This programme aims to help students develop the knowledge and skills they need to provide comprehensive services and counselling that promote civic engagement, human rights, self-determination and quality of life for people who require long-term or short-term support.
Students prepare to work in interdisciplinary environments to remove the social barriers that prevent people from enjoying full human rights. Students will be equipped to work on an equal footing with people from all walks of life.
The programme is 60 ECTS and is organised as one year of full-time study.
The programme is made up of:
Students choose between the following specialisations:
Core courses focus on practical links with the profession and students will complete a professional training placement related to their chosen area of specialisation.
Teaching and exams are in Icelandic.
This programme aims to help students develop the knowledge and skills they need to provide comprehensive services and counselling that promote civic engagement, human rights, self-determination and quality of life for people who require long-term or short-term support.
Completing this programme allows you to apply to the Directorate of Health to become a certified social educator.
It does not automatically confer access to further study, but students may apply to transfer credits to the MA in social education.
A Bachelor’s degree in social education with a first class grade (7.25).
60 ECTS credits are required for completion of the postgraduate diploma.
Further information on supporting documents can be found here
Check below to see how the programme is structured.
This course will discuss human rights in a broad context, with an emphasis on diversity and inclusive societies. The key human rights treaties to which Iceland has become a party will be reviewed and their interconnection will be examined. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals will also be introduced with an emphasis on how they are related to and intertwined with human rights and human rights treaties. The concept of human rights will be examined in a historical context. Older critical views of human rights will be studied (Thucydides and Nietzsche) and attention will be drawn to how various historical themes are reflected in discussions about the claims of marginalized groups to rights today. Students will use the human rights approach and post-colonialism to analyze the ability of marginalized and minority groups to access fundamental human rights in the Icelandic and international contexts. A particular focus will be placed on the situation of refugees, women, and people with disabilities, the elderly, and economically disadvantaged groups. A critical perspective will be used to identify where societal changes – for example, in terms of technology and digitalization, environmental factors, and attitudes towards different groups – call for changes and improvements to the current human rights system to ensure fundamental rights and prevent setbacks in the struggle to secure human rights.
Aim: The goal of the course is to provide students with a good understanding of diversity in society and school, and get a better understanding of individuals and groups that are marginalised in society. Students will also learn about various forms, origins, and consequences of exclusion and stigmatization.
Students will also be able to use ethical concepts in their fieldwork, and be able to relate concepts of professionalism and professions to ethical and historical contexts. Special emphasis is on the ability of students to reflect on their own attitudes and work in light of ethical concepts such as autonomy, respect, dignity, trust and care, social justice and social discrimination, social capital, and empowerment.
Subject matter: The main subject of the course is social diversity and the status of marginalised individuals and groups. The course is divided into three parts where the first two parts are based on theoretical discussion of history and ethics, while in the third part students are expected to use those theoretical foundations from the previous parts to reflect on the field and their own attitudes.
This course addresses the concept of relational autonomy in the life of people who need intensive support and how to use it to increase autonomy in daily life. It also addresses the issue of gender and sexuality in relation to disability and the lived experiences of disabled people. In the module, the feminist idea of relational autonomy will be regarded as a key element for personal autonomy to flourish. Different perspectives of autonomy will be explored, e.g. how to increase respect for personal characteristics, independency, sexuality, and gender roles. The module explores how disabled people have been simultaneously viewed as asexual, eternal children or sexual predators. These contradicting stereotypes have hindered access to adult roles. The Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) will also be under discussion and its relevance in the concept of autonomy, sexuality, diversity, and gender.
In this course, the focus will be on the development of research and research methods within critical studies such as disability-, queer- and gender studies. Criticism of traditional research methods, which originates from critical feminist studies, will be emphasised. Recent approaches redefine power relations between researchers and participants and focus on collaboration and mutual respect between disabled people and scholars. The goal of such research is to facilitate cooperation and empowerment throughout all stages of the research. The characteristics, opportunities, and limitations of such research will be examined, including methods such as action research, participatory research, inclusive research, diaries, story completion methods, as well as universally designed questionaries. Ethical issues will be explored and new research and development projects in the field will be introduced and discussed.
The course will discuss autism, neurodiversity, and neurodivergent among children in the school system. Various perspectives and ways of understanding autism and neurodiversity/sense will be discussed, as well as ways to meet rational individuals and support them in participating in what takes place within preschool, primary, and secondary schools, both in terms of teaching methods and design of learning spaces.
The course will focus on inclusive education, universal design, a person-centered approach, and a social perspective on learning and teaching. It aims to enhance participants' ability to meet the needs of neurodivergent students within an inclusive educational system.
In that regard, special attention is paid to validating education, universal design, a person-centered approach, and a social perspective on learning and teaching. The course aims to strengthen the participants' ability to meet students' needs and rationality within a valid education system.
Teaching arrangement:
Lectures, discussions, and group work. Attendance is mandatory for this course, whether taken on campus or online. Distance learning students must participate in real-time sessions online. The course combines theoretical and practical components, and for optimal learning outcomes, students must attend or engage in real-time participation. Throughout the semester, work will be consistently carried out in Canvas.
The subjects of the course are empowering methods and practices in services for people with diverse support needs. The course discusses the ideology and practice of different approaches with emphasis on person-centred practices, autonomy, user participation and full participation in society and in one's own life.
The course prepares students for the role of being a consultant and build cooperative partnerships with the persons they serve in the welfare system.
In this context, the focus is on making individual service plans according to Act no. 38/2018. Students will examine how empowering ways of communication can be used to ensure full participation of service users in the deliberation about their support needs as well as the purpose and the implementation of the service.
Students complete this course alongside the course ÞRS205F Field practicum: Connecting theory and profession. Assignments in this course are connected to students‘ practicum work. They include a student-delivered presentation on a approach, strategy, or a method as well as implementing and using approach, strategy, or a method in consultation with service users and supervisors in the field.
In practicum, students get the opportunity to deepen their professional knowledge in a chosen field and connect it with theoretical and professional foundation and their own professional theory. Emphasis is placed on active participation in all components of the work of social educators, with focus on safeguarding human rights, counseling, the leadership role of social educators, teamwork, multi-professional collaboration and consultation with service users.
Practicum supervisors are social educators who work in the student's chosen field. They supervise the studies and assignments of the student during the practicum in collaboration with teachers of the course. Students work on field-related projects in accordance with the requirements of the practicum concerning responsibilities of social educators, professional prerequisites and work participation in the chosen field. At the same time, students are given the opportunity to work on field related projects in courses that they attend parallel to the practicum.
This course prepares students for implementing professional supervision in their future career development and develop their own skills as future mentors for student training and first year professionals. Key factors in supervision and supervisees‘ role will be discussed as well as commonly used theories and models of supervision.
Students gain understanding on the values of belonging to a learning communitiy and being supported at all stages of their professional development and career. Students also learn about coping skills concerning work-related stress and protection against burnout and obtain tools for increased self-knowledge, protection, and responsiveness at work.
The course is both theoretical and practical. The course will discuss the ideology of universal design from the perspectives of equality, disability studies, and design. Connections to concepts as relational autonomy, inclusive education, and health will be examined. Students will look at different ways of achieving the goals of universal design considering the concepts of reasonable adaptation and appropriate support.
Students get to know different ways and solutions in universal design in various fields. They will have the opportunity to design environments and universal ways for participation within a field of their choice.
The course design is based on the principles of universal design for learning. Students acquire practical knowledge and skills in designing and organising learning environments in a universal way as well as the opportunity of learning in such a learning environment.
The oppression of marginalised groups is an issue that social science have researched in the past decades; however, the psychological effect of oppression is a more recent subject. These effects can for example turn into the internalisation of oppression. In this course students get to know critical theories based on postcolonial psychology. Subject of the course will look at how the internalisation appears and how it affects different groups, for example, disabled people, immigrants, black people, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC) and queer people. It is important that society has knowledge about the psychological effects of internalisation on marginalised groups, both to know how to react accordingly and to be able to decrease the negative effects of internalisation.
Aim:
The aim of the course is that students get aquainted with ideas, theories, and research about the experiences of trans people, as well as the main ideas of critical childhood studies. Emphasis is placed on that participants will become conscious about the reality of trans youth and trans children and the discourse in society about the matter.
Issues:
The concepts of gender, gender binaries, non-binary, intersectionality, trans*, (Cis), care, children’s protection, and children’s rights. Main ideas of trans and queer studies are presented as well as how to use them to understand upbringing, education, society, leisure, and sports. The matter will be approached via critical trans and childhood studies as well as constructivist idea. The school system and other institution will be discussed in light of how many types of discrimination have been created and maintained, and how such systems can maintain trans phobic attitudes and (cis)heteronormativity. New Icelandic and international research is presented. Emphases are placed on training candidates education studies, social education, parent education, teaching at all school levels, leisure studies, management and other professional disciplines to create queer and trans friendly atmosphere in the groups they will work with.
One of the most common and problematic ethical issues in professional work with marginalized people who need support and services is finding the right balance between their autonomy and well-being. A too one-sided focus on well-being can lead to an unjustified paternalism and inhibit the independence and development of the individual. Too much or premature emphasis on the individual's autonomy can, on the other hand, lead to neglect and lead to the individual's various basic needs not being taken care of properly. In the course, the tension between the duty to respect autonomy on the one hand and the duty to look after the welfare of service users will be taken into special consideration. Among other things, the main perspectives, ethical and legal, that underlie these obligations will be discussed, how various professional methods can be used to bridge the gap between them, and how professionals on the ground try to take them into account and reconcile them in their daily work. Coursework will mainly focus on the analysis and discussion of stories and examples from the professional arena where questions arise about the importance and tension of autonomy and well-being in the work of professionals.
The course is a free elective and is intended for those who are studying to become special educators or upper secondary school teachers. The aim of the course is for students to gain insight into the organization and implementation of support for upper secondary school students who are entitled to teaching and special educational support in accordance with assessed SEN. Theories and research in the field of education support and special education in upper secondary schools will be discussed, which will able participants to apply in their own teaching. Emphasis is placed on interdisciplinary approach and collaboration. Students are introduced to the support services available within the college to support students with special needs or disabilities.
This course covers the basics of a trauma-informed practices, with a special focus on disabled people and other marginalized groups. Students learn to recognize the prevalence of trauma and the impact of trauma as well as the impact of different types of power imbalances on individuals' lives, behaviour, and coping strategies. Also, how to build empowering and person-centred support that aims to reduce the negative consequences of trauma and prevent re-experiences of trauma. Special emphasis is placed on practices that support emotional regulation, communication, and resilience in life and work.
This course will discuss human rights in a broad context, with an emphasis on diversity and inclusive societies. The key human rights treaties to which Iceland has become a party will be reviewed and their interconnection will be examined. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals will also be introduced with an emphasis on how they are related to and intertwined with human rights and human rights treaties. The concept of human rights will be examined in a historical context. Older critical views of human rights will be studied (Thucydides and Nietzsche) and attention will be drawn to how various historical themes are reflected in discussions about the claims of marginalized groups to rights today. Students will use the human rights approach and post-colonialism to analyze the ability of marginalized and minority groups to access fundamental human rights in the Icelandic and international contexts. A particular focus will be placed on the situation of refugees, women, and people with disabilities, the elderly, and economically disadvantaged groups. A critical perspective will be used to identify where societal changes – for example, in terms of technology and digitalization, environmental factors, and attitudes towards different groups – call for changes and improvements to the current human rights system to ensure fundamental rights and prevent setbacks in the struggle to secure human rights.
Aim: The goal of the course is to provide students with a good understanding of diversity in society and school, and get a better understanding of individuals and groups that are marginalised in society. Students will also learn about various forms, origins, and consequences of exclusion and stigmatization.
Students will also be able to use ethical concepts in their fieldwork, and be able to relate concepts of professionalism and professions to ethical and historical contexts. Special emphasis is on the ability of students to reflect on their own attitudes and work in light of ethical concepts such as autonomy, respect, dignity, trust and care, social justice and social discrimination, social capital, and empowerment.
Subject matter: The main subject of the course is social diversity and the status of marginalised individuals and groups. The course is divided into three parts where the first two parts are based on theoretical discussion of history and ethics, while in the third part students are expected to use those theoretical foundations from the previous parts to reflect on the field and their own attitudes.
This course addresses the concept of relational autonomy in the life of people who need intensive support and how to use it to increase autonomy in daily life. It also addresses the issue of gender and sexuality in relation to disability and the lived experiences of disabled people. In the module, the feminist idea of relational autonomy will be regarded as a key element for personal autonomy to flourish. Different perspectives of autonomy will be explored, e.g. how to increase respect for personal characteristics, independency, sexuality, and gender roles. The module explores how disabled people have been simultaneously viewed as asexual, eternal children or sexual predators. These contradicting stereotypes have hindered access to adult roles. The Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) will also be under discussion and its relevance in the concept of autonomy, sexuality, diversity, and gender.
In this course, the focus will be on the development of research and research methods within critical studies such as disability-, queer- and gender studies. Criticism of traditional research methods, which originates from critical feminist studies, will be emphasised. Recent approaches redefine power relations between researchers and participants and focus on collaboration and mutual respect between disabled people and scholars. The goal of such research is to facilitate cooperation and empowerment throughout all stages of the research. The characteristics, opportunities, and limitations of such research will be examined, including methods such as action research, participatory research, inclusive research, diaries, story completion methods, as well as universally designed questionaries. Ethical issues will be explored and new research and development projects in the field will be introduced and discussed.
The course will discuss autism, neurodiversity, and neurodivergent among children in the school system. Various perspectives and ways of understanding autism and neurodiversity/sense will be discussed, as well as ways to meet rational individuals and support them in participating in what takes place within preschool, primary, and secondary schools, both in terms of teaching methods and design of learning spaces.
The course will focus on inclusive education, universal design, a person-centered approach, and a social perspective on learning and teaching. It aims to enhance participants' ability to meet the needs of neurodivergent students within an inclusive educational system.
In that regard, special attention is paid to validating education, universal design, a person-centered approach, and a social perspective on learning and teaching. The course aims to strengthen the participants' ability to meet students' needs and rationality within a valid education system.
Teaching arrangement:
Lectures, discussions, and group work. Attendance is mandatory for this course, whether taken on campus or online. Distance learning students must participate in real-time sessions online. The course combines theoretical and practical components, and for optimal learning outcomes, students must attend or engage in real-time participation. Throughout the semester, work will be consistently carried out in Canvas.
The subjects of the course are empowering methods and practices in services for people with diverse support needs. The course discusses the ideology and practice of different approaches with emphasis on person-centred practices, autonomy, user participation and full participation in society and in one's own life.
The course prepares students for the role of being a consultant and build cooperative partnerships with the persons they serve in the welfare system.
In this context, the focus is on making individual service plans according to Act no. 38/2018. Students will examine how empowering ways of communication can be used to ensure full participation of service users in the deliberation about their support needs as well as the purpose and the implementation of the service.
Students complete this course alongside the course ÞRS205F Field practicum: Connecting theory and profession. Assignments in this course are connected to students‘ practicum work. They include a student-delivered presentation on a approach, strategy, or a method as well as implementing and using approach, strategy, or a method in consultation with service users and supervisors in the field.
In practicum, students get the opportunity to deepen their professional knowledge in a chosen field and connect it with theoretical and professional foundation and their own professional theory. Emphasis is placed on active participation in all components of the work of social educators, with focus on safeguarding human rights, counseling, the leadership role of social educators, teamwork, multi-professional collaboration and consultation with service users.
Practicum supervisors are social educators who work in the student's chosen field. They supervise the studies and assignments of the student during the practicum in collaboration with teachers of the course. Students work on field-related projects in accordance with the requirements of the practicum concerning responsibilities of social educators, professional prerequisites and work participation in the chosen field. At the same time, students are given the opportunity to work on field related projects in courses that they attend parallel to the practicum.
This course prepares students for implementing professional supervision in their future career development and develop their own skills as future mentors for student training and first year professionals. Key factors in supervision and supervisees‘ role will be discussed as well as commonly used theories and models of supervision.
Students gain understanding on the values of belonging to a learning communitiy and being supported at all stages of their professional development and career. Students also learn about coping skills concerning work-related stress and protection against burnout and obtain tools for increased self-knowledge, protection, and responsiveness at work.
The course is both theoretical and practical. The course will discuss the ideology of universal design from the perspectives of equality, disability studies, and design. Connections to concepts as relational autonomy, inclusive education, and health will be examined. Students will look at different ways of achieving the goals of universal design considering the concepts of reasonable adaptation and appropriate support.
Students get to know different ways and solutions in universal design in various fields. They will have the opportunity to design environments and universal ways for participation within a field of their choice.
The course design is based on the principles of universal design for learning. Students acquire practical knowledge and skills in designing and organising learning environments in a universal way as well as the opportunity of learning in such a learning environment.
The oppression of marginalised groups is an issue that social science have researched in the past decades; however, the psychological effect of oppression is a more recent subject. These effects can for example turn into the internalisation of oppression. In this course students get to know critical theories based on postcolonial psychology. Subject of the course will look at how the internalisation appears and how it affects different groups, for example, disabled people, immigrants, black people, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC) and queer people. It is important that society has knowledge about the psychological effects of internalisation on marginalised groups, both to know how to react accordingly and to be able to decrease the negative effects of internalisation.
Aim:
The aim of the course is that students get aquainted with ideas, theories, and research about the experiences of trans people, as well as the main ideas of critical childhood studies. Emphasis is placed on that participants will become conscious about the reality of trans youth and trans children and the discourse in society about the matter.
Issues:
The concepts of gender, gender binaries, non-binary, intersectionality, trans*, (Cis), care, children’s protection, and children’s rights. Main ideas of trans and queer studies are presented as well as how to use them to understand upbringing, education, society, leisure, and sports. The matter will be approached via critical trans and childhood studies as well as constructivist idea. The school system and other institution will be discussed in light of how many types of discrimination have been created and maintained, and how such systems can maintain trans phobic attitudes and (cis)heteronormativity. New Icelandic and international research is presented. Emphases are placed on training candidates education studies, social education, parent education, teaching at all school levels, leisure studies, management and other professional disciplines to create queer and trans friendly atmosphere in the groups they will work with.
One of the most common and problematic ethical issues in professional work with marginalized people who need support and services is finding the right balance between their autonomy and well-being. A too one-sided focus on well-being can lead to an unjustified paternalism and inhibit the independence and development of the individual. Too much or premature emphasis on the individual's autonomy can, on the other hand, lead to neglect and lead to the individual's various basic needs not being taken care of properly. In the course, the tension between the duty to respect autonomy on the one hand and the duty to look after the welfare of service users will be taken into special consideration. Among other things, the main perspectives, ethical and legal, that underlie these obligations will be discussed, how various professional methods can be used to bridge the gap between them, and how professionals on the ground try to take them into account and reconcile them in their daily work. Coursework will mainly focus on the analysis and discussion of stories and examples from the professional arena where questions arise about the importance and tension of autonomy and well-being in the work of professionals.
The course is a free elective and is intended for those who are studying to become special educators or upper secondary school teachers. The aim of the course is for students to gain insight into the organization and implementation of support for upper secondary school students who are entitled to teaching and special educational support in accordance with assessed SEN. Theories and research in the field of education support and special education in upper secondary schools will be discussed, which will able participants to apply in their own teaching. Emphasis is placed on interdisciplinary approach and collaboration. Students are introduced to the support services available within the college to support students with special needs or disabilities.
This course covers the basics of a trauma-informed practices, with a special focus on disabled people and other marginalized groups. Students learn to recognize the prevalence of trauma and the impact of trauma as well as the impact of different types of power imbalances on individuals' lives, behaviour, and coping strategies. Also, how to build empowering and person-centred support that aims to reduce the negative consequences of trauma and prevent re-experiences of trauma. Special emphasis is placed on practices that support emotional regulation, communication, and resilience in life and work.
