Hello and welcome to the course video for Children, Young People and Policy. I’m Dr Emma Bond and I am the course leader for this exciting, new BA (Hons) degree course here at University Campus Suffolk.
Children, Young People and Policy is an innovative course based on a commitment to multi-professionalism, ethical practice and professional integrity. The Children, Young People and Policy programme is a trans-disciplinary degree underpinned by children’s’ rights and developing integrated and responsive services for children, young people and families.
This is a very new type of degree programme which offers students a flexible and innovative approach to learning via new media. Since UCS was established we have extensively used innovative technology through our VLE (virtual learning environment) and we continue to develop learning programmes that use the latest electronic media. Students are able to choose from synchronous and asynchronous communication systems such as blogs, videos, podcasts, wikis, web-quests and text-based materials.
During the first year, students will be introduced to significant ideas, concepts, issues, methods, methodologies and theories in relation to studying social policy. This provides a foundation for the domains of study considered to be an essential basis for further developments.
The Understanding Children’s Rights module introduces important principles, values and debates in relation to children’s rights and considers how they potentially influence children’s lives through an understanding diversity and inclusion.
Additionally, the Understanding Children and Young People module introduces students to developmental perspectives that impact on our understanding of the everyday lives of children. It integrates ideas with various health related topics to demonstrate how they benefit understanding children and young people’s well-being.
The second year of study is designed so that students should continue to develop their cognitive abilities in two ways, one by extending and refining understandings of theories, methods and research, and secondly, by becoming exposed to a broader range of subjects.
The Understanding Ethical Research with Children and Young People module is viewed as pivotal in this process and the development of abilities appraising research findings is encouraged. Furthermore the Safeguarding Children and Young People and the Policy, Children and Young People modules further develop the students’ understanding of interdisciplinary approaches to social policy topics and issues relating to children and young people.
The modules during year two of the course also use the theories and concepts introduced during the first year, to analyse how social needs, social problems and policies in relation to children and young people themselves are constructed.
Finally, in the third year, students will continue to develop their understanding in more specialised areas and building upon previous modules, will carry out in-depth examinations of theories and research with an emphasis upon critical evaluation of both theory and methods.
The Research Dissertation will provide the opportunity for students to demonstrate their academic abilities in an original and creative way. Additionally the Future of Childhood module and the Young people, Crime and Society module facilitate a critical consideration of theoretical developments, professional and ethical issues in achieving improved outcomes for children and young people.
A further critical consideration of children’s rights is encouraged which questions the both future of childhood and children’s services and encourages students to distinguish among and critically evaluate different theoretical, technical, normative, moral and political approaches to social problems and issues in relation to children and young people.