Program Overview

Aesthetics and Special Needs Nordic Childhoods (BLH3310, BLH3320)

Course Overview

Aesthetics and Special Needs Nordic Childhoods is a Bachelor's course designed for exchange students. The course is offered at the Pilestredet Campus in Oslo and spans one semester. It is a full-time course, with options for 20 or 30 ECTS credits, and is taught in English.

Admission Requirements

• This course is designed for all students with an interest in children with special needs and/or aesthetic expressions and work, who are studying in fields relevant to the course.
• Students must have completed at least one year of their undergraduate degree studies at their home institution.
• A valid police clearance form is required to visit schools and kindergartens.

Course Content

Aesthetics are crucial for everyone, including children and young people with special needs. Through various aesthetic expressions like literature, storytelling, music, and dance, individuals perceive and understand the world and themselves. The course covers topics such as:

• Special education
• Inclusion
• Children and young people with special needs
• Aesthetics
• Ethics
• Physical and psychological health
• Play, development, identity, and relations
• Genres, multimodal texts, and digital platforms
• Verbal language, aesthetic perceptions, and expressions
• Music, drama, puppet play, storytelling, and other performances and aesthetic acts
• Aesthetic communication
• Cultural sharing
• The sensing body / the body and its surroundings

Teaching Methods

The course employs a wide variety of working methods, including:

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Excursions
• Individual and group papers/performances
• Digital blog
• Dramatisation
• Stop animation
• Visits and practice in school, kindergarten, and other institutions

Course Duration and Credits

• The 20 ECTS option lasts from mid-January to mid-April.
• The 30 ECTS option lasts from mid-January to mid-May.

Costs

There is no semester fee for exchange students.

Course Description

For detailed information about the course, including the 20 ECTS and 30 ECTS options, refer to the official course descriptions.

Student Experience

As an exchange student at the Department of Early Childhood Education, students will experience firsthand what makes the Norwegian approach to kindergarten unique, with nature often serving as a classroom.