Course

Working in Communities

Faculty
Applied Community Studies
Department
Child, Family & Community Studies
Course Code
CFCS 1112
Credits
3.00
Semester Length
Flexible delivery ranging over 2 to 15 weeks
Max Class Size
24
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Course Designation
Certificate in Global Competency
Industry Designation
None
Typically Offered
Winter

Overview

Course Description
This course will focus on working with communities in a good way. Students will enhance their professional identity through examining their own values, worldviews, and ethics as well as the professional ethics of their field of study. Using the concepts of critical thinking, they will explore and reflect on community diversity, historical events and systemic oppression through a social justice lens. Current legal and policy trends, as well as political systems will also be discussed.
Course Content

The following global ideas guide the design and delivery of this course:

  • Social Justice, economic justice, appreciation of diversity, respect of protocol, encouragement and respect for self determination, the ethical use of power, and the absence of violence combine to form strong and healthy communities.
  • Communities have many resources.  Through collaborative work, communities have power, the capacity to effect change, and the ability to take care of their own members.  Before one can engage in collaborative relationships, however, s/he must have moved from dependence, through independence, and into interdependence.
  • Critical thinking and clear, effective articulation of ideas in a variety of formats and settings are essential to effective community involvement.
  • In order to be effective, it is critical that community support workers reflect on their life and educational experiences, as well as the values and beliefs of themselves and others.
  • Professional, integrous practice requires an understanding of ethical principles, decisions and actions. Ethical decision making requires continual reflection, self-examination and ongoing values clarification.
  • By making a commitment to become active, ethical change agents within the political, educational and social service systems, community support workers can contribute to healthier communities.
  • It is critical that community support workers understand recognized lines of authority, their personal and professional limitations, as well as their abilities and responsibilities.
Learning Activities
  • Lecture
  • Group Work
  • Student Presentations
  • Guest Speakers
  • Audio-Visual Presentations
Means of Assessment

This course will conform to Douglas College policy regarding the number and weighting of evaluations.

  • Written Assignments
  • Group Presentations
  • Self Assessment
  • Classroom Activity Participation
  • Other

This is a letter graded course.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  1. Describe the impact of personal, cultural, professional and societal values on their work in community
  2. Describe the characteristics of a healthy community
  3. Articulate issues of social justice and diversity during classroom activities
  4. Describe how experiences of oppression and  power apply to marginalized and/or vulnerable populations
  5. Evaluate and apply models of critical thinking in written and oral forms
  6. Apply ethical principles to human service dilemmas in course assignments
  7. Describe the impact of history on current social attitudes and policies
  8. Describe the basics of Canada’s political systems and how social policy is created
Textbook Materials

TBA

Requisites

Prerequisites

Enrolment in Aboriginal Stream or permission of Coordinator

Corequisites

Courses listed here must be completed either prior to or simultaneously with this course:

  • No corequisite courses

Equivalencies

 Students who complete CFCS 1112 will not receive additional credit for CFCS 1110.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer Details for CFCS 1112
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU SOCI 1XXX (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) No credit
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) No credit
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) No credit
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) No credit
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV HSER 1XX (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC IS 2XX (1.5)

Course Offerings

Summer 2024