Course content

Various opportunities, challenges and dilemmas are linked to the role as a decision-maker in the municipal child welfare service. Within the frontline of child welfare, the most complex and intrusive decisions are made in the welfare state, often decisions that can have major consequences for vulnerable children and families.

The child welfare service's mandate, framework conditions, political guidelines and different knowledge perspectives influence the practical child welfare work. The course focuses on how the decision-maker can make good decisions through the development of competence in navigating an ethically demanding decision-making landscape.

Learning outcome

Knowledge about:

• advanced decision-making perspectives in child welfare
• complexity associated with different types of decisions and decision contexts
• evaluation of child welfare interventions

Skills:

• can identify and critically discuss the importance of different knowledge perspectives in the field of child welfare, and deal with professional and value uncertainty in assessments of the child's best interests
• can collaborate with other agencies and apply an interdisciplinary knowledge base in the reporting, investigation and initiative work
• can analyze conditions that safeguard and prevent participation for children and parents who are in contact with the child welfare service
• can facilitate decision-making processes that promote good cooperation with children, parents and the child's network, and that take into account the family's socio-economic and cultural situation
• can evaluate the impact of child welfare interventions for vulnerable children and families

General competence:

• can identify and discuss ethical challenges that may arise between children, parents, child welfare and civil society as a result of the child welfare decision-making mandate and values
• can contribute to new thinking and innovation in decision-making in child welfare

Learning methods and activities

Seminars with group work and oral presentation, lectures, digital colloquium groups, self-study.

Compulsory assignments

• Written assignment

Specific conditions

Required previous knowledge

The course has admission right requirements, which means that the course is reserved for students who have been admitted to study Master's degree in Child Welfare Work and Master's degree in Child Welfare and Child Protection at NTNU. Students admitted to a similar master's degree can be admitted after individual assessment.

Course materials

The syllabus list is published on Blackboard at the start of the course.