Sessional - Faculty (Cyca 2000)

TRU’s Williams Lake campus is located approximately three hours northwest of Kamloops, in the heart of the scenic Cariboo region, on T’exelcemc territory within the unceded traditional lands of the Secwepemc Nation.

Our small, friendly and close-knit campus community is located within the city of Williams Lake, BC named in honor of Secwepemc Chief William. Here, you’ll enjoy a quiet and affordable lifestyle, with all the amenities of a larger center, and with four seasons of spectacular outdoor adventures in your own beautiful backyard. This region is rich in history and a plentiful selection of outdoor activities in untouched wilderness, from fishing one of the 4,500 lakes, hiking to mountain tops, to snowmobiling through fresh powder.

Course Description:
This course provides an overview of the foundations of professional child and youth care practice. Topics include a review of the history of the child and youth care field and an identification of current child and youth care practice settings. Current theory and practice perspectives are explored, in addition to issues related to professional identity, ethical practice, children’s rights, and interdisciplinary work. Reflection on one's personal readiness for professional child and youth care practice is a focus of this course.
Course Learning Outcomes:
1. Describe the historical context of child and youth care.
2. Articulate the foundational identity of a Child and Youth Care practitioner.
3. Explain key concepts within Child and Youth Care practice such as social competence, therapeutic relationships, ecological context and multi-system intervention.
4. Describe the current influences in the field of Child and Youth Care.
5. Describe your role as a professional within the context of ethical Child and Youth Care practice.
6. Outline the dynamics of team functioning and the role of a Child and Youth Care worker within an interdisciplinary team.
7. Reflect on one's personal strengths, values, attitudes consistent with professional Child and Youth Care practice.
8. Reflect on your own caring experience using the critical factors of caring.
9. Reflect on your feelings and experiences of the helping relationship from a client perspective.

QUALIFICATIONS
- Successful teaching experience in post-secondary institutions preferred.
- A minimum of five years professional experience working with children and youth in a human service capacity is required.
- An ability to demonstrate experience integrating Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods (TRC CA 62) is required.
- Proven skills in building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect (TRC CA 63) is required.
- Teaching excellence, including developing culturally appropriate curricula (TRC CA 10) is required.

ABOUT THOMPSON RIVERS UNIVERSITY
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) campuses are on the traditional lands of the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc (Kamloops campus) and the T’exelc (Williams Lake campus) within Secwépemc'ulucw, the traditional and unceded territory of the Secwépemc people. Our region also extends into the territories of the Stat’imc, Nlaka’pamux, Nuxalk, Tsilh’qotin, Dakelh, and Métis peoples.
For over 50 years Thompson Rivers University has taken pride in providing an excellent education to students with a variety of backgrounds and perspectives who are at various stages of their learning journey. TRU strives to become the University of Choice for B.C.'s Indigenous students. Offering both on-campus, regional and online programs, TRU attracts a significant Indigenous student body as well as students and faculty from across Canada and internationally. In Kamloops (from the Secwepemc word for this area: Tk'emlups “meeting of the waters”), the main campus overlooks the junction of the North and South Thompson Rivers, from which the university gets its name.
TRU is a comprehensive, learner-centered, environmentally responsible institution that serves its regional, national, and international learners and their communities through high quality and flexible education, training, research and scholarship. From traditional academics to trades, from certificates to graduate degrees, TRU offers students choice from over 140 on-campus programs and 50 Open Learning programs. More than 28,500 students study on campuses in Kamloops and Williams Lake, or in distance or online courses and programs through Open Learning. Research, creation and innovation thrive in TRU’s open, flexible learning environment. TRU gained Platinum and the highest over-all sustainability score in the prestigious and globally recognized AASHE STARS report. TRU is the 4th largest university in British Columbia, is a member of the Research Universities Council of British Columbia.

THE TRU SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK AND HUMAN SERVICE
The School of Social Work and Human Service offers a wide range of academic programs to approximately 250 students on two campuses and more than 100 stude