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Code and Module Title

3.7 A
Social Work in an International Context and Fundamentals of Intercultural Competence

Length 

3 months

Credits

15 ECTS (450 hours workload)

Type of Examination

Oral and written examination 

Subject Area

International Qualification:  Application and specialization in theory and practice

Brief Description of Content

• Europe as a contractually-guaranteed supranational organization
• Development of welfare state in Europe
• Practice and organization of Social Work in different European countries 
• Language, communication, culture and interculturality
• The gender dimension
• Human rights

Subject-specific competences

Unit 1: Understanding of policy, politics and structure of Europe (5 credits) 

• A knowledge of European structures (Organisations, Procedures, Contracts, etc.) as well as the most important themes of discussion on Europe (orientational knowledge)
• An understanding of the reasons for the uniting of Europe, analysis of the results (explanatory knowledge)
• A knowledge of theory and social processes of migration and ethnization. 
• A knowledge about social work with refugees, migrants, in agonized and disrupting societies in an international context.
• A knowledge of sources of additional information

Unit 2: Subject-specific  intercultural Competences (5 credits)

• A knowledge of social work on a European and worldwide level (orientational knowledge)
• Understanding conceptions of social order like gendertheory, theory of intersectionality, ethnicity
• Understanding the proceses of social unequality and societal cleavages like gender, race/ethnicity, work, class.
• A knowledge of sources of additional information

Unit 3: Fundamentals of Intercultural Competence (5 credits) 

• Basic knowledge of models of culture and diversity, connections among language, communication and culture, commonalities and differences (orientational knowledge)
• An understanding of and ability to explain one's own and other cultures; sensitization for intercultural conflicts; ability to confront intercultural conflict situations (explanatory and practical/operational knowledge)
• Ability to communicate in the English language in an intercultural context and as it relates to the subject (practical/operational knowledge)
• Intercultural gender competence (explanatory and practical/operational knowledge)
• A knowledge of sources of additional information

Generic competences

General intercultural Competences:

• An understanding of the development of Europe under the perspective of the meaning of human rights in Europe
• Propaedeutic for European communication and cooperation

Subject-specific intercultural Competences:

• Propaedeutic for subject-specific communication and cooperation
• An understanding of ethical standards in the European perspective

Fundamentals of Intercultural Competence:

• An understanding of and empathy for other cultures
• An ability to reflect on the human images of different cultures

Type and Quantity / Breakdown of Course Work

A total of 10 academic hours (45 min.), broken down as follows:

• 8 hours per week in class (4 hours general Intercultural Competences in an intercultural context + 2 hours subject-specific intercultural competences + 2 hours fundamentals of intercultural competence) + private study (preparation and review) = a total of 300 hours, 
• additional 150 hours of project work on community work and practice in social work (2 hours)

Frequency of Course Offering

Each winter semester 

Coordinator

Prof. Dr. Martina Ritter

Code and Module Title

3.7 B
1) Internship and project work in an Intercultural Context
2) Institutions of Social Work: Visits in order to Get to Know
    “Good Practice”
 

Length

4 months

Credits

10 ECTS (300 hours workload)

Type of Examination

Written report

Subject Area

1) European / Intercultural Qualification: Placement
2) European / Intercultural Qualification: Knowledge of “good practice” in the host country

Brief Description of Content

1) 
Practice and organization of Social Work in a foreign European country focusing on

• Communication, culture, and interculturality
• Ethnicity, gender, class, and human rights 

Placement area: cultural / intercultural youth work

• Organisation of special placements for English speaking students
• Supervision of placement work
• Evaluation / marking of written placement report
• project planning, implementation and evaluation of a project

Students shall plan semi-independent projects in co-operation with instructors from the Department of Social Work and instructors from institutions of social work, e.g. interviews on the street with regard to the attitudes towards ethnic minorities, social inequality, unemployment, gender etc., i.e. the most relevant categories which cover clients of social work. Projects shall support sustainable development in the respective institutions of social work.

2)  
Elaborating criteria for good practice, to evaluate different social work agencies

Subject-specific competences

1) Subject-specific Intercultural Competences 

• A knowledge and an experience of social work practice (youth work) in a foreign European country (practical/operational knowledge)

Fundamentals of Intercultural Competence 

• Basic experience of culture and diversity, communication and culture, commonalities and differences
• Experiences in explaining youth cultures and intercultural conflicts by using the dimensions of ethnicity, gender, class and referring them to human rights
• Examining questions of social work in an intercultural context by carrying out small scale research projects
• Conceptualizing sustainable social work in a foreign country based on small scale research
• Explaining processes of becoming a client of social work with regard to the host country’s cultural background

2) Subject-specific Intercultural Competences

• A knowledge and an experience of good social work practice in a foreign European country (practical/operational knowledge)

Fundamentals of Intercultural Competences

• Basic experience of culture and diversity, communication and culture, commonalities and differences
• Explaining processes of becoming a client of social work with regard to the host country’s cultural background
• Getting to know how to manage clients by offering a culturally embedded good social work practice

Generic competences

1) Subject-specific Intercultural Competences:

• Being able to apply subject-specific communication and cooperation
• Becoming familiar with ethical standards of social work, in particular with antidiscriminatory practice based on human rights

Fundamentals of Intercultural Competence:

• Getting a sympathetic understanding of other cultures
• Thinking and experiencing the borders between accepting and refusing behaviour based on culture
• Using human rights as a means of  ethical orientation with regard to different cultures
• Soft skills: management of small scale research projects

2) Subject-specific Intercultural Competences:

• To get a broader understanding of professionalism in a European cultural context 

Fundamentals of Intercultural Competence:

• Getting a sympathetic understanding of other cultures
• Thinking and experiencing the borders between accepting and refusing behaviour based on culture
• Using human rights as a means of  ethical orientation with regard to different cultures

Type and Quantity / Breakdown of Course Work

A total of 8 academic hours (45 min.), broken down as follows:

1) 4 academic hours (45 min.) per week (internship) = a total of 150 hours 
2 academic hours (45 min.) per week (project work) = a total of 75 hours 

Frequency of Course Offering

Each winter semester 

Coordinator

Prof. Dr. Martina Ritter

Code and Module Title 

3.7 C 
German as a Foreign Language 

Length

4 months

Credits

5 Credits (150 hours workload)

Type of Examination

Oral and written examination

Subject Area

Soft skills

Brief Description of Content

German for beginners: vocabulary and grammar for everyday life communication

Generic competences

• An ability to understand and to apply basic German in everyday communication (explanatory and practical/operational knowledge)
• A knowledge of sources (with regard to learning material)

Type and Quantity / Breakdown of Course Work

4 academic hours (45 min.) per week in class + 2 hours Übungen + private study (preparation and review) 

Frequency of Course Offering

Each winter semester

Additional comments

Students entering the program without any German skills have to pass an examination at the end of the program which covers the above described generic competences

Coordinator

Sabine Kirschenhofer, M.A.

Study Trip to Berlin and Weimar (optional)
in order to get to know better the cultural background of the host country.

Costs approx. 270 €