Course Type | Course Code | No. Of Credits |
---|---|---|
Foundation Core | SES202103 | 4 |
Semester and Year Offered: Semester II Year 1
Course Coordinator and Team: Monimalika Day
Email of course coordinator: monimalika@aud.ac.in
Pre-requisites: None
Aim:
This course will enable students to deepen their understanding of children and their families, in the context of their socio-cultural environment, their communities. These contexts are dynamic systems influenced by social, cultural and political forces. The concept of ecology is traditionally applied to the study of plants and environments but is equally important to consider, as we try to understand the complex processes of development and learning. This involves examining the psychological, biological, social and cultural context in which a child lives and grows. Context maybe studied through a different number of lenses. In this course, students will become aware of socio-cultural perspective, the ecological systems theory and the family systems theory. Moreover, students will learn how to develop a posture of reciprocity and engage with families and community members to develop culturally responsive programs for children. Begins to explore how ecology and socialization influence development and learning of young children.
Course Outcomes:
Brief description of modules/ Main modules:
Module 1: The changing nature of families and communities: ecological systems perspective (4 Weeks)
This unit focuses on how the family works from a systems perspective. The relationships between family members are such that whatever happens to one member of a family influences all others. The goal is to engage students in reflective practice and provide different conceptual frameworks that will help them to understand and empathize with families.
Unit 2:Approaches to working with families and communities (4 weeks)
Professionals and researchers need to be familiar with existing approaches to work effectively with families and form collaborative relationships and acquire the necessary skills.
Assessment Details with weights:
S. No. | Task | Expectation
| Individual or group | Mode and Percentage |
Class Participation | Attending classes in a regular and timely manner. Participation in class discussion and in class assignments based on reading the literature from the required texts.
| Individual | 10% | |
Family Systems Theory | Interview a family member and write a paper reflecting on the Family Systems Theory proposed by Turnbull et al. (2006). Briefly describe the theory and attempt to apply the framework to understand your family’s composition and interactions. Critique the theory based on your experience of connecting it to your own family situation.
| Individual | 40% | |
Community Assignment | This assignment gives you an opportunity to visit a community that is unfamiliar to you and engage in dialogues with community members to learn about the history, demographics, current activities and major concerns of this group.
Furthermore, you need to learn about the lives of young children in these communities through observing them in their natural settings, interviews with families, and informal conversations with children. You will work in small groups to gather information, analyze information to understand existing power hierarchies, and conduct a group presentation in class. Group: Interview and observe your peers interviewing families and provide critical feedback. Together create a poster following the community walk and share your what you learned in a group presentation.
Individual: Each student will interview two families and write a report on their findings. The information must be analyzed based on class readings. Specifically, explore and try to identify examples of parental ethnotheories. In addition all students are required to write a short reflective paper. Please see detailed guidelines for assignment.
Group Presentation: 20 points
Final Report: 30 points
|
| 50% |