School of Applied Social Studies

THE CERTIFICATE IN CONTEMPORARY LIVING: WHAT IS IT?

• The Certificate in Contemporary Living (CCL) is a two year education programme for people with intellectual disabilities designed for delivery in a third level education setting.
• It focuses on helping students develop strategic skills to promote self-reliance and independence and increased participation in society.
• The CCL course provides structured opportunities for interaction between students with intellectual disabilities and non disabled students. As such it is about inclusion and not just about acces
• The National Institute for Intellectual Disability (NIID) in TCD developed the CCL programme in 2005 and the first cohort of students graduated from TCD in February 2008.

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF THE CERTIFICATE IN CONTEMPORARY LIVING AT UCC?

Between April and June 2009 a 12 Week Pilot Project delivered one module of the CCL course to 18 students at UCC. Following the success of this initiative a further module of the course was delivered between September and December 2009. In June 2010, the CCL was accepted as a full certificate programme at UCC delivered by the School of Applied Social Studies through the Centre for Adult and Continuing Education and the students from the pilot programme are now completing year two of the full programme.

The 18 students on the UCC CCL course are all young adults living in Cork city and county. Most are attending adult day services provided by Cope Foundation, Brothers of Charity and Enable Ireland. The Pilot Project of the UCC CCL programme resulted in the development of alliances between the CCL students and students from the UCC Sports Education degree course, and the School of Applied Social Sciences.

PROGRAMME AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The Certificate in Contemporary Living seeks to support individuals with intellectual disabilities in developing core skills required for par5ticipation in contemporary society and to do so in a way which promotes lifelong learning and inclusion in a third level environment.

The overall learning objective is to facilitate individuals with intellectual disabilities to develop and enhance the skills necessary for effective participation in contemporary society. Specific learning objectives include:

•    The enhancement of literacy skills for effective communication in everyday life.
•    The enhancement of skills required to effectively use current technologies to access information available in electronic format.
•    The enhancement of interpersonal skills necessary for self-determination and community participation, including personalised planning and self advocacy skills.
•    The enhancement of applied mathematical skills including money management, budgeting and time management.
•    The enhancement of understanding of Irish lifestyle and culture and its similarities and differences to other countries.
•    The development/enhancement of applied work skills in a work placement setting.
•    The application of the literacy, mathematical, communication, employment, self reflection and cultural appreciation skills necessary for contemporary living.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

There are no formal academic qualifications required for admission to the programme, however all applicants are required to:

• Be at least 18 years of age
• Have a primary diagnosis of intellectual disability
• Be committed to their ongoing learning and personal development

PROGRAMME REQUIREMENTS

Year 1

Students take 20 credits as follows:

Year 2

Students take 20 credits as follows:

FURTHER DETAILS

For further details on modules descriptions, assessment and examination procedures, please see: http://ace.ucc.ie

WHO DO I CONTACT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE CCL COURSE?

The CCL course in UCC is directed by Dr. Máire Leane, Senior Lecturer, School of Applied Social Studies, UCC. (m.leane@ucc.ie) 021 4902831. All queries regarding the CCL courses can be directed to Máire.

It is envisaged that in February 2012 an Open Day will be held at UCC to provide information about the next intake of students onto the CCL course. All students interested in taking the course will be asked to complete an application form and will be interviewed to select course participants. The course will then begin in September 2012 and will continue until June 2014 with students attending UCC for a minimum of two days per week during the academic year.