Social Work Wolfenbüttel

Competence goals

Graduates are familiar with the historical development of social work and social pedagogy and understand social work as an independent discipline and profession. They have a basic understanding of central definitions in national and international discourse and are aware of the special professional ethical obligation that requires them to reflect on their own professional actions.

Contents of the module

The module traces the historical lines of development and convergence debates of social pedagogy and social work and illuminates the development towards an independent science. Central definitions (e.g. those of IFSW), subject definitions, the social function and the dual mandate of social work are dealt with. In addition, ethical aspects and the reflection of one's own values and norms are introduced.

Competence goals

Graduates have practical strategies and reflective competences for dealing with information and knowledge. They will be able to define relevant information requirements, use digital methods to obtain information and present the results of academic research in a targeted manner. They have mastered the basics of academic work that enable independent, lifelong learning and can identify their own needs for further education.

Contents of the module

The module teaches the basics of scientific theory and important concepts of scientific work and thinking. Students learn how to deal with literature and produce academic texts. In the "self-directed learning" part, students identify their support needs and put together an individual continuing education programme from the university's offerings (e.g. library, writing workshop, career service).

Competence goals

Students have knowledge of institutions, organisations and providers of social work. They gain insights into the wide range of fields of action, deal with social problems and learn how to deal with the typical contradictions of the profession. They also develop self-organisation and reflection skills.

Contents of the module

The lecture provides an overview of the structures of the welfare sector, target groups and fields of action. The accompanying exercise deepens this content, prepares students for the practical phases and reflects on the self-organised work shadowing.

Competence goals

Students acquire a basic understanding of central concepts and theoretical approaches in sociology and social policy. They will be able to relate social and political phenomena to each other and categorise the acquired knowledge in the context of social work activities.

Contents of the module

The lecture on sociology introduces basic concepts such as social action, inequality and power. The lecture on social policy deals with topics such as the history of the welfare state, political decision-making processes and the role of social movements. The aim is to understand the conditions under which social problems arise.

Competence goals

Students learn about the entire spectrum of pedagogy and acquire knowledge about pedagogical professions and their historical foundations. They will be able to describe the terms socialisation, upbringing, education and learning and relate them to socio-educational fields of action. They are able to critically scrutinise everyday pedagogical phenomena and develop their own professional attitude.

Contents of the module

The lecture provides access to the basic concepts and findings of pedagogy. In the seminar, a pedagogical sub-discipline (e.g. social pedagogy, curative education, experiential education) is examined in depth, focussing on its theories and its relationship to social work.

Competence goals

Students have legal access to key fields of work, recognise the importance of legal structures as a foundation for professional action and are able to distinguish between the main features of public and private law. They learn the ability to apply the instruments of administrative law in social law in order to plan and manage social work.

Contents of the module

The "Law and Social Work" part teaches the social significance of law, the German legal system and specific professional obligations. The "General Social Law" part deals with the basic principles of social law and the course of an administrative procedure under social law.

Competence goals

Students are familiar with the epistemological and scientific theoretical foundations of social work as well as relevant disciplinary theories. They will be able to link their knowledge to typical tasks, work on them in a scientifically reflective manner and critically analyse the social function and mission of social work.

Contents of the module

The module deals with social work science as a discipline, its subject matter and its function. Current disciplinary theories are presented and their links with practice are discussed.

Competence goals

Students understand the classic methods of social work (individual case help, social group work, community work) and know the principles, forms and techniques of counselling and conversation. They will be able to structure help processes and reflect on their own image of humanity in intervention.

Contents of the module

The lecture deals with the characteristics and theoretical foundations of classical counselling methods. The seminar focuses on professional counselling, the design of counselling processes and teaches practically applicable conversation techniques and intervention strategies.

Competence goals

Students familiarise themselves with the framework conditions of a field of activity and try out their role as an intern. They acquire practical knowledge, develop an understanding of theory and practice and acquire skills in self-awareness and self-reflection.

Contents of the module

The module consists of a self-organised, four-week internship (144 hours) in a field of social work. In an accompanying exercise, the practical experience is reflected on and worked through in the group.

Competence goals

Students deepen their sociological and socio-political knowledge. They sharpen their sociological way of thinking on the basis of fundamental works and can use their knowledge to explain social work practice. In the area of social policy, current challenges to the welfare state are analysed.

Contents of the module

The module builds on the basics from the first semester. In the seminars, central issues of sociology (e.g. inequality, deviance, organisation) and social policy (e.g. poverty, work, health) are dealt with in an exemplary and in-depth manner.

Competence goals

Students gain an overview of different paradigms of psychology and their significance for human experience and behaviour. They acquire knowledge of the determinants of human development, are able to predict developmental trajectories and reflect on personal resilience and vulnerabilities.

Contents of the module

The module introduces students to psychology as a basis for action and reflection. Part A deals with basic theories, paradigms and socio-psychological topics such as social perception and group dynamics. Part B focusses on the determinants of human development, psychological disorders, attachment and emotions.

Competence goals

Students expand their legal knowledge to include knowledge of selected, practice-relevant areas of law. They will be able to implement the legal instruments of the SGB and BGB in an application-oriented manner in order to achieve social work goals.

Contents of the module

This module deepens legal knowledge. It consists of a compulsory lecture on child and youth welfare law and a compulsory elective lecture in which students can choose between welfare law (SGB II/XII) and family law.

Competence goals

Students acquire in-depth knowledge of action concepts and methods. They have application-related knowledge of specific procedures and instruments and are able to initiate, plan and organise support processes in a professionally sound manner.

Contents of the module

The module deepens methodological skills. Students must attend two of three compulsory elective areas:

• A. Methodological concepts of individual case support (e.g. case management)
• B. Methodological concepts of social group work (e.g. social training course)
• C. Methodological concepts of community work (e.g. neighbourhood management)

Competence goals

Students acquire knowledge of the connections between power, discrimination and inequality with regard to various dimensions of diversity. They recognise how difference is reproduced, are able to perceive power dynamics and develop strategies to incorporate this reflection into professional action to create inclusion.

Contents of the module

The module provides knowledge for analysing social conditions in the context of gender, diversity and disability. Topics covered include intersectionality, anti-discrimination, disability studies, sexism, racism and professional concepts for dealing with difference.

Competence goals

Students are sensitised to social and health problems and to the possibilities of prevention, health promotion and rehabilitation. They will be able to use their knowledge to critically analyse social work processes and recognise the contribution of health sciences to social work problem solving.

Contents of the module

The lecture introduces students to ways of thinking in health and rehabilitation science and deals with topics such as social inequality and health. The seminar deepens selected perspectives such as relevant clinical pictures, psychosocial crises or clinical social work.

Competence goals

Students acquire basic knowledge of media science and media education and are able to classify the effects of mediatisation and digitalisation on society and the individual. They will be able to apply this knowledge to specific fields of action and develop approaches to target group-orientated, action-oriented media education.

Contents of the module

The lecture teaches the basics of media theory, media history and reception and impact research. This knowledge is deepened in an optional seminar, e.g. by analysing media phenomena, educational media research or the use and production of media in the context of social work.

Competence goals

Students acquire a basic understanding of central concepts and theoretical approaches in economics. Special emphasis is placed on the organisation of social work, the interaction between the state and independent welfare work and the service character of social work.

Contents of the module

The lecture introduces basic economic concepts (market, state, macro- and microeconomics). In an elective seminar, either economic-sociological basics (e.g. variants of capitalism and the welfare state) or topics of socio-economics and organisation (e.g. financing social work, social entrepreneurship) are explored in greater depth.

Competence goals

Students are able to plan, implement and evaluate projects independently. They know the theoretical principles of project management, the various project phases and can apply suitable instruments and techniques for project work.

Contents of the module

The lecture teaches the basics of social and project management, including organisational theory, project phases and relevant instruments such as needs analyses, target group analyses and schedules. In the exercise, the development of a project concept and preparation for implementation is practised.

Competence goals

Students are familiar with basic socio-philosophical and individual ethical theories and can reflect on these in relation to social work. They are able to examine values and norms and structure cases on the basis of models of ethical judgement.

Contents of the module

The module imparts knowledge of ethical concepts, the analysis of values and norms as well as theories of justice and society. A central content is ethical judgement and philosophical reflection on human action.

Competence goals

Students learn to view social work from an international perspective and to categorise the significance of transnational developments for local practice. They will be able to draw on culturally sensitive and racism-critical programmes and develop their own concepts for action.

Contents of the module

The module deals with transnational phenomena such as migration, climate change, social inequality and racism. An anti-essentialist understanding of culture is conveyed and the implications of these global issues for local professional social work are reflected upon.

Competence goals

Students integrate their previous knowledge with a view to specific fields of action and target groups. They will be able to combine theoretical and practical knowledge, develop options for action and plan and critically reflect on measures in a target group-orientated manner. They deepen their career orientation.

Contents of the module

In this and subsequent semesters, students choose a seminar from a wide range of specific fields of action, such as social work in child and youth welfare, social work and schools, elderly care, healthcare or in the context of migration and flight.

Competence goals

Students have knowledge specific to their field of activity for their project. They will be able to develop, implement and evaluate a project idea in practice in a problem- and solution-orientated manner. They are able to translate knowledge from the related sciences into professional action and further develop their professional identity.

Contents of the module

This module is the first of two semesters of the project workshop. It combines theory and practice in an exemplary manner. Project-relevant content is developed in an accompanying seminar. The actual realisation of the project (180 hours) takes place in a practical institution.

Competence goals

Students know the basics of empirical social research and have data competence. They are familiar with qualitative, quantitative and participatory research methods and can relate these to various research topics in social work. They are able to categorise empirical results and make them usable.

Contents of the module

The lecture teaches the theoretical foundations of empirical social research. In the accompanying exercise, this content is deepened using sample studies and selected aspects (e.g. creation of a questionnaire or guidelines) are applied in practice.

Competence goals

Students know the basics of labour law and the collective bargaining system. They know about labour market-related forms of organisation such as professional associations and can critically analyse working conditions in order to develop options for psychosocial self-care.

Contents of the module

The lecture deals with the basics of labour law (employee rights, collective bargaining law, minimum wage). In an elective seminar, either labour market-related forms of organisation (e.g. professional associations, self-employment) or special challenges in everyday working life (e.g. dealing with violence, stress, conflicts) are discussed.

Competence goals

Students acquire knowledge about complex current topics and learn to categorise different positions. They will be able to analyse new social challenges (e.g. shift to the right, climate change, digitality) in relation to new requirements in social work.

Contents of the module

In this module, current topics and issues are presented and discussed in relation to social work. The special significance of social work for shaping society is reflected upon in the face of new social challenges.

Competence goals

Students integrate their previous knowledge with a view to specific fields of action and target groups. They will be able to combine theoretical and practical knowledge, develop options for action and plan and critically reflect on measures in a target group-orientated manner. They deepen their career orientation.

Contents of the module

Students choose a further seminar from the programme on specific fields of action and thus deepen their knowledge in a second area.

Competence goals

This module builds on Project Workshop I. Students continue their project, deepen their knowledge specific to the field and their methodological competences. The focus is on reflecting on their own experiences and social work activities in practice in order to further develop their professional identity.

Contents of the module

This is the second part of the project workshop. The linking of theory (in the accompanying seminar) and practice (in the project on site) is continued. Goals, results and experiences are reflected upon together.

Competence goals

Students are able to develop a standardised or non-standardised survey instrument and evaluate the corresponding data. They acquire the competence to prepare a research report.

Contents of the module

The module deepens the research skills taught in module 4.5 by way of example. Depending on the workshop, the focus is on quantitative methods (e.g. developing questionnaires, descriptive statistics) or qualitative methods (e.g. developing guidelines, qualitative evaluation methods).

Competence goals

Students know the difference between job, occupation and profession and have knowledge of relevant professional theories. They will be able to link their professional knowledge to typical case constellations in a targeted manner, process these in a reflective manner and further develop their own professional identity.

Contents of the module

The module deals with professional theories, empirical findings on professional identity and concepts of linking theory and practice. Professional case processing and reflection is practised in the case seminar.

Competence goals

The module aims to round off students' own profile. Students reflect on the state of their knowledge, identify learning needs and expand their professional profile in a self-determined way by choosing suitable courses.

Contents of the module

This module offers maximum flexibility. Students can choose (compulsory elective) courses from the entire BA programme that they have not yet attended, or courses from other faculties or Ostfalia institutions (e.g. Language Centre).

Competence goals

Students integrate their previous knowledge with a view to specific fields of action and target groups. They will be able to combine theoretical and practical knowledge, develop options for action and plan and critically reflect on measures in a target group-orientated manner. They deepen their career orientation.

Contents of the module

Students choose a third and final seminar from the programme on specific fields of action, thereby rounding off their in-depth study.

Competence goals

Students learn how to analyse a specialist topic academically using systematic methods and to arrive at well-founded, self-developed statements. This includes the ability to research literature, to conceptualise and operationalise a research question and to present it systematically and linguistically. The ability to engage in constructive professional dialogue is tested in the colloquium.

Contents of the module

The exercise "Preparation of the BA thesis" repeats standards of academic work and helps students to find a topic. The Bachelor's thesis itself is an independent scientific examination of a topic that originates from theory, empiricism or the practice of social work and is supervised by two assessors.