Diploma of Youth Development Studies

The Diploma of Youth Development Studies is a 2 year program.

Admission Requirements

Must complete Form 5, 6, or Form 7 with a “B” grade in English. Any course on study and writing skills will be an advantage or Adults who have work experience will be given due considerations.

Course Structure

Course Code: DYD
Course Name: Diploma of Youth Development Studies
Duration: 2 years
Core Units: 13 Modules
Total Credit Points: ???
Campus: Panatina

Unit Code	Unit Name	Pre-requisite	Semester Offered	Credit Points
M01	Module 1: Learning Processes
This module focuses on the role of youth development workers as educators. It explores a number of theories of learning and how they have influenced different philosophies of education. It identifies the different ways in which people learn and the factors that inhibit or facilitate learning. The module also looks at experiential learning, as the method most appropriate to youth development workers, and appropriate strategies for face-to-face work with young people and training situations with adults.
M02	Module 2: Young People and Society
This module has been designed to help students understand some of the theoretical background of youth development work, so that they can carry out the work better by relating what they are doing to the social context they are working in. Understanding the social situations of young people is crucial. By exploring what researchers and theorists have said about youth in different social contexts, and relating that to general theories about society, the module illuminates the situation of young people in their society. The students own role will be to help improve the conditions that young people are in, and through that to help develop the society they live in.
M03	Module 3: Principles and Practice of Youth Work Development
This module is designed to introduce students to a range of different approaches to working with young people in the youth sector. Students may already have youth work experience, but they probably only have experience of just one type. We have designed this module to provide a clear understanding of several of the key practices in youth development work. This will enable students to develop their insights and skills by allowing them to draw on a rich frame of reference.
M04	Module 4: Working with People in Their Communities
In this module, course members will explore the knowledge and skills required for working successfully with individuals and groups. They will be encouraged to think about and reflect on their successes and difficulties. The module also covers how other people have worked in communities, and their theories about their work. It explores the theory and practice of community development, with particular reference to the work of Paulo Freire. Students will learn about community development work plans, and how to make and implement them. Finally, they will examine the characteristics of an effective group leader and the processes involved when their work is completed and they reach the end of their involvement.
M05	Module 5: Gender and Development
This module explores the theory and practice of how to ensure equal outcomes for young women and young men. It examines a range of theories and approaches in different development and feminist traditions, and explores the implications for youth development work. It looks at the development issues that affect women and men, and the ways these may affect them differently. It examines the concept of gender and development and how this can be applied in projects and practical work. The general aim of the module is to help students ensure that their youth development work and policy, planning and evaluation processes are gender-sensitive. It should also help them become more gender aware as you work through later modules of this diploma. It asks students to stand back and look at themselves and their society and community from different perspectives to explore their own ideas and experience of gender and to test the reality of the ideas they meet in terms of their lives and those of the young people with whom they work.
M06	Module 6: Commonwealth Values
This module is designed to equip students with knowledge and understanding of the key Commonwealth values and principles. They are the values that underpin this Diploma programme. The emphasis in the module is on the fundamental political values of the Commonwealth as defined in the Harare Commonwealth Declaration of 1991: adherence to human rights and democratic principles. The module also explores the values that underpin the way that the Commonwealth works through consultation, cooperation and consensus building. It focuses on the key concepts of citizenship, human rights, participation, democracy, empowerment, robust pluralism and equity. It describes the nature of the Commonwealth as an institution of diverse cultures and traditions, its decision-making structures and its key areas of work. Finally it looks at how these values can be related to youth development work and can be promoted through it.
M07	Module 7: Management Skills
This module focuses on the full range of management roles and tasks that students, as youth development workers, may need to perform and about which they will need to know. The module begins by exploring the concept of management and the theories informing the practices of management. It shows students how they can manage both the resources and the staff they are responsible for in order to complete their tasks. It also guides them through the management of organisational development and change. Key management processes are covered in detail, including managing time, managing yourself, managing resources, staff development, budgeting and monitoring expenditure, and managing communication and information technology.
M08	Module 8: Project Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
This module will help students develop the knowledge and skills necessary to plan, design, implement, monitor and evaluate projects. The stages covered include action research to identify needs, project planning, developing detailed project proposals, writing and presenting bids for funding, and monitoring and evaluating projects. The module has been designed to include practical examples. Because students of this course will be from many parts of the Commonwealth and from a wide variety of societies and cultures, the examples chosen may not be familiar to them. The examples are only used to show underlying principles. Students will need to make adjustments to be able to transfer these principles to their own situations.
M09	Module 9: Policy Planning and Implementation
This module will enable students to develop the skills required to investigate, analyse and influence the policy-making processes that shape welfare services, particularly those that directly affect the quality of young peoples lives. It focuses in particular on the nature and scope of youth policy the common themes that underpin national youth policies, and the characteristic tensions within such policies. It considers the relationship between youth policies and the wider policy environment. This module also looks at the criteria for success or failure of youth policies and the evaluation of their outcomes.
M10	Module 10: Conflict Resolution Strategies and Skills
This module will enable participants to work effectively with and through conflict, rather than always viewing it as a problem. It draws on practical examples that illuminate the theory and practice of mediation and negotiation. It acknowledges that conflict arising from competing perspectives is inevitable in a pluralistic framework.
M11	Module 11: Promoting Enterprise and Economic Development
The purpose of this module is to explore some of the development possibilities of the links between youth development work and contemporary economic change. It shows how aspects of informal education can help youth develop enterprise skills and undertake projects that promote economic development. In particular, it covers the skills needed to promote self-employment amongst young women and young men, including setting up micro-enterprises.
M12	Module 12: Youth and Health
Youth development workers have a key role to play in delivering a holistic approach to health promotion. This module is intended to assist students in their work. The module starts by defining youth in the context of health. It continues by looking at why it is important to involve young people in the planning and implementation of any programme that targets youths, and how to promote youth participation. Students will look more closely at some of the contemporary health issues that affect young people, such as nutrition and diet, sexual and reproductive health, and drug abuse. Students will gain an understanding of the difference between the principles of youth development work and those of health professionals and educators, and explore the need for appropriate alliances with health agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The module also looks at how to enable practitioners to recognise the different roles they have and how to foster effective working relationships.
M13	Module 13: Sustainable Development and Environmental Issues
The purpose of this module is to increase students knowledge of the sustainable development and environment issues that affect youth around the world. It aims to provide students with the skills that will enable them to contribute to making a positive change in the present state of the environment and motivate them to lead and support group activities that will help promote sustainable development.