What is a welfare state? How much do Norwegians have to pay if they fall ill and have to go to hospital? Are universities free? Who takes care of the elderly, and do all Norwegian children go to kindergarten? These, and many other questions, will be addressed in this course about the Norwegian welfare state.
What is a welfare state? How much do Norwegians have to pay if they fall ill and have to go to hospital? Are universities free? Who takes care of the elderly, and do all Norwegian children go to kindergarten? These, and many other questions, will be addressed in this course about the Norwegian welfare state.
The Norwegian welfare state shapes everyday life, both for social workers and nurses, and and for citizens. In this course, we are going to explore how we meet the welfare state in everyday life, the history of the welfare state and the recent changes, as well as more specific areas.
The course combines various working methods; lectures, seminars and written assignments.
The exam for this course is a written assignment that you work with throughout the semester.
Description of the course
This course provides an introduction to the Norwegian welfare state model, giving a broad introduction to its main characteristics. The Norwegian welfare state is universal, welfare ambitious, and focused on giving services to citizens. The course will explore what this implies for citizens and for social workers.
The course explores how the Norwegian welfare system has developed since the 1950s, addressing social conflict lines as well as contemporary conflict lines in welfare and social policies.
The course provides a broad description of the main characteristics of the Norwegian welfare state by examining a wide range of policies, such as parental leave, state-sponsored day care for children, labour market regulations, health policies and integration measures and conditions applying to various types of immigrants.
The implications of the welfare state for social work will be explored.
Learning outcome
Upon completion of the course, the candidate should have acquired the following learning outcome, grouped under knowledge, skills, and general competence:
Knowledge:
The candidate possesses basic knowledge about Norwegian social policies and welfare state
Skills:
The candidate
- is able to compare welfare state models as well as social policies between states
- is able to analyse social policies from different theoretical perspectives and recognize political and ideological currents underlying welfare policies
General competence:
The candidate is able to use the knowledge about social policies to reflect on how such policies shape and influence the everyday social work and the life of citizens