Social Work with Children and Families

Children and families that need social work help usually face numerous internal and external stressors that are often associated with difficult living conditions, which can lead to overload and destabilisation. The course focuses on the collaborative social work with children and families. It means the processes in which we develop the opportunities for the desired changes with all the participants in a working relationship of co-creation.

In an environment where families face several challenges, children are vulnerable and are in need of guidance from their parents to help nurture themselves into healthy adults. A quote by Rita F. Pierson describes this need: ‘Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best they can possibly be’. But most important; the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child focuses on the health and safety of children. As professionals, educators, and researchers we should all try to empower children and families who are in need.

With the focal point on the UN convention on the rights of the child, we will focus on the  aforementioned issues. To do so, this course focuses on the multiple challenges and choices families or family members face, the holistic approach that is needed to sustain change, and how we can establish services that are sensitive to new circumstances and strengthen individual and family resilience. We explore how children and their families can empower themselves with the support of their environment and education. And finally, we focus on the role of the family and other formal or informal structures in handling numerous opportunities as well as restrictions in modern society.

18. 6. - 23. 6. 2017