Finnish Social Welfare and Social Work (5cr)

Content (course unit)

FINNISH SOCIAL WELFARE AND SOCIAL WORK 5 ECTS
Type of course: Elective
Note: This course is also offered for international exchange and degree students in Tampere

Objective
Students are able to
" Describe Finnish social welfare system and social work practices
" Analyze social work methods and approaches used within different working fields in practice
" Analyze and compare challenges of social service / social work practices internationally/locally

Course contents
The structure, present status and development history of Finnish social protection system
Social welfare services
Social problems and future challenges for service development

Teaching methods
Orientative lectures
Study visits (5-6 different social work/service fields) in small groups
Seminars with a presentation
Moodle/Tabula -discussion

Assessment methods
Active participation in the lectures and study visits
Group discussion and essay based on literature, lectures and study visits.
Seminar presentation.

Required/Recommended reading in Moodle/Tabula
Background literature related to each theme is given during the lessons. Background documents in Moodle/Tabula.

Year of study
Free

Semester/Period
Autumn term: During September - October
Spring term: During February - March

Language of instruction
English

Assessment scale

Pass/Fail

Teaching methods

contact teaching|summary report/essay|field-work (incl. study trips)|seminar

Learning materials

Will be given during the lectures and placed in the Moodle

Student workload

Lectures: 16 hours
Study visits: 5 study visits - total 15 hours
Seminar: 8 hours
Independent studies: seminar report and presentation, portfolio compilation (40 hours)
Reading material and virtual learning in Moodle: 16 hours

Content scheduling

Ulla-Maija Koivula and Juha Santala

Practical training and working life cooperation

Study visits

International connections

Course is participated by students from different countries.

Further information

Dates
Course times:
7.2. 13-16
14.2. 13-16
21.2. 13-16
7.3. 13-16
4.4. 9-16 seminar
In addition study visits to social services during separate schedule during February and March. The schedule will be discussed and the visits planned during the first contact lesson.

Prerequisites
None

Aims
Students understand the basics of Finnish social welfare services and social work
Are familiar with principles and working methods in different social services
Are able to evaluate and compare service structure and delivery as well as challenges in social service development

Learning goals
Knowledge and understanding of the structure and principals of Finnish social welfare and social work
Knowledge of different social services and working methods
Analyze and compare challenges of social service / social work practices internationally/locally

R&D connections
No

Implementation method
Youth study programme, day time, SITR course also for exchange students from UTA and TUT

eLearning
Virtual learning space Moodle is used for discussions and background material