Child welfare practice in services and measures for vulnerable children and adolescents

This course will focus on services and measures for vulnerable children. Key topics are communication, conflict management, relational competence, professional ethics and current child welfare and child protection issues. We will also focus on awareness of learning from practice, and how to benefit from supervision. Professional reflections on one's own practice and work experiences are also central. In this course, students will have practice placement in child protection and child welfare, either in Norway or abroad. Practice placement for students in Norway will take place in Trøndelag. Practice placement abroad will take place according to NTNU´s agreements with relevant collaborators, and the students application.

Knowledge - Students have:

• knowledge about child protection and child welfares mandate, interdisciplinary cooperation, division of responsibilities and tasks.
• multidisciplinary knowledge of key child welfare and child protection issues, processes and current professional debates the student will encounter in practice
• broad knowledge of different child protection and child welfare methods and measures
• knowledge of working with children and families in vulnerable life situations and with different cultural backgrounds
• knowledge of ethical values and dilemmas in the child protection and child welfare field, and can reflect around these

Skills - Students can:

• apply theoretical and experience based knowledge, and knowledge from children and parents, as a basis for knowledge based practice
• apply relational and communicative skills to cooperate with children, parents and collaborators in a culture-sensitive way
• reflect on their own and their host organization's professional work, values and norms - apply written documentation and digital professional systems as a tool
• apply different child welfare and child protection methods and measures, including activities in interaction with children

General knowledge - Students :

• can apply knowledge and experience to investigate, organize, carry out, document, analyze, assess and evaluate child welfare and child protection work in an ethical and proper way
• have insight into and understanding of the importance of own values and attitudes, and show an understanding of professional ethics as a basis for professional practice
• can apply knowledge, skills and experience to encounter children and families with understanding, empathy and recognition
• can document and convey professional assessments orally and in writing

Practice studies (17 weeks), individual studies, supervision, written assignments and participation in discussion, lectures, training, work in groups and presentations.