Course Title: Youth Justice Systems
Part A: Course Overview
Course Title: Youth Justice Systems
Credit Points: 12.00
Terms
Course Code |
Campus |
Career |
School |
Learning Mode |
Teaching Period(s) |
HWSS2116 |
City Campus |
Postgraduate |
365H Global, Urban and Social Studies |
Face-to-Face |
Sem 2 2008, Sem 2 2009, Sem 2 2010, Sem 2 2011, Sem 2 2019 |
HWSS2117 |
City Campus |
Undergraduate |
365H Global, Urban and Social Studies |
Face-to-Face |
Sem 2 2006, Sem 2 2007, Sem 2 2008, Sem 2 2009, Sem 2 2010, Sem 2 2011, Sem 2 2019 |
Course Coordinator: Robin Cameron
Course Coordinator Phone: +(61 3) 9925 2721
Course Coordinator Email: robin.cameron@rmit.edu.au
Course Coordinator Location: Building 37. Floor 04. Room 9
Course Coordinator Availability: By appointment
Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities
Nil.
Course Description
This course is designed to provide you with an introduction to youth justice issues from a national and international perspective, and to highlight issues that specifically relate to youth justice in Victoria. It is also designed to assist you to be both a thoughtful and practical professional working with young people and the youth justice system. The course will introduce the historical, ethical and theoretical underpinnings of the current system. You will consider explanations of delinquency and offending behaviour, as well as the key legal principles at work in the youth justice system, including the link between child protection, youth justice, and the adult criminal justice system. You will also learn about adopting a holistic approach to working with young people, including developing effective interventions
Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development
On successful completion of the course, you will be able to:
a) Distinguish between various ideas about justice in the contemporary youth justice system;
b) Critically appraise various explanations of young people’s delinquent and offending behaviour and the notion of children and young people being categorised as victims or threats;
c) Describe the key historical factors that have shaped the current youth justice system;
d) Explain the ’philosophical underpinnings’ of the Children, Youth & Families Act 2005, especially minimising intervention into the lives of young offenders; the hierarchy of sentencing; and the separation of ‘needs and deeds’;
e) Apply the features of effective assessment and interventions for working with young people in preparing relevant written documentation;
f) Evaluate strategies to assist young people to develop pathways out of the youth justice system.
In this course you will develop the following graduate capabilities:
- Informed professional practice
- Ethical practice
- Reflective practice
Overview of Learning Activities
This course is generally delivered in a face-to-face mode with a blend of learning activities, which include lectures, seminars, tutorials, panel discussions, debates, role plays, guest speakers, presentations, case studies/scenarios, videos, and student lead discussions. The course may be delivered online.
Overview of Learning Resources
There is generally a prescribed text for this course as well as selected readings. RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems.
Overview of Assessment
You will be assessed on how well you meet the learning outcomes of this course and on your development against the program capabilities. Assessment may include examinations, court visits, reports, journals, plans, group work, tutorial presentations, and essay writing. Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks.
- If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or the Disability Liaison Unit if you would like to find out more.
- A student charter http://www.rmit.edu.au/about/studentcharter summarises your responsibilities as an RMIT student as well as those of your teachers.
- Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures and instructions which are available for review online: http://www.rmit.edu.au/policies/academic#assessment