Social Work

For Social Work students looking for an international experience, we offer the international learning and teaching module Crossing Borders: An International Module on Participation and Citizenship. It helps you to cross borders in more than one way. You'll work with peers from other countries, communicate in a transnational community, and compare the ways in which service users are included in different countries. 

Bachelor sociaal werk header

The attention in healthcare and social work has often focused on service-users’ problems. That problem-oriented attitude is, however, being replaced by an emphasis on the users’ possibilities. Abilities are stressed, for example, in competence-based and solution-focused methods. Simultaneously the approach to people on the margin of society has changed. In the past these people’s problems were emphasised. For that reason social diversity was viewed as awkward. Recently, however, more attention has been given to everyone’s inclusion regardless of differences in background or cultural affinities. 

A full citizen in society

Crossing Borders follows these trends in healthcare and social work. It helps participants to explore ways of involving each person as a full citizen in society. In order to do that transnational students’ groups examine, on the one hand, how the members of a relevant category of people see themselves and are seen by others. On the other hand the students’ groups investigate the ways in which the people they study can be included more fully. In order to achieve this the module aims at:

  Ways to improve participation
Acquire knowledge of:

The effects of diversity, primary and secondary deviance, stigma, and discrimination on identity formation:

  • Definitions and models
  • International classification of functioning, disability and health

The shift from a client-orientation to a rights-holder's orientation:

  • Multidisciplinary professional work

Social-work methods for promoting participation and inclusion, and for preventing discrimination:

  • The concept of empowerment
  • Universal design
Acquire skills to:

Analyse healthcare and social-work practices.

Conduct a small-scale field investigation.

Develop reflections on:

Personal, professional and transnational experiences.

Public policies for improvement of participation and inclusion.

The focus on removing limitations suits bachelor students in healthcare, social work, social care and community studies. It may also be seen as a part of bachelor programmes for teachers, therapists and counsellors in related fields. All potential participants in Crossing Borders are in advanced stages of their bachelor courses. Participants in Crossing Borders will go across frontiers physically and virtually. They work with fellow students from other countries in order to complete joint tasks. Their learning process is coached by teachers from various countries.

Registration

Contact the international office for questions and more information.

Campus Brussels

These courses are managed from Campus Brussels. 

International office

Campus Brussels
Warmoesberg 26
1000 Brussels
+32 2 609 81 00
incoming.exchange@odisee.be 
Campus Ghent
Gebroeders De Smetstraat 1
9000 Ghent
+32 9 267 27 22 
incoming.exchange@odisee.be

Student services

How does Odisee approach inclusive education? What extra services does Odisee offer to its students? And have you heard of the Odibuddy project?

Find out more on our counseling page below. 

Insurance

As a registered student, you are insured for the study-related activities at Odisee, with the civil liability policy and with the collective insurance for accidents, after intervention of the health insurance company.