This unit affords candidates the opportunity for indepth theoretical research of the kind that could produce a paper that, with editorial modification, would be suitable for publication in a professional journal. It also enables candidate to have a rich layer of theoretical insight to undergird their major research project in the final semester.
Candidates are to study (4,000-5,000 pages) a chosen author who has written extensively and/or or undertaken innovative and constructive research in relation to the development of personal, relational and social wellbeing. The candidate should be able to show how the work of this eminent practitioner contributes significantly to the shape of community counselling. Alternately, where a significant body of literature from one theorist is yet to be accessible, candidates may choose to study a number of different authors who have jointly contributed to an emerging field or share a common theoretical perspective. Judgments about the significance of this school’s contribution are based on what could be regarded as a paradigm change or assuming the status of a recognisable emerging counter-traditional movement with significant impact on theory and practice. Students would be advised to decide upon their chosen topic in the light of later research in their final unit.