Children, families and everyday life

The course provides advanced knowledge of how an everyday life perspective on children and families with complex life situations provides opportunities for a complex understanding of families' life situation. Challenges in the family can be about individual, relational, social and structural conditions that affect everyday life. Emphasis is placed on how the taken for granted in everyday life is a central framework for the individual's integrity, which in turn is important for meetings between vulnerable children, family and welfare services.

The course will also focus on different theoretical everyday life perspectives as well as the implications of living conditions for children and parents' everyday lives. The course problematizes how knowledge about everyday life is important for, and sets the premises for the help that is given to children and families by the child welfare service and other welfare services.

Knowledge - The student has:

• in-depth and advanced knowledge of key theories about everyday life
• in-depth knowledge of theories about families with compound and complex life situations in a child welfare professional context
• in-depth knowledge of different perspectives on children and young people's development
• in-depth knowledge of how cultural and socio-economic conditions as class affect parenting and family life
• in-depth insight into how different knowledge perspectives can be linked to the child welfare service's work with vulnerable children, young people and families

Skills - The student can:

• reflect on different aspects of everyday life, notions of "the taken for granted" and its significance for vulnerable children and families
• can analyze and apply different theoretical perspectives on vulnerable children and families in complex life situations
• can analyze and argue independently and objectively on topics related to children and parents within a child welfare professional context
• can reflect on the importance of everyday life for vulnerable children and families' need for help

General competence - The student can:

• analyze, reflect on and communicate about academic issues in children and parents' everyday lives within the subject area and to the general public
• contribute to innovation by applying everyday life knowledge from children and families critically and constructively in practice and research
• analyze relevant professional and research ethics issues

The course consists of lectures, various forms of group work, self-study and oral presentations in seminars.