J.M. (2010) Constructions of Family Support: Lessons from the Field, Administration.
Skott- Myhre, K., Weima, K. and Gibbs, H. (2012, eds) Writing the Family: Women, Auto- ethnography, and Family Work, Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Stables, J. and Smith, F. (1999) Caught in the Cinderella Trap, in: R. Butler and H. Parr (eds) Mind and Body Spaces: Geographies of Illness, Impairment and Disability, London: Routledge, pp. 256-286.
Swadener, B.B. (2010) 'At risk' or 'at promise'? From deficit constructions of the 'other childhood' to possibilities for authentic alliances with children and families, International Critical Childhood Policy Studies 3 (1): 7-29.
Tunstill, J, Tarr, S and Thoburn, J (2007) Cross Sector Scoping Study of Family Support Workers in the Children's Workforce, Children's Workforce Development Council
Wates, M. (2004) Righting the Picture: Disability and Family Life, in Swain, J., French, S., Barnes, C. and Thomas, C. (eds) Disabling Barriers, Enabling Environments, London: Sage. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Research and Enquiry
- be able to identify, define and analyse problems and identify or create processes to solve them
- be able to exercise critical judgement in creating new understanding
- 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
- have an informed respect for the principles, methods, standards, values and boundaries of their discipline(s) and the capacity to question these
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy
- be open to new ideas, methods and ways of thinking
- be independent learners who take responsibility for their own learning, and are committed to continuous reflection, self-evaluation and self-improvement
- be able to make decisions on the basis of rigorous and independent thought, taking into account ethical and professional issues
- be able to use collaboration and debate effectively to test, modify and strengthen their own views
- have a personal vision and goals and be able to work towards these in a sustainable way
Communication
- make effective use of oral, written and visual means to critique, negotiate, create and communicate understanding
- use communication as a tool for collaborating and relating to others
- further their own learning through effective use of the full range of communication approaches
- seek and value open feedback to inform genuine self-awareness
Personal Effectiveness
- be able to manage risk while initiating and managing change
- have the confidence to make decisions based on their understandings and their personal and intellectual autonomy
- understand social, cultural, global and environmental responsibilities and issues
- 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 |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Classes will include lectures, case studies and group discussions. |
| Keywords | children,family,childhood practice,childhood and family policies,relations of power |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Elizabeth Latto
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Gabriella Szel
Tel: (0131 6)51 4906
Email: |
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