Principles of Social Work with Adults, Urban Diversities (5cr)

Evaluation scale

H-5

Content scheduling

At Turku University of Applied Sciences, this course is primarily suitable as a substitute for the course Principles of Social work with Adults. If there are not enough registrants, it may also be possible to substitute the course Cultural Diversity and supporting Immigrant Integration.

The course Urban Diversities – Challenges and Opportunities brings together students and teachers from four European universities of applied sciences. It is an international BIP course (Blended Intensive Program), which includes both online learning (3 online meetings) and an intensive week (May 4–8, 2026) in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

At Turku University of Applied Sciences 7–8 students are selected for participation. Additionally, students from the following partner institutions will participate (7–8 per institution):HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (hosting), Odise University of Applied Sciences (Bryssels) and Evangelische Hochschule Freiburg.

Start of the course for the Turku group:
February 17, 2026, from 10:00 to 11:30.
We will go through the course program and discuss travel arrangements. Participation in the kickoff is mandatory for all.

Online meetings of the course (in English):

- 24.2.26 11-13 (Finnish time)
Welcome to the course. Introduction
Presentation of the participants.
Lecture: Human rights.
Group discussion.
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- 24.3.26 11-13 (Finnish time)
Students present their city (fan facts included!)
Lecture: Urban Complexity (Dirk Oesselmann)
Group discussion.
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- 21.4.26 11-13 (Finnish time)
Lecture: How to read the city? (Nele Gulinck)
Group discussion.
Preparations for the intensive week in Turku (Sirppa Kinos).
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The program for the intensive week (conducted in English) in Utrecht will be specified later.

Objective

· you are able to anticipate future trends of welfare services, analyse local welfare challenges and participate in the production and development of services
· you are able to analyse structures and processes that create inequality and disadvantage at regional, national and international levels
· you know how to apply theoretical work orientations in social work with adults

Content

´· work orientations in social work
· the definition and fields of social counselling and social work
· differences in health and well-being
· the challenges of organising welfare services

Materials

-Course lectures.

-Supplementary material:

Mitchell-Smith, Zinnia (2021). Urban Complexity. https://deb.tuas.fi/urban/urban-complexity-video/
Schrooten, M., Withaeckx, S., Geldof, D., Lavent, M. (2016). Transmigration: Social work in a world of superdiversity. Acco. Chapter 1: Transnational living in a superdiverse society.
A link to the chapter 1: https://deb.tuas.fi/urban/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Schrooten-et-al-transnational-living-in-a-superdiverse-society.pdf.

Teaching methods

Online lectures.
Group discussions, reflection in the international teams.
Group work, locally and internationally.
Study visits.

Exam schedules

-

Pedagogic approaches and sustainable development

Practice based, experience-based learning.

Completion alternatives

-

Student workload

- small group assignments (local groups present their city at the 2. online meeting; international groups present their learning outcomes in the intensive week).
- in relation to assessment, reporting practices may vary. TuAS students write a learning diary, where they describe their reflextions and what they learned during the course. Instructions for using AI will be provided in the course workspace on Itslearning.

Evaluation methods and criteria

Assessment practices in the course are flexible. TuAS students write a learning diary, where they describe their reflections and learning process during the course (evaluated 1-5/to be completed).

Failed (0)

The students does not understands the basic concepts of urban diversities and complexities.
The students has not participated actively in the course activities.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

The students knows some basic concepts of urban diversities and complexities.
The students has mainly participated actively in the course program.

Assessment criteria, good (3-4)

The student understands the basic concepts and is able to describe urban diversities and complexities.
The student has actively participated in the course program.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

The student understands the basic concepts and is able to analyze urban diversities and complexities from different perspectives. The student has actively participated in the course program.

Qualifications

Students can start optional customer group-specific studies when they have completed at least 60 credits.

Further information

Communication with TuAS teachers by e-mail.