This course addresses those general philosophical questions which form a necessary grounding to the understanding of these techniques and procedures which follow. It will not be dealing with those methodological issues featured in faculty introductory courses. Some of the topics include: epistemological issues and theories of knowledge, Weberian and other perspectives, causality and association, social sciences as a science, induction and deduction, the distinction between a social problem and what is socially problematic.

This is the first of three core YDEW courses which focus specifically on developing effective and reflective practitioners. It is followed by YDEW2000 in Year 2 and YDEW3000 in Year 3. This course introduces students to the foundations of the profession by exploring the theoretical principles which underpin the concept of youth and youth development work through an exploration of the history of youth development work with special reference to the evolution of practice in the Caribbean. The course will examine definitions and labels attributed to youth including child, youth, juvenile, adolescent and young person and will highlight issues affecting special categories of youth. By engaging in study on the contemporary status of Caribbean YDW, students will understand the significance of professionalisation and competencies, the roles and responsibilities of the youth worker, the dynamics of working with youth individually and in groups, special ethical issues and current institutional values and organisational structures for YDW in the Caribbean. It will introduce students to the rights-based approach to youth development.  Students will begin a Learning and Professional Development Journal outlining their professional goals and objectives, which they will use and update as they progress through their programme.

Competencies:

YDWCYP0343: Promote equality of opportunity, participation and responsibility

YDWCYP0493: Work as an effective and reflective practitioner

This course will introduce students to classical social theory through an understanding of the work of writers such as Auguste Comte, Max Weber, Karl Marx and George H. Mead. The main focus of this studying is to understand the central ideas of these writers and to reflect on the usefulness of their theory in contemporary Caribbean societies. This reflection will support students’ further investigations of the explanations given for issues on the front line of Caribbean societies’ development agendas. At the same time, students will learn about the central ideas and perspectives of writers such as Edward Kamau Brathwaite, M.G. Smith and George Beckford. The combination of classical and Caribbean schools of social inquiry will set the tone for a synthesizing of perspectives on race, class, gender, ethnicity and the family in society. This process will assist students with developing their theoretical base in social theory, as well as independent thought on happenings in Caribbean society.

This coursed is designed to develop an awareness of the main process of cultural development in Caribbean societies, highlighting the factors, the problematic and the creative output that have fed the emergence of Caribbean identities. It seeks to develop a perception of the Caribbean as wider than island nations or linguistic blocs as well as to stimulate students’ interest in, and commitment to Caribbean civilization and to further their self-determination.

Among the biggest challenges facing the global community today is to reconcile the difference between economic advancement and social development. This course introduces students to the history of the concept of poverty, the culture of poverty, the causes of poverty and its effects. Intersections between poverty, education, health, and welfare will be explored in a variety of international contexts. Policies designed to reduce poverty will be analysed at both the international and community levels. This course presents students with the opportunity to comprehensively understand the nature, scope and dynamics of social development and its interplay on the lives of individuals, families, communities and groups. It interrogates the contributions of education, income, health, and technology and welfare system in contributing to an egalitarian society with opportunity and mobility for all.

This course aims to give students an introduction, to contemporary trends in sociological theory. At its core, the course examines a range of theoretical debates that have acquired international prominence in recent years.
Sociological theory unavoidably has to be approached from an international perspective. This is due to, on the one hand, the universalising claims inherent in many contemporary theoretical approaches and, on the other hand, the proliferation of sociology, sociologists, and sociology departments throughout the world. At the same time, however, questions remain as to the scope of relevance of internationally dominant theories that emanate from leading sociology departments and publishing houses in Western Europe and North America. The present course addresses this tension by introducing students to a broad range of contemporary theories and interrogating their importance to social research in the Caribbean.

In this course students will learn to appreciate the value of qualitative research as it offers contextual meaning of social phenomena. Students will become familiar with the nature, assumptions and logic of qualitative research. They will understand the available techniques for designing a qualitative research study while identifying and constructing theory.

This course presents and examines the social and cultural forces that have implications for the formation and maintenance of social relationships. It exposes students to the concepts, theories, and methods involved in studying the family. It provides an opportunity for students to critically examine issues associated with marriage, family so that they can derive a clearer understanding of marriage and the family as critical institutions in society. The course helps students to apply theoretical perspectives to go beyond personal experiences and view the family from diverse social contexts.

Insights into Caribbean social structure and the advent of the colonists from the 16th to the 20th centuries are offered, allowing students to understand the relationship among ethnicity, race, class and colour in West Indian societies, and how the historical legacy of slavery and indentureship produce cultural traditions and customs impacting on social structure and society.

This course is designed to provide students with a historical understanding of development and its antecedents of the modern world.
In this course students will examine development as a concept and practice in the era beginning around 20th century. This epoch is considered to be the heyday of ‘development thought and practice’. New thinking about social change associated with improvements in the quality of life of the less well off in the global village emerged as major contestants to Development. However, in order to properly understand these and the ways in which post- Colonial societies such as Caribbean are changing in the 21 Century, it is necessary to understand earlier thinking on the subject.