NEVET members worked together to develop a variety of academic courses based on the context-informed perspective. These courses are taught at The Hebrew University and other universities and colleges. The following are some examples:
NEVET Seminar: Researching and Practicing Context and Culture-Informed Perspective
Taught by Prof. Dorit Roer-Strier & Dr. Yochay Nadan.
The course is based on presentations of context-informed studies carried out in NEVET greenhouse. Throughout the course we discuss the challenges faced by researchers based on diversity, plurality, and gender. During the course, the members of our research groups share their research projects and discuss the conceptual, methodological, and ethical challenges that arise in context-informed research. The course aims to develop an understanding of the challenges and contributions of these perspectives to the development and execution of studies targeting diverse populations. Moreover, the course encourages critical and reflective thinking and exposes the participants to diverse research methods based on a context-informed approach as well as fostering dialogue between course participants from different cultures and groups.
See Syllabus: here
Challenges and Opportunities in Working with Diversity
Taught by Dr. Naomi Shmuel.
Human diversity is everywhere, as professionals who work with people (such as social and community workers, psychologists, teachers, and educational advisors) it is advisable to be prepared; to confront and reflect upon attitudes and feelings towards people who are different from us. The course presents innovative teaching methods to address potentially volatile issues relating to personal and group identity, a sense of belonging, the meaning of ‘home’, social and political topics related to prejudices, minorities, immigrants and asylum seekers. The course aims to go beyond awareness of human diversity, to establish professional working methods which enable professionals to be competent when facing differences.
See Syllabus: here
Developmental Psychology: A Context-Informed Perspective
Taught by Yan Serdtse
the course aims to discuss development processes from infancy through childhood (birth to age six) from a context-informed perspective, including neuro-physiological, cognitive, emotional, and social contexts. The course focuses on central issues that accompany the research and understanding of childhood development - nature versus nurture and stages of development versus continuous development - and their implications for psychopathology. The course emphasizes the importance of observing and examining the various contexts.
See Syllabus: here
Social work with fathers in a multicultural context
Taught by Yan Serdtse
The State of Israel is a country that absorbs immigration therefore rich in many cultures. As part of their work, social workers come in daily contact with potential differences on the basis of nationality, ethnicity, religion and gender, but there is a tendency to unify the methods of treatment (universalism) and ignore the differences between the groups (particularism). In this dynamic reality, it seems that the time has come to recognize the difference between the cultural communities during their professional intervention. For years, fathers have shown little or no sound in the treatment rooms, welfare services, and academic discourse. Even when they appeared in therapy or research, speech was about them, not with them. This situation is problematic in view of the findings about the father's centrality in the emotional world of his children. This course seeks to introduce students to the basic concepts in the study of fatherhood and the tools of dealing with cultural and cultural relations. The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the theoretical frameworks relating to fatherhood, their problematic aspects and the changes that are taking place in them. Another goal will be to assist social workers, to listen to fathers and to invite them to take an active part in therapeutic and community processes.
See Syllabus: here
Context-Informed Treatment of Immigrants and Asylum Seekers
Taught by Prof. Dorit Roer Strier & Dr. Naomi Shmuel
the course uses innovative teaching methods to address potentially volatile issues relating to personal and group identity; culture change, conflicts, power relations, prejudices related to minorities, immigrants, and asylum seekers. These issues often arouse deep emotions and are potentially explosive in the classroom. The course is based on a context-Informed perspective and the methods used include a workshop with children's books, photos, films, simulations, personal reflection, and group and class discussions.
See Syllabus: here
The Narrative Study of Immigrants' and Asylum Seekers' Lives
Taught by Dr. Yochay Nadan and Lior Birger, MSW
The course focuses on narratives of immigrants' and forced-migrants' lives. Our life story is shaped by the experiences and memories we collect throughout our lifetime. It reflects our personal, familial, and collective identity, as well as constructs our identity. This course deals with the exploration of migrants' life stories, as well as the application of these theoretical ideas into narrative social work practice. The course aims to expose students to the narrative worldview and its central concepts, enable data collection and analysis of immigrants' and forced-migrants' life stories, experience the use of life stories as a way to understand personal, interpersonal, family, community, and social issues, and allow for the exploration of therapeutic practices stemming from this approach.
See Syllabus: here
Context-Informed Developmental Psychology
Taught by Dr. Yael Ponizovsky.
The course focuses on the development of boys and girls and the underlying perception that each individual develops differently and uniquely, influenced by the contexts that make up each child’s living space. These contexts can present simultaneously or influence certain contexts; personal, social, family, cultural, religious, ethnic, economic, geographical, political contexts and more. Theories dealing with development generally discuss one context as isolated from other contexts. This course presents the interactions between the individual and the various contexts and their effect on his or her development. The course aims to acquaint with different interpretations of boys and girls and their development; their self-interpretation, the interpretation of their relatives, and the interpretation presented by various theories. The variety of interpretations allows an in-depth knowledge of the boys and girls and their developmental style, and advocates for a more professional understanding of the appropriate treatment and education methods.
See Syllabus: here
Practicum: Context and Culture Informed Therapy for Children and Families
Taught by Prof. Dorit Roer-Strier.
The practicum deals with the treatment of children, adolescents, and adults in their family and institutional contexts according to the context-informed approach of family therapy. Practicum participants are committed to weekly therapy sessions with at least three patients accompanied by the submission of a treatment diary of one of them. In the first semester, the practicum focuses on getting to know individuals and families using theoretical constructs and various tools such as identity puzzle, gynogram, ecogram, and culturegram. These help to identify issues of intergenerational transmission, strengths, and challenges of the individuals, as well as different family ties and support systems, forming a therapeutic alliance and planning intervention goals. In the second semester, the course focuses on the presentation of approaches and techniques appropriate for treatment with participants from different cultures (e.g., music, art, movement, literature, photography and more).
See Syllabus: here
Course for Students in the Early Childhood Development Program: Development within the Context-Informed Perspective
Taught by Dr. Nira Wahle.
The course is based on the premise that kindergarten teachers are at a significant crossroads in the lives of children and their parents, and have great ability to influence the community within which the kindergarten is located and with which they maintain relationships. Their broad role relates to life contexts in personal aspects - family, health, social, cultural, religious, ethnic, economic, geographical, political contexts and more - in a complex and changing reality. The course presents a critical approach towards existing theories of the development of boys and girls and developmental theories that are deeply rooted in the educational discourse. These theories usually discuss Western universal aspects of development, encourage measurable achievements in a dynamic period in children's lives, and ignore a broad view of the child. In this course, students learn to identify the network of changing life contexts and its impact on the quality of life of boys and girls and their development.
See Syllabus:Here
The perspective of young children
Taught by Dr. Yael Dayan
This course deals with the perspective of children, listening to the opinions and thoughts they have, understanding their experiences as they describe them and the implications for the organization of the human and physical space in which they staying. The course will deal with the ideological and theoretical sources of influence of 'children perspective approach', and with the variety of practices that allow them to recognize, hear and understand their perspectives and ways to create a democratic space that allows children to initiate, choose and express an opinion. The course aims to assimilate this approach among students in training programs of kindergarteners, social workers, or other professionals who will work with children in early childhood; Helping students internalize the perception that children have original ideas and insights that are important to hear and learn from.
See Syllabus:Here
Family Context Informed Treatment
Taught by Prof. Dorit Roer-Strier, the course aims to provide an introduction to the context-informed approach to family therapy. The course includes the learning of theories related to context-informed perspective, concepts, and tools for evaluating families with different characteristics with whom the therapist meets, while referring to their contexts. The course also discusses the effects of social processes on the family structure, lifestyle (single parenting, divorce, same-sex parenting, etc.), and power relations.
See Syllabus: here