2007:12 R
Evaluation of four interdisciplinary programmes within the liberal arts and social sciences
- Child and Youth Culture
- Child Culture
- Culture and Media
- Social and Cultural Analysis
This report contains the results of the evaluation of four interdisciplinary programmes within the liberal arts and social sciences. The subject areas covered are: Child and Youth Culture at Göteborg Universit , Child Culture at Stockholm University, Culture and Media at Linköping University and Social and Cultural Analysis at Linköping University. Common to these four programmes is that they have ‘culture´ as the core area of knowledge and a core theme while there are also clear connections to social science theories. The evaluated programmes do cover separate subjects, however, and are therefore not given the same recommendations. There are also no systematic comparisons between subjects.
For all four of the programmes in this evaluation there is a high degree of teacher competence, they are well organised and their collaboration with the local communities works well.
Child and Youth Culture at Göteborg University
The basic theme of the programme is the way children and young people grow up as related to central cultural institutions, culture production and historical perspectives on childhood and youth. Child and Youth Culture has a small number of students — a total of around ten full-year students each year. The programme is run part-time as evening courses. The teachers, who come from several different disciplines, are united in a shared approach the subject Child and Youth Culture.
In the opinion of the Evaluation Group, the course management, despite having a large number of teachers each with a few hours teaching, has succeeded in creating a good degree of cohesion, both organisationally and with regard to the subject. The students the Evaluation Group met considered that they acquired a theoretical background and analytical tools which could be used in their current or future careers. A major problem with the subject is the high drop-out rate, i.e. many students do not complete the courses. The Evaluation Group believes that distance courses would be one way to attract and keep more students.
Child Culture at Stockholm University
The aim of this programme, in brief, is to provide basic and advanced knowledge of Child Culture — both culture for children and culture by children. There is a special emphasis upon aesthetic forms of expression such as literature, theatre, film, mass media, music, children´s art and the commercial child culture industry. A large number of teachers with varied subject backgrounds teach the subject.
In the opinion of the Evaluation Group, the course management has succeeded in making the programme cohesive. Among the things praised by students were teacher accessibility and the efforts they made to get to know their students. The Evaluation Group considers that the quality work done at CBK (Centre for Child Culture Research) is carried out in an exemplary manner. In this respect, many other programmes have much to learn from this department. The programme could, however, be marketed better. One reason would be to recruit more men.
Culture and Media at Linköping University
The programme can be said to be in two parts: The academically oriented social sciences and cultural part, which among other things takes up various cultural, social and political phenomena. The other part of the programme is more practical-artistic in nature and, for example, gets student to use sound and pictures to recreate various phenomena. The make-up of the teaching group well reflects the various parts of the programme.
The Evaluation Group considers that the programme is well organised and, despite the disparate group of teachers, the parts are well integrated into a whole. An important measure of this good cohesion is that the progression and co-ordination of the different courses seems to function very well. During the first year of the programme, however, there is a degree of uncertainty among the students regarding what the programme leads to. This could be easily remedied with a clearer course introduction.
Social and Cultural Analysis at Linköping University
The aims of this programme are to train social and cultural analysts and provide them with a broad, deep expertise in social and cultural matters which cross sector boundaries. Students do much of their work in project form, which is good training for their future careers.
Both teachers and students painted a mainly positive and optimistic picture of the programme. The students the Evaluation Group met thought that the programme was well thought-through and that there was a theme running through the programme. In order to increase student numbers, the department has started an ambitious scheme whereby students who not have completed their Master´s degree project are contacted by the department. This has been a successful strategy which has provided the programme with extra funds. In order to increase the number of applications, the programme should be better marketed to presumptive students and employers outside the region.
Contact person: Henrik Holmquist, e-mail: forename.surname@hsv.se
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Phone: 08-563 085 00 Fax: 08-563 085 50 Email: hsv@hsv.se
