Module SOCI3151: YOUTH AND COMMUNITY WORK IN A CHRISTIAN CONTEXT

Department: APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES (SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL POLICY)

SOCI3151: YOUTH AND COMMUNITY WORK IN A CHRISTIAN CONTEXT

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To offer an understanding of: the development of church based community and youth work.
• contemporary Christian approaches to community and youth work.
• alternative forms of Christian mission and ministry.
• and the place of Christian ethics and theology with contemporary youth and community work.

Content

• this option will focus on youth work and informal education in the context of churches and parachurch organisations.
• areas covered will include the historical development of youth and community work through the churches and in different traditions.
• key areas of Christian theology.
• the work of particular individuals.
• and current models of good practice.
• Questions of transition.
• the aims of Christian youth work and the way that work engages with current culture and other faiths will be explored.
• The module will examine issues of practical relevance to church based youth work: working with and training volunteers.
• relationships with clergy and the wider congregation.
• managing resources.
• the Christian approach to ethics and likely future trends.

Learning Outcomes

• an understanding of the theory and practice of community and youth work in a Christian context.

• the ability to explore the relationship between churches and community and youth work, particularly in terms of church-based work.
• the ability to engage with contemporary debates on the theory and practice of community and youth work in a Christian context, and its relationship with a range of other contexts.

• a range of communication skills including the ability to: evaluate and synthesise information obtained from a variety of sources; communicate relevant information in different ways and select the most appropriate method of communication for different tasks; monitor, and reflect on, the use of communication skills;
• competence in the use of IT resources including the ability to: word-process; monitor and reflect on the use of IT skills;
• a capacity to improve own learning and performance, including: ability to manage time effectively; work to prescribed deadlines; engage in different ways of learning including both independent and directed forms of learning; gather necessary information from a range of bibliographic and electronic sources; monitor and critically reflect on the learning process.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The teaching will be in a seminar style, with lecture input followed by discussion. Students will be expected to prepare for each session, both by undertaking background reading before each session and by preparing a short presentation for one session during the term. This will take the form of an individual presentation of one model or theory which you have covered in your background reading, lasting a maximum of five minutes, and delivered in week 4 or 5 as part of that week???s session. Whilst this presentation will not be assessed in a way which counts towards your mark for this unit, it will form part of the formative assessment, and hence students should ensure that they are prepared and present to deliver their presentation on the appropriate week. This will be discussed in more detail in the first session, when you will be assigned a particular week (either 4 or 5) to do your presentation.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

1 case study presentation

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University