Community Engagement within the Curriculum

Summary of the Workshop: With the current economic climate placing increasing demands on health and social care resources (COT 2014), there is increasing importance placed on people accessing support services within their... [ view full abstract ]

Summary of the Workshop:

With the current economic climate placing increasing demands on health and social care resources (COT 2014), there is increasing importance placed on people accessing support services within their communities as emphasised in the Care Act (2014).

The importance of social inclusion and engagement within the community may be key to successful outcomes for clients; however, students within the University environment often focus on learning from text books, journal articles and web based information rather than considering widersources for learning opportunities and engagement, such as community resources.

This workshop will give participants the opportunity to share their experiences of student engagement within the community and how this contributes to learning and future practice. The format will begin with a brief presentation of how this has been developed at York St John University followed by discussion focussed around the learning outcomes below.

Learning outcomes
1. Generate ideas to offer creative opportunities for students to engage with the local community
2. Draw on participants’ experience and expertise to utilise resources more effectively
3. Identify challenges to community engagement & consider how learning opportunities can be facilitated and developed to meet these challenges

Maximum number of participants for the workshop:
20

Brief description of intended participants:
This workshop would be suitable for occupational therapy educators working within the university environment.

References

Care Act 2014.London.TSO

College of Occupational Therapists (2014) Learning and development standards for pre-registration Education. London, College of Occupational Therapists.