Adult and Community Education

Adult and Community Education is considered to be necessary and important work. In every society, there exist, people at risk of social exclusion. There is rarely a single influencing factor. More often, it is as a result of a range of complex issues. Poverty plays a major role, but so too do unemployment, alcohol or drug addiction, mental illness, disability, level of education, and ethnicity. These factors are frequently interrelated, and it is often difficult to separate cause from effect. Therefore, effective assistance can be a challenge.

All people who wish to pursue careers as adult and community education workers must be attentive, selfless, and non-judgemental in their approaches. They must also be good communicators. They must support and protect to some of the most vulnerable and disaffected groups in the community. These groups include the homeless, sick, elderly, or newly immigrated. A course in Social or Community Work provides students with an opportunity to make a real difference.

Education

Students who are interested in a hands-on career in social work, community care, and community development should do an applied course in Social Care, Social Work, or Community Studies.

Many Institutes of Technology offer Social Care degrees. Students will engage in modules such as Child Development Psychology, Addiction Studies, Legal Studies and Social Policy. Students also do work experience, and therefore must have Garda clearance. Most graduates work for government agencies or NGOs.

There is also a wide selection of PLC courses in Social and Community Studies. Usual subjects include Applied Psychology, Child Development, Care Provision, and Legal Studies. Regular work experience is also common. Graduates can apply to degree courses. Alternatively, they can work in the private, public, or voluntary care sectors as special needs assistants, youth workers, child carers, and so on.

If you are more inclined toward the academic aspects of social care provision, a course in Sociology and Social Policy are good options.

The study of Sociology is defined as the study of social groups and the social phenomena that affect them. Students learn about issues such as social mobility, bureaucracy, crime, globalisation, and so forth. In addition, students learn theory and examine the work of thinkers like Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Émile Durkheim. You can take Sociology as an Arts option. Many students do this in tandem with subjects such as Economics, Politics and History.

Social Policy will teach students to critically analyse contemporary social issues. Social Policy prepares students for careers in research bodies, state agencies, local government, and NGOs.

The Work

Social care practitioners ofetn work with, and advocate on behalf of a wide variety of social groups, such as:

• Children and adolescents in residential care
• People with intellectual disabilities
• Alcohol and drug dependents
• Refugees and asylum seekers
• Families in the community

Professional social workers often differ in that their role includes managerial duties also. Examples include arranging residential care, coordinating patient review meetings, and so on.

Social researchers will use statistics (quantitative research), interviews and focus groups (qualitative research) to analyse issues such as equality of access to employment or social services in a particular area or socio-economic class.

Community workers work with groups of people to improve their lives and solve problems in the community. They work in communities that experience disadvantage. They enable people to identify their needs and rights, and assisting them in working towards these goals.