Required prerequisite knowledge

Completed one year’s study in Pedagogy/Education Studies, or completed one year’s study in Intercultural Studies, or equivalent educational qualifications approved by NLA University College.

Relevance within study programme

Elective course in Bachelor of Arts in Education Studies and in Bachelor of Arts in Education Studies. The Systematic Study of Special Education and Intercultural Education.

Elective course in Bachelor in Intercultural Competence.

Introduction

The course aims to introduce students to the theory and practice of pedagogy with a specific focus on vulnerable, at-risk and traumatised children.

The course focuses on values and fundamental pedagogical questions. It also focuses on international and national policy frameworks regarding children's rights. The course also considers the child's best interests within these frameworks. It explores how these concepts intersect with vulnerabilities and trauma in conflict and other at-risk situations. The aim is to better understand and support children facing such challenges.

Learning outcomes descriptors

Knowledge

The student

• has knowledge of fundamental theories, concepts and central themes in pedagogy/education, vulnerability, and trauma
• has knowledge of the international convention on the best interest of the child
• has knowledge of the connection between education, vulnerability trauma and the best interest of the child
• has knowledge on how the pedagogical relation can help encounter vulnerable and traumatised children

Skills

The student

• can apply theories of vulnerability and trauma to the study of education
• can apply knowledge of the ideology of the child's best interest in the contexts of trauma and vulnerability
• can assess the impact of trauma and vulnerability on children at risk
• can use relevant subject terminologies both in oral and written work
• can refer to and use research-based literature and practical knowledge in oral and written work

General competence

The student

• has insight into relevant academic and ethical issues related to the intersection between vulnerability, trauma and education
• can exchange, reflect and critically discuss issues in educating vulnerable and traumatised children orally and in writing
• can reflect on the difference between offering psycho-social help to vulnerable and traumatised children and educating them

Content

• Psychosocial Theoretical Perspectives on Vulnerability and Trauma.
• Safeguarding Children's Best Interests: Examining Vulnerability through the Lens of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, focusing on Norway.
• Addressing Trauma in Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Children: Challenges and Approaches.
• Navigating Vulnerability in the Age of Social Media: Pedagogical Strategies and Responses.
• Unpacking the Discourse of Fear: Balancing Children's Rights with the Vulnerability of Asylum-Seeking and Refugee Youth.
• The Significance of Pedagogical Relationships for Children Facing Vulnerabilities.

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures and discussion-based seminars

Scope

450 hours

Coursework requirements

The following coursework must be completed and approved before the student can sit for the course examination:

• Compulsory attendance - 80% attendance
• A reflection essay on a topic of choice - 800 words

If the reflection essay is not approved, the student will be given one additional chance in the same semester to submit a completed reflection note.

Grading, coursework requirements

Approved / Not Approved.

Final assessment

6-hour school examination

Grading, examination

The final assessment/examination will be graded according to the ECTS grading scale from A to F, in which E or better is necessary in order to pass.

Permitted aids under examination

None

Assessment language

• English
• The use of other languages may be applied for

Course evaluation

The course is evaluated according to the quality system for NLA University College.

Available as Single Course

Ja

Reading list and academic resources

Article

Facing the uncertainties of being a person: On the role of existential vulnerability in personal identity
Binder, Per-Einar, Abingdon, Routledge, 2220-2243, Philosophical psychology, 8, 37, 2024-11-16, 2220-2243,
View online

Book Chapter

The Principle of the Best Interests of the Child
Howe, R.B; Covell, K, Howe, Robert Brian ; Covell, Katherine, The Principle of the Best Interests of the Child, Toronto [Ont.], University of Toronto Press, 2013, 16-48, isbn:9781442666108,
View online

Book Chapter

Challenges for Best Interests in Education
Covell, Katherine, Challenges for Best Interests in Education, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 49-80, 2018, 49-80,
View online

Book Chapter

Asylum
Hilde Lidén, HILDE LIDÉN, Asylum, [Oslo], Universitetsforl, 452 s., 2019, 332-360, isbn:978-82-15-03142-2,

Book Chapter

Incoporating the Convention in Norwegian Law
Karl Harald Søvig, Incoporating the Convention in Norwegian Law, [Oslo], Universitetsforl, 452 s., 2019, 269-299, isbn:978-82-15-03142-2,

Book

Convention on the rights of the child
UNICEF, United Nations Centre for Human Rights, Geneva, UNICEF ; The Centre, 1993,

Article

The impact and long-term effects of childhood trauma
Dye, Heather, Abingdon, Routledge, 381-392, Journal of human behavior in the social environment, 3, 28, 2018-04-03, 381-392,
View online

Book Chapter

Vulnerable Enough for Inclusion?: Unaccompanied Minors' Experiences of Vulnerability and Trauma on Their Way to Norway
Kalisha, Wills, Vulnerable Enough for Inclusion?: Unaccompanied Minors' Experiences of Vulnerability and Trauma on Their Way to Norway, Routledge, 131-154, 1, 2023, 131-154, isbn:1032355360,
View online

Article

The impact of the asylum process on mental health: a longitudinal study of unaccompanied refugee minors in Norway
Jakobsen, Marianne ; Meyer DeMott, Melinda Ashley ; Wentzel-Larsen, Tore ; Heir, Trond, England, BMJ Publishing Group LTD, e015157-e015157, BMJ open, 6, 7, 2017-06-21, e015157-e015157,
View online

Article

Stressful life experiences and mental health problems among unaccompanied asylum-seeking children
Jensen, Tine K ; Fjermestad, Krister W ; Granly, Lene ; Wilhelmsen, Nicolai H, London, England, SAGE Publications, 106-116, Clinical child psychology and psychiatry, 1, 20, 2015-01-01, 106-116,
View online

Article

The social psychology of responses to trauma: social identity pathways associated with divergent traumatic responses
Muldoon, Orla T. ; Haslam, S. Alexander ; Haslam, Catherine ; Cruwys, Tegan ; Kearns, Michelle ; Jetten, Jolanda, Abingdon, Routledge, 311-348, European review of social psychology, 1, 30, 2019-01-01, 311-348,
View online

Article

The impact and long-term effects of childhood trauma
Dye, Heather, Abingdon, Routledge, 381-392, Journal of human behavior in the social environment, 3, 28, 2018-04-03, 381-392,
View online

Article

Tact and the pedagogical triangle: The authenticity of teachers in relation
Friesen, Norm ; Osguthorpe, Richard, Elsevier Ltd, 255-264, Teaching and Teacher Education, 70, 2018-02, 255-264,
View online

Article

Relationship as Possibility and Future Gift in Professional Mental Health Encounters
Marte Bygstad-Landro ; Saevi, Tone, University of Alberta, 57-76, Phenomenology & practice, 2, 17, 2023-01-26, 57-76,
View online

Article

Role Models, Mentors, and Media Influences
Kearney, Melissa S. ; Levine, Phillip B., Princeton, Princeton University, 83-106, The Future of children, 1, 30, 2020-03-22, 83-106,
View online

Article

Potential challenges and future implications for trauma-informed approaches in schools
Phung, Binh, Frontiers Media S.A, Frontiers in education (Lausanne), 7, 2022-11-28, 1040980
View online

Document

Cultivating Trauma-Informed Educational Practices for Students with Refugee Backgrounds
Megan Bailey, Wooksoo Kim, Samantha P. Koury, Susan A. Green, and Isok Kim, 2023-09-29; 2000,

Document

Trauma-informed Teaching Practice and Refugee Children: A Hopeful Reflection on Welcoming Our New Neighbours to Canadian Schools
Tweedie, M. G., Belanger, C., Rezazadeh, K., & Vogel, K, 1, 2017, 36-45,

Document

The mental health of children affected by armed conflict: Protective processes and pathways to resilience
Theresa Stichick Betancourt and Kashif Tanveer Khan, 2008-01; 1989-,

Document

Education in Emergencies: A Review of Theory and Research Amy Kapit Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack
Dana Burde Rachel L. Wahl Ozen Guven Margot Igland Skarpeteig, 3, 619-658,

Article

Practicing What We Teach: Trauma-Informed Educational Practice
Carello & Lisa D. Butler, Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 3, 35, 2015-05-27; 1987, 262-278,

Document

Effects of trauma‐informed approaches in schools: A systematic review
Brandy R. Maynard 1 | Anne Farina 2 | Nathaniel A. Dell 1 | Michael S. Kelly 3, 2019-06; 2005-,

Article

Paradoxes of Children's Vulnerability
Macleod, Colin, Abingdon, Routledge, 261-271, Ethics and social welfare, 3, 13, 2019-07-03, 261-271,
View online

Document

Cultural competence in trauma.pdf
Qureshi, et al., Springer International Publishing, 2015,
View online

Book Chapter

Education of Migrants and Vulnerable Groups: Trauma or Protective Factor?
Kovač-Cerović, Tinde, Education of Migrants and Vulnerable Groups: Trauma or Protective Factor?, Cham, Springer International Publishing, 371-378, 2021, 371-378, isbn:9783030478162,
View online

Book Chapter

Education of migrants and vulnerable groups- Trauma or protective factor.pdf
Tinde Kovač Cerović, Tinde Kovac-Cerovic, Education of migrants and vulnerable groups- Trauma or protective factor.pdf, 371-378,