Youth and Community Work (Advanced Practice)MSc

Community, Continuity and Change

This module provides a critical perspective on youth and community issues. It focuses on contemporary issues, placing these within historical context of struggle and empowerment. You will critically engage with key concepts such as power, class, ethnicity and gender, applying relevant theory to current events and debates. You will benefit from a range of perspectives of staff who are working at the cutting edge of policy and practice in fields such as community and youth work, housing, education, crime, health and migration. You will be able to place your own community and youth practice in the context of long-term changes in society, and be able to respond to the challenges that face young people and communities today in an effective way, informed by current research and best practice

The aims of the module are to:
• identify current challenges in youth and community work, placing these in the context of long term changes in society and policy;
• critically evaluate current policy and practice responses to community and youth work issues;
• identify power relationships between the state, the market and individuals in communities, and how individuals may be empowered;
• reflect on the professional values of youth and community workers, and how these can be used to address complex challenges in policy and practice; and
• enable students to engage in anti-discriminatory practice to address policy and practice issues.

Designing Youth and Community Research

The module aims to enable students to develop an understanding of philosophical, practical and ethical aspects of social research methods and skills for designing and conducting social research in the field of youth and community development. A specific focus on this module is on action research – understood as a form of social enquiry which aims to bring together action and reflections on practice with disadvantaged communities.

The module provides training on research design - developing an answerable research question, identifying aims and objectives of the research, identifying an appropriate methodology and developing a critical appreciation of ethical research practice. It also develops the skills required for reviewing and appraising published research and for developing arguments and making conclusions on the basis of evidence.

The ultimate purpose of this module is to equip students with necessary conceptual understanding and the practical tools for conducting social enquiries on issues of their choice which seeks to bring about positive social change. The module feeds the dissertation project and the placement component of their degree programme.

The specific aims of the module are to:

1. Enable students to appreciate the importance of scientific (systematic, rigorous and academic) research in the practice of youth and community development work.
2. Introduce students to the principles of social research methods with particular focus on qualitative research and specifically of action and emancipatory research.
3. Enable students to develop relevant skills to formulate their research questions that are informed by theoretical insights and translated into the design of conducting a social research.
4. Enable students to appreciate an ethical approach to research and demonstrate a critical application of ethical practice.
5. Provide students with skills to appraise published research, design an appropriate interview schedule, conduct in-depth interviews, observe social phenomenon and reflect on their own practice and values.
6. Develop students’ capacity to analyse qualitative data and develop arguments on the basis of evidence
7. Enable students to develop skills in reporting and applying research.

Public Service Design and Innovation

The module aims to provide students with a detailed understanding of:
1. Conventional and co-productive policy development approaches
2. Challenges of Complexity, design and governance in public services
3. Design thinking in policy making and public sector innovation

The aim of the course is to develop an understanding of the role of design thinking in assisting public and non-for profit sector transformation.

Trauma, Mental Health and Well-being

This module will identify what Trauma is and how it can affect a young person’s life. It will be suitable for front line practitioners and managers. It is designed to encourage students to be reflective and to demonstrate a knowledge base relating to legislations and a theoretical underpinning of the approaches and critiques associated with Trauma mental health and well-being. It will critically examine methods of support and supervision for practitioners. It will examine the personal, cultural and structural impact on the individual and community.
Aims
1 A critical analysis of the predisposing, precipitating and perpetuating factors
impacting on a young person's mental health and experience of trauma
2 Explore the extent and forms of trauma in child and adulthood
3 Critically examine theoretical, conceptual and explanatory frameworks
4 locate support services and policy development in comparative contexts
5 Critically examine the impacts and consequences for young people and their
communities
6 Critically examine the support networks for practitioners.

Youth and Community Dissertation

This module provides the opportunity for students to:

• Advance their knowledge and understanding by the undertaking of a sustained and detailed dissertation that critically examines and evaluates an aspect of youth and community work theory, policy and/or practice of particular interest to the student and approved by their supervisor.

• Select and apply the principles of social research to inform their chosen methodology

• Apply appropriate skills of analysis and critique existing research in the exploration of current issues relating to Youth and Community Work theory, policy and practice.

• Reflect critically on the process of developing and executing a sustained piece of work.

Commissioning Youth and Community Services

The module aims to provide students with a detailed understanding of:
1. Public service commissioning in a changing world;
2. Commissioning for social value and local economic development
3. Outputs, outcomes and evaluation in public procurement

The aim of the course is to develop a critical understanding of the role of commissioning in developing services that meet local needs and improve people’s lives.

Community Activism

The module aims to provide students with a detailed understanding of:
1. The relationship between community and youth activism and professional practice
2. Conceptual frameworks for understanding and critically evaluating citizenship
3. Practical approaches to supporting lobbying, single issue and political campaigning including use of social media

The aim of the course is to develop a critical understanding of the role of activism in changing policy, meeting local needs and improving people’s lives.

Digital Journalism

Students will learn to place their skills in, and understanding of, journalism in relation to today’s digital environment. They will develop their writing, production and design skills to a professional level, learning how to adopt creative approaches to creating journalistic stories across different media platforms, (including social networks, such as Twitter TikTok, Facebook Live, Snapchat). Students will be asked to build multimedia packages, blogs, websites and develop ways of working that engage the audience in interactive and participatory ways.

Specifically, the module will introduce students to the writing skills and technical demands of online, audio and visual journalism. Students will be asked to develop and deliver news stories working individually and as part of a team.

Digital Storytelling

This module explores the creative potentials of digital platforms and tools for writers within the postdigital era. It stimulates students to experiment with how their own writing practice and ideas about literature, storytelling and persuasive communication might continue to take new directions in response to the many ongoing innovations in digital media and their cultural impacts.

Aims

• You will extend your own writing practice in relation to digital innovations of narrative and rhetorical technique, form and effect.
• You will develop your technical, theoretical and experiential understanding of the current state of the field of digital forms of creative and professional writing.
• You will think critically about dominant cultures associated with various digital tools and platforms.
• You will enhance your range and critical self-awareness as a writer in contemporary creative and/or professional domains.

Digital Video Production

This module provides students with practical experience in the production of digital video. It will serve as an introduction to the topic but is also suitable for those with some experience in this area.
Students will develop professional practices working individually or in small groups to produce a short documentary, promotional video, or mockumentary. They will be required to research, pitch, and develop a documentary proposal following industry guidelines and legal frameworks.
The module will give an overview of the commissioning process and will include input from industry professionals.
There will be an emphasis on how to film and work with documentary subjects (or characters) in an ethical way.
Students will learn about a range of documentary modes, genres and techniques via screenings, discussion, and practice. Key figures and films will be explored as well as emerging styles and formats.

Games and Gamification

This module introduces students to the role of digital games in the digital media industry. It explores various applications of digital games in entertainment, education, business, marketing and advertising, analysing gamification practices as well as key game design practices and game design theories.

The module addresses issues in game ethics, game genres and gaming cultures, the evolution of technologies and delivery platforms, and the impact of the games industry on interaction design practices. Students will explore current trends in game design and game research, gamification approaches and applications. They will evaluate game designs and gamification methods in relation to specific applications. Students will apply these principles and theories to the design and conceptualisation of an interactive game or a gamified experience.

Module Aims

• To enable students to evaluate the ethical, technological and theoretical frameworks in game design and gamification theory and practice.
• To enable students to plan and conceptualise a digital game or a gamified experience.

Managing Teams

The module focuses mainly on the micro level of management with the focus on developing team management and leadership skills. Management issues are addressed in the context of values-based organisations whether in the public, voluntary, or community sectors or social enterprises. Participants are introduced to management and leadership theories and relevant policy frameworks in order to facilitate critical reflection on aspects of their management and leadership role. In addition, participants will explore key practice areas, drawing from relevant theories and reflecting on their relevance to their own experience. Particular attention will be paid to health and wellbeing in the workplace, time management, leadership, and communication and negotiation skills. Students will also review their developmental role as a leader and manager, and the module will critically explore current ideas and practices regarding when working with teams, networks, and inter-professional working groups.

The aims of this module are:
 To provide an overview and introduction to management within organisational contexts encompassing both community and voluntary organisations and the wider public sector.
 To enable participants to apply an analytical and reflective approach to their personal management skills and leadership styles.
 To explore the relevance and application of current theories and concepts in the management and organisational studies field to participants’ own experience, work context and roles.
 To explore a range of strategies and approaches to improve performance across diverse organisational contexts.

Public Management and Public Finance

The module provides an advanced examination of the management of public services principally in the United Kingdom, as well as an introduction to current issues and developments in public finance and the budgetary process in public sector and non-for-profit contexts. It places the current public management reform agenda within a broader historical, theoretical, and institutional framework. The module examines key components of, and developments in, the management of public services including: finance; regulation; performance and quality management; human resources; and ethics.

This module aims to:
- Explore theoretical and practical implications of the emergence of new public management (NPM)
- Provide a context within which to understand the contemporary design, resourcing and delivery models in the public services
- Examine developments which aim to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, legitimacy, sustainability and social impact of public service transformation.
- Introduce basic concepts around budgetary planning, execution and control.