Child Studies Program’s Learning Outcomes – Direct Entry Stream (effective
2013-14) and ECE stream
The Child Studies Program grants both BA General and BA Honours degrees.
The BA General in Child Studies has been developed to train students in two areas: 1.
Interdisciplinary basic and applied knowledge in the field of child and youth studies and
2. Personal development and professional practice.
The BA Honours in Child Studies has been developed to train students in three areas: 1.
Interdisciplinary basic and applied knowledge in the field of child and youth studies; 2.
Personal development and professional practice; and 3. Evidence based approaches and
research methods.
The program’s learning outcomes are described below:
Learning Outcome 1: Interdisciplinary basic and applied knowledge (BA General
and BA Honours)
a) Students will learn the contributions of different disciplinary perspectives to the study
of children and youth in various contexts including families, institutions, community,
etc. ; b) will demonstrate knowledge about children and youth which they will acquire
from fields as diverse as (among others) child studies, psychology, sociology,
anthropology, ethics and human rights, neuroscience, health sciences, history, education,
public policy, economics, political sciences; c) will learn to negotiate multiple
perspectives through critical debate and writing; and d) will make connections within
courses and across different disciplines considering interdisciplinary questions involving
childhood, age, and other relevant factors (e.g., gender, education, race, class, and
culture).
These are the courses that aim at this outcome (courses already on the calendar):
CHST1000 [0.5], CHST1001, CHST2503 [0.5], CHST2504 [0.5], CHST3100 [0.5],
CHST3901 [0.5]
Performance criteria for Learning Outcome 1
This learning outcome will be achieved if students are able to demonstrate that they can:
1. Describe the scientific, social constructionist, and applied approaches to the study
of childhood and youth and the main influences impacting on children and youth
at national and international levels
2. Extract relevant information from the interdisciplinary literature to write about
specific issues relevant to child and youth studies;
3. Present orally to a general (non specialized) audience multiple perspectives
pertaining to specific topics in child and youth studies;
4. Participate effectively and constructively to class discussion on selected topics
relevant to child and youth studies.
1
These are the learning activities that we will use to teach the performance criteria:
Learning Activity
Lectures
Course
CHST1000, CHST1001,
CHST2503, CHST2504,
Class discussion
CHST1000, CHST1001,
CHST2503, CHST2504,
CHST3100, CHST3901
Assigned readings
CHST1000, CHST1001,
CHST2503, CHST2504,
CHST3100, CHST3901
CHST2503
Annotated bibliographies
Oral presentations
CHST2503, CHST2504,
CHST3100, CHST3901
Workshops
CHST2503, CHST2504
Guest speakers
CHST1000, CHST1001,
CHST2503, CHST2504,
CHST3100, CHST3901
Exams
CHST1000, CHST1001
Essays and open ended
questions
CHST2503, CHST2504,
CHST3100, CHST3901
Description
Lectures are used to help
students meet performance
criteria 1
Class discussion is used to
help students achieve
performance criteria 3 and
4
Assigned readings are used
to help students achieve
performance criteria 1-4
Annotated bibliographies
are used to assess students’
achievement of
performance criterion 2
Oral presentations are used
to assess students’
achievement of
performance criterion 3
Workshops are used to help
students achieve
performance criteria 2, 3,
and 4
Speakers are invited to help
students achieve
performance criteria 1 and
4
Exams will be used to
assess students’
achievement on
performance criterion 1
Essays and open ended
questions are used to assess
students’ achievement of
criteria 1-2
Learning Outcome 2: Personal development and professional practice (BA General
and BA Honours)
Graduates of the Child Studies Program will be employed in a variety of settings (e.g.,
schools, childcare centers, governmental and non-governmental organizations, health
care and health services organizations, the private sector) in which they will be able to
identify transferable skills for the workplace context, will apply ethical principles of
working with children and families, and will effectively communicate with children,
2
families, and co-workers using appropriate oral and written language. Graduates from the
Child Studies Program will bring their interdisciplinary knowledge of children and youth
into their daily practices contributing to creative and effective socially responsible
solutions.
These are the courses that aim at this outcome (to be added to the calendar for 2013/14):
CHST3003 [0.5] practicum, CHST3004 [0.5] ethics, CHST3006 [0.5] KT
Performance criteria for Learning Outcome 2
This learning outcome will be achieved if students are able to demonstrate that they can:
1. Identify and describe the ethical and human rights implications of working with
children in a community setting;
2. Identify effective strategies to address ethical and child rights issues in
community and applied settings;
3. Effectively communicate relevant interdisciplinary information to non-scientific
audiences including policy makers, service providers and knowledge users;
4. Use various techniques (e.g., non-academic reports, policy briefs, pamphlets and
posters) to effectively communicate evidence-based knowledge about specific
issues in child and youth studies.
Learning Activity
Class discussion
Course
CHST3004
Assigned readings
CHST3004, CHST3006
Experiential learning
CHST3003
Oral presentations
CHST3003, CHST3004,
CHST3006
Workshops
CHST3003
Guest speakers
CHST3003, CHST3004,
CHST3006
Written Assignments
CHST3006
Essays and open ended
CHST3003, CHST3004,
Description
Class discussion is used to help
students achieve performance criteria
1-2
Assigned readings are used to help
students achieve performance criteria 1,
2 and 3
Students will complete a practicum in a
community setting which will allow
them to achieve performance criteria 1
through 4
Oral presentations are used to assess
students’ achievement of performance
criterion 1-4
Workshops are used to help students
achieve performance criteria 3-4
Speakers are invited to present to help
students achieve performance criteria
1-4
Students will be asked to complete
written assignments using various
formats and techniques at achieve
performance criteria 3 and 4
Essays and open ended questions are
3
questions
CHST3006
used to assess students’ achievement of
criteria 1 through 4
Learning Outcome 3: Evidence based approaches and research methods (BA
Honours only)
Students will a) demonstrate detailed content and factual knowledge of research
published in peer-reviewed journals, books, and the grey literature; b) demonstrate the
use of evidence-based approaches in the study of children and youth by critically
evaluating both the scientific and applied literatures; b) describe, implement and evaluate
the various research methodologies that different disciplines commonly use in the study
of children and youth including epidemiological and ethnographic approaches; c) conduct
increasingly self-directed research and d) communicate complex ideas in clear prose both
in its oral and written forms and in different professional contexts (e.g., academic and
non-academic settings).
These are the courses that aim at this outcome:
Courses on the calendar: CHST1000, CHST1001, CHST2503 [0.5], CHST2504 [0.5],
CHST4001 [0.5], CHST4908 [1.0], PSYC2001 [0.5], PSYC2002 [0.5], SOCI2001 [0.5],
SOCI2002 [0.5].
Courses to be added to the calendar for 2013/14: CHST2000 [0.5] as a third option in
methodology requirement: CHST 2000 OR PSYC 2001/2002 OR SOCI 2001/2002
Performance criteria for Learning Outcome 3
This learning outcome will be achieved if students are able to demonstrate that they can:
1. Identify and describe the main influences in children and youth’s lives at the
individual, family, community, regional/national, and international levels;
2. Identify and discuss strengths and limitations of a variety of methodologies used
to conduct research with children and youth;
3. Identify adequate research methodologies to address specific research questions;
4. Implement research methods to conduct self-directed original research on a
special topic related to child and youth studies;
5. Effectively present results from self-directed research, both in writing and orally,
to promote evidence-based knowledge.
Learning Activity
Lectures
Class discussion
Oral presentations
Course
CHST1000, CHST1001,
CHST2000, CHST2503,
CHST2504
CHST2000, CHST4001,
CHST4908
CHST2000, CHST2503,
CHST2504, CHST4001,
Description
Lectures are used to help
students meet performance
criteria 1 and 2
Class discussion is used to
help students achieve
performance criteria 2 and
3
Oral presentations are used
to assess students’
4
CHST4908
Workshops
CHST2503, CHST2504,
CHST4001, CHST4908
Guest speakers
CHST2000, CHST2503,
CHST2504, CHST4001,
CHST4908
Exams
CHST2000, CHST2503,
CHST2504, PSYC or
SOCIO stat
Essays and open ended
questions
CHST2000, CHST2503,
CHST2504, CHST4001,
CHST4908
Thesis project
CHST4908
achievement of
performance criterion 5
Workshops are used to help
students achieve
performance criteria 1
through 4
Speakers are invited to help
students achieve
performance criteria 1
through 4
Exams will be used to
assess students’
achievement on
performance criteria 1 and
2
Essays and open ended
questions are used to assess
students’ achievement of
criteria
The process leading to and
completion of a thesis
project will achieve
performance criteria 1
through 5
5