Course

Enhancing Resilience in Aboriginal Children and Youth

Faculty
Applied Community Studies
Department
Child and Youth Care
Course Code
CYCC 2452
Credits
3.00
Semester Length
Flexible delivery ranging from 2 to 15 weeks
Max Class Size
24
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Course Designation
Certificate in Global Competency
Industry Designation
None
Typically Offered
To be determined

Overview

Course Description
This course provides students with an opportunity to consolidate and enhance Aboriginal youth care practice skills. Students will be supported to develop and apply practice skills that reflect the experience of Aboriginal communities and Indigenous ways of approaching child and youth care practice in a range of settings. The primary focus will be on strengths, resilience, risks and challenges for Aboriginal children, youth, families and communities.
Course Content

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

  • Children, youth, families and workers have a diversity of culture, spirituality, religion, family structure, sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic conditions. Recognition of and response to diversity is central to effective working relationships between children, youth, families and communities
  • A significant number of children and youth that Child and Youth Care Counselors work with are “at risk.” Understanding why and exploring the issues facing populations of children and youth who are at risk is central to effective child and youth care practice. The issues include: learning disabilities, ADHD and/or neuromotor difficulties; fetal alcohol syndrome, depression and potential suicide; street life; abuse; delinquency; post traumatic stress disorder, family crisis, poverty, and so on
  • Stress and crisis are often major causal factors of increasing difficulties in the lives of Aboriginal children, youth and families. Effective responses to stress and crisis can support children, youth and families to adapt to difficult circumstances in culturally affirming ways including seeking additional support when necessary, discovering effective ways to cope and change and building on their resiliency
  • Given the legacy and impact of colonization, many Aboriginal individuals and families experience a sense of grief and loss. Recognition of the impact of loss on Aboriginal peoples is a starting place for working with individuals and families.  Culturally appropriate practices and approaches to wellness provide a sense of hope and help individuals and families discover new possibilities for the future
  • Child and youth care practitioners work in and with a variety of systems that include Aboriginal and mainstream services. An understanding of relevant systems and an ability to collaborate with other systems is an essential aspect of good practice
  • The ability to participate in a collaborative planning process with others is a necessary, sometimes frustrating and often joyful part of the work
  • Assessment is essential to understanding and planning. Assessment is a collaborative process that supports the active involvement and self-determination of the children, youth, families and communities with whom we work
  • Child and Youth Care Counsellors document their work. Documentation holds the practitioner accountable and contributes to continuity but also directly impacts the people with whom child and youth care counselors are working. Documentation, reports and course assignments must always respect confidentiality, focus on assets and capacity and be mindful of potential audiences.
Learning Activities
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Guest Speakers
  • Field Trips
  • Student directed learning.
Means of Assessment

This course will conform to Douglas College policies regarding the number and weighting of evaluations. Typical means of evaluation would include a combination of:

  • Collaborative learning
  • Student Journals
  • Field Observation and Research
  • Group Projects and Presentation
  • Written Reports
  • Participation
  • Attendance
Learning Outcomes

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

  1. Identify factors and conditions in the individual, family, community and society that foster resilience
  2. Identify factors and conditions that put Aboriginal children, youth and families at risk
  3. Understand and use strengths based, culturally appropriate strategies for working with children, youth and families who are at risk
  4. Understand and use inclusive practice strategies that respond effectively to a diversity of cultures, religions, family structures, sexual orientations, gender identities and socioeconomic conditions
  5. Describe and begin to use the Circle of Courage (belonging, mastery, independence and generosity) in relation to work with children, youth and families
  6. Describe and begin to use the Medicine Wheel in relation to work with self and with children, youth and families
  7. Describe and use the Ecological Systems Theory model in relation to work with children, youth and families
  8. Research, discuss, apply and share knowledge about a particular practice issue
  9. Discuss assessment from the perspective of Aboriginal children, youth and families
  10. Develop the ability to use effective crisis resolution strategies. 
Textbook Materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students

A Reading Package will be assigned.

Requisites

Prerequisites

Enrollment in CYCC Program Aboriginal Stream or permission of Coordinator

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

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 CYCC 2452
Langara College (LANG) LANG GNST 2XXX (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) No credit
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU CYCA 2XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU GENS 2XX (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) No credit
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV CYC 3XX (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC IS 2XX (1.5)

Course Offerings

Winter 2024