Diploma in Social Studies at QQI Level 5 – September

The purpose of this award is to equip the learner with the knowledge, skill and competence required for employment in a Social Care Setting. It will introduce learners to the area of sociology and social studies and to develop their understanding and awareness of social issues in their own lives and society in general. Learners will develop basic research skills and learn to recognise the complexity of social issues.

Learners will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of sociology and its relevance to understanding their position as an individual, a family member and as part of a community and wider society
2. Discuss the process of socialisation and the agents of socialisation by analysing family peer groups, education, media and how they impact on their lives
3. Examine the area of social stratification in Irish society and describe how this society can be divided into different social strata ie class, gender, race/ethnicity
4. Discuss the impact of discrimination on individuals in society by looking at discrimination and its impact on the following members of society – travellers, the socially marginalised, elderly people, immigrant and migrant workers of diverse racially and cultural backgrounds, minority religions and homosexuals and transsexuals
5. Explore the role and function of the family as a social unit, the changes that have taken place in the family within an Irish context taking into account the implications of marital breakdown
6. Acquire basic research skills by summarising the differences between primary and secondary research and qualitative and quantitative methods
7. Design appropriate survey methods e.g. questionnaires, interviews, observation as investigating strategies to unfamiliar social problems
8. Use a variety of media to access information e.g. new information technology, the library classification system
9. Explore the importance of documenting and acknowledging all relevant sources consulted by employing the Harvard system of referencing and identifying and applying the skill of producing a well-constructed bibliography
10. Exercise initiative and independence by investigating the experience of discrimination/discriminating practices encountered by one group in Irish society
11. Plan direct and manage time and work independently to provide evidence of research e.g. correspondence, note-taking, interviews, tape recordings
12. Process and present findings from research and draw conclusions from their analysis that discusses possible strategies for alleviating discriminating practices for a number of groups in Irish society.