Courses in Social Science

Course Principles

The Bachelor of Social Science (G36) is aimed at providing students with knowledge and skills to undertake community work. It is acknowledged that there are many approaches to community work, and that students will learn to select the approaches most appropriate for the kind of work they are doing in the context in which they are operating. However, practice will be underpinned by a commitment to social justice and the rights of all people to be empowered to have control over their own lives. In fulfilling this aim, the course makes the following commitments:

Commitment to academic and professional literacy
The course promotes the development of academic literacy in students by providing a wide range of teaching and learning activities that promote the development of a high level of research, reading and writing skills. The course also promotes professional literacy by encouraging students to become familiar with professional journals and to take an active role in debates and consultations within the community service sector.

Commitment to life long learning
The course promotes and supports the continual life long professional development and education of academics, practitioners, policy makers and managers in the community services sector. It does this by recognising the importance of mature age students as well as the younger school leavers and provides opportunities for all students to reflect upon and utilise their own life histories and to anticipate their future lives.

Flexibility
The course demonstrates its commitment to ensuring access and equity for all students by providing flexible course offerings. Programs of study are offered full-time, part-time, on campus, off campus, mixed mode and on-line with print based support. The course has also been designed to provide a flexible course of study for students who can choose several different groupings of units to meet their own personal needs and aspirations.

Internationalisation
The course demonstrates its commitment to internationalisation by ensuring students are able to relate the practical and theoretical components of the course to their own social and cultural context and by continually reviewing and updating its content with regard to local, national and international affairs. The course also has a strong focus on the provision of inclusive services and policies in the community services sector as well as knowledge and understanding of working in cross cultural settings.

Links with industry and professions
The course is committed to ensuring strong links with industry and professional groups within the community services sector. These links are developed and strengthened by promoting collaborative research projects with industry partners, the integration of theory and practice throughout the course and providing opportunities for work based learning.

Currency
The course focuses on providing the community services sector with leaders of the future. To this end the course is continually updated to provide leadership with regard to the latest research findings changing social attitudes and policy directions.

Strategic partnerships and pathways
The course has been designed so that it can provide clear articulation pathways for students from TAFE and other Registered Training Organizations as well as the more traditional pathways to a higher degree.

Students who complete a Major in Children and Family Studies receive Accreditation under the Community Services (Child Care) legislation to work as trained staff in Child Care. Accreditation for Outside School Hours Care and Family Day Care is pending and the course will meet the proposed requirements in these areas. Majors in Applied Counselling Skills,, Children and Family Studies, Community Studies, Counselling, Disability Studies , Women's Studies, and Youth Work have been accredited by the Australian Institute of Welfare and Community Workers. The Major in Welfare and Community Work is a specialist major that can only be taken with one of the other majors in the Bachelor of Social Science (G36).

Students selecting to complete a Major in Applied Counselling Skills, Children and Family Studies, Community Studies, Counselling, Disability Studies, Women's Studies,and Youth Work are required to undertake practicum units. The amount of practicum varies depending on individual Majors and external Accreditation requirements. The Major in Children and Family Studies includes 4 practicum units currently delivered by TAFE at ECU or externally.
A process of Recognition of Prior Learning enables students to credit previous study and experience where appropriate

Strategic Alignment
International, Cultural and Community Studies has developed a strong community work focus with:

accreditation of the existing majors coupled with the Welfare and Community Work Major with the Australian Institute of Welfare and
Community Workers; and
developing pathways into Social Work.

Through this community work focus International, Cultural and Community Studies supports the service, professionalism and enterprise focus of ECU. The development of the new course offers a unique opportunity to address the needs of the community work sector for professional workers. This positions ECU as a strong contender in the training of professionals for the community sector.

Graduate Attributes
The Bachelor of Social Science has a very strong commitment to developing Graduate Attributes useful to people working in the community, including specifically, communication; the development of a service ethic; awareness of political, social and ethical issues; cross-cultural awareness; self directed learning; and reflection. These attributes underpin teaching and learning throughout the programme.

Attributes are mapped into individual units and are shown on Unit Outlines.

Community Studies

Bachelor of Social Science G36

The three year Bachelor of Social Science degree at Edith Cowan University is intended to broaden students’ understanding of themselves, their community, and society as well as prepare them for work as policy makers, managers and practitioners within the community/public service sector. Students may choose to take a general major in Community Studies combining two different areas of study or a Specialist Major in one area of study.

Students have a range of fields from which to choose their major and minor areas of study and electives, including:

Counselling

The Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling has been delivered at Edith Cowan University since 1989. Over the years the program has expanded and now includes a Master of Social Science (Counselling and Psychotherapy) degree also available in Singapore.

Our Ethos

To aid the development of ethical, effective and reflective practitioners, the ECU counselling and psychotherapy training team is dedicated to providing students with:

An in-depth investigation of psychoanalytic and systemic theoretical models of human behaviour
The ability to begin to recognise and apply the link between theory and clinical practice
A cogent rationale to help students understand their own personal process and how this impacts on their own therapeutic practice

Courses

All courses are designed specifically for graduates for use in their work as health professionals, social workers, personnel officers, pastors, human resources workers, teachers, nurses or anyone whose work requires professional counselling skills.

Units can be completed through part-time study, attending late afternoon/evening weekly classes or by means of weekend workshops with self study packages.