Growing up with Disability
In todays world growing up is tough - making friends, fitting in, changing schools. And it's even harder for children with disabilities. This album looks at PLUS, an organisation working towards the inclusion of disabled children and young adults in social activities and organisations, encouraging friendships and fun. It looks at PLUS from the view of the children, the carers and the families.
This material forms part of The Open University course KE312 Working together for children.Author(s):
Critical social work practice
This series of tracks looks at social work practice around the world and compares attitudes and management techniques within the social work field. Material is taken from The Open University Course K315 Critical social work practice. The OpenLearn team.
First published on Tue, 13 Apr 2010 as Author(s):
Challenging ideas in mental health
Mental health service users often feel - and often are - disempowered from taking control of their own destiny. The video tracks on this album tell the story of people who have been confined to the psychiatric wing of a large Northern hospital. Scripted and acted by mental health service users/survivors, A Quiet Night on Roundhay Wing presents an insiders' perspective on the people and practices that have dominated – and defined – their lives, often over many years. Although the events port
Social Care: Past and Present
Issues surrounding care and welfare affect people in many different ways - it may depend on individual circumstances or on the location and nature of the community. The tracks on this album look at welfare issues faced by different communities across the UK, focusing mainly on care of the elderly, and people with physical or mental disabilities. The album also explores how care and welfare in the community has changed over the years. This material was part of The Open University course K202 C
Introduction This course looks at the way people identify and become attached to places, buildings and objects. It also analyses how this attachment can impact on personal well-being. Understanding this is important in assessing the care people of all ages need and how this care should be delivered. This OpenLearn course provides a sample of Level 1 study in Author(s):
Introduction This course examines life stories. It looks at the way in which objects, trends, cultures or disabilities may contribute to a person's identity. This course also considers the contribution that our own life stories make to who we are, and how remembering and revisiting our past may help us to move forward with our lives. This OpenLearn course provides a sample of Level 1 study in Author(s):
Introduction The majority of people who sleep on the streets, and in hostels and night shelters are men. However, the number of women, particularly younger women, in these circumstances has increased (Anderson et al., 1993). They are often people with complex care and support needs, which go way beyond the provision of accommodation. But, as you will learn in this course, complex needs are both a cause and a product of homelessness. In this audio course, you will hear from four people, who will each
Understanding the past
Care can make deep inroads into personal lives and life narratives, so it is essential that care workers are sensitive to this and provide appropriate support. In this free course, Understanding the past, the history of Lennox Castle Hospital in Scotland provides a focus for considering the impact of institutional life.
First published on Fri, 04 Mar 2016
Introduction The course explores what it means to become a critical social work practitioner by using a series of activities and readings to guide you through some new and important concepts. An understanding of ‘critical perspectives’ will help you take a positive and constructive approach to the challenging problems that arise in social work practice. You will be introduced to a critical understanding of the nature and boundaries of personal and professional discretion and judgement in the del
Ageing and disability: Transitions into residential care
Moving into a care home can have a profound emotional impact on an individual just the anticipation of residential care is one of the biggest sources of fear for the elderly. This free course, Ageing and disability: Transitions into residential care, discusses the role of social workers and care staff in supporting individuals through the transition, and how residential environments affect quality of life.
Author(s):
9.1 Overview There are over 139,000 social service workers in Scotland, providing care and support to some of the most vulnerable sections of society. The Scottish Social Services Council is responsible for specifying the standards to which social service workers involved in providing or delivering social work, social care services, early education and child care will work. In this section of the OpenLearn Scotland collection, we look at issues relating to social care by focusing on three particular
8.7 Fuel poverty in Scotland Fuel poverty is a critical issue facing people on very low incomes, particularly in countries like Scotland, with its severe winters. Winter deaths are disproportionately high when compared with other parts of Britain. This course aims to give you an understanding of what poverty is like, and how adequate heating can become a matter of life and death. To access this material click on the course link below. It leads to a separate OpenLearn course and will open in a new window.
8.6 Poverty in Scotland Poverty in Scotland 2007 is the fifth in a series of books which, since the mid-1990s, have provided a comprehensive picture of the extent of poverty in Scottish society. Each of these books has been charged with making accessible what is often a complex world of figures, diverse measurements, competing definitions and contrasting interpretations of poverty – and identifying what should be done to address poverty. This book is presented as a pdf and was first produced in 2006.
8.5 Who belongs to Glasgow? There are many different ways of interpreting and representing the character and identity of a place – many different geographical imaginations. Identities of places are a product of social action and of how people construct their own representations of particular places. Thus this course explores ideas about place and identity using the concept of ‘geographical imagination’. This is achieved by examining the images that represent a place, to reveal how those images came about and
5.5 Science in the Scottish Enlightenment This course is concerned with science in Scotland, one of the most dynamic centres of Enlightenment thinking. Writers speak of the mid-eighteenth century as Scotland's ‘Golden Age’. In order to get a flavour of this age, it is necessary to take a very broad view of what we mean by ‘science’. Staying within the boundaries recognised by modern science faculties misses most of what is distinctive about eighteenth-century Scotland. The interconnections and cross-fertilisation between disc
5.2 The origins of the wars of the three kingdoms From Catholic rebellion to Civil War, what happened during the latter years of the reign of Charles I that caused people to take up arms against their fellow citizens? This course looks at the background of the wars between England, Scotland and Ireland and how the King's actions led to the rift between royalists and parliamentarians. To access this material click on the course link below. It leads to a separate OpenLearn course and will open in a new window.
Author(s):
3.1 Overview This section of OpenLearn Scotland introduces learners to both ancient and modern Scotland, from the geological history of the Scottish Highlands right up to the creation of the semiconductor transistor by two Scottish computer engineers and the global dimension of the Scottish oil industry. A further two courses in this section focus on famous bridges in Scotland: the first is about the Tay Bridge and the legacy of its failure on bridge building ever since; the second is about the envi
2.4 Am I ready to study in English? Scotland benefits from having a culturally diverse population. Historically, Scotland has been a country of net emigration, with more people leaving Scotland to live elsewhere than moving to live in Scotland, but for the past four years Scotland's population has risen due to immigration. This course is aimed at people for whom English is an additional language. It offers learners the opportunity to assess their English language skills and to decide whether they feel ready to start studying at
2.3 Chartered teachers in Scotland This course will help you to reflect on your previous knowledge and experience of teaching and learning, to consider what support may be available to you, and to begin to prioritise your professional development needs. The course originates from The Open University's Chartered Teacher Programme for Scotland but would be of interest to other teachers reflecting on their practice and considering their professional development opportunities. To access this material click on the course link
