General learning objectives:
  
• To gain theoretical and empirical knowledge of clinical assessment and care, special education and developmental psychology models and to be able to apply them to assessment and care related issues (in clinical practice, research projects, or policy making), using the empirical regulative cycle;
• To analyse auxiliary matters, research questions and/or policy issues  and, based on this analysis, be able to formulate and/or provide advice, supervision, or treatment, while taking the cultural context into account;
• To develop professional treatment skills, reflection skills and a culturally sensitive attitude.
More specifically, the learning objectives relate to the following areas: acquiring and applying academic knowledge, as well as professional skills and attitude; forming judgements; and reflecting on own performance.


Relation between course aims and assessment

The internship is assessed by the responsible lecturer on the basis of various sources. Your performance during the internship placement, as assessed by the internship supervisor, will be taken into account. The lecturer will base his/her final assessment on the following:
• the final versions of the three internship outputs you submit (each output is assessed on its content and a discussion about it);
• the impression gained of your performance during the assessment interviews, the internship meetings and the personal supervision sessions;
• your internship supervisor's assessment of your performance during the internship placement;
• reports on the progress of the internship in the internship plan, interim assessment report and final assessment.

Internships in the Master's programme in Clinical Child, Family and Education Studies are related to content of the master programme, such as in youth mental health services, youth support services, educational institutions, child rehabilitation centres, care for disabled persons, hospitals, parent-child teams, neighbourhood teams, etc. The internship can focus on practice, research and/or policy, but should always deal with prevention or intervention, improvements or breakthroughs in a possibly stagnated aspect of child-rearing. Moreover, this must be done in a scientific, and professionally and ethically responsible manner. Therefore, as an intern, you must always be involved in the primary assistance process, or in activities that directly contribute to youth assistance. In doing so, you should:
• actively contribute to the different steps in the empirical regulative cycle;
• focus on delivering (applied) results;
• gain experience in the areas of needs assessment, problem or bottleneck analysis, usually using diagnostic assessment tools and/or treating or supervising young people  and/or educators, professional or otherwise;
• have contact with young people and/or their parents or (professional) educators.
 
The internship prepares you, as a student, to work independently in an academic role as a clinical professional, a scientist practitioner. It gives you the opportunity to gain supervised experience of day-to-day practice in the professional workplace. During the internship, you should gain an insight into the field and determine your future position within it, through critical reflection. You will learn to apply your academic knowledge in clinical practice by quickly identifying and carefully analysing issues, and by determining whether any support or help is needed, and if so what type. In addition to supervision from an internship supervisor on site, you will also receive group supervision (meetings in small groups throughout the academic year) and personal supervision from a lecturer from your programme. A number of lectures  will be given to provide relevant information and a clear understanding of internships.



Course language

Scientific information exchange in this course is done in English. However, you need to be able to speak Dutch with your colleges and clients and to report in Dutch. Students may also follow the small-group sessions in Dutch. See the course manual for further details.