Assessment of Social and Educational Needs 2300-ODP/S-OW

The main goals of the course:
- to show and discuss the essence and need for family-centered assessment in the practice of social worker and social pedagogue
- to show the necessity of comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to child assessment within the family context
- to understand the basic difficulties and ethical dilemmas in the assessment of family system especially in the situation of child abuse and neglect
- to get to know various methods and techniques of assessment of child's family situation
- to learn how to implement methods and techniques according to different clients and situation

During the seminars the following issues will be discussed:
1. Basic terms and definitions.
- Evolution from traditional understanding of social diagnosis to the dynamic assessment in the contemporary social pedagogy and social work practice: classical scholars of social diagnosis (Richmond, Radlińska, Kamiński, Ziemski)
- The limitations of social diagnosis - "diagnosis as a label"
- The concept of assessment: types of assessment, assessment characteristic, the content of assessment
2. The quality of contact between the professional and client (child, family) during the process of assessment. Methodological, and ethical dimension of the assessment situation:
- skills and competences to manage the professional contact such as: initiating the contact, active listening, adequate responding, improving the understanding, overcoming the client's resistance to co-operation
3. Theoretical framework for the individual assessment:
- Social development perspective - individual social development cycle and changes of social roles (situational and stigmatized roles)
- Ecological approach to individual assessment - needs, expectations and competences as a basis for assessing
4. Theoretical framework for family assessment:
- The systems and ecological approach to family assessment: family system variables and their measurement
- Types of family systems, parenting styles, communication styles etc. and how to asses them
- Assessment of family structure (internal relationships, boundaries betweens subsystems etc.)
5. Methods and tools of family assessment:
- Objective, subjective and projective methods in assessing family situation
- Tools used in social work, social pedagogy and psychology practice
- Graphic techniques such as: genogram, ecomap, family system diagrams

6. Child in need - assessing child abuse and neglect:
- Assessment of abuse in the family: basic symptoms and risk factors
- Methods of assessment and intervention