To be interested in and to be informed actual (inter)national developments in the context of the area of expertise. (T)

To have attention for good practices from various (inter)national  and interdisciplinary contexts. (W&I)
Are willing and able to experiment with innovative practices. (T)
To ask critical and relevant questions in order to understand the complexity of a given situation. (T)
To execute assignments in a methodical, autonomous and efficient way. (T)
To have a critical attitude towards and significant attention for international aspects and challenges of social work. (INT)
To critically assess implicit paradigms and views on humanity and society. (W&I)
To adequatelay express themselves in a multilingual and diverse context. (T)
To make connections between various actors through the usage of creative communicative competences. (T)
To assess in an insightful way present-day social reality. (W&I)

Develop a critical and argued opinion on social work using the reference framework of human rights, social justice, collective responsibility and diversity.(INT)

W&I = knowing and understanding

T = applying, practicing

INT = integrating

Our world is a globalized and globalizing world. This does not only mean that we have access to an increasing amount of information of the world and that it is much easier to travel nowadays. Globalization also implicates that, more than ever, people from other parts of the world come to our country, not only as tourists but also to try and build a new life. A globalized society is composed of a diverse set of cultures. A global understanding of this diversity, or even superdiversity, is thus necessary.
This course, aptly entitled ‘Global Understanding’, wishes to contribute to the development and establishment of a platform for learning about other cultures for students without the need to travel to a distant country. Modern electronic and digital means, such as videoconferencing, skype, facetime, etc., allow homebased learning of other cultures.

After a thorough introduction to the subject of Global Understanding, Flemish students will enter into a discussion with Erasmus students who have also joined the course on global understanding. In a second phase, the group will enter into a discussion on selected subjects with students from university colleges and universities from different parts of the world.
Important questions and topics include:
How can we get ourselves familiar with other cultures?
What are the stepping stones in order to create more tolerance in society? How can we deal with stereotypes and prejudice? How does a democratic society relate to global understanding?

There are no prerequisites for this course.

The arrangements regarding prerequisites applied for this course unit are in the Faculty’s educational and examination regulations (FOER).

OLR 4 Update the professional development and practice continuously from an investigative attitude.

OLR 8 Participate actively and in a team-oriented perspective in complex, interdisciplinary and international social work contexts.

OLR 9 Communicate professionally with all stakeholders in various social work contexts.
OLR 10 Support stakeholders on a high-quality level in combining individual aspirations with collective interests in their capacity as social workers.
OLR 11 Act from a social political awareness based on human rights, social justice, collective responsibility and respect for diversities.

 (Guest) Lecture

Assignments

The teacher will be available during the lessons, through mail or appointment.

Use of the electronic learning environment Chamilo

First exam session

Assignment: individual paper (100%).

Evaluation by teacher(s).

Product evaluation.

Second exam session

Assignment: individual paper (100%).
Evaluation by teacher(s).
Product evaluation.

Presentations from guest speakers and other relevant text material will be offered via Chamilo.

The estimated cost is approx. 10€ for the syllabus.

This study fee may be increased by the cost (of transport) to study visits.

International social work

Internationalization

Globalization

Intercultural communication

Exchange

Diversity