Bachelor of Applied Social Science
Human and Social Studies - General Social Science
Purpose and Rationale
Purpose:
The qualification is an undergraduate degree at NQF Level 7 in the Applied Social Sciences. The purpose of this qualification is to equip learners with knowledge, skills, and attitudes to better understand the social world, interpret and analyze relevant social research data, comprehend and develop a better understanding of self and others, and apply their understanding of psychology in a variety of social contexts and circumstances. The qualification aims to provide learners with a solid foundation in core knowledge, research skills, critical thinking skills, values and professional ethics, communication skills, and application of methodologies within the Applied Social Sciences field as they pertain to counseling, coaching, or management professions.
Outcomes:
- Develop learners' academic skills to better understand the social world.
- Interpret and analyze relevant social research data.
- Comprehend and develop a better understanding of self and others.
- Apply psychology as an applied social science in counseling, coaching, or management fields in diverse multicultural societies like South Africa.
Curriculum Design:
- Core modular elements at different NQF levels include research and study skills, psychology introduction, interpersonal communication skills, counseling methods, and diversity studies.
- Learners further specialize in counseling, coaching, or management studies at NQF Level 6 and 7 through specific modules relevant to each specialization.
- Modules focus on critical thinking, application of psychology in various contexts, and practical skills within the chosen specialization.
Rationale:
- The qualification aims to provide learners with diverse career options in areas such as human resource management, health sciences, and psychological services within the Applied Social Sciences field.
- The design emphasizes understanding human interaction within social contexts, developing academic skills, and applying psychology in practical settings.
- Specializations in counseling, coaching, or management studies allow learners to focus on specific applications of core knowledge and skills in their chosen field.
- The qualification addresses the need for relevant higher education qualifications that meet the workplace demands in South Africa, preparing learners for employment opportunities and articulation pathways.
This qualification aims to produce well-rounded practitioners who can think critically, work effectively with people, and apply psychology and social science principles ethically in diverse social and vocational contexts.
Outcomes
Assessment Criteria
The following assessment criteria may be applied to some or all of the Exit Level Outcomes:
- Correct Use of Terminology: Demonstrating consistent use of the correct terminology, concepts, principles, and theories in written and/or oral communication.
- Analysis and Synthesis of Research Findings: Providing analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of recent and relevant research findings in the disciplines.
- Problem-Solving: Proposing solutions to well-structured and practical problems based on theory-driven arguments.
- Scholarly Discourse: Demonstrating the use of scholarly discourse and discipline-specific conventions clearly and efficiently.
- Problem Identification: Reflecting identified problems in a well-defined and coherent representation.
- Use of Methods and Tools: Selecting and applying appropriate methods, techniques, tools, and procedures relevant to the discipline.
- Critical Reasoning: Demonstrating scholarly and critical reasoning skills consistently.
- Contextual Awareness: Explicitly recognizing the diversity, complexity, and multi-dimensionality of a context and its effects on the work being undertaken.
- Information Provision: Demonstrating the provision of relevant information regarding strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of the context for addressing specific problems.
- Identification of Role Players and Resources: Clearly identifying relevant role players and resources that contribute to the resolution of specific problems.
- Factors Affecting Performance: Reflecting on relevant factors pertaining to the context and people's performance in those contexts and how they impact the work being undertaken.
- Identification of Critical Factors: Identifying critical factors impacting practical problems to be investigated from the perspective of the discipline.
- Interpretation of Topical Issues: Interpreting topical issues from different perspectives based on analyses of relevant national contexts and research findings.
- Clarity in Issue Description: Clearly describing and explaining issues effectively using diverse theories for comparison.
- Evaluation of Findings: Evaluating findings, defining the boundaries and limitations of theory, and tabulating the provisional nature of research findings.
- Ethical Solutions: Consistently producing ethical and responsible solutions for practical problems.
- Competence in Communication: Demonstrating competence in higher-order cognitive domains and meta-cognition through interpretation, explanation, and argument.
- Discipline-Specific Knowledge: Demonstrating knowledge and comprehension of discipline-specific conventions and scholarly discourse.
- Comparison of Perspectives: Comparing and contrasting current perspectives and scholarly debates in different relevant contexts.
- Critical Appraisal of Literature: Critically appraising recent and relevant literature, including both primary and secondary sources.
- Integrated Assessment: Balancing formative and summative assessment tasks to facilitate the learning process.
- Implied Competence and Range: Demonstrating competence in various cognitive domains and disciplines at the relevant complexity levels.
- Scholarly Skills Demonstration: Demonstrating key scholarly skills such as logical thinking, inductive and deductive reasoning, and self-reflexivity.
- Procedures for Scholarly Information: Using different procedures to generate scholarly information, including data collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation.
- Ethical Implications: Understanding and adhering to ethical implications in research activities.
Qualification Details
- Type
- National First Degree
- NQF Level
- 07
- Min. Credits
- 360
- SAQA Source
- More Information
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This page includes information from the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) . Builtneat Pty Ltd trading as Study Start, has modified all or some of this information. SAQA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.