Programme description for Child Welfare, 5 year Master's Programme (2021–2026)

Knowledge

After completing the education, the candidate will:

• Have advanced knowledge of child welfare responsibilities and knowledge base, key governmental guidelines, organization of child welfare services, national/international conventions, child welfare values, multicultural challenges, and specialized insight into children's living conditions
• Have advanced knowledge of the legal framework for child welfare work in municipal, state, and private services, human rights, and children's right to participation
• Have thorough knowledge of the legal framework pertaining to welfare administration and relevant administrative procedures
• Have advanced knowledge of professions and professional practice, and specialized insight into child development, relational work, communication, child participation, the best interests of the child, and professional development work
• Have in-depth knowledge of psychological and social science contributions to understanding child development, upbringing, family, and risk factors, and be able to apply this knowledge in the best interests of the child
• Have in-depth knowledge of the impact of societal and cultural conditions on children's care environments and living conditions
• Have advanced knowledge of scientific theory topics relevant to child welfare and in-depth knowledge of social science research methods
• Have advanced knowledge of normative and ethical challenges in child welfare

Skills

After completing the education, the candidate will be able to:

• Practice high-quality child welfare work and contribute independent analyses of complex child welfare issues and possible courses of action
• Critically reflect on the language, communication forms, and power dynamics within the field
• Analyze and assess the legal basis for child welfare work
• Analyze and assess the life situations and care needs of children and youth, and the caregiving practices of caregivers based on relevant knowledge
• Facilitate safe relationships with children and youth and contribute to the implementation of measures in the best interests of the child, and provide documentation of such work
• Establish secure relationships with children and youth, contribute to implementing measures in the child’s best interest, and documenting the work
• Reflect on the scope of child welfare and critically analyze challenges related to structural frameworks and interdisciplinary collaboration
• Identify scientific and ethical challenges in child welfare and provide independent reflections on these
• Apply social science methods and carry out an independent research or development project under supervision and in accordance with current research ethics standards
• Apply their knowledge and skills within the child welfare field for the benefit of children
• Present extensive independent work using the field’s forms of expression and communicate issues and analyses to professionals in child welfare and to the general public
• Apply legal reasoning, foundations, and regulations in meetings and development of measures with children, youth, and families
• Analyze child welfare issues based on the field’s history, traditions, distinctiveness, and societal role
• Critically assess their own role as a child welfare worker and the profession’s value base, and independently and responsibly analyze, evaluate, and carry out key work and decision-making processes in child welfare services
• Communicate with children, youth, families, and partners in a child welfare context, and communicate child welfare issues both with specialists and the general public

General Competence

After completing the education, the candidate will:

• Have insight into complex ethical challenges in child welfare related to their own professional practice, insight into various knowledge sources when implementing measures, and understanding of their impact
• Have insight into complex ethical and methodological challenges and be able to systematize experiences for the purpose of knowledge development, innovation, and shaping of practice

The main objective of the program is to educate reflexive, critical thinking and ethically conscious child welfare workers with solid academic anchoring and skills necessary to provide good and effective help to children, young people and their families.

Students will be prepared for professional careers in which they facilitate and contribute to children living under harmful conditions getting the necessary help, care and protection in a timely manner, and ensure that these children and young people are met with security, love and understanding.

Practicums and experience in the field are a central component of the programme. Direct service experience is integrated into four of the five years of study.

The programme has an interdisciplinary profile with child welfare as a main thematic core. The programme consists of five areas of knowledge, with professional education as a common feature of the four areas of knowledge. Pulling knowledge from different areas and linking them to challenges in child welfare is part of the professional education in this programme. The orientation of the programme is linked to assessments of the child's best interests. The "best interests of the child," which is the purpose of child welfare, will be the core subject of analyzes and discussions throughout the programme.

This academic education means that students develop a professional education and set of skills. By this, we mean the ability to meet children, young people and their families in a respectful manner, be involved in with the individuals and to make good professional assessments for the benefit and best interest of the child.

The five domains of knowledge that students encounter each academic year are each presented as a step in a staircase, with one step for each year, see figure 1. In addition to showing the overall thematic, staircase diagram illustrates that there is a progression of knowledge from one year to the next. The five areas domains are:

• Knowledge of child protective services
• Legal Knowledge
• Professional training
• Psychology and welfare knowledge
• Ethics, scientific theory and methodology

In addition to the five core areas of knowledge, the program has five topics that follow the academic year. These are indicated in the model's top line. We start with the child protection worker. We then expand students' perspective on relationships and participation. Language and writing are the core subject of it third year. Throughout the fourth year, we emphasize cooperation and collaboration and conclude with a focus in the final year on reflection and research.

Teaching and learning format

In the program, lectures, seminars, group work / discussions, systematic reflections are used, guidance, as well as training on written communication and management, skill training both in role play and by executive work in child protection service. The working methods include digital platforms and aids.

It is envisaged that the students take considerable responsibility for their own learning and for their own personal professional education. The students will be guided in their practicum placements by experienced child protection workers. Throughout the program, students will participate in a mentor group consisting of an employee at the university, a practitioner and a youth who has experience with help from child protection services. In the master's thesis, the students will do independent research work. There are also day seminars where the students work with the integration and understanding of the teachings and of themselves as a future professional practitioner.

The work format will be a balance between practice in the field and the university as the learning arena, in such a way that these are seen as complementary and mutually dependent learning arenas. The language of instruction is Norwegian, with the exception of some courses that will be taught in English

Assessment Methods

Variations in forms of assessment, such as approval of practicum placements, written school exam, semester assignments (done individually or in groups) oral examinations, take-home exams (done individually or in a group) as well as a master's thesis in combination with an oral defense of this.

The programme is geared towards the Norwegian child welfare services but will at the same time safeguard international perspectives.

In the programme, emphasis is placed on developing knowledge of cultural sensitivity, diversity, comparative perspectives on the welfare society, consequences of globalization and migration on growing up in Norway and the multicultural society. Some topics will be in English, with the goal of attracting international students, and much of the curriculum / research literature will be international.

The Department of Sociology and Social Work collaborates with Aalborg University (AUU), the University of Nebraska (UNO), the University of Leuven (UCLL) and the University of California, Berkeley. The institute is working on establishing new cooperative agreements with foreign universities to add to the agreements already in place.

It has been arranged for exchanges twice during the course, in the 3rd semester and in the 9th semester.

The 3rd semester includes basic thinking and ethics in child protective services, practical social research as well as elective courses. The students are free to choose a relevant course as a replacement for the elective courses provided by UiA. The additional courses – basic thinking and ethics in child protective services and practical social research can be substituted by courses that offer a learning-outcome concurring with the courses offered by UiA. Overall, such a semester can contribute to strengthened critical and ethical awareness and contribute to enhanced knowledge on how child protective services are perceived and practiced in other countries.

Foreign exchange at the master’s level has been added to the 9th semester and will be aimed at the topic identified for the master’s thesis. Students are free to take a relevant elective course of 10 credits as a substitute for elective courses provided by UiA, in addition to 10 credits within supervision. Courses in supervision can be found in different variants at different universities, and this can help to strengthen the learning outcomes of the supervisor role in different contexts.

The study programme coordinator approve topics at the relevant institution before the exchange takes place.