The Degree in Child and Youth Care/Social Care

Degrees in Child and Youth Care Become the Norm
Congratulations are in order to Grant MacEwan College in Alberta, Canada as I just read on my regular CYC-Net updates that it has received permission to run with a degree programme in child and youth care – and not before time. I have had the opportunity to visit the campus a couple of times and meet with staff and faculty and all were interested in such a development for a long time. I want, in particular, to say a very well done to Jack Phelan and Louise Bureau at that Programme. It is always a positive thing when students are presented with a ladder system whereby they can progress in their studies and qualifications and I know that Grant MacEwan is insistent on advancing child and youth care.

Reading the email on their new Degree has given me cause to reflect on the situation this side of the pond and I well remember when Waterford Institute of Technology, under the National Council for Educational Awards, ran with its first B.A. in Applied Social Studies in Social Care programme back in the mid 1990’s followed shortly thereafter by a number of other colleges around the country. Now, students can undertake Degree level studies in locations thruout the Irish Republic. I hope this more and more becomes the same in Canada and, indeed, in the US.

Some ten years later from our first Degree launch over here, there are now hundreds of degree level graduates working in the field of social care across all areas of provision such as community child care, residential child care, project work and youth at risk. This is, I believe, essential if the field is to continue to prosper and develop. More and more we are seeing social care graduates, themselves, working as full faculty on academic course boards and the recently launched first Irish textbook included several chapters by front line practitioners and/or social care graduates writing either by themselves or with their academic colleagues (see Share and McElwee, 2005). Thus, there is a maturing of our field in Ireland taking place.

A Closeness of Content
I am always intrigued by the closeness around the world in terms of the content that ends up on these programmes. For example, I attach below a table illustrating Grant MacEwan College and Athlone Institute of Technology’s final year Diploma and Degree module title listings and you will note the similarity that exists across the Continents.

Thus, there are more similarities than differences despite the fact that completely different developmental teams are involved in drawing up such templates in our respective countries. I take heart in this, because I believe it shows that we share common approaches and concerns in how we think about how one might work with children, youth and their families (see Garfat & McElwee, 2004). As an Educator I have the benefit of visiting practica on a term basis and get to see, first hand, how such curricula impact positively on service users and staff teams.

I would like to conclude by acknowledging another first for our field. Right now we have Margaret Sullivan from New Brunswick Community College in Miramichi, Canada residing with us here in beautiful Athenry for a month as she commences Doctoral level studies at the Centre for Child and Youth Care Learning in Athlone Institute of Technology. Margaret is the first Doctoral level student to be accepted at our School of Humanities and we wish her every success. Her research is investigating the impact of peer loss during adolescence and interventions used by child and youth care workers. The fact that she has travelled so far to be an international scholar is testimony to our commitment as a field to experience how things are done elsewhere.

* As always at this time of the year, I should like to wish
all CYC-Net people a joyous festive season.
 

Garfat, T., & McEwlee, N. (2004). Effective Interventions with Families: An Eircan Perspective. Cape Town: Pretext.

Share, P., & McElwee, N. (2005). (Eds.). Applied Social Care. Dublin: Gill and McMillan.