Child and Youth Care Studies

Entry requirements

To be eligible for this course you require a first degree or relevant professional qualification, or a combination of qualifications and experience demonstrating capacity for postgraduate study.

You’ll also require sufficient access to child care settings through which you can evidence programme and practice requirements. This will involve you working or volunteering in a child care setting either part or full-time throughout the duration of the programme.

The course assessments will require you to:

• analyse and reflect upon agency policy of your workplace/employer
• undertake a case study assessment of a child or youth you are working with or have worked with
• analyse and reflect upon issues of leadership and management in your agency
• video yourself in practice with a child or youth and/or work colleague for the purpose of reflecting upon your communication skills and relational practice
• plan and implement a possible intervention modification within your agency
• plan and undertake a research project relevant to your agency/workplace

These requirements are designed in a way that makes the course accessible to everyone working in a child care setting. They are also broad enough to allow those in external management, supervisory and training/education positions to do so.

The course is not suitable for anyone not currently working, volunteering or connected to a child care setting. Evidencing this requirement will form part of the application process.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Developed within the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS), this programme has a fresh, engaging curriculum that covers globalised childhoods, international policy contexts, the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), bringing up children and research methods.

The programme is aimed at students with an interest in developing positive strategies for affirming and developing the professional identity of child and youth care practice. It draws from a variety of disciplines and approaches including child and youth care, social pedagogy, sociology, psychology, health, education, social work and social policy.

You'll develop theoretically informed, practice-based understanding of issues related to the social, political and cultural contexts of children and youth.

The programme considers and examines theoretical and policy contexts, child development in the lifespace, management and leadership, intervention methods, critical reflection, relational practice and research methods.

The role of the state, non-governmental agencies and private organisations in the provision of child welfare services will be examined along with the internationalisation of child welfare policy through developments such as UNCRC.

A range of approaches and traditions of child care practice will be considered, including child and youth care, social pedagogy, residential child care and social work.

Information for international students

For postgraduate studies, the University of Strathclyde requires a minimum overall score of IELTS 6.5 (no individual test score below 6.0) or equivalent. Tests are valid for two years.

Pre-sessional courses in English are available.

The programme is delivered entirely online with no attendance required. Modules involve a range of individual and group tasks in addition to live online sessions where the student group will participate in online seminars.

Fees and funding

Qualification and course duration

MSc