SAVPU301 Practical placement in Tanzania and Botswana. Multi-professional cooperation across borders.

Contents and structure

The professional in the future needs new skills in a global and multicultural society. International cooperation and dialogue are conditions to manage the global challenges of today.

Via practical placement in Tanzania or Botswana, the students will learn interprofessional cooperation and experience international exposure. The students practice in other working cultures and experience norms and values, formal and informal, that regulate labour life in these countries. Furthermore, the students train their general skills and abilities, such as problem-solving, cooperative abilities, confidence, tolerance, pragmatism towards alternative practices, and decision-making in an intercultural environment. Human rights and the UN's sustainable development goals are central to the preparatory course and the coursework.

The students must participate in a preparatory course before travelling to Botswana and Tanzania. The topics will be language, culture, human rights, and relevant development goals.

Learning Outcome

Upon completion of the course, students should have the following learning outcomes, defined in terms of knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge: The student..

• understands the significance of living conditions, health, education, work, participation, and social inclusion for individuals and families across different life phases in the current context
• is knowledgeable about critical and ethical reflection theory
• understands the impact of communication, coordination, cooperation, and language proficiency on these matters
• possesses knowledge about problem-solving at individual, group, and systemic levels, including the mapping and exploration of values, aspirations, living conditions, goal setting, activities, and evaluation
• is familiar with theoretical perspectives and user knowledge relevant to their field
• understands concepts related to inclusion, equality, and non-discrimination, regardless of factors such as gender, ethnicity, religion or world view, functional level, sexual orientation, and age, both on a national and global scale.

Skills: The student...

• can apply professional knowledge effectively in interpersonal relationships and communication
• is capable of using professional knowledge for critical examination of their work processes
• can utilize professional knowledge to initiate and contribute to interprofessional and multidisciplinary coordination
• can apply professional knowledge and research findings to interpret and develop practical and theoretical questions, as well as make well-founded decisions
• can engage in reflective practice and adapt to supervision in their professional field.

General Competence: The student...

• understands the processes of policy-making and administrative decision-making and the role of dissemination as a professional practitioner
• possesses an understanding of the structures of welfare systems and the collaborative relationships between governments and organizations within those systems
• is equipped to grapple with ethical questions and navigate ethical dilemmas when interacting with individuals and cultures in a professional capacity
• demonstrates an understanding of their professional role in relation to institutional and political demands within their field of practice

Entry requirements

For Social Educator Students: Successful completion of the second year of study is required.

For Social Work Students: Successful completion of the first year of study and the third semester is required. Additionally, students must have examination rights in the course SAB250.

Teaching methods

In practical studies, the student is expected to learn by participating in various professional situations and by reflecting on their own actions as well as the actions of others in the professional field.

Compulsory learning activities

The following compulsory learning activities must be approved for the student to assess the practical placement.

1. Approved individual training curriculum.
2. One workshop with employees in the practice organisation with human rights and relevant sustainable development goals as starting points.
3. Minimum 90 percent participation in the practice
4. Podcast or video production for first or second-year students in Child Protection and Child Welfare, Social Educator, or Social Work, with duration of five to ten minutes
5. Critical reflection essay of 1500 words +/- 10 percent.

Approved coursework is valid for the current practice period and must be taken up again if the student fails to pass the practical placement.

Assessment

Assessment in practical studies is based on an overall evaluation of the student's performance during the practical period, including mandatory learning activities.

Practical studies are assessed as either "pass" or "fail."

Absences exceeding 10% during the practical period will result in a "fail" grade for the practical.

If a student receives a "fail" grade for the practical, they must retake the entire practical period. In such cases, the student will need to complete a new practical period the next time it is offered.