Edexcel Level 3 BTEC Nationals in Health and Social Care

UNIT 29: APPLIED PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CAREFinally, learners need to gain understanding of the contribution of psychologicalperspectives to residential care provision. This could be introduced through visits to aresidential care home, a children’s hospital, the use of guest speakers, by referringto learners’ work placement experiences, or a combination of all approaches.Learners need to develop understanding of the potential negative effects ofinstitutionalisation on individuals, and how good practices in residential care can helpto overcome these. Learners will gain valuable insight into social psychology, in termsof concepts such as obedience and conformity, and they should be encouraged toconsider how different psychological approaches could be used in particular settingsand how these might help to improve services. They should also be encouraged toconsider the limitations of the various approaches, as well as how they could beadapted for particular settings. Some tutor input, or individual/small group researchwill be needed in order for learners to gain knowledge and understanding of theresearch that has contributed here.Case studies and discussions may help to increase learners’ awareness of, forexample, the roles of different perspectives in relation to health and social carepractices, or how positive and negative behaviour patterns develop. Learners shouldbe encouraged to link theory to practice, relating their studies in psychology toobservations they may have made whilst on work experience placements. Small groupor whole class discussions could facilitate sharing and exploration of theseobservations, with due respect for confidentiality.This unit needs to be delivered by an appropriately qualified tutor, with the use ofappropriate guest speakers, visits, links with local voluntary and community groups,and DVDs/videos to enhance delivery.AssessmentEvidence for this unit should be mainly in the form of pieces of writing/essays,though records from presentations or class discussions could be used to supplementthese. Learners need to demonstrate understanding of different psychologicalapproaches to study by applying these approaches to aspects of health and socialcare.Evidence for this unit could be provided through the vehicle of one holisticassignment, though this could be divided into constituent parts. P1 and M1 could, forexample, be assessed through an initial brief assignment.In order to achieve P1, learners need to describe three debates in developmentalpsychology. Different aspects of the debates need to be presented. For M1, learnersneed to choose one of the debates and examine it in more detail, explaining thedifferent aspects and suggesting strengths and weaknesses.For P2, learners are required to explain the principal psychological perspectives asapplied to the understanding of the development of individuals. More detail isrequired in comparison with Unit 8: Psychological Perspectives for Health and SocialCare, as indicated in the contents section of the unit. Learners need to explain eachof the perspectives in detail, including the role of the various psychologists.376BN018467 – Specification – Edexcel Level 3 BTEC Nationals in Health and Social Care– Issue 1 – February 2007 © Edexcel Limited 2007