1. Demonstrate the academic skills required to enable students to communicate to the required academic standards, including academic referencing (sg 4 & 7) (Communication, Knowledge and Understanding)

2. Access information for a range of sources and utilise material in such a way as to inform their future practice and assignment content (sg1 & 12) (Application, Enquiry)

3. Identify key principles policies and practices common to all social welfare advice provision (sg1,2,9)
(Learning)

4. Demonstrate an understanding of how the social welfare advice needs of particular groups may be identified and met (sg9) (Analysis, Communication, Problem Solving, Reflection)

5. Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of personal cultural and structural values on advice work (sg1) (Learning, Reflection)

This module includes an introduction to study and research skills. It seeks to provide students with

- an understanding of study skills and the required academic conventions; and
- the ability to locate and utilise information from academic sources in relation to social welfare advice practice.

This module will explore the relationship between personal values and the wider political, ideological and social value bases of contemporary Britain which form the context of advice work and advice services. It will focus on the social context of advice agencies, and consider how they carry out their functions. Particular themes to be explored will include:

- The diversity of social welfare advice provision and changing face of the sector (statutory, voluntary, free and fee charging)
- The relationship between social welfare advice agencies and the communities they serve
- The underlying aims and principles of advice work (equality of opportunity, anti-oppressive, anti-discriminatory and emancipatory practice, partnership, empowerment, confidentiality, self-determination)
- The value base of advice work
- Issues of social exclusion including race, sex, gender, disability, sexual orientation, age, faith class

Online Discussion of 1000 words will assess learning outcomes 1, 2 and 3 (weighted 60%)

A presentation which will assess learning outcomes 4 and 5 (weighted 40%) to demonstrate the student's learning and understanding of how the key issues covered by the module relate to social welfare advice and the function of advice agencies.

This is a distance learning award, and the Blackboard VLE will provide a structured framework for the delivery of this module.

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities: (5 hours)
2 hours Telephone tutorials with the tutor
3 hours Scheduled discussion boards

Guided Independent Study: (295 hours) This will be made up of:
Preparation for tasks and online discussions and seminars; Wider reading including exploring additional sources of information, (particularly web based), updating their knowledge in line with developments and changes
Reading study materials, asynchronous online seminars, interactive tasks
Preparation for and completing the assignment

PC with access to the internet
Access to Blackboard

Cottrell, S. (2008) The Study Skills Handbook 3rd Edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Haynes, R.& Reason, J. (2008) Voluntary but not Amateur 8th Edition. London: Directory of Social Change
Thompson, N. (2012) Anti-Discriminatory Practice 5th Edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan