Case study and professional development in the education of students at the child welfare program

Abstract

This article analyses and discusses the use of the case study in relation to constructivist learning theory in a child welfare educational context. From a teacher's point of view there are two central questions: How do students develop as professionals when they study cases? And secondly, how do students experience their learning when studying cases? Forty-five part-time students in the child welfare program at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences in Norway were asked to reflect on their learning experiences with case studies. In analyzing their responses, it was found that their work experiences played a significant role in their work with case studies. A second finding was that there was an absence or extremely weak reflexivity among some of the students when dealing with the case and relating it to their own work experiences.