Study Guide

Learning outcomes

The student is able to
- analyse the special needs of client groups and strengthen client inclusion in communities and society
- outline well-being and social problems
- examine social structures that create and maintain social exclusion
- recognise the importance of civic activities in social work

Teaching methods

This course will be implemented through
- Contact classes and online classes
- Field trips
- Online exam, homework, group work


The main focus areas are on well-being, issues and social structures that cause social exclusion and othering, solutions and practices for ensuring community, social inclusion and self-determination for different client groups.

Location and time

For course schedule, please see Pakki.
Please notice there might be changes in the schedule during the Autumn.

Learning materials and recommended literature

All materials are available online or in the campus library.
Chosen chapters from the following publications are included in the learning material:

Heponiemi, T., Gluschkoff, K., Leemann, L., Manderbacka, K., Aalto, A.-M., & Hyppönen, H. (2021). Digital inequality in Finland: Access, skills and attitudes as social impact mediators. New Media & Society, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211023007

Helliwell, J. F., Layard, R., Sachs, J. D., Aknin, L. B., De Neve, J.-E., & Wang, S. (Eds.). 2023. World Happiness Report 2023
Levy, B. & Patz, J. (2015). Climate Change, Human Rights, and Social Justice. Annals of Global Health. 81.

United Nations (2016). Leaving no one behind: the imperative of inclusive development. Report on the World Social Situation 2016.

United Nations (2023): Leaving No One Behind In An Ageing World. World Social Report 2023.


Any additional course materials are provided during the course.
During the course the Library will present solutions for retreiving material and for studying with special needs.

Alternative completion methods of implementation

All students are entitled to demonstrate their competence. The recognition and accreditation of prior competence is initiated by the students themselves. The competence is recognised and accredited by the teacher responsible for the studies or another person designated to the position.
The assessment is carried out according to the same assessment criteria and, as a rule, same grading scale as that adopted for the corresponding study unit or module. The student is entitled to apply for accreditation of prior competence regardless of where, how and when the competence has been acquired.
The student may also seek accreditation of competence to be acquired on the job as part of their degree (work-based learning).
The student is responsible for demonstrating and verifying their competence and for providing sufficient information.

Co-operation with working life and/or RDI

During the course cooperation is done with
- the Finnish first year students completing the same course in Finnish. Cooperation is done in English.

Forms of internationality

The study unit is suitable for exchange students.

Students workload

Total 26,5 hours x 10 ECTS = 265 hours os student´s work

Content and scheduling

For course schedule, please see Pakki.
Please notice there might be changes in the schedule during the Autumn.

Grading scale

H-5

Evaluation methods and criteria

Course attendance requirements:
The students need to attend 70% of classes, so in case there are for example 10 contact times, each 4 hours, you can miss three 4-hour classes (12 hours). In case your absences are more than that, your grade will drop by one, for example from 3 to 2.

- In case your absences exceed 50% of contact hours, you need to consult your teacher how to finalize the course (this could mean retaking the whole course, doing supplementary tasks or taking additional classes, if available).

If the required tasks and requirements are not met, you need to enroll again for the course. For supplementary or delayed tasks, there will be no feedback.